Experiences with the implementation of measures and tools for road safety improvement

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mikusova, M.

2016-07-01

The paper presents an overview on the road safety measures implemented in the framework of the “SOL – Save our lives” project. It contains summarization of general knowledge regarding the efficiency of the measures applied and conclusions from the analyses of developed strategies and action plans, including common issues, strengths and weaknesses of developed tools and puts these in the context of wider European Road Safety strategies. The purpose of the paper is to provide recommendations for an effective professional development of road safety programs at community level in the context of sustainable mobility. (Author)

Knowledge management and networking for enhancing nuclear safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taniguchi, T.; Lederman, L.

2004-01-01

Striving for innovative solutions to enhance efficiency of programme delivery and a wider outreach of its nuclear safety activities, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has developed an Integrated Safety Approach as a platform for linking its safety related statutory functions and its many associated activities. The approach recognizes the vital importance of effective management of the knowledge base and builds on the integration between the IAEA's safety standards and all aspects of the provision for their application, including peer reviews and technical meetings to share lessons learned. The IAEA is using knowledge management techniques to develop process flows, map safety knowledge and to promote knowledge sharing. The first practical application was the establishment of a knowledge base related to safety aspects of ageing and long-term operation of nuclear power plants. The IAEA is also promoting and facilitating the establishment of regional nuclear and radiation safety networks to preserve existing knowledge and expertise as well as to strengthen sharing and creation of new knowledge in these fields. Prominent examples are the Asian Nuclear Safety Network established in the frame of the IAEA's Programme on the Safety of Nuclear Installations in South East Asia, Pacific and Far East Countries, and the Ibero-American Radiation Safety Network in the frame of the Ibero-American Forum of Nuclear Regulators. Results to date are most encouraging and suggest that this pioneer work should be extended to other regions and eventually to a global nuclear safety network. Responsive to the need of Member States, the IAEA Secretariat has prepared and made available a large number of up-to-date training packages in nuclear, radiation, transport and waste safety, using IAEA safety standards as a basis. It is also providing instruction to trainers in Member States on the use of these modules. This ensures that the material is properly used and that the IAEA

Effects of the Smartphone Application "Safe Patients" on Knowledge of Patient Safety Issues Among Surgical Patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Cho, Sumi; Lee, Eunjoo

2017-12-01

Recently, the patient's role in preventing adverse events has been emphasized. Patients who are more knowledgeable about safety issues are more likely to engage in safety initiatives. Therefore, nurses need to develop techniques and tools that increase patients' knowledge in preventing adverse events. For this reason, an educational smartphone application for patient safety called "Safe Patients" was developed through an iterative process involving a literature review, expert consultations, and pilot testing of the application. To determine the effect of "Safe Patients," it was implemented for patients in surgical units in a tertiary hospital in South Korea. The change in patients' knowledge about patient safety was measured using seven true/false questions developed in this study. A one-group pretest and posttest design was used, and a total of 123 of 190 possible participants were tested. The percentage of correct answers significantly increased from 64.5% to 75.8% (P effectively improve patients' knowledge of safety issues. This will ultimately empower patients to engage in safe practices and prevent adverse events related to surgery.

SafetyAnalyst : software tools for safety management of specific highway sites

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

SafetyAnalyst provides a set of software tools for use by state and local highway agencies for highway safety management. SafetyAnalyst can be used by highway agencies to improve their programming of site-specific highway safety improvements. SafetyA...

Knowledge Management Implementation and the Tools Utilized in Healthcare for Evidence-Based Decision Making: A Systematic Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Shahmoradi, Leila; Safadari, Reza; Jimma, Worku

2017-09-01

Healthcare is a knowledge driven process and thus knowledge management and the tools to manage knowledge in healthcare sector are gaining attention. The aim of this systematic review is to investigate knowledge management implementation and knowledge management tools used in healthcare for informed decision making. Three databases, two journals websites and Google Scholar were used as sources for the review. The key terms used to search relevant articles include: "Healthcare and Knowledge Management"; "Knowledge Management Tools in Healthcare" and "Community of Practices in healthcare". It was found that utilization of knowledge management in healthcare is encouraging. There exist numbers of opportunities for knowledge management implementation, though there are some barriers as well. Some of the opportunities that can transform healthcare are advances in health information and communication technology, clinical decision support systems, electronic health record systems, communities of practice and advanced care planning. Providing the right knowledge at the right time, i.e., at the point of decision making by implementing knowledge management in healthcare is paramount. To do so, it is very important to use appropriate tools for knowledge management and user-friendly system because it can significantly improve the quality and safety of care provided for patients both at hospital and home settings.

Knowledge Representation in Patient Safety Reporting: An Ontological Approach

OpenAIRE

Liang Chen; Yang Gong

2016-01-01

Purpose: The current development of patient safety reporting systems is criticized for loss of information and low data quality due to the lack of a uniformed domain knowledge base and text processing functionality. To improve patient safety reporting, the present paper suggests an ontological representation of patient safety knowledge. Design/methodology/approach: We propose a framework for constructing an ontological knowledge base of patient safety. The present paper describes our desig...

Automated tools for safety-critical software

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lapassat, A.M.

1993-01-01

The regulatory (DSIN), the utilities (EDF, CEA..) and the CEA-Institute for Protection and Nuclear Safety (IPSN) work together at the French nuclear safety. This paper presents a tool, called CLAIRE, for simulation and tests of different nuclear safety system. (TEC)

Knowledge management implementation and the tools utilized in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Knowledge management implementation and the tools utilized in healthcare for ... a knowledge driven process and thus knowledge management and the tools to ... health record systems, communities of practice and advanced care planning.

Machine and Woodworking Tool Safety. Module SH-24. Safety and Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Center for Occupational Research and Development, Inc., Waco, TX.

This student module on machine and woodworking tool safety is one of 50 modules concerned with job safety and health. This module discusses specific practices and precautions concerned with the efficient operation and use of most machine and woodworking tools in use today. Following the introduction, 13 objectives (each keyed to a page in the…

Quantifying system safety: A comparison of the SBOAT & Safety Barrier Manager tools

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Zaza Nadja Lee; Duijm, Nijs Jan; Markert, Frank

2015-01-01

This paper presents two software tools for analyzing safety risks, SBOAT (Stochastic BPMN Optimisation and Analysis Tool) and SBM (SafetyBarrierManagerr). SBOAT employs principles from stochastic model checking to allow for the quantitative verification of workflows. SBM supports the creation...

Managing knowledge and information on nuclear safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hahn, L.

2005-01-01

Described is the management of nuclear safety knowledge through education networks, knowledge pool, sharing, archiving and distributing the knowledge information. Demonstrated is the system used at Gesellschaft fuer Anlagen-und Reaktorsicherheit

Laser safety tools and training

CERN Document Server

Barat, Ken

2008-01-01

Lasers perform many unique functions in a plethora of applications, but there are many inherent risks with this continually burgeoning technology. Laser Safety: Tools and Training presents simple, effective ways for users in a variety of facilities to evaluate the hazards of any laser procedure and ensure they are following documented laser safety standards.Designed for use as either a stand-alone volume or a supplement to Laser Safety Management, this text includes fundamental laser and laser safety information and critical laser use information rarely found in a single source. The first lase

A tool for safety evaluations of road improvements.

Science.gov (United States)

Peltola, Harri; Rajamäki, Riikka; Luoma, Juha

2013-11-01

Road safety impact assessments are requested in general, and the directive on road infrastructure safety management makes them compulsory for Member States of the European Union. However, there is no widely used, science-based safety evaluation tool available. We demonstrate a safety evaluation tool called TARVA. It uses EB safety predictions as the basis for selecting locations for implementing road-safety improvements and provides estimates of safety benefits of selected improvements. Comparing different road accident prediction methods, we demonstrate that the most accurate estimates are produced by EB models, followed by simple accident prediction models, the same average number of accidents for every entity and accident record only. Consequently, advanced model-based estimates should be used. Furthermore, we demonstrate regional comparisons that benefit substantially from such tools. Comparisons between districts have revealed significant differences. However, comparisons like these produce useful improvement ideas only after taking into account the differences in road characteristics between areas. Estimates on crash modification factors can be transferred from other countries but their benefit is greatly limited if the number of target accidents is not properly predicted. Our experience suggests that making predictions and evaluations using the same principle and tools will remarkably improve the quality and comparability of safety estimations. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Safety-barrier diagrams as a tool for modelling safety of hydrogen applications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Duijm, Nijs Jan; Markert, Frank

2009-01-01

Safety-barrier diagrams have proven to be a useful tool in documenting the safety measures taken to prevent incidents and accidents in process industry. Especially during the introduction of new hydrogen technologies or applications, as e.g. hydrogen refuelling stations, safety-barrier diagrams...... are considered a valuable supplement to other traditional risk analysis tools to support the communication with authorities and other stakeholders during the permitting process. Another advantage of safety-barrier diagrams is that they highlight the importance of functional and reliable safety barriers in any...... system and here is a direct focus on those barriers that need to be subject to safety management in terms of design and installation, operational use, inspection and monitoring, and maintenance. Safety-barrier diagrams support both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The paper will describe...

The use of tacit knowledge in occupational safety and health management systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Podgórski, Daniel

2010-01-01

A systematic approach to occupational safety and health (OSH) management and concepts of knowledge management (KM) have developed independently since the 1990s. Most KM models assume a division of knowledge into explicit and tacit. The role of tacit knowledge is stressed as necessary for higher performance in an enterprise. This article reviews literature on KM applications in OSH. Next, 10 sections of an OSH management system (OSH MS) are identified, in which creating and transferring tacit knowledge contributes significantly to prevention of occupational injuries and diseases. The roles of tacit knowledge in OSH MS are contrasted with those of explicit knowledge, but a lack of a model that would describe this process holistically is pointed out. Finally, examples of methods and tools supporting the use of KM in OSH MS are presented and topics of future research aimed at enhancing KM applications in OSH MS are proposed.

Quantifying system safety: A comparison of the SBOAT & Safety Barrier Manager tools

OpenAIRE

Hansen, Zaza Nadja Lee; Duijm, Nijs Jan; Markert, Frank; Herbert, Luke Thomas

2015-01-01

This paper presents two software tools for analyzing safety risks, SBOAT (Stochastic BPMN Optimisation and Analysis Tool) and SBM (SafetyBarrierManagerr). SBOAT employs principles from stochastic model checking to allow for the quantitative verification of workflows. SBM supports the creation of valid safety-barrier diagrams and allows the quantitative analysis of the probability of all possible end states of the barrier diagram, i.e. the outcomes if one or several of the barriers fail to per...

Initial development of a practical safety audit tool to assess fleet safety management practices.

Science.gov (United States)

Mitchell, Rebecca; Friswell, Rena; Mooren, Lori

2012-07-01

Work-related vehicle crashes are a common cause of occupational injury. Yet, there are few studies that investigate management practices used for light vehicle fleets (i.e. vehicles less than 4.5 tonnes). One of the impediments to obtaining and sharing information on effective fleet safety management is the lack of an evidence-based, standardised measurement tool. This article describes the initial development of an audit tool to assess fleet safety management practices in light vehicle fleets. The audit tool was developed by triangulating information from a review of the literature on fleet safety management practices and from semi-structured interviews with 15 fleet managers and 21 fleet drivers. A preliminary useability assessment was conducted with 5 organisations. The audit tool assesses the management of fleet safety against five core categories: (1) management, systems and processes; (2) monitoring and assessment; (3) employee recruitment, training and education; (4) vehicle technology, selection and maintenance; and (5) vehicle journeys. Each of these core categories has between 1 and 3 sub-categories. Organisations are rated at one of 4 levels on each sub-category. The fleet safety management audit tool is designed to identify the extent to which fleet safety is managed in an organisation against best practice. It is intended that the audit tool be used to conduct audits within an organisation to provide an indicator of progress in managing fleet safety and to consistently benchmark performance against other organisations. Application of the tool by fleet safety researchers is now needed to inform its further development and refinement and to permit psychometric evaluation. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Safety and Mission Assurance Knowledge Management Retention: Managing Knowledge for Successful Mission Operations

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Teresa A.

2006-01-01

Knowledge Management is a proactive pursuit for the future success of any large organization faced with the imminent possibility that their senior managers/engineers with gained experiences and lessons learned plan to retire in the near term. Safety and Mission Assurance (S&MA) is proactively pursuing unique mechanism to ensure knowledge learned is retained and lessons learned captured and documented. Knowledge Capture Event/Activities/Management helps to provide a gateway between future retirees and our next generation of managers/engineers. S&MA hosted two Knowledge Capture Events during 2005 featuring three of its retiring fellows (Axel Larsen, Dave Whittle and Gary Johnson). The first Knowledge Capture Event February 24, 2005 focused on two Safety and Mission Assurance Safety Panels (Space Shuttle System Safety Review Panel (SSRP); Payload Safety Review Panel (PSRP) and the latter event December 15, 2005 featured lessons learned during Apollo, Skylab, and Space Shuttle which could be applicable in the newly created Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV)/Constellation development program. Gemini, Apollo, Skylab and the Space Shuttle promised and delivered exciting human advances in space and benefits of space in people s everyday lives on earth. Johnson Space Center's Safety & Mission Assurance team work over the last 20 years has been mostly focused on operations we are now beginning the Exploration development program. S&MA will promote an atmosphere of knowledge sharing in its formal and informal cultures and work processes, and reward the open dissemination and sharing of information; we are asking "Why embrace relearning the "lessons learned" in the past?" On the Exploration program the focus will be on Design, Development, Test, & Evaluation (DDT&E); therefore, it is critical to understand the lessons from these past programs during the DDT&E phase.

Knowledge Representation in Patient Safety Reporting: An Ontological Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liang Chen

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Purpose: The current development of patient safety reporting systems is criticized for loss of information and low data quality due to the lack of a uniformed domain knowledge base and text processing functionality. To improve patient safety reporting, the present paper suggests an ontological representation of patient safety knowledge. Design/methodology/approach: We propose a framework for constructing an ontological knowledge base of patient safety. The present paper describes our design, implementation, and evaluation of the ontology at its initial stage. Findings: We describe the design and initial outcomes of the ontology implementation. The evaluation results demonstrate the clinical validity of the ontology by a self-developed survey measurement. Research limitations: The proposed ontology was developed and evaluated using a small number of information sources. Presently, US data are used, but they are not essential for the ultimate structure of the ontology. Practical implications: The goal of improving patient safety can be aided through investigating patient safety reports and providing actionable knowledge to clinical practitioners. As such, constructing a domain specific ontology for patient safety reports serves as a cornerstone in information collection and text mining methods. Originality/value: The use of ontologies provides abstracted representation of semantic information and enables a wealth of applications in a reporting system. Therefore, constructing such a knowledge base is recognized as a high priority in health care.

Knowledge Architect : A Tool Suite for Managing Software Architecture Knowledge

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Liang, Peng; Jansen, Anton; Avgeriou, Paris

2009-01-01

Management of software architecture knowledge (AK) is vital for improving an organization’s architectural capabilities. To support the architecting process within our industrial partner: Astron, the Dutch radio astronomy institute, we implemented the Knowledge Architect (KA): a tool suite for

Electronic Safety Resource Tools -- Supporting Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Commercialization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barilo, Nick F.

2014-09-29

The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) Hydrogen Safety Program conducted a planning session in Los Angeles, CA on April 1, 2014 to consider what electronic safety tools would benefit the next phase of hydrogen and fuel cell commercialization. A diverse, 20-person team led by an experienced facilitator considered the question as it applied to the eight most relevant user groups. The results and subsequent evaluation activities revealed several possible resource tools that could greatly benefit users. The tool identified as having the greatest potential for impact is a hydrogen safety portal, which can be the central location for integrating and disseminating safety information (including most of the tools identified in this report). Such a tool can provide credible and reliable information from a trustworthy source. Other impactful tools identified include a codes and standards wizard to guide users through a series of questions relating to application and specific features of the requirements; a scenario-based virtual reality training for first responders; peer networking tools to bring users from focused groups together to discuss and collaborate on hydrogen safety issues; and a focused tool for training inspectors. Table ES.1 provides results of the planning session, including proposed new tools and changes to existing tools.

Pooling knowledge and improving safety for contracted works at a large industrial park.

Science.gov (United States)

Agnello, Patrizia; Ansaldi, Silvia; Bragatto, Paolo

2015-01-01

At a large chemical park maintenance is contracted by the major companies operating the plants to many small firms. The cultural and psychological isolation of contractor workers was recognized a root cause of severe accidents in the recent years. That problem is common in chemical industry. The knowledge sharing has been assumed a good key to involve contractors and sub contractors in safety culture and contributing to injuries prevention. The selection of personal protective equipment PPE for the maintenance works has been taken as benchmark to demonstrate the adequateness of the proposed approach. To support plant operators, contractors and subcontractors in PPE discussion, a method has been developed. Its core is a knowledge-base, organized in an Ontology, as suitable for inferring decisions. By means of this tool all stakeholders have merged experience and information and find out the right PPE, to be provided, with adequate training and information package. PPE selection requires sound competencies about process and environmental hazards, including major accident, preventive and protective measures, maintenance activities. These pieces of knowledge previously fragmented among plant operators and contractors, have to be pooled, and used to find out the adequate PPE for a number of maintenance works. The PPE selection is per se important, but it is also a good chance to break the contractors' isolation and involve them in safety objectives. Thus by pooling experience and practical knowledge, the common understanding of safety issues has been strengthened.

Knowledge management and safety compliance in a high-risk distributed organizational system.

Science.gov (United States)

Gressgård, Leif Jarle

2014-06-01

In a safety perspective, efficient knowledge management is important for learning purposes and thus to prevent errors from occurring repeatedly. The relationship between knowledge exchange among employees and safety behavior may be of particular importance in distributed organizational systems where similar high-risk activities take place at several locations. This study develops and tests hypotheses concerning the relationship between knowledge exchange systems usage, knowledge exchange in the organizational system, and safety compliance. The operational context of the study is petroleum drilling and well operations involving distributed high-risk activities. The hypotheses are tested by use of survey data collected from a large petroleum operator company and eight of its main contractors. The results show that safety compliance is influenced by use of knowledge exchange systems and degree of knowledge exchange in the organizational system, both within and between units. System usage is the most important predictor, and safety compliance seems to be more strongly related to knowledge exchange within units than knowledge exchange between units. Overall, the study shows that knowledge management is central for safety behavior.

Safety Culture Assessment Tools in Nuclear and Non-Nuclear Domains

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mkrtchyan, L.; Turcanu, C.

2012-01-01

Over the last decades, in many domains especially in high risk industries, the authorities paid increasing attention to safety management systems and, in particular, to safety culture. Consequently, in the applied and academic literature a huge amount of studies explored the main challenges, issues and obstacles related with safety culture. We undertake a survey of safety culture experiences in the main safety-critical industries such as nuclear, railways, offshore, aviation, airlines, health care, etc. We review both academic and applied literature up to the year 2011. Our results help to establish a comprehensive view on the subject, its main terminologies, existing tools, and main difficulties. The purpose of this report is to raise awareness about the current tools of safety culture assessment, both in the nuclear as well as in the non-nuclear domain. The report provides also practical recommendations about the possible use of each tool given different circumstances and different factors. We do not aim to rank the tools pointing the best one, but we highlight instead the unique features of these tools, pointing their strong and weak sides

Safety Culture Assessment Tools in Nuclear and Non-Nuclear Domains

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mkrtchyan, L; Turcanu, C

2012-03-15

Over the last decades, in many domains especially in high risk industries, the authorities paid increasing attention to safety management systems and, in particular, to safety culture. Consequently, in the applied and academic literature a huge amount of studies explored the main challenges, issues and obstacles related with safety culture. We undertake a survey of safety culture experiences in the main safety-critical industries such as nuclear, railways, offshore, aviation, airlines, health care, etc. We review both academic and applied literature up to the year 2011. Our results help to establish a comprehensive view on the subject, its main terminologies, existing tools, and main difficulties. The purpose of this report is to raise awareness about the current tools of safety culture assessment, both in the nuclear as well as in the non-nuclear domain. The report provides also practical recommendations about the possible use of each tool given different circumstances and different factors. We do not aim to rank the tools pointing the best one, but we highlight instead the unique features of these tools, pointing their strong and weak sides.

Management of technical knowledge in strengthening the global nuclear safety regime

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kang, C.-S.

2006-01-01

The management of technical knowledge is becoming one of the key issues and challenges in strengthening global nuclear safety. The success of the industry depends on how to optimize knowledge acquisition, transfer and deployment. In this presentation, joint conduct of large-scale R and D work, assurance of free flow of safety-related knowledge from developed to developing nations, and potential imposition of a trade agreement between nuclear exporting and importing nations are discussed. The introduction of a 'Global Nuclear Safety Treaty' could be an excellent mechanism for achieving effective knowledge management and eventually enforcing a global safety regime. (author)

Development of a Safety Management Web Tool for Horse Stables.

Science.gov (United States)

Leppälä, Jarkko; Kolstrup, Christina Lunner; Pinzke, Stefan; Rautiainen, Risto; Saastamoinen, Markku; Särkijärvi, Susanna

2015-11-12

Managing a horse stable involves risks, which can have serious consequences for the stable, employees, clients, visitors and horses. Existing industrial or farm production risk management tools are not directly applicable to horse stables and they need to be adapted for use by managers of different types of stables. As a part of the InnoEquine project, an innovative web tool, InnoHorse, was developed to support horse stable managers in business, safety, pasture and manure management. A literature review, empirical horse stable case studies, expert panel workshops and stakeholder interviews were carried out to support the design. The InnoHorse web tool includes a safety section containing a horse stable safety map, stable safety checklists, and examples of good practices in stable safety, horse handling and rescue planning. This new horse stable safety management tool can also help in organizing work processes in horse stables in general.

Canadian Consumer Food Safety Practices and Knowledge: Foodbook Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Murray, Regan; Glass-Kaastra, Shiona; Gardhouse, Christine; Marshall, Barbara; Ciampa, Nadia; Franklin, Kristyn; Hurst, Matt; Thomas, M Kate; Nesbitt, Andrea

2017-10-01

Understanding consumers' food safety practices and knowledge supports food safety education for the prevention of foodborne illness. The objective of this study was to describe Canadian consumer food safety practices and knowledge. This study identifies demographic groups for targeted food safety education messaging and establishes a baseline measurement to assess the effectiveness of food safety interventions over time. Questions regarding consumer food safety practices and knowledge were included in a population-based telephone survey, Foodbook, conducted from November 2014 to March 2015. The results were analyzed nationally by age group and by gender. The results showed that approximately 90% of Canadians reported taking the recommended cleaning and separating precautions when handling raw meat to prevent foodborne illness. Only 29% of respondents reported using a food thermometer when cooking any meat, and even fewer (12%) reported using a food thermometer for small cuts of meat such as chicken pieces. The majority (>80%) of Canadians were aware of the foodborne illness risks related to chicken and hamburger, but fewer (poultry.

Patient Safety Based Knowledge Management SECI to Improve Nusrsing Students Competency

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joanggi Wiriatarina Harianto

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Patient safety is an important component of health services quality,and  basic principles of patient care. Nursing students also have a great potential to make an action that could endanger the patient, because hospital is one of student practice area. The purpose of this study was to improve the nursing students competency in patient safety by using knowledge management SECI approached. Method: The study used exploratory survey, and quasy experiment. The samples were some of nursing students of STIKes Muhammadiyah Samarinda who were on internship programme that selected using simple random sampling technique, in total of 54 students. This research’s variables were the knowledge management SECI based-patient safety and nursing student’s competency. The data were collected by using questionnaires and observation. The data were analyze by using Partial Least Square (PLS. Result: The result showed that there were significant influence the implementation of a model patient safety based knowledge management seci on increased competence nursing students. Discussion: Improved student competency in patient safety using SECI knowledge management was carried out in four phases, that is Socialization, Externalization, Combination, and Internalization. The result was a new knowledge related to patient safety that able to improve the student’s competency.. Keywords: Patient safety, Knowledge management, SECI, competency

Sun safety knowledge and practice in UK postal delivery workers.

Science.gov (United States)

Houdmont, J; Davis, S; Griffiths, A

2016-06-01

Postal delivery workers spend a large proportion of their work time outdoors, placing them at increased risk of skin cancer. To date, no studies have examined occupational sun safety knowledge and practice within this group in the UK. To describe the occupational sun safety knowledge and practice of UK postal delivery workers and to investigate the association of demographic, personal and occupational factors with knowledge and practice in order to identify potential strategies for improving sun safety in this occupational group. Postal delivery workers completed a questionnaire that collected data on occupational sun safety knowledge and practice in addition to demographic, personal and workplace characteristics. One-way analysis of variances were applied to assess differences in knowledge and practice by these characteristics. A total of 1153 postal delivery workers completed the questionnaire, a 60% response rate. Thirty-three per cent reported receiving sun safety training within the previous 12 months. The majority of respondents reported correct knowledge on three of the six domains and good practice on four of the six behavioural domains. However, only one-fifth of respondents reported wearing sunglasses and ensuring a plentiful intake of water. Knowledge and practice differed significantly according to demographic, personal and workplace characteristics. There is a need to raise the profile of occupational skin cancer in this occupational group and to increase the priority given to occupational sun safety policies alongside targeted and tailored interventions, the effect of which can be evaluated. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine.

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT TOOLS FOR THE EUROPEAN KNOWLEDGE BASED SOCIETY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ramona – Diana Leon

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Increasingly more literature mention that in the current competitive environment, knowledge have become the main source of the competitive advantages, while recent researches regarding economic growth and development have defined knowledge as being the most critical resource of the emerging countries.Therefore, the organizations interest for knowledge has increased, the latter being defined as knowledge management process in order to meet existing needs, to identify and exploit existing and/or acquired knowledge and developing new opportunities.In other words, knowledge management facilitates productive information usage, intelligence growth, storing intellectual capital, strategic planning, flexible acquisition, collection of best practices, increasing the likelihood of being successful as well as a more productive collaboration within the company.In order to benefit from all these advantages, it is required the usage of specific tools including models and systems to stimulate the creation, dissemination and use of knowledge held by each employee and the organization as a whole.

Wikis as the Knowledge Management Tools in Organizations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hossein Pashaeizad

2012-02-01

Full Text Available In an attempt to enhance knowledge, firms and corporations have been overwhelmed with assorted methods for retaining employee wisdom. To pay attention to the benefits of a successful knowledge management program can help create competitive advantage. Therefore, numerous knowledge management solutions have been developed and implemented. Some of these knowledge management initiatives provide a means to accumulate, organize, and access the firm’s most essential asset. With the advent and spread of information and communication technologies, especially Internet, social software and communication tools has risen to the challenge of capturing knowledge with a variety of methods. One of these tools is wiki that provides a new way of collaboration and knowledge sharing. Wiki is a software that allows users to work collectively on a web-based knowledge base. This paper reviews the role of wikis in knowledge creation and management

Is tool-making knowledge robust over time and across problems?

Science.gov (United States)

Beck, Sarah R.; Cutting, Nicola; Apperly, Ian A.; Demery, Zoe; Iliffe, Leila; Rishi, Sonia; Chappell, Jackie

2014-01-01

In three studies, we explored the retention and transfer of tool-making knowledge, learnt from an adult demonstration, to other temporal and task contexts. All studies used a variation of a task in which children had to make a hook tool to retrieve a bucket from a tall transparent tube. Children who failed to innovate the hook tool independently saw a demonstration. In Study 1, we tested children aged 4–6 years (N = 53) who had seen the original demonstration 3 months earlier. Performance was excellent at the second time, indicating that children’s knowledge was retained over the 3 month period. In Studies 2 and 3 we explored transfer of the new knowledge to other tasks. In Study 2, children were given two variants of the apparatus that differed in surface characteristics (e.g., shape and color). Participants generalized their knowledge to these new apparatuses even though the new pipecleaner also differed in size and color. Five- to 6-year-olds (N = 22) almost always transferred their knowledge to problems where the same tool had to be made. Younger, 3- to 5-year-olds’ (N = 46), performance was more variable. In Study 3, 4- to 7-year-olds (N = 146) saw a demonstration of hook making with a pipecleaner, but then had to make a tool by combining pieces of wooden dowel (or vice versa: original training on dowel, transfer to pipecleaner). Children did not transfer their tool-making knowledge to the new material. Children retained tool-making knowledge over time and transferred their knowledge to new situations in which they needed to make a similar tool from similar materials, but not different materials. We concluded that children’s ability to use tool-making knowledge in novel situations is likely to depend on memory and analogical reasoning, with the latter continuing to develop during middle childhood. PMID:25538650

Is tool-making knowledge robust over time and across problems?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sarah Ruth Beck

2014-12-01

Full Text Available In three studies, we explored the retention and transfer of tool-making knowledge, learnt from an adult demonstration, to other temporal and task contexts. All studies used a variation of a task in which children had to make a hook tool to retrieve a bucket from a tall transparent tube. Children who failed to innovate the hook tool independently saw a demonstration.In Study 1, we tested children aged 4 to 6 years (N = 53 who had seen the original demonstration 3 months earlier. Performance was excellent at the second time, indicating that children’s knowledge was retained over the 3 month period. In Studies 2 and 3 we explored transfer of the new knowledge to other tasks. In Study 2, children were given two variants of the apparatus that differed in surface characteristics (e.g. shape and colour. Participants generalised their knowledge to these new apparatuses even though the new pipecleaner also differed in size and colour. Five- to 6-year-olds (n = 22 almost always transferred their knowledge to problems where the same tool had to be made. Younger, 3- to 5-year-olds’ (n = 46, performance was more variable. In Study 3, 4- to 7-year-olds (N = 146 saw a demonstration of hook making with a pipecleaner, but then had to make a tool by combining pieces of wooden dowel (or vice versa: original training on dowel, transfer to pipecleaner. Children did not transfer their tool-making knowledge to the new material. Children retained tool-making knowledge over time and transferred their knowledge to new situations in which they needed to make a similar tool from similar materials, but not different materials. We concluded that children’s ability to use tool-making knowledge in novel situations is likely to depend on memory and analogical reasoning, with the latter continuing to develop during middle childhood.

Integrated knowledge base tool for acquisition and verification of NPP alarm systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Joo Hyun; Seong, Poong Hyun

1998-01-01

Knowledge acquisition and knowledge base verification are important activities in developing knowledge-based systems such as alarm processing systems. In this work, we developed the integrated tool, for knowledge acquisition and verification of NPP alarm processing systems, by using G2 tool. The tool integrates document analysis method and ECPN matrix analysis method, for knowledge acquisition and knowledge verification, respectively. This tool enables knowledge engineers to perform their tasks from knowledge acquisition to knowledge verification consistently

EFFECT OF A ROAD SAFETY EDUCATION INTERVENTION ON ROAD SAFETY KNOWLEDGE OF UNIVERSITY DRIVERS IN IBADAN, NIGERIA.

Science.gov (United States)

Olumide, A O; Owoaje, E T

2016-06-01

It is essential for drivers employed in the formal sector to have good knowledge of road safety in order to safeguard their lives and those of the staff they are employed to drive. The study was conducted to determine the effect of a road safety education intervention on road safety knowledge of drivers employed in the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. A quasi-experimental study of 98 intervention and 78 control drivers selected using a cluster sampling technique was conducted. The intervention comprised a two-day training on road safety and first aid. The drivers' knowledge of road safety was measured at baseline, immediately and 4-months post-intervention. Aggregate scores of road safety knowledge were computed giving minimum and maximum obtainable scores of 0 and 16 respectively. Change in mean scores over the three measurement periods was assessed using Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Independent t-test was used to compare the scores between intervention and control drivers at each of the assessment periods. Twenty-nine drivers did not complete the study (attrition rate = 16.5%). At baseline, mean road safety knowledge scores for the intervention and control drivers were 12.7±2.2 and 12.9± 2.3 (p = 0.510) respectively. Immediately and four months post intervention, the scores of the intervention drivers were 13.8±1.9 and 12.8±1.6; while scores for the controls were 13.3±2.0 and 13.2±1.8. Repeated measures ANOVA revealed that the increase in knowledge over the three assessment periods was not statistically significant. The intervention resulted in an initial increase in road safety knowledge of the intervention drivers. However, this was not sustained to the forth month post-intervention. This finding suggests periodic refresher trainings to sustain the knowledge acquired.

Knowledge Management Tools in Application to Regulatory Body Activity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Volkov, E.

2016-01-01

Full text: The paper presents the application of knowledge management tools to regulatory authority activity. Knowledge management tools are considered a means for improving the efficiency of regulator activities. Three case studies are considered: 1. a knowledge management audit procedure in the regulator (tools for knowledge management audit application, results and the audit outcomes); 2. the development of a guide to identify causes of discrepancies and shortcomings revealed during inspections in NPP maintenance (ontologies of factors influencing on a maintenance quality and causes of discrepancies and shortcoming development); 3. the development of a knowledge portal for regulator (regulator needs which could be covered by the portal, definition and basic function of the portal, it’s functioning principles, development goals and tasks, common model, development stages). (author)

Safety and Mission Assurance Knowledge Management Retention

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Teresa A.

2006-01-01

This viewgraph presentation reviews the issues surrounding the management of knowledge in regards to safety and mission assurance. The JSC workers who were hired in the 1960's are slated to retire in the next two to three years. The experiences and knowledge of these NASA workers must be identified, and disseminated. This paper reviews some of the strategies that the S&MA is developing to capture that valuable institutional knowledge.

The letter knowledge assessment tool.

Science.gov (United States)

Pedro, Cassandra; Lousada, Marisa; Pereira, Rita; Hall, Andreia; Jesus, Luis M T

2017-10-10

There is a need to develop letter knowledge assessment tools to characterise the letter knowledge in Portuguese pre-schoolers and to compare it with pre-schoolers from other countries, but there are no tools for this purpose in Portugal. The aim of this paper is to describe the development and validation procedures of the Prova de Avaliação de Competências de Pré-Literacia (PACPL), which assesses letter knowledge. This study includes data that has been gathered in two phases: pilot and main study. In the pilot study, an expert panel of six speech and language pathologists analysed the instrument. Children (n = 216) aged 5;0-7;11 participated in the main study that reports data related to the psychometric characteristics of the PACPL. Content validity, internal consistency, reliability and contributing factors to performance were examined statistically. A modified Bland-Altman method revealed good agreement amongst evaluators. The main study showed that the PACPL has a very good internal consistency and high inter-rater (96.2% of agreement and a Cohen's k value of 0.92) and intra-rater (95.6% of agreement and a Cohen's k value of 0.91) agreement. Construct validity of the PCAPL was also assured (Cronbach's α of 0.982). Significant differences were found between age groups with children increasing their letter knowledge with age. In addition, they were better at identifying than at producing both letter names and letter sounds. The PACPL is a valid and reliable instrument to assess letter knowledge in Portuguese children.

Restrictive mechanism for safety behaviors and safety attitudes. An analysis focusing on confidence in skills and knowledge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fujita, Tomohiro

2017-01-01

This paper investigates the relationship between confidence in skills and knowledge, and safety behaviors and safety attitudes in industrial organizations. According to previous studies, the influence of individual factors such as confidence in skills and knowledge about safety behaviors and attitudes is not as large as that of organizational factors such as leadership and open communication. However, it is possible that having more skills and knowledge contributes to giving workers a better ability to identify perceived hidden risks leading to injuries and accidents in industrial organizations than among those who have fewer skills and less knowledge. Therefore, this study carried out surveys in 2015 and 2016 targeting workers in the energy industry, and reconsidered the relationship between them by adding unexplored factors such as age and work motivations to the existing model. Multivariate analysis revealed that confidence in skills and knowledge have a negative impact on safety behaviors and attitudes, and aging and work motivations have a positive impact on confidence in skills and knowledge. Then, these results suggest that confidence in skills and knowledge which increases along with aging has a restrictive mechanism for safety behaviors and attitudes. Future studies should cover multidimensional aspects of skills and knowledge and focus on the complex relationship between an organization and groups and individuals in the organization. (author)

European TSO Network (ETSON) as Important Part of International Nuclear Safety Knowledge Networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Teske, Hartmuth; Dierschow, Frank; Eibl-Schwäger, Carla

2014-01-01

Conclusion: • Nuclear networks, including ETSON, are fulfilling their respective and defined specific aims; • Common are such objectives like: – exchange of information; – transfer of knowledge; – support education and training; – collaborate effectively together; – promote coordination and – support harmonization. • Further endeavor are needed to: – Make more significant efforts in promoting the opportunities of collaborative actions; – Use more active the existing features of the modern network tools; – Combine regional or global networks with national web-based knowledge resources by developing and maintaining further the National Nuclear Regulatory Portals. • Nuclear safety and security networks are effectively contributing to build and sustain needed capacities and capabilities

4th ASEM Seminar on Knowledge Management to Enhance Nuclear Safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Castello, F.; Reyes, A. de los; Sobari, M. P. Mohd; Istiyanto, J. E.; Faross, P.; Delarosa, A.

2016-01-01

Full text: The 4th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Seminar on Nuclear Safety was convened in Madrid, Spain on 29th–30th October 2015, hosted by the Spanish Nuclear Safety Council. The seminar’s theme was “Knowledge management to enhance nuclear safety”, which aimed to continue discussing on nuclear safety to foster Asia-Europe capacity-building and cooperation in nuclear safety. The seminar was attended by representatives from national governments, nuclear regulators, energy companies, radiation protection and nuclear safety authorities, research institutes and universities. According to such model, proposed by the IAEA, the national capacity building requires an integrated approach based on four pillars: human resources development, education and training, knowledge management and knowledge networking. In this context, Nuclear Knowledge Management (KM) has become a high priority in many countries and international organizations and it has been taken into account to develop and implement specific strategies in ensuring safe and sustainable operation of nuclear facilities. At national level, a sustainable approach should include the necessary Nuclear Knowledge Management actions to ensure that every actor having a significant role in the national nuclear programmes infrastructure acquires, preserves and improves its corporate and individual knowledge. (author

Social capital and knowledge sharing: effects on patient safety.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Chia-Wen; Huang, Heng-Chiang; Chiang, Chi-Yun; Hsu, Chiu-Ping; Chang, Chia-Chen

2012-08-01

This article is a report on a study that empirically examines the influence of social capital on knowledge sharing and the impact of knowledge sharing on patient safety. Knowledge sharing is linked to many desirable managerial outcomes, including learning and problem-solving, which are essential for patient safety. Rather than studying the tangible effects of rewards, this study examines whether social capital (including social interaction, trust and shared vision) directly supports individual knowledge sharing in an organization. This cross-sectional study analysed data collected through a questionnaire survey of nurses from a major medical centre in northern Taiwan. The data were collected over a 9-month period from 2008 to 2009. The data analysis was conducted using the Partial Least Squares Graph v3.0 program to evaluate the measurement properties and the structural relationships specified in the research model. Based on a large-scale survey, empirical results indicate that Registered Nurses' perceptions of trust and shared vision have statistically significant and direct effects on knowledge sharing. In addition, knowledge sharing is significantly and positively associated with patient safety. The findings suggest that hospital administrators should foster group trust and initiate a common vision among Registered Nurses. In addition, administrators and chief knowledge officers of hospitals should encourage positive intentions towards knowledge sharing. © 2011 The Authors. Journal of Advanced Nursing © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Occupational Safety. Hand Tools. Pre-Apprenticeship Phase 1 Training.

Science.gov (United States)

Lane Community Coll., Eugene, OR.

This self-paced student training module on safety when using hand tools is one of a number of modules developed for Pre-apprenticeship Phase 1 Training. Purpose of the module is to teach students the correct safety techniques for operating common hand- and arm-powered tools, including selection, maintenance, technique, and uses. The module may…

Young workers’ occupational safety knowledge creation and habits

OpenAIRE

Hejduk, Irena; Tomczyk, Przemysław

2015-01-01

The problem of young workers'safety culture is important because of the unfavorable demographic trend occurring in the European Union and determinants of competitiveness and innovativeness of the economy. The paper presents the concept and the importance of safety culture and goals of the research program, the aim of which is the construction and verification of the model based on the transfer of knowledge regarding the safety and methods of its implementation.Safety culture is a der...

OPAD: An expert system for research reactor operations and fault diagnosis using probabilistic safety assessment tools

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Verma, A.K.; Varde, P.V.; Sankar, S.; Prakash, P.

1996-01-01

A prototype Knowledge Based (KB) operator Adviser (OPAD) system has been developed for 100 MW(th) Heavy Water moderated, cooled and Natural Uranium fueled research reactor. The development objective of this system is to improve reliability of operator action and hence the reactor safety at the time of crises as well as normal operation. The jobs performed by this system include alarm analysis, transient identification, reactor safety status monitoring, qualitative fault diagnosis and procedure generation in reactor operation. In order to address safety objectives at various stages of the Operator Adviser (OPAD) system development the Knowledge has been structured using PSA tools/information in an shell environment. To demonstrate the feasibility of using a combination of KB approach with PSA for operator adviser system, salient features of some of the important modules (viz. FUELEX, LOOPEX and LOCAEX) have been discussed. It has been found that this system can serve as an efficient operator support system

Establishing the value of occupational health nurses' contributions to worker health and safety: a pilot test of a user-friendly estimation tool.

Science.gov (United States)

Graeve, Catherine; McGovern, Patricia; Nachreiner, Nancy M; Ayers, Lynn

2014-01-01

Occupational health nurses use their knowledge and skills to improve the health and safety of the working population; however, companies increasingly face budget constraints and may eliminate health and safety programs. Occupational health nurses must be prepared to document their services and outcomes, and use quantitative tools to demonstrate their value to employers. The aim of this project was to create and pilot test a quantitative tool for occupational health nurses to track their activities and potential cost savings for on-site occupational health nursing services. Tool developments included a pilot test in which semi-structured interviews with occupational health and safety leaders were conducted to identify currents issues and products used for estimating the value of occupational health nursing services. The outcome was the creation of a tool that estimates the economic value of occupational health nursing services. The feasibility and potential value of this tool is described.

Knowledge management: the cornerstone of a 21. century safety case

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Umeki, H.; Osawa, H.; Naito, M.; Nakano, K.; Makino, H.; Mc Kinley, I.G.

2008-01-01

The safety case for a radioactive waste repository involves many complex, multi-disciplinary issues; these must be summarised in a comprehensive and concise manner, with links to all supporting information. The safety case can thus be considered an edifice built on structured knowledge. Knowledge is defined here in the very widest sense; including all of the information underpinning a repository project. Knowledge management covers all aspects of the development, integration, quality assurance, communication and maintenance/archiving of such knowledge. When seen from this perspective, the exponential expansion of the knowledge base represents a little-discussed challenge to safety case development. Indeed, knowledge production rates in this area are rapidly reaching, if not already surpassing, the limits of traditional management methods. This problem has been recognised in Japan and thus a project has been initiated to develop a next generation knowledge management system (KMS). This will utilize advanced electronic information management technology to handle the vast quantity of material involved. Autonomic systems will perform many of the information processing functions, helping ensure that required knowledge is accessible to all stakeholders and that gaps can be identified and supporting R and D prioritized. In a departure from conventional structuring by technical discipline, the prototype KMS utilizes a safety case structure. This should facilitate use of the core of neutral scientific and technical knowledge by both the implementer and the regulator. Flexibility is built into the system, to allow it to be restructured to match the user needs or even interfaced directly to a formal requirements management system. (authors)

The Safety Assessment Framework Tool (SAFRAN) - Description, Overview and Applicability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alujevic, Luka

2014-01-01

The SAFRAN tool (Safety Assessment Framework) is a user-friendly software application that incorporates the methodologies developed in the SADRWMS (Safety Assessment Driven Radioactive Waste Management Solutions) project. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) organized the International Project on Safety Assessment Driving Radioactive Waste Management Solutions (SADRWMS) to examine international approaches to safety assessment for predisposal management of all types of radioactive waste, including disused sources, small volumes, legacy and decommissioning waste, operational waste, and large volume naturally occurring radioactive material residues. SAFRAN provides aid in: Describing the predisposal RW management activities in a systematic way, Conducting the SA (safety assessment) with clear documentation of the methodology, assumptions, input data and models, Establishing a traceable and transparent record of the safety basis for decisions on the proposed RW management solutions, Demonstrating clear consideration of and compliance with national and international safety standards and recommendations. The SAFRAN tool allows the user to visibly, systematically and logically address predisposal radioactive waste management and decommissioning challenges in a structured way. It also records the decisions taken in such a way that it constitutes a justifiable safety assessment of the proposed management solutions. The objective of this paper is to describe the SAFRAN architecture and features, properly define the terms safety case and safety assessment, and to predict the future development of the SAFRAN tool and assess its applicability to the construction of a future LILW (Low and Intermediate Level Waste) storage facility and repository in Croatia, taking into account all the capabilities and modelling features of the SAFRAN tool. (author)

Developing tools for the safety specification in risk management plans: lessons learned from a pilot project.

Science.gov (United States)

Cooper, Andrew J P; Lettis, Sally; Chapman, Charlotte L; Evans, Stephen J W; Waller, Patrick C; Shakir, Saad; Payvandi, Nassrin; Murray, Alison B

2008-05-01

Following the adoption of the ICH E2E guideline, risk management plans (RMP) defining the cumulative safety experience and identifying limitations in safety information are now required for marketing authorisation applications (MAA). A collaborative research project was conducted to gain experience with tools for presenting and evaluating data in the safety specification. This paper presents those tools found to be useful and the lessons learned from their use. Archive data from a successful MAA were utilised. Methods were assessed for demonstrating the extent of clinical safety experience, evaluating the sensitivity of the clinical trial data to detect treatment differences and identifying safety signals from adverse event and laboratory data to define the extent of safety knowledge with the drug. The extent of clinical safety experience was demonstrated by plots of patient exposure over time. Adverse event data were presented using dot plots, which display the percentages of patients with the events of interest, the odds ratio, and 95% confidence interval. Power and confidence interval plots were utilised for evaluating the sensitivity of the clinical database to detect treatment differences. Box and whisker plots were used to display laboratory data. This project enabled us to identify new evidence-based methods for presenting and evaluating clinical safety data. These methods represent an advance in the way safety data from clinical trials can be analysed and presented. This project emphasises the importance of early and comprehensive planning of the safety package, including evaluation of the use of epidemiology data.

Open Source for Knowledge and Learning Management: Strategies beyond Tools

Science.gov (United States)

Lytras, Miltiadis, Ed.; Naeve, Ambjorn, Ed.

2007-01-01

In the last years, knowledge and learning management have made a significant impact on the IT research community. "Open Source for Knowledge and Learning Management: Strategies Beyond Tools" presents learning and knowledge management from a point of view where the basic tools and applications are provided by open source technologies.…

Food safety knowledge and hygiene practices among veterinary medicine students at Trakia University, Bulgaria.

Science.gov (United States)

Stratev, Deyan; Odeyemi, Olumide A; Pavlov, Alexander; Kyuchukova, Ralica; Fatehi, Foad; Bamidele, Florence A

The results from the first survey on food safety knowledge, attitudes and hygiene practices (KAP) among veterinary medicine students in Bulgaria are reported in this study. It was designed and conducted from September to December 2015 using structured questionnaires on food safety knowledge, attitudes and practices. Data were collected from 100 undergraduate veterinary medicine students from the Trakia University, Bulgaria. It was observed that the age and the gender did not affect food safety knowledge, attitudes and practices. There was no significant difference (p>0.05) on food safety knowledge and practices among students based on the years of study. A high level of food safety knowledge was observed among the participants (85.06%), however, the practice of food safety was above average (65.28%) while attitude toward food safety was high (70%). Although there was a significant awareness of food safety knowledge among respondents, there is a need for improvement on food safety practices, interventions on food safety and foodborne diseases. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Sun safety knowledge and practice in UK postal delivery workers

OpenAIRE

Houdmont, J.; Davis, S.; Griffiths, A.

2015-01-01

Background: Postal delivery workers spend a large proportion of their work time outdoors, placing them at increased risk for skin cancer. To date, no studies have examined occupational sun safety knowledge and practice within this group in the UK.\\ud Aims: To describe the occupational sun safety knowledge and practice of UK postal delivery workers and to investigate the association of demographic, personal and occupational factors with knowledge and practice in order to identify potential str...

Implementing knowledge management at the Swiss Nuclear Safety Inspectorate (HSK)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schwarz, G.F.; Veyre, J.C.

2007-01-01

The Swiss Nuclear Safety Inspectorate (HSK) currently faces a generation change. In the years 2005 to 2007 up to 15 retirements of experienced experts are anticipated. Within only three years HSK will have to replace one third of its management and will at the same time loose valuable know-how. Experience has taught us that it becomes increasingly difficult to replace the leaving employees by qualified specialists. Consequently recruitment and training of new staff members becomes more time-consuming and expensive. HSK considers knowledge management to be a valuable tool in order to cope with this change. Therefore a concept has been developed, which evaluates the existing or planned elements of knowledge management considering the amount of work, the benefit and the feasibility and combining them to an efficient system. By doing so HSK encountered two specific problems: - Generally there is rather too much information than too little within an organization. However the information available is not in the required form. Much knowledge is stored unstructured in the offices of the experts and can therefore only be accessed with their aid. Since it is very expensive to compile and collate any unstructured information, it is absolutely important to identify the valuable knowledge of the organization. One must permanently assure that the necessary knowledge is present and that information no longer required is removed from the system. - Knowledge is not only explicit. A large portion of knowledge is tacit in the heads of the employees. It is very difficult to convert this tacit knowledge into an explicit form. It can therefore not be processed electronically not even with the best data base systems and search engines. In this context, technology is important but technology alone can not resolve every problem. Personnel development is just as important. Ways must be found to pass on tacit knowledge within the staff. With its management system HSK possesses a powerful

STARS software tool for analysis of reliability and safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Poucet, A.; Guagnini, E.

1989-01-01

This paper reports on the STARS (Software Tool for the Analysis of Reliability and Safety) project aims at developing an integrated set of Computer Aided Reliability Analysis tools for the various tasks involved in systems safety and reliability analysis including hazard identification, qualitative analysis, logic model construction and evaluation. The expert system technology offers the most promising perspective for developing a Computer Aided Reliability Analysis tool. Combined with graphics and analysis capabilities, it can provide a natural engineering oriented environment for computer assisted reliability and safety modelling and analysis. For hazard identification and fault tree construction, a frame/rule based expert system is used, in which the deductive (goal driven) reasoning and the heuristic, applied during manual fault tree construction, is modelled. Expert system can explain their reasoning so that the analyst can become aware of the why and the how results are being obtained. Hence, the learning aspect involved in manual reliability and safety analysis can be maintained and improved

Knowledge Management in TENCompetence: concepts & tools

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lemmers, Ruud

2009-01-01

Lemmers, R. (2009). Knowledge Management in TENCompetence: concepts & tools. Presented at the 'Open workshop of TENCompetence - Rethinking Learning and Employment at a Time of Economic Uncertainty-event. November, 19, 2009, Manchester, United Kingdom: TENCompetence.

Development of IFC based fire safety assesment tools

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Taciuc, Anca; Karlshøj, Jan; Dederichs, Anne

2016-01-01

Due to the impact that the fire safety design has on the building's layout and on other complementary systems, as installations, it is important during the conceptual design stage to evaluate continuously the safety level in the building. In case that the task is carried out too late, additional...... changes need to be implemented, involving supplementary work and costs with negative impact on the client. The aim of this project is to create a set of automatic compliance checking rules for prescriptive design and to develop a web application tool for performance based design that retrieves data from...... Building Information Models (BIM) to evacuate the safety level in the building during the conceptual design stage. The findings show that the developed tools can be useful in AEC industry. Integrating BIM from conceptual design stage for analyzing the fire safety level can ensure precision in further...

Development of a Nursing Handoff Tool: A Web-Based Application to Enhance Patient Safety

Science.gov (United States)

Goldsmith, Denise; Boomhower, Marc; Lancaster, Diane R.; Antonelli, Mary; Kenyon, Mary Anne Murphy; Benoit, Angela; Chang, Frank; Dykes, Patricia C.

2010-01-01

Dynamic and complex clinical environments present many challenges for effective communication among health care providers. The omission of accurate, timely, easily accessible vital information by health care providers significantly increases risk of patient harm and can have devastating consequences for patient care. An effective nursing handoff supports the standardized transfer of accurate, timely, critical patient information, as well as continuity of care and treatment, resulting in enhanced patient safety. The Brigham and Women’s/Faulkner Hospital Healthcare Information Technology Innovation Program (HIP) is supporting the development of a web based nursing handoff tool (NHT). The goal of this project is to develop a “proof of concept” handoff application to be evaluated by nurses on the inpatient intermediate care units. The handoff tool would enable nurses to use existing knowledge of evidence-based handoff methodology in their everyday practice to improve patient care and safety. In this paper, we discuss the results of nursing focus groups designed to identify the current state of handoff practice as well as the functional and data element requirements of a web based Nursing Handoff Tool (NHT). PMID:21346980

Assessment of Contributions to Patient Safety Knowledge by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality-Funded Patient Safety Projects

Science.gov (United States)

Sorbero, Melony E S; Ricci, Karen A; Lovejoy, Susan; Haviland, Amelia M; Smith, Linda; Bradley, Lily A; Hiatt, Liisa; Farley, Donna O

2009-01-01

Objective To characterize the activities of projects funded in Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)' patient safety portfolio and assess their aggregate potential to contribute to knowledge development. Data Sources Information abstracted from proposals for projects funded in AHRQ' patient safety portfolio, information on safety practices from the AHRQ Evidence Report on Patient Safety Practices, and products produced by the projects. Study Design This represented one part of the process evaluation conducted as part of a longitudinal evaluation based on the Context–Input–Process–Product model. Principal Findings The 234 projects funded through AHRQ' patient safety portfolio examined a wide variety of patient safety issues and extended their work beyond the hospital setting to less studied parts of the health care system. Many of the projects implemented and tested practices for which the patient safety evidence report identified a need for additional evidence. The funded projects also generated a substantial body of new patient safety knowledge through a growing number of journal articles and other products. Conclusions The projects funded in AHRQ' patient safety portfolio have the potential to make substantial contributions to the knowledge base on patient safety. The full value of this new knowledge remains to be confirmed through the synthesis of results. PMID:21456108

The use of GIS tools for road infrastructure safety management

Science.gov (United States)

Budzyński, Marcin; Kustra, Wojciech; Okraszewska, Romanika; Jamroz, Kazimierz; Pyrchla, Jerzy

2018-01-01

There are many factors that influence accidents and their severity. They can be grouped within the system of man, vehicle and environment. The article focuses on how GIS tools can be used to manage road infrastructure safety. To ensure a better understanding and identification of road factors, GIS tools help with the acquisition of road parameter data. Their other role is helping with a clear and effective presentation of risk ranking. GIS is key to identifying high-risk sections and supports the effective communication of safety levels. This makes it a vital element of safety management. The article describes the use of GIS for the collection and visualisation of road parameter data which are not available in any of the existing databases, i.e. horizontal curve parameters. As we know from research and statistics, they are important factors that determine the safety of road infrastructure. Finally, new research is proposed as well as the possibilities for applying GIS tools for the purposes of road safety inspection.

Parental Knowledge of Trampoline Safety in Children.

Science.gov (United States)

Beno, Suzanne; Ackery, Alun; Colaco, Keith; Boutis, Kathy

2018-03-01

Recreational trampoline use is increasing in popularity, with a resulting increase in significant trampoline-related injuries in children. Parents are the best advocates for the safety of their children during recreational trampoline use. Our primary objective was to determine the proportion of parents who were aware of 5 key recommendations for safer recreational trampoline use in children. This was a cross-sectional survey of parents whose children presented to a tertiary care pediatric emergency department with an extremity injury. Survey questions were derived and validated using expert opinion, available literature, and pre- and pilot testing of questions on the target audience. Of the 1415 enrolled parents, 654 (46.2%) had regular access to a trampoline and 125 (8.8%) of their children had a history of trampoline injury. A total of 116 (8.2%; 95% confidence interval, 6.8-9.6) parents were aware of all 5 key safety recommendations for home trampoline use. Specifically, the proportion of parents who reported knowledge of the requirement for active supervision, regularly inspected safety equipment, avoiding stunts, multiple jumpers, and use by children 6 years of age and older was 89.0%, 77.2%, 44.3%, 41.6%, and 18.3%, respectively. Trampoline safety knowledge of the 5 key recommendations among parents was low, specifically with respect to recommended age, number of jumpers, and stunts. Because it is unlikely that use of recreational trampolines will decrease, a harm reduction approach that includes a public knowledge translation strategy of recommendations for safer home use of trampolines is necessary. Copyright © 2017 Academic Pediatric Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Biosensor: an emerging safety tool for meat industry.

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Pradeep Kumar; Jairath, Gauri; Ahlawat, Satyavir Singh; Pathera, Ashok; Singh, Prashant

2016-04-01

The meat industry associated with the health hazards like deadly pathogens, veterinary drugs, pesticide residues, toxins and heavy metals is in need of a tool to tackle the awful situation and ensure safer product to consumer. The growth in the industry, global trade scenario, stringent laws and consumer awareness has placed an extra onus on the meat industry to meet out the expectations and demands. Biosensors are the latest tool of detection in the fast growing industries including the food industry. Hence an attempt is envisaged here to review the possibility of harnessing biosensors as tool of safety to safe guard the consumer health and address safety issues in reference to the common threats of concern in the meat industry.

Using a Training Video to Improve Agricultural Workers' Knowledge of On-Farm Food Safety

Science.gov (United States)

Mathiasen, Lisa; Morley, Katija; Chapman, Benjamin; Powell, Douglas

2012-01-01

A training video was produced and evaluated to assess its impact on the food safety knowledge of agricultural workers. Increasing food safety knowledge on the farm may help to improve the safety of fresh produce. Surveys were used to measure workers' food safety knowledge before and after viewing the video. Focus groups were used to determine…

KM Tools and Technologies that Share Distribute Knowledge

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ileana Hauer

2008-10-01

Full Text Available The exponential increase in information, primarily due to the electronic capture of data and its storage in vast data warehouses, has created a demand for analyzing the large amount of data generated by today’s organizations so that enterprise can respond quickly to fast changing markets. There are various tools and technologies that can be used to share and distribute knowledge, include e-mail, groupware, data mining ,expert systems and others. The paper outlines these technologies, which dominate the technical tools for sharing knowledge from an organizations data assets and finally. The case study, an Expert System, use expert knowledge to attain highlevel decision performance in a narrow domain.

Knowledge Translation Tools are Emerging to Move Neck Pain Research into Practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Macdermid, Joy C; Miller, Jordan; Gross, Anita R

2013-01-01

Development or synthesis of the best clinical research is in itself insufficient to change practice. Knowledge translation (KT) is an emerging field focused on moving knowledge into practice, which is a non-linear, dynamic process that involves knowledge synthesis, transfer, adoption, implementation, and sustained use. Successful implementation requires using KT strategies based on theory, evidence, and best practice, including tools and processes that engage knowledge developers and knowledge users. Tools can provide instrumental help in implementing evidence. A variety of theoretical frameworks underlie KT and provide guidance on how tools should be developed or implemented. A taxonomy that outlines different purposes for engaging in KT and target audiences can also be useful in developing or implementing tools. Theoretical frameworks that underlie KT typically take different perspectives on KT with differential focus on the characteristics of the knowledge, knowledge users, context/environment, or the cognitive and social processes that are involved in change. Knowledge users include consumers, clinicians, and policymakers. A variety of KT tools have supporting evidence, including: clinical practice guidelines, patient decision aids, and evidence summaries or toolkits. Exemplars are provided of two KT tools to implement best practice in management of neck pain-a clinician implementation guide (toolkit) and a patient decision aid. KT frameworks, taxonomies, clinical expertise, and evidence must be integrated to develop clinical tools that implement best evidence in the management of neck pain.

Knowledge Management tools integration within DLR's concurrent engineering facility

Science.gov (United States)

Lopez, R. P.; Soragavi, G.; Deshmukh, M.; Ludtke, D.

The complexity of space endeavors has increased the need for Knowledge Management (KM) tools. The concept of KM involves not only the electronic storage of knowledge, but also the process of making this knowledge available, reusable and traceable. Establishing a KM concept within the Concurrent Engineering Facility (CEF) has been a research topic of the German Aerospace Centre (DLR). This paper presents the current KM tools of the CEF: the Software Platform for Organizing and Capturing Knowledge (S.P.O.C.K.), the data model Virtual Satellite (VirSat), and the Simulation Model Library (SimMoLib), and how their usage improved the Concurrent Engineering (CE) process. This paper also exposes the lessons learned from the introduction of KM practices into the CEF and elaborates a roadmap for the further development of KM in CE activities at DLR. The results of the application of the Knowledge Management tools have shown the potential of merging the three software platforms with their functionalities, as the next step towards the fully integration of KM practices into the CE process. VirSat will stay as the main software platform used within a CE study, and S.P.O.C.K. and SimMoLib will be integrated into VirSat. These tools will support the data model as a reference and documentation source, and as an access to simulation and calculation models. The use of KM tools in the CEF aims to become a basic practice during the CE process. The settlement of this practice will result in a much more extended knowledge and experience exchange within the Concurrent Engineering environment and, consequently, the outcome of the studies will comprise higher quality in the design of space systems.

A tool for assessment of animal health laboratory safety and biosecurity: The safety module of the Food and Agriculture Organization’s laboratory mapping tool

OpenAIRE

Mouillé, B; Dauphin, G; Wiersma, L; Blacksell, SD; Claes, F; Kalpravidh, W; Kabore, Y; Hietala, S

2018-01-01

The Laboratory Management Tool (LMT) is a standardized spreadsheet-based assessment tool developed to help support national, regional, and global efforts to maintain an effective network of animal health and veterinary public health laboratories. The safety and biosecurity module of the LMT (LMT-S) includes 98 measures covering administrative, operational, engineering, and personal protective equipment practices used to provide laboratory safety and biosecurity. Performance aspects of laborat...

Knowledge management for assuring high standards in nuclear safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hahn, L.

2004-01-01

The primary incentives for introducing knowledge management in organisations active in the nuclear field are the impending loss of knowledge due to an ageing workforce and the necessity to transfer knowledge to the next generation. However, knowledge management may reach much further, and it is shown that ultimately, the goals of knowledge management are congruent with establishing, maintaining and further developing high standards of safety. Knowledge-based activities to reach these goals are discussed, and examples given for producing, utilising and sharing knowledge in organisations and in national and international networks. (author)

PSA - a tool for the nuclear safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Himanen, R.

1992-01-01

The PSA-model for BWR-type reactors of Finnish power company, Teollisuuden Voima Oy (TVO) was finished in year 1989. This basic PSA model included all safety systems, normal operating systems and auxiliary systems. Today TVO is working to enlarge the PSA to level 2 (environmental effects, for the fires, for the floodings and the outages). The TVO's experiences has been showed the PSA an useful tool for the developing the safety of BWR's (orig.)

The use of case tools in OPG safety analysis code qualification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pascoe, J.; Cheung, A.; Westbye, C.

2001-01-01

Ontario Power Generation (OPG) is currently qualifying its critical safety analysis software. The software quality assurance (SQA) framework is described. Given the legacy nature of much of the safety analysis software the reverse engineering methodology has been adopted. The safety analysis suite of codes was developed over a period of many years to differing standards of quality and had sparse or incomplete documentation. Key elements of the reverse engineering process require recovery of design information from existing coding. This recovery, if performed manually, could represent an enormous effort. Driven by a need to maximize productivity and enhance the repeatability and objectivity of software qualification activities the decision was made to acquire or develop and implement Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE) tools. This paper presents relevant background information on CASE tools and discusses how the OPG SQA requirements were used to assess the suitability of available CASE tools. Key findings from the application of CASE tools to the qualification of the OPG safety analysis software are discussed. (author)

A Tool for Assessment of Animal Health Laboratory Safety and Biosecurity: The Safety Module of the Food and Agriculture Organization’s Laboratory Mapping Tool

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Beatrice Mouillé

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The Laboratory Management Tool (LMT is a standardized spreadsheet-based assessment tool developed to help support national, regional, and global efforts to maintain an effective network of animal health and veterinary public health laboratories. The safety and biosecurity module of the LMT (LMT-S includes 98 measures covering administrative, operational, engineering, and personal protective equipment practices used to provide laboratory safety and biosecurity. Performance aspects of laboratory infrastructure and technical compliance considered fundamental for ensuring that a laboratory is able to appropriately function in a safe and biosecure manner are systematically queried and scored for compliance on a four-point scale providing for a semi-quantitative assessment. Data collected is used to generate graphs and tables mapping levels of compliance with international standards and good practices, as well as for documenting progress over time. The LMT-S was employed by trained auditors in 34 laboratories located in 19 countries between 2015 and 2017. The tool is intended to help standardize animal health laboratory assessments, document compliance with recognized laboratory safety and biosecurity measures, serve as a self-help and training tool, and assist global laboratory development efforts by providing an accurate measurement of laboratory safety and biosecurity at local, national, and regional levels.

Tools for road infrastructure safety management in poland

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kustra Wojciech

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Road safety can be improved by implementing principles of road safety infrastructure management (RIS on the network of European roads as adopted in the Directive. The document recommends that member states should use tried and tested tools for road safety management such as: road safety impact assessment (RIA, road safety audit (RSA, safety management on existing road networks including road safety ranking (RSM and road safety inspection (RSI. The objective of the methods is to help road authorities to take rational decisions in the area of road safety and road infrastructure safety and understand the consequences occurring in the particular phases of road life cycle. To help with assessing the impact of a road project on the safety of related roads, a method was developed for long-term forecasts of accidents and accident cost estimation as well as a risk classification to identify risks that are not acceptable risks. With regard to road safety audits and road safety inspection, a set of principles was developed to identify risks and the basic classification of mistakes and omissions.

Knowledge is power: averting safety-compromising events in the OR.

Science.gov (United States)

Catalano, Kathleen

2008-12-01

Surgical procedures can be unpredictable, and safety-compromising events can jeopardize patient safety. Perioperative nurses should be watchful for factors that can contribute to safety-compromising events, as well as the errors that can follow, and know how to avert them if possible. Knowledge is power and increased awareness of patient safety issues and the resources that are available to both health care practitioners and consumers can help perioperative nurses ward off patient safety problems before they occur.

Data-Centric Knowledge Discovery Strategy for a Safety-Critical Sensor Application

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nilamadhab Mishra

2014-01-01

Full Text Available In an indoor safety-critical application, sensors and actuators are clustered together to accomplish critical actions within a limited time constraint. The cluster may be controlled by a dedicated programmed autonomous microcontroller device powered with electricity to perform in-network time critical functions, such as data collection, data processing, and knowledge production. In a data-centric sensor network, approximately 3–60% of the sensor data are faulty, and the data collected from the sensor environment are highly unstructured and ambiguous. Therefore, for safety-critical sensor applications, actuators must function intelligently within a hard time frame and have proper knowledge to perform their logical actions. This paper proposes a knowledge discovery strategy and an exploration algorithm for indoor safety-critical industrial applications. The application evidence and discussion validate that the proposed strategy and algorithm can be implemented for knowledge discovery within the operational framework.

APMS: An Integrated Set of Tools for Measuring Safety

Science.gov (United States)

Statler, Irving C.; Reynard, William D. (Technical Monitor)

1996-01-01

This is a report of work in progress. In it, I summarize the status of the research and development of the Aviation Performance Measuring System (APMS) for managing, processing, and analyzing digital flight-recorded data. The objectives of the NASA-FAA APMS research project are to establish a sound scientific and technological basis for flight-data analysis, to define an open and flexible architecture for flight-data-analysis systems, and to articulate guidelines for a standardized database structure on which to continue to build future flight-data-analysis extensions. APMS will offer to the air transport community an open, voluntary standard for flight-data-analysis software, a standard that will help to ensure suitable functionality, and data interchangeability, among competing software programs. APMS will develop and document the methodologies, algorithms, and procedures for data management and analyses to enable users to easily interpret the implications regarding safety and efficiency of operations. APMS does not entail the implementation of a nationwide flight-data-collection system. It is intended to provide technical tools to ease the large-scale implementation of flight-data analyses at both the air-carrier and the national-airspace levels in support of their Flight Operations and Quality Assurance (FOQA) Programs and Advanced Qualifications Programs (AQP). APMS cannot meet its objectives unless it develops tools that go substantially beyond the capabilities of the current commercially available software and supporting analytic methods that are mainly designed to count special events. These existing capabilities, while of proven value, were created primarily with the needs of air crews in mind. APMS tools must serve the needs of the government and air carriers, as well as air crews, to fully support the FOQA and AQP programs. They must be able to derive knowledge not only through the analysis of single flights (special-event detection), but through

Food Safety Knowledge and Practices of Male Adolescents in West of Iran.

Science.gov (United States)

Mirzaei, Amin; Nourmoradi, Heshmatollah; Zavareh, Mohammad Sadegh Abedzadeh; Jalilian, Mohsen; Mansourian, Morteza; Mazloomi, Sajad; Mokhtari, Neda; Mokhtari, Fariba

2018-05-20

Every year many people around the world become infected with food-borne infections. Insufficient knowledge and skills related to food safety and hygiene are among the factors affecting the incidence of food-borne diseases, especially in adolescents. The purpose of this study was to determine the knowledge and practices associated with food safety and hygiene in Ilam city male adolescents. Three hundred and eighty of male adolescents aged 13 to 19 were selected randomly and entered the cross-sectional study. Data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire From December 2016 to February 2017. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, independent t-test and one-way ANOVA were used to analyse the data in SPSS software (version 19.0). The findings of the study showed a positive and significant relationship between knowledge and practices related to food safety and hygiene (r = 0.122; p = 0.018). Also, the findings showed that food safety knowledge and practice of adolescents were significantly affected by the level of their education, parental education level, parental employment status and household economic conditions, (p < 0.005). Also, the results showed that the participants generally obtained 57.74% of the knowledge score and 57.63% of practices score. The subjects had the most knowledge about food supply and storage (60%), and the highest practice was related to personal and environmental hygiene, (61.73%). The inadequacy of knowledge and performance of adolescents about food safety and hygiene shows the need for implementation of health education interventions in this area.

Test tools of physics radiography children as a support for safety radiation and safety patients

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Siti Masrochah; Yeti Kartikasari; Ardi Soesilo Wibowo

2013-01-01

Radiographic examination of the thorax children aged 1-3 years have a high sufficiently failure. This failure is caused by the movement and difficulty positioning the patient, resulting in the risk of repeat radiographs to patient safety particularly unnecessary radiation risks. It is therefore necessary to develop research on children design fixation devices. This research aims to create a design tool fixation on radiographs children to support radiation safety and patient safety. This research is a descriptive exploratory approach to tool design. The independent variables were the design tools, variable tool function test results, and radiographic variables controlled thorax. The procedure is done by designing data collection tools, further trials with 20 samples. Processing and analysis of data is done by calculating the performance assessment tool scores with range 1-3. The results showed that the design tool of fixation in the form of standard radiographic cassette equipped with chairs and some form of seat belt fixation. The procedure uses a tool fixation is routine radiographic follow thorax child in an upright position. Function test results aids fixation is to have an average score of 2.66, which means good. While the test results for each component, the majority of respondents stated that the reliability of the device is quite good with a score of 2.45 (60 %), convenience tool with a score of 2.60 (70 %), quality of the radiographs did not incontinence of the thorax radiograph with a score 2.55 (85 %), the child protection (security) with a score of 2.70 (70 %), good design aesthetic design with a score of 2.80 (80 %), addition of radiation from the others on the use of these tools do not need with a score of 2.80 (80 %), and there is no additional radiation due to repetitions with a score of 2.85 (90 %). (author)

A web-based tool for the Comprehensive Unit-based Safety Program (CUSP).

Science.gov (United States)

Pronovost, Peter J; King, Jay; Holzmueller, Christine G; Sawyer, Melinda; Bivens, Shauna; Michael, Michelle; Haig, Kathy; Paine, Lori; Moore, Dana; Miller, Marlene

2006-03-01

An organization's ability to change is driven by its culture, which in turn has a significant impact on safety. The six-step Comprehensive Unit-Based Safety Program (CUSP) is intended to improve local culture and safety. A Web-based project management tool for CUSP was developed and then pilot tested at two hospitals. HOW ECUSP WORKS: Once a patient safety concern is identified (step 3), a unit-level interdisciplinary safety committee determines issue criticality and starts up the projects (step 4), which are managed using project management tools within eCUSP (step 5). On a project's completion, the results are disseminated through a shared story (step 6). OSF St. Joseph's Medical Center-The Medical Birthing Center (Bloomington, Illinois), identified 11 safety issues, implemented 11 projects, and created 9 shared stories--including one for its Armband Project. The Johns Hopkins Hospital (Baltimore) Medical Progressive Care (MPC4) Unit identified 5 safety issues and implemented 4 ongoing projects, including the intravenous (IV) Tubing Compliance Project. The eCUSP tool's success depends on an organizational commitment to creating a culture of safety.

Modeling patient safety incidents knowledge with the Categorial Structure method.

Science.gov (United States)

Souvignet, Julien; Bousquet, Cédric; Lewalle, Pierre; Trombert-Paviot, Béatrice; Rodrigues, Jean Marie

2011-01-01

Following the WHO initiative named World Alliance for Patient Safety (PS) launched in 2004 a conceptual framework developed by PS national reporting experts has summarized the knowledge available. As a second step, the Department of Public Health of the University of Saint Etienne team elaborated a Categorial Structure (a semi formal structure not related to an upper level ontology) identifying the elements of the semantic structure underpinning the broad concepts contained in the framework for patient safety. This knowledge engineering method has been developed to enable modeling patient safety information as a prerequisite for subsequent full ontology development. The present article describes the semantic dissection of the concepts, the elicitation of the ontology requirements and the domain constraints of the conceptual framework. This ontology includes 134 concepts and 25 distinct relations and will serve as basis for an Information Model for Patient Safety.

Navigation Tools and Equipment and How They Have Improved Aviation Safety

OpenAIRE

Sulaiman D. S Alsahli FadalahassanALfadala

2017-01-01

This paper highlights the impact of navigation tools and equipment, such as the GPS, navigation radar, and other communications tools, which aid in ensuring aviation safety. It emphasizes the need for aviation safety and how these navigation methods are of great help to reduce the hazards and clearly indicate the problems related to the aircraft, aircraft traffic management, weather disturbances, among others. It also recommends how these tools and equipment must be further developed to promo...

The Role of the Radiation Safety Information Computational Center (RSICC) in Knowledge Management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Valentine, T.

2016-01-01

Full text: The Radiation Safety Information Computational Center (RSICC) is an information analysis center that collects, archives, evaluates, synthesizes and distributes information, data and codes that are used in various nuclear technology applications. RSICC retains more than 2,000 packages that have been provided by contributors from various agencies. RSICC’s customers obtain access to such computing codes (source and/or executable versions) and processed nuclear data files to promote on-going research, to help ensure nuclear and radiological safety, and to advance nuclear technology. The role of such information analysis centers is critical for supporting and sustaining nuclear education and training programmes both domestically and internationally, as the majority of RSICC’s customers are students attending U.S. universities. RSICC also supports and promotes workshops and seminars in nuclear science and technology to further the use and/or development of computational tools and data. Additionally, RSICC operates a secure CLOUD computing system to provide access to sensitive export-controlled modeling and simulation (M&S) tools that support both domestic and international activities. This presentation will provide a general review of RSICC’s activities, services, and systems that support knowledge management and education and training in the nuclear field. (author

SafetyBarrierManager, a software tool to perform risk analysis using ARAMIS's principles

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Duijm, Nijs Jan

2017-01-01

of the ARAMIS project, Risø National Laboratory started developing a tool that could implement these methodologies, leading to SafetyBarrierManager. The tool is based on the principles of “safety‐barrier diagrams”, which are very similar to “bowties”, with the possibility of performing quantitative analysis......The ARAMIS project resulted in a number of methodologies, dealing with among others: the development of standard fault trees and “bowties”; the identification and classification of safety barriers; and including the quality of safety management into the quantified risk assessment. After conclusion....... The tool allows constructing comprehensive fault trees, event trees and safety‐barrier diagrams. The tool implements the ARAMIS idea of a set of safety barrier types, to which a number of safety management issues can be linked. By rating the quality of these management issues, the operational probability...

Food Safety Practices Assessment Tool: An Innovative Way to Test Food Safety Skills among Individuals with Special Needs

Science.gov (United States)

Carbone, Elena T.; Scarpati, Stanley E.; Pivarnik, Lori F.

2013-01-01

This article describes an innovative assessment tool designed to evaluate the effectiveness of a food safety skills curriculum for learners receiving special education services. As schools respond to the increased demand for training students with special needs about food safety, the need for effective curricula and tools is also increasing. A…

MATHEMATICAL APPARATUS FOR KNOWLEDGE BASE PROJECT MANAGEMENT OF OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Валентина Николаевна ПУРИЧ

2015-05-01

Full Text Available The occupational safety project (OSP management is aimed onto a rational choice implementation. With respect to the subjectivity of management goals the project selection is considered as a minimum formalization level information process, The proposed project selection model relies upon the enterprise’s occupational and industrial safety assessment using fuzzy logic and linguistic variables based on occupational safety knowledge base.

An ontological knowledge based system for selection of process monitoring and analysis tools

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Singh, Ravendra; Gernaey, Krist; Gani, Rafiqul

2010-01-01

monitoring and analysis tools for a wide range of operations has made their selection a difficult, time consuming and challenging task. Therefore, an efficient and systematic knowledge base coupled with an inference system is necessary to support the optimal selection of process monitoring and analysis tools......, satisfying the process and user constraints. A knowledge base consisting of the process knowledge as well as knowledge on measurement methods and tools has been developed. An ontology has been designed for knowledge representation and management. The developed knowledge base has a dual feature. On the one...... procedures has been developed to retrieve the data/information stored in the knowledge base....

The role of knowledge management tools in supporting sustainable forest management

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vacik, H.; Torresan, C.; Hujala, T.; Khadka, C.; Reynolds, K.

2013-07-01

Aim of study: Knowledge Management (KM) tools facilitate the implementation of knowledge processes by identifying, creating, structuring, and sharing knowledge through use of information technology in order to improve decision-making. In this contribution, we review the way in which KM tools and techniques are used in forest management, and categorize a selected set of them according to their contribution to support decision makers in the phases of problem identification, problem modelling, and problem solving. Material and methods: Existing examples of cognitive mapping tools, web portals, work flow systems, best practices, and expert systems as well as intelligent agents are screened for their applicability and use in the context of decision support for sustainable forest management. Evidence from scientific literature and case studies is utilized to evaluate the contribution of the different KM tools to support problem identification, problem modelling, and problem solving. Main results: Intelligent agents, expert systems and cognitive maps support all phases of the forest planning process strongly. Web based tools have good potential to support participatory forest planning. Based on the needs of forest management decision support and the thus-far under utilized capabilities of KM tools it becomes evident that future decision analysis will have to consider the use of KM more intensively. Research highlights: As the problem-solving process is the vehicle for connecting both knowledge and decision making performance, the next generation of DSS will need to better encapsulate practices that enhance and promote knowledge management. Web based tools will substitute desktop applications by utilizing various model libraries on the internet. (Author)

Knowledge management: an analysis of the tools of expert knowledge capture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fernandez Larcher, A.

2009-01-01

This work proposes the revision of the strategies and tools used to elicit and capture expert knowledge, particularly those suggested by the EPRI and the IAEA. The main objective of this paper consists of examining the effectiveness and scope of the methodologies proposed, in order to apply them and make them suitable according to our institutional context. This article emphasizes the value and usefulness of the interview's methods with the aim of implementing some of them to the activities created and organized by CNEA Nuclear Knowledge Management Group, especially to the ConRRad Project. (author)

Training Children in Pedestrian Safety: Distinguishing Gains in Knowledge from Gains in Safe Behavior

OpenAIRE

Schwebel, David C.; McClure, Leslie A.

2014-01-01

Pedestrian injuries contribute greatly to child morbidity and mortality. Recent evidence suggests that training within virtual pedestrian environments may improve children’s street crossing skills, but may not convey knowledge about safety in street environments. We hypothesized that (a) children will gain pedestrian safety knowledge via videos/software/internet websites, but not when trained by virtual pedestrian environment or other strategies; (b) pedestrian safety knowledge will be associ...

Cultural safety and the challenges of translating critically oriented knowledge in practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Browne, Annette J; Varcoe, Colleen; Smye, Victoria; Reimer-Kirkham, Sheryl; Lynam, M Judith; Wong, Sabrina

2009-07-01

Cultural safety is a relatively new concept that has emerged in the New Zealand nursing context and is being taken up in various ways in Canadian health care discourses. Our research team has been exploring the relevance of cultural safety in the Canadian context, most recently in relation to a knowledge-translation study conducted with nurses practising in a large tertiary hospital. We were drawn to using cultural safety because we conceptualized it as being compatible with critical theoretical perspectives that foster a focus on power imbalances and inequitable social relationships in health care; the interrelated problems of culturalism and racialization; and a commitment to social justice as central to the social mandate of nursing. Engaging in this knowledge-translation study has provided new perspectives on the complexities, ambiguities and tensions that need to be considered when using the concept of cultural safety to draw attention to racialization, culturalism, and health and health care inequities. The philosophic analysis discussed in this paper represents an epistemological grounding for the concept of cultural safety that links directly to particular moral ends with social justice implications. Although cultural safety is a concept that we have firmly positioned within the paradigm of critical inquiry, ambiguities associated with the notions of 'culture', 'safety', and 'cultural safety' need to be anticipated and addressed if they are to be effectively used to draw attention to critical social justice issues in practice settings. Using cultural safety in practice settings to draw attention to and prompt critical reflection on politicized knowledge, therefore, brings an added layer of complexity. To address these complexities, we propose that what may be required to effectively use cultural safety in the knowledge-translation process is a 'social justice curriculum for practice' that would foster a philosophical stance of critical inquiry at both the

Genephony: a knowledge management tool for genome-wide research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Riva Alberto

2009-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background One of the consequences of the rapid and widespread adoption of high-throughput experimental technologies is an exponential increase of the amount of data produced by genome-wide experiments. Researchers increasingly need to handle very large volumes of heterogeneous data, including both the data generated by their own experiments and the data retrieved from publicly available repositories of genomic knowledge. Integration, exploration, manipulation and interpretation of data and information therefore need to become as automated as possible, since their scale and breadth are, in general, beyond the limits of what individual researchers and the basic data management tools in normal use can handle. This paper describes Genephony, a tool we are developing to address these challenges. Results We describe how Genephony can be used to manage large datesets of genomic information, integrating them with existing knowledge repositories. We illustrate its functionalities with an example of a complex annotation task, in which a set of SNPs coming from a genotyping experiment is annotated with genes known to be associated to a phenotype of interest. We show how, thanks to the modular architecture of Genephony and its user-friendly interface, this task can be performed in a few simple steps. Conclusion Genephony is an online tool for the manipulation of large datasets of genomic information. It can be used as a browser for genomic data, as a high-throughput annotation tool, and as a knowledge discovery tool. It is designed to be easy to use, flexible and extensible. Its knowledge management engine provides fine-grained control over individual data elements, as well as efficient operations on large datasets.

An Integrated Development Tool for a safety application using FBD language

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Young Jun; Lee, Jang Soo; Lee, Dong Young [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2012-05-15

Regarding digitalizing the Nuclear Instrumentation and Control Systems, the application program responsible for the safety functions of Nuclear I and C Systems shall ensure the robustness of the safety function through development, testing, and validation roles for a life cycle process during software development. The importance of software in nuclear systems increases continuously. The integrated engineering tools to develop, test, and validate safety application programs require increasingly more complex parts among a number of components within nuclear digital I and C systems. This paper introduces the integrated engineering tool (SafeCASE-PLC) developed by our project. The SafeCASE-PLC is a kind of software engineering tool to develop, test, and validate the nuclear application program performed in an automatic controller

The role of knowledge management tools in supporting sustainable forest management

OpenAIRE

Vacik, H.; Torresan, C.; Hujala, T.; Khadka, C.; Reynolds, K.

2013-01-01

Aim of study: Knowledge Management (KM) tools facilitate the implementation of knowledge processes by identifying, creating, structuring, and sharing knowledge through use of information technology in order to improve decision-making. In this contribution, we review the way in which KM tools and techniques are used in forest management, and categorize a selected set of them according to their contribution to support decision makers in the phases of problem identification, problem modelling, a...

Influences on Young Children's Knowledge: The Case of Road Safety Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Cullen, Joy

1998-01-01

Argues that effective road safety education for young children needs to incorporate constructivist and socio-cultural perspectives on learning. Excerpts interviews with young children highlighting the variety of influences affecting children's road safety knowledge and examination of a road safety curriculum to illustrate the value of a dual…

Knowledge Management Methodologies for Improving Safety Culture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rusconi, C.

2016-01-01

Epistemic uncertainties could affect operator’s capability to prevent rare but potentially catastrophic accident sequences. Safety analysis methodologies are powerful but fragile tools if basic assumptions are not sound and exhaustive. In particular, expert judgments and technical data could be invalidated by organizational context change (e.g., maintenance planning, supply systems etc.) or by unexpected events. In 1986 accidents like Chernobyl, the explosion of Shuttle Challenger and, two years before, the toxic release at Bhopal chemical plant represented the point of no return with respect to the previous vision of safety and highlighted the undelayable need to change paradigm and face safety issues in complex systems not only from a technical point of view but to adopt a systemic vision able to include and integrate human and organizational aspects.

The role of knowledge management tools in supporting sustainable forest management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Vacik

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Aim of study: Knowledge Management (KM tools facilitate the implementation of knowledge processes by identifying, creating, structuring, and sharing knowledge through use of information technology in order to improve decision-making. In this contribution, we review the way in which KM tools and techniques are used in forest management, and categorize a selected set of them according to their contribution to support decision makers in the phases of problem identification, problem modelling, and problem solving.Material and Methods: Existing examples of cognitive mapping tools, web portals, workflow systems, best practices, and expert systems as well as intelligent agents are screened for their applicability and use in the context of decision support for sustainable forest management. Evidence from scientific literature and case studies is utilized to evaluate the contribution of the different KM tools to support problem identification, problem modelling, and problem solving.Main results: Intelligent agents, expert systems and cognitive maps support all phases of the forest planning process strongly. Web based tools have good potential to support participatory forest planning. Based on the needs of forest management decision support and the thus-far underutilized capabilities of KM tools it becomes evident that future decision analysis will have to consider the use of KM more intensively. Research highlights: As the problem-solving process is the vehicle for connecting both knowledge and decision making performance, the next generation of DSS will need to better encapsulate practices that enhance and promote knowledge management. Web based tools will substitute desktop applications by utilizing various model libraries on the internet.Keywords: best practices; cognitive mapping; expert systems; intelligent agents; web portals; workflow systems; Decision Support Systems. 

THE CONFORMITY OF MACHINE TOOLS WITH RESPECT TO EUROPEAN SAFETY STANDARDS

CERN Multimedia

TIS/TE

2001-01-01

European regulations require that all motorized machine tools conform to the latest safety standards by the end of the year 2000. CERN must follow these regulations and has already modified most of its machine tools accordingly. However, there is still a small number of machine tools which have not yet been modified as required. These machines should not be used until they are brought up to the required safety standards, failing which the machines should be discarded. One can recognise which machine tools conform with the latest standards by the indication 'CS' on the identification plate of the machine, see foto below. In cases of doubt about the status of a machine tool you should contact K. Altherr/EST or C. Margaroli/TIS for advice.

THE CONFORMITY OF MACHINE TOOLS WITH RESPECT TO EUROPEAN SAFETY STANDARDS

CERN Multimedia

TIS/TE

2000-01-01

European regulations require that all motorized machine tools conform to the latest safety standards by the end of the year 2000. CERN must follow these regulations and has already modified most of its machine tools accordingly. However, there is still a small number of machine tools which have not yet been modified as required. These machines should not be used until they are brought up to the required safety standards, failing which the machines should be discarded. One can recognise which machine tools conform with the latest standards by the indication 'CS' on the identification plate of the machine, see foto below. In cases of doubt about the status of a machine tool you should contact K. Altherr/EST or C. Margaroli/TIS for advice.

Food safety knowledge and practice among child caregivers in Ijebu ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

6.7±1.3), poor safety knowledge of changing baby clothing (6.5±1.0), safe food handling and preparation 4.6±0.6, cross contamination and hand washing techniques (4.2±0). They also had poor food safety practice on hand washing practice ...

Effect of Safety Education on Knowledge of and Compliance with ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Objective: Compliance with road safety signs is important in the reduction of motorcycle accidents. The aim of this study was to implement health education intervention and assess its impact on the knowledge of and compliance with road safety signs among commercial motorcyclists in Uyo, Southern Nigeria. Method: This ...

Pushing and pulling: an assessment tool for occupational health and safety practitioners.

Science.gov (United States)

Lind, Carl Mikael

2018-03-01

A tool has been developed for supporting practitioners when assessing manual pushing and pulling operations based on an initiative by two global companies in the manufacturing industry. The aim of the tool is to support occupational health and safety practitioners in risk assessment and risk management of pushing and pulling operations in the manufacturing and logistics industries. The tool is based on a nine-multiplier equation that includes a wide range of factors affecting an operator's health risk and capacity in pushing and pulling. These multipliers are based on psychophysical, physiological and biomechanical studies in combination with judgments from an expert group consisting of senior researchers and ergonomists. In order to consider usability, more than 50 occupational health and safety practitioners (e.g., ergonomists, managers, safety representatives and production personnel) participated in the development of the tool. An evaluation by 22 ergonomists supports that the push/pull tool is user friendly in general.

Measurement properties of tools measuring mental health knowledge: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Yifeng; McGrath, Patrick J; Hayden, Jill; Kutcher, Stan

2016-08-23

Mental health literacy has received great attention recently to improve mental health knowledge, decrease stigma and enhance help-seeking behaviors. We conducted a systematic review to critically appraise the qualities of studies evaluating the measurement properties of mental health knowledge tools and the quality of included measurement properties. We searched PubMed, PsycINFO, EMBASE, CINAHL, the Cochrane Library, and ERIC for studies addressing psychometrics of mental health knowledge tools and published in English. We applied the COSMIN checklist to assess the methodological quality of each study as "excellent", "good", "fair", or "indeterminate". We ranked the level of evidence of the overall quality of each measurement property across studies as "strong", "moderate", "limited", "conflicting", or "unknown". We identified 16 mental health knowledge tools in 17 studies, addressing reliability, validity, responsiveness or measurement errors. The methodological quality of included studies ranged from "poor" to "excellent" including 6 studies addressing the content validity, internal consistency or structural validity demonstrating "excellent" quality. We found strong evidence of the content validity or internal consistency of 6 tools; moderate evidence of the internal consistency, the content validity or the reliability of 8 tools; and limited evidence of the reliability, the structural validity, the criterion validity, or the construct validity of 12 tools. Both the methodological qualities of included studies and the overall evidence of measurement properties are mixed. Based on the current evidence, we recommend that researchers consider using tools with measurement properties of strong or moderate evidence that also reached the threshold for positive ratings according to COSMIN checklist.

KT Training: Introduction to knowledge transfer tools | 7 October

CERN Multimedia

2016-01-01

Target population: All CERN staff and fellows Prerequisites: None Objectives: Get an overview of different forms of knowledge transfer Learn about available tools to: • Facilitate knowledge and technology transfer • Securing ownership and recognition for knowledge and technology Understand what services and support are available to the CERN community from the KT group Content: Why CERN engages in knowledge and technology transfer Modes of knowledge transfer and the general workflow of a knowledge transfer project Introduction to intellectual property with a focus on patents Overview of contracts for knowledge transfer and the basic structure and content of a typical contract Entrepreneurship and available support for starting a company Examples of knowledge transfer projects at CERN For more information, see the Training catalogue.

Improvement of Managers’ Safety Knowledge through Scientifically Reasonable Interviews

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paas Õnnela

2015-11-01

Full Text Available The safety management system has been analysed in 16 Estonian enterprises using the MISHA method (Method for Industrial Safety and Health Activity Assessment. The factor analysis (principal component analysis and varimax with Kaiser analysis has been implemented for the interpretation of the results on safety performance at the enterprises implementing OHSAS 18001 and the ones that do not implement OHSAS 18001. The division of the safety areas into four parts for a better understanding of the safety level and its improvement possibilities has been proven through the statistical analysis. The connections between the questions aimed to clarify the safety level and performance at the enterprises have been set based on the statistics. New learning package “training through the questionnaires” has been worked out in the current paper for the top and middle-level managers to improve their safety knowledge, where the MISHA questionnaire has been taken as the basis.

Codifying knowledge to improve patient safety: a qualitative study of practice-based interventions.

Science.gov (United States)

Turner, Simon; Higginson, Juliet; Oborne, C Alice; Thomas, Rebecca E; Ramsay, Angus I G; Fulop, Naomi J

2014-07-01

Although it is well established that health care professionals use tacit and codified knowledge to provide front-line care, less is known about how these two forms of knowledge can be combined to support improvement related to patient safety. Patient safety interventions involving the codification of knowledge were co-designed by university and hospital-based staff in two English National Health Service (NHS) hospitals to support the governance of medication safety and mortality and morbidity (M&M) meetings. At hospital A, a structured mortality review process was introduced into three clinical specialities from January to December 2010. A qualitative approach of observing M&M meetings (n = 30) and conducting interviews (n = 40) was used to examine the impact on meetings and on front-line clinicians and hospital managers. At hospital B, a medication safety 'scorecard' was administered on a general medicine and elderly care ward from September to November 2011. Weekly feedback meetings were observed (n = 18) and interviews with front-line staff conducted (n = 10) to examine how knowledge codification influenced behaviour. Codification was shown to support learning related to patient safety at the micro (front-line service) level by structuring the sharing of tacit knowledge, but the presence of professional and managerial boundaries at the organisational level affected the codification initiatives' implementation. The findings suggest that codifying knowledge to support improvement presents distinct challenges at the group and organisational level; translating knowledge across these levels is contingent on the presence of enabling organisational factors, including the alignment of learning from clinical practice with its governance. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Knowledge, perception and practice of injection safety and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Knowledge, perception and practice of injection safety and healthcare waste management among teaching hospital staff in south east Nigeria: an intervention study. ... Following the intervention, a significantly high number became aware of post-exposure prophylaxis and color coded bins and liners. Conclusion: There is a ...

Using a Modified Theory of Planned Behavior to Examine Adolescents' Workplace Safety and Health Knowledge, Perceptions, and Behavioral Intention: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Guerin, Rebecca J; Toland, Michael D; Okun, Andrea H; Rojas-Guyler, Liliana; Bernard, Amy L

2018-03-31

Work, a defining feature of adolescence in the United States, has many benefits. Work also has risks, as adolescents experience a higher rate of serious job-related injuries compared to adults. Talking Safety, a free curriculum from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, is one tool educators may adopt to provide teens with essential workplace safety and health education. Adolescents (N = 2503; female, 50.1%; Hispanic, 50.0%) in a large urban school district received Talking Safety from their eighth-grade science teachers. This study used a modified theory of planned behavior (which included a knowledge construct), to examine students' pre- and post-intervention scores on workplace safety and health knowledge, attitude, self-efficacy, and behavioral intention to enact job safety skills. The results from confirmatory factor analyses indicate three unique dimensions reflecting the theory, with a separate knowledge factor. Reliability estimates are ω ≥ .83. The findings from the structural equation models demonstrate that all paths, except pre- to posttest behavioral intention, are statistically significant. Self-efficacy is the largest contributor to the total effect of these associations. As hypothesized, knowledge has indirect effects on behavioral intention. Hispanic students scored lower at posttest on all but the behavioral intention measure, possibly suggesting the need for tailored materials to reach some teens. Overall the findings support the use of a modified theory of planned behavior to evaluate the effectiveness of a foundational workplace safety and health curriculum. This study may inform future efforts to ensure that safe and healthy work becomes integral to the adolescent experience.

Business games : Promising, knowledge oriented tool for education

OpenAIRE

Rossman, Tomáš

2012-01-01

Diploma thesis is focused on Business games, as an effective tool for knowledge obtaining. In theoretical part, it defines terms like : knowledge, team, system, simulation and computer modeling and their connection with business games. In practical part, it presents four well chosen games and tries to clarify how these games work and how logic are their outputs. After that, it discuss potential use of this game at Faculty of management, University of economics, Prague.

Effective Tool to Improve Knowledge, Attitude and Behavior ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

hanumantp

Mass Counseling: Effective Tool to Improve Knowledge,. Attitude and Behavior ... of mobile counseling units by blood banks may help to create a voluntary blood donor. Changes in ..... How to cite this article: Kulkarni PY, Kulkarni AD.

Knowledge Management for Safety Regulators: Cooperation to Achieve a Much Needed Product

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mallick, S.

2016-01-01

Full text: Knowledge management (KM) has been identified by a number of IAEA documents as one of the key factors that can contribute to the safe and efficient operation of nuclear facilities in Member States. The IAEA Strategic Approaches to Education and Training in Nuclear and Radiation, Transport and Waste Safety identify and underline KM as an important line of action for effective national and organizational strategies in education and training. The capacity building “umbrella concept”, developed within the Action Plan in Nuclear Safety, also recognizes KM as one of the main four pillars (Education and Training, Human Resource Development, Knowledge Management and Knowledge Networks) of capacity building. Within existing IAEA publications, there is currently no specific practical guidance on how to develop and implement KM programmes for regulators. As such, in 2014, the IAEA Steering Committee on Regulatory Capacity Building and Knowledge Management requested the IAEA to develop a publication providing such practical guidance. The objective of the publication is to provide practical guidance to Member States on how to plan, establish and maintain an effective safety KM programme for regulators of facilities and activities. The report will identify benefits and uses of KM by regulators and will describe how a regulator could use KM in support of its functions. This presentation will provide an overview of the Knowledge Management for Safety Regulators document while highlighting the cross-departmental cooperation (i.e., NS and NE) used in its development. Furthermore, this presentation will provide insight into the challenges currently being faced by safety regulators vis-à-vis KM programmes and present potential paths forward with respect to the definition of efficient and effective KM indicators. (author

Independent accident investigation: a modern safety tool

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stoop, John A.

2004-01-01

Historically, safety has been subjected to a fragmented approach. In the past, every department has had its own responsibility towards safety, focusing either on working conditions, internal safety, external safety, rescue and emergency, public order or security. They each issued policy documents, which in their time were leading statements for elaboration and regulation. They also addressed safety issues with tools of various nature, often specifically developed within their domain. Due to a series of major accidents and disasters, the focus of attention is shifting from complying with quantitative risk standards towards intervention in primary operational processes, coping with systemic deficiencies and a more integrated assessment of safety in its societal context. In The Netherlands recognition of the importance of independent investigations has led to an expansion of this philosophy from the transport sector to other sectors. The philosophy now covers transport, industry, defense, natural disaster, environment and health and other major occurrences such as explosions, fires, and collapse of buildings or structures. In 2003 a multi-sector covering law will establish an independent safety board in The Netherlands. At a European level, mandatory investigation agencies are recognized as indispensable safety instruments for aviation, railways and the maritime sector, for which EU Directives are in place or being progressed [Transport accident and incident investigation in the European Union, European Transport Safety Council, ISBN 90-76024-10-3, Brussel, 2001]. Due to a series of major events, attention has been drawn to the consequences of disasters, highlighting the involvement of rescue and emergency services. They also have become subjected to investigative efforts, which in return, puts demands on investigation methodology. This paper comments on an evolutionary development in safety thinking and of safety boards, highlighting some consequences for strategic

Triangulating case-finding tools for patient safety surveillance: a cross-sectional case study of puncture/laceration.

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Jennifer A; Gerwin, Daniel; Morlock, Laura; Miller, Marlene R

2011-12-01

To evaluate the need for triangulating case-finding tools in patient safety surveillance. This study applied four case-finding tools to error-associated patient safety events to identify and characterise the spectrum of events captured by these tools, using puncture or laceration as an example for in-depth analysis. Retrospective hospital discharge data were collected for calendar year 2005 (n=48,418) from a large, urban medical centre in the USA. The study design was cross-sectional and used data linkage to identify the cases captured by each of four case-finding tools. Three case-finding tools (International Classification of Diseases external (E) and nature (N) of injury codes, Patient Safety Indicators (PSI)) were applied to the administrative discharge data to identify potential patient safety events. The fourth tool was Patient Safety Net, a web-based voluntary patient safety event reporting system. The degree of mutual exclusion among detection methods was substantial. For example, when linking puncture or laceration on unique identifiers, out of 447 potential events, 118 were identical between PSI and E-codes, 152 were identical between N-codes and E-codes and 188 were identical between PSI and N-codes. Only 100 events that were identified by PSI, E-codes and N-codes were identical. Triangulation of multiple tools through data linkage captures potential patient safety events most comprehensively. Existing detection tools target patient safety domains differently, and consequently capture different occurrences, necessitating the integration of data from a combination of tools to fully estimate the total burden.

Principles of developing the knowledge portal on safety of nuclear facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klevtsov, A.; Orlov, V.Yu.; Trubchaninov, S.A.

2010-01-01

The general principles of developing the knowledge portal on safety of nuclear facilities are considered in the article. In future, these principles can be used for implementing the project on development of the knowledge portal for the State Nuclear Regulatory Committee of Ukraine.

Integrated approach to knowledge acquisition and safety management of complex plants with emphasis on human factors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kosmowski, K.T.

1998-01-01

In this paper an integrated approach to the knowledge acquisition and safety management of complex industrial plants is proposed and outlined. The plant is considered within a man-technology-environment (MTE) system. The knowledge acquisition is aimed at the consequent reliability evaluation of human factor and probabilistic modeling of the plant. Properly structured initial knowledge is updated in life-time of the plant. The data and knowledge concerning the topology of safety related systems and their functions are created in a graphical CAD system and are object oriented. Safety oriented monitoring of the plant includes abnormal situations due to external and internal disturbances, failures of hard/software components and failures of human factor. The operation and safety related evidence is accumulated in special data bases. Data/knowledge bases are designed in such a way to support effectively the reliability and safety management of the plant. (author)

Knowledge basis in safety culture for researchers and practitioners

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vieira Neto, Antonio S.; Barroso, Antonio C.O.; Goncalves, Adriana

2009-01-01

This paper presents the main characteristics of the knowledge basis in safety culture which is being developed at the IPEN-CNEN/SP, one of the Brazilian nuclear institutes of research. The main objective of this basis is to organize the information about safety culture found in the literature and to make it available to researchers and practitioners. The first stage of the development of this basis is already finished being the subject of this work. (author)

Knowledge management: Role of the the Radiation Safety Information Computational Center (RSICC)

Science.gov (United States)

Valentine, Timothy

2017-09-01

The Radiation Safety Information Computational Center (RSICC) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is an information analysis center that collects, archives, evaluates, synthesizes and distributes information, data and codes that are used in various nuclear technology applications. RSICC retains more than 2,000 software packages that have been provided by code developers from various federal and international agencies. RSICC's customers (scientists, engineers, and students from around the world) obtain access to such computing codes (source and/or executable versions) and processed nuclear data files to promote on-going research, to ensure nuclear and radiological safety, and to advance nuclear technology. The role of such information analysis centers is critical for supporting and sustaining nuclear education and training programs both domestically and internationally, as the majority of RSICC's customers are students attending U.S. universities. Additionally, RSICC operates a secure CLOUD computing system to provide access to sensitive export-controlled modeling and simulation (M&S) tools that support both domestic and international activities. This presentation will provide a general review of RSICC's activities, services, and systems that support knowledge management and education and training in the nuclear field.

The effect of injection safety training on knowledge and attitude of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background: Studies have shown poor injection safety practices among health workers in Nigeria and this was adduced to lack of adequate training on injection safety practices. Objective: The study assessed the effect of the training intervention on the knowledge and attitude of primary healthcare workers on injection ...

The safety evaluation guide for laboratories and plants a tool for enhancing safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lhomme, Veronique; Daubard, Jean-Paul

2013-01-01

The Institute for Radioprotection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) acts as technical support for the French government Authorities competent in nuclear safety and radiation protection for civil and defence activities. In this frame, the Institute's performs safety assessments of the safety cases submitted by operators to these Authorities for each stage in the life cycle of a nuclear facility, including dismantling operations, which is subjected to a licensing procedure. In the fuel cycle field, this concerns a large variety of facilities. Very often, depending on facilities and on safety cases, safety assessment to be performed is multidisciplinary and involves the supervisor in charge of the facility and several safety experts, particularly to cover the whole set of risks (criticality, exposure to radiation, fire, handling, containment, human and organisational factors...) encountered during facility's operations. Taking these into account, and in order to formalize the assessment process of the fuel cycle facilities, laboratories, irradiators, particle accelerators, under-decommissioning reactors and radioactive waste management, the 'Plants, Laboratories, Transports and Waste Safety' Division of IRSN has developed an internal guide, as a tool: - To present the methodological framework, and possible specificities, for the assessment according to the 'Defence in Depth Concept' (Part 1); - To provide key questions associated to the necessary contradictory technical review of the safety cases (Part 2); - To capitalise on experience on the basis of technical examples (coming from incident reports, previous safety assessments...) demonstrating the questioning (Part 3). The guide is divided in chapters, each dedicated to a type of risk (dissemination of radioactive material, external or internal exposure from ionising radiation, criticality, radiolysis mechanisms, handling operations, earthquake, human or organisational factors...) or to a type

The effectiveness of a bicycle safety program for improving safety-related knowledge and behavior in young elementary students.

Science.gov (United States)

McLaughlin, Karen A; Glang, Ann

2010-05-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the "Bike Smart" program, an eHealth software program that teaches bicycle safety behaviors to young children. Participants were 206 elementary students in grades kindergarten to 3. A random control design was employed to evaluate the program, with students assigned to either the treatment condition (Bike Smart) or the control condition (a video on childhood safety). Outcome measures included computer-based knowledge items (safety rules, helmet placement, hazard discrimination) and a behavioral measure of helmet placement. Results demonstrated that regardless of gender, cohort, and grade the participants in the treatment group showed greater gains than control participants in both the computer-presented knowledge items (p > .01) and the observational helmet measure (p > .05). Findings suggest that the Bike Smart program can be a low cost, effective component of safety training packages that include both skills-based and experiential training.

Measurement of Food Safety Culture using Survey and Maturity Profiling Tools

OpenAIRE

Jespersen, Lone; Griffiths, Mansel; Maclaurin, Tanya; Chapman, Ben; Wallace, Carol A.

2016-01-01

Organizational culture is defined by dimensions and characteristics that can be used to measure food safety culture in food manufacturing through a food safety maturity model. Maturity models from quality, health care, and information technology have been used since early 1970 and this work presents a novel food safety culture maturity model with five capability areas and food safety pinpointed behaviours specific to functions and levels in a food manufacturing company. A survey tool linked t...

Knowledge, attitudes and practices of food handlers in food safety: An integrative review.

Science.gov (United States)

Zanin, Laís Mariano; da Cunha, Diogo Thimoteo; de Rosso, Veridiana Vera; Capriles, Vanessa Dias; Stedefeldt, Elke

2017-10-01

This study presents an overview of the relationship between knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of food handlers with training in food safety, in addition to proposing reflections on the training of food handlers, considering its responsibility for food safety and health of consumers. The review was based on the integrative method. The descriptors used were: (food handler), (knowledge, attitudes and practice) and (training). Six databases were searched, 253 articles were consulted and 36 original articles were included. Fifty per cent of the articles pointed that there was no proper translation of knowledge into attitudes/practices or attitudes into practices after training. Knowledge, attitudes and practices of food handlers are important for identifying how efficient training in food safety is allowing prioritize actions in planning training. The evaluation of KAP is the first step to understand the food handler's point of view. After this evaluation other diagnostic strategies become necessary to enhance this understanding. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

APMS: An Integrated Suite of Tools for Measuring Performance and Safety

Science.gov (United States)

Statler, Irving C.; Lynch, Robert E.; Connors, Mary M. (Technical Monitor)

1997-01-01

This is a report of work in progress. In it, I summarize the status of the research and development of the Aviation Performance Measuring System (APMS) for managing, processing, and analyzing digital flight-recorded data. The objectives of the NASA-FAA APMS research project are to establish a sound scientific and technological basis for flight-data analysis, to define an open and flexible architecture for flight-data-analysis systems, and to articulate guidelines for a standardized database structure on which to continue to build future flight-data-analysis extensions. APMS will offer to the air transport community an open, voluntary standard for flight-data-analysis software, a standard that will help to ensure suitable functionality, and data interchangeability, among competing software programs. APMS will develop and document the methodologies, algorithms, and procedures for data management and analyses to enable users to easily interpret the implications regarding safety and efficiency of operations. APMS does not entail the implementation of a nationwide flight-data-collection system. It is intended to provide technical tools to ease the large-scale implementation of flight-data analyses at both the air-carrier and the national-airspace levels in support of their Flight Operations and Quality Assurance (FOQA) Programs and Advanced Qualifications Programs (AQP). APMS cannot meet its objectives unless it develops tools that go substantially beyond the capabilities of the current commercially available software and supporting analytic methods that are mainly designed to count special events. These existing capabilities, while of proven value, were created primarily with the needs of air crews in mind. APMS tools must serve the needs of the government and air carriers, as well as air crews, to fully support the FOQA and AQP programs. They must be able to derive knowledge not only through the analysis of single flights (special-event detection), but through

Module Testing Techniques for Nuclear Safety Critical Software Using LDRA Testing Tool

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moon, Kwon-Ki; Kim, Do-Yeon; Chang, Hoon-Seon; Chang, Young-Woo; Yun, Jae-Hee; Park, Jee-Duck; Kim, Jae-Hack

2006-01-01

The safety critical software in the I and C systems of nuclear power plants requires high functional integrity and reliability. To achieve those requirement goals, the safety critical software should be verified and tested according to related codes and standards through verification and validation (V and V) activities. The safety critical software testing is performed at various stages during the development of the software, and is generally classified as three major activities: module testing, system integration testing, and system validation testing. Module testing involves the evaluation of module level functions of hardware and software. System integration testing investigates the characteristics of a collection of modules and aims at establishing their correct interactions. System validation testing demonstrates that the complete system satisfies its functional requirements. In order to generate reliable software and reduce high maintenance cost, it is important that software testing is carried out at module level. Module testing for the nuclear safety critical software has rarely been performed by formal and proven testing tools because of its various constraints. LDRA testing tool is a widely used and proven tool set that provides powerful source code testing and analysis facilities for the V and V of general purpose software and safety critical software. Use of the tool set is indispensable where software is required to be reliable and as error-free as possible, and its use brings in substantial time and cost savings, and efficiency

Knowledge and practices of pharmaceutical laboratory workers on laboratory safety

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Esra Emerce

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Laboratories are classified as very hazardous workplaces. Objective: The aim of this descriptive study was to determine the knowledge and practice of laboratory safety by analysts and technicians in the laboratories of the Turkish Medicine and Medical Devices Agency. Methods:  85.0% (n=93 of the workers (n=109 was reached. A pre-tested, laboratory safety oriented, self-administered questionnaire was completed under observation. Results: Participants were mostly female (66,7%, had 12.8±8.2 years of laboratory experience and worked 24.6±10.3 hours per week. 53.8% of the employees generally worked with flammable and explosive substances, 29.0% with acute toxic or carcinogenic chemicals and 30.1% with physical dangers. Of all surveyed, 14.0% had never received formal training on laboratory safety. The proportion of ‘always use’ of laboratory coats, gloves, and goggles were 84.9%, 66.7%, and 6.5% respectively. 11.9% of the participants had at least one serious injury throughout their working lives and 24.7% had at least one small injury within the last 6 months. Among these injuries, incisions, bites and tears requiring no stiches (21.0% and the inhalation of chemical vapors (16.1% took first place. The mean value for the number of correct responses to questions on basic safety knowledge was 65.4±26.5, out of a possible 100. Conclusion: Overall, the participants have failed in some safety practices and have been eager to get regular education on laboratory safety.  From this point onwards, it would be appropriate for the employers to organize periodic trainings on laboratory safety.Keywords: Health personnel, laboratory personnel, occupational health, occupational safety, pharmacy

Development of a tool for knowledge base verification of expert system based on Design/CPN

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Jong Hyun

1998-02-01

Verification is a necessary work in developing a reliable expert system. Verification is a process aimed at demonstrating whether a system meets it's specified requirements. As expert systems are used in various applications, the knowledge base verification of systems takes an important position. The conventional Petri net approach that has been studied recently in order to verify the knowledge base is found that it is inadequate to verify the knowledge base of large and complex system, such as alarm processing system of nuclear power plant. Thus, we propose an improved method that models the knowledge base as enhanced colored Petri net. In this study, we analyze the reachability and the error characteristics of the knowledge base. Generally, verification process requires computational support by automated tools. For this reason, this study developed a tool for knowledge base verification based on Design/CPN, which is a tool for editing, modeling, and simulating Colored Petri net. This tool uses Enhanced Colored Petri net as a modeling method. By applying this tool to the knowledge base of nuclear power plant, it is noticed that it can successfully check most of the anomalies that can occur in a knowledge base

Learning Management Systems: Are They Knowledge Management Tools?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bayan Aref Abu Shawar

2010-03-01

Full Text Available The new adventure of online world has helped to improve many domains and sectors. Knowledge management era which originally related to business sector is now required in industry, health, or any institute that needs to manage its knowledge. Education is no exception! The advancement in computers speed and memory, and the growth of Internet usage are behind the inspiration of e-learning approach. In which the computer is used as a medium to deliver and share educational materials and knowledge instead of face-to-face tutoring. This makes education available to any one, any place, and any time as learner need. This paper presents the relationship between knowledge management and learning management system (LMS that is used in e-learning paradigms. A detailed description of the LMS used at Arab Open University (AOU is included in this paper. We claim that the LMS used at AOU can be considered as a knowledge management tool.

A Tool for Safety Officers Investigating " simple" Accidents

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jørgensen, Kirsten

2010-01-01

Most workplace accidents that happen in enterprises are simple and seldom result in serious injuries. Very often these kinds of workplace accidents are not investigated, and if they are, then the investigation is very brief, with comments such as that it was the victim’s own fault or just...... accidents normally caused by apparent banalities occur much more frequently and with a higher rate of fatalities, disablements and other serious injuries than the ostensibly most dangerous kinds of accidents. In 1999 a practical tool for use by safety officers was developed; this tool is based...... on the investigation methods applied in major accidents, but comprises a simpler and more user-friendly presentation. The tool involves three steps: Mapping the facts, analysing the events, and developing preventive solutions. Practical application of the tool has shown that it affords managers and workers...

Mass Counseling: Effective Tool to Improve Knowledge, Attitude and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Mass Counseling: Effective Tool to Improve Knowledge, Attitude and Behavior Regarding Blood Donation. ... PY Kulkarni, AD Kulkarni ... Establishment of mobile counseling units by blood banks may help to create a voluntary blood donor.

Patient safety, quality of care, and knowledge translation in the intensive care unit.

Science.gov (United States)

Needham, Dale M

2010-07-01

A large gap exists between the completion of clinical research demonstrating the benefit of new treatment interventions and improved patient outcomes resulting from implementation of these interventions as part of routine clinical practice. This gap clearly affects patient safety and quality of care. Knowledge translation is important for addressing this gap, but evaluation of the most appropriate and effective knowledge translation methods is still ongoing. Through describing one model for knowledge translation and an example of its implementation, insights can be gained into systematic methods for advancing the implementation of evidence-based interventions to improve safety, quality, and patient outcomes.

Screening of Gas-Cooled Reactor Thermal-Hydraulic and Safety Analysis Tools and Experimental Database

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Won Jae; Kim, Min Hwan; Lee, Seung Wook

2007-08-01

This report is a final report of I-NERI Project, 'Screening of Gas-cooled Reactor Thermal Hydraulic and Safety Analysis Tools and Experimental Database 'jointly carried out by KAERI, ANL and INL. In this study, we developed the basic technologies required to develop and validate the VHTR TH/safety analysis tools and evaluated the TH/safety database information. The research tasks consist of; 1) code qualification methodology (INL), 2) high-level PIRTs for major nucleus set of events (KAERI, ANL, INL), 3) initial scaling and scoping analysis (ANL, KAERI, INL), 4) filtering of TH/safety tools (KAERI, INL), 5) evaluation of TH/safety database information (KAERI, INL, ANL) and 6) key scoping analysis (KAERI). The code qualification methodology identifies the role of PIRTs in the R and D process and the bottom-up and top-down code validation methods. Since the design of VHTR is still evolving, we generated the high-level PIRTs referencing 600MWth block-type GT-MHR and 400MWth pebble-type PBMR. Nucleus set of events that represents the VHTR safety and operational transients consists of the enveloping scenarios of HPCC (high pressure conduction cooling: loss of primary flow), LPCC/Air-Ingress (low pressure conduction cooling: loss of coolant), LC (load changes: power maneuvering), ATWS (anticipated transients without scram: reactivity insertion), WS (water ingress: water-interfacing system break) and HU (hydrogen-side upset: loss of heat sink). The initial scaling analysis defines dimensionless parameters that need to be reflected in mixed convection modeling and the initial scoping analysis provided the reference system transients used in the PIRTs generation. For the PIRTs phenomena, we evaluated the modeling capability of the candidate TH/safety tools and derived a model improvement need. By surveying and evaluating the TH/safety database information, a tools V and V matrix has been developed. Through the key scoping analysis using available database, the modeling

Screening of Gas-Cooled Reactor Thermal-Hydraulic and Safety Analysis Tools and Experimental Database

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Won Jae; Kim, Min Hwan; Lee, Seung Wook (and others)

2007-08-15

This report is a final report of I-NERI Project, 'Screening of Gas-cooled Reactor Thermal Hydraulic and Safety Analysis Tools and Experimental Database 'jointly carried out by KAERI, ANL and INL. In this study, we developed the basic technologies required to develop and validate the VHTR TH/safety analysis tools and evaluated the TH/safety database information. The research tasks consist of; 1) code qualification methodology (INL), 2) high-level PIRTs for major nucleus set of events (KAERI, ANL, INL), 3) initial scaling and scoping analysis (ANL, KAERI, INL), 4) filtering of TH/safety tools (KAERI, INL), 5) evaluation of TH/safety database information (KAERI, INL, ANL) and 6) key scoping analysis (KAERI). The code qualification methodology identifies the role of PIRTs in the R and D process and the bottom-up and top-down code validation methods. Since the design of VHTR is still evolving, we generated the high-level PIRTs referencing 600MWth block-type GT-MHR and 400MWth pebble-type PBMR. Nucleus set of events that represents the VHTR safety and operational transients consists of the enveloping scenarios of HPCC (high pressure conduction cooling: loss of primary flow), LPCC/Air-Ingress (low pressure conduction cooling: loss of coolant), LC (load changes: power maneuvering), ATWS (anticipated transients without scram: reactivity insertion), WS (water ingress: water-interfacing system break) and HU (hydrogen-side upset: loss of heat sink). The initial scaling analysis defines dimensionless parameters that need to be reflected in mixed convection modeling and the initial scoping analysis provided the reference system transients used in the PIRTs generation. For the PIRTs phenomena, we evaluated the modeling capability of the candidate TH/safety tools and derived a model improvement need. By surveying and evaluating the TH/safety database information, a tools V and V matrix has been developed. Through the key scoping analysis using available database, the

Assessing safety awareness and knowledge and behavioral change among West Virginia loggers

Science.gov (United States)

Helmkamp, J; Bell, J; Lundstrom, W; Ramprasad, J; Haque, A

2004-01-01

Objective: To determine if a video used during logger training influences safety attitude, knowledge, and workplace habits. Method: From April 2002 to October 2003, loggers receiving training through the West Virginia Division of Forestry were given a new safety module. This consisted of a pre-training survey, viewing video, brief introduction to field safety guide, and an immediate post-training survey. Six months after training, loggers were contacted by telephone to assess workplace behavioral changes. Results: 1197 loggers attended 80 training sessions and completed surveys; 21% were contacted at follow up. Pre-training surveys indicated that half said "accidents" were part of the job and had experienced a "close call" in their work. An overwhelming majority felt that safety management and periodic meetings were important. Over 75% indicated they would not take risks in order to make a profit. Several statistically significant improvements were noted in safety knowledge after viewing the video: logger's location in relation to the tree stump during fatal incidents and the pictorial identification of an overloaded truck and the safest cutting notch. At follow up, many of the loggers said they related to the real life victim stories portrayed in the video. Further, the field guide served as a quick and easy reference and taught them valuable tips on safe cutting and felling. Conclusions: Significant changes in safety knowledge and attitude among certified loggers resulted from viewing the video during training. Subsequent use of the video and field guide at the worksite encouraged positive change in self reported work habits and practices. PMID:15314051

Scotland's knowledge network: a progress report on Knowledge into Action.

Science.gov (United States)

Wales, Ann; Boyle, Derek

2015-11-01

Launched in 2012, Knowledge into Action is the national knowledge management strategy for the health and social care workforce in Scotland. It is transforming the role of the national digital knowledge service--NHS Education for Scotlands' Knowledge Network--and the NHSS librarian role to offer more active, tailored support for translating knowledge into frontline clinical practice. This includes the development of a national evidence search and summary service, help with converting knowledge into practical and usable formats for easy use at point of care and with using digital tools to share clinicians' learning, experience and expertise. Through this practical support, Knowledge into Action is contributing to quality and safety outcomes across NHS Scotland, building clinicians' capacity and capability in applying knowledge in frontline practice and service improvement. © The Author(s) 2015.

Patterns of patient safety culture: a complexity and arts-informed project of knowledge translation.

Science.gov (United States)

Mitchell, Gail J; Tregunno, Deborah; Gray, Julia; Ginsberg, Liane

2011-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to describe patterns of patient safety culture that emerged from an innovative collaboration among health services researchers and fine arts colleagues. The group engaged in an arts-informed knowledge translation project to produce a dramatic expression of patient safety culture research for inclusion in a symposium. Scholars have called for a deeper understanding of the complex interrelationships among structure, process and outcomes relating to patient safety. Four patterns of patient safety culture--blinding familiarity, unyielding determination, illusion of control and dismissive urgency--are described with respect to how they informed creation of an arts-informed project for knowledge translation.

Road safety knowledge and policy : a historical institutional analysis of the Netherlands.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bax, C. Leroy, P. & Hagenzieker, M.P.

2014-01-01

This paper explores the institutional development of Dutch road safety policy over the last century and the role of knowledge therein. After a theoretical exploration of the concept of institutionalization, the article sketches an overview of the institutionalization of road safety policy in the

New graduate registered nurses' knowledge of patient safety and practice: A literature review.

Science.gov (United States)

Murray, Melanie; Sundin, Deborah; Cope, Vicki

2018-01-01

To critically appraise available literature and summarise evidence pertaining to the patient safety knowledge and practices of new graduate registered nurses. Responsibility for patient safety should not be limited to the practice of the bedside nurses, rather the responsibility of all in the healthcare system. Previous research identified lapses in safety across the health care, more specifically with new practitioners. Understanding these gaps and what may be employed to counteract them is vital to ensuring patient safety. A focused review of research literature. The review used key terms and Boolean operators across a 5-year time frame in CINAHL, Medline, psycINFO and Google Scholar for research articles pertaining to the area of enquiry. Eighty-four articles met the inclusion criteria, 39 discarded due to irrelevant material and 45 articles were included in the literature review. This review acknowledges that nursing has different stages of knowledge and practice capabilities. A theory-practice gap for new graduate registered nurses exists, and transition to practice is a key learning period setting new nurses on the path to becoming expert practitioners. Within the literature, there was little to no acknowledgement of patient safety knowledge of the newly registered nurse. Issues raised in the 1970s remain a concern for today's new graduate registered nurses. Research has recognised several factors affecting transition from nursing student to new graduate registered nurse. These factors are leaving new practitioners open to potential errors and risking patient safety. Understanding the knowledge of a new graduate registered nurse upon entering clinical practice may assist in organisations providing appropriate clinical and theoretical support to these nurses during their transition. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Conception of a PWR simulator as a tool for safety analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lanore, J.M.; Bernard, P.; Romeyer Dherbey, J.; Bonnet, C.; Quilchini, P.

1982-09-01

A simulator can be a very useful tool for safety analysis to study accident sequences involving malfunctions of the systems and operator interventions. The main characteristics of the simulator SALAMANDRE (description of the systems, physical models, programming organization, control desk) have then been selected according tot he objectives of safety analysis

Aviation Safety Risk Modeling: Lessons Learned From Multiple Knowledge Elicitation Sessions

Science.gov (United States)

Luxhoj, J. T.; Ancel, E.; Green, L. L.; Shih, A. T.; Jones, S. M.; Reveley, M. S.

2014-01-01

Aviation safety risk modeling has elements of both art and science. In a complex domain, such as the National Airspace System (NAS), it is essential that knowledge elicitation (KE) sessions with domain experts be performed to facilitate the making of plausible inferences about the possible impacts of future technologies and procedures. This study discusses lessons learned throughout the multiple KE sessions held with domain experts to construct probabilistic safety risk models for a Loss of Control Accident Framework (LOCAF), FLightdeck Automation Problems (FLAP), and Runway Incursion (RI) mishap scenarios. The intent of these safety risk models is to support a portfolio analysis of NASA's Aviation Safety Program (AvSP). These models use the flexible, probabilistic approach of Bayesian Belief Networks (BBNs) and influence diagrams to model the complex interactions of aviation system risk factors. Each KE session had a different set of experts with diverse expertise, such as pilot, air traffic controller, certification, and/or human factors knowledge that was elicited to construct a composite, systems-level risk model. There were numerous "lessons learned" from these KE sessions that deal with behavioral aggregation, conditional probability modeling, object-oriented construction, interpretation of the safety risk results, and model verification/validation that are presented in this paper.

How should we assess knowledge translation in research organizations; designing a knowledge translation self-assessment tool for research institutes (SATORI).

Science.gov (United States)

Gholami, Jaleh; Majdzadeh, Reza; Nedjat, Saharnaz; Nedjat, Sima; Maleki, Katayoun; Ashoorkhani, Mahnaz; Yazdizadeh, Bahareh

2011-02-22

The knowledge translation self-assessment tool for research institutes (SATORI) was designed to assess the status of knowledge translation in research institutes. The objective was, to identify the weaknesses and strengths of knowledge translation in research centres and faculties associated with Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS). The tool, consisting of 50 statements in four main domains, was used in 20 TUMS-affiliated research centres and departments after its reliability was established. It was completed in a group discussion by the members of the research council, researchers and research users' representatives from each centre and/or department. The mean score obtained in the four domains of 'The question of research', 'Knowledge production', 'Knowledge transfer' and 'Promoting the use of evidence' were 2.26, 2.92, 2 and 1.89 (out of 5) respectively.Nine out of 12 interventional priorities with the lowest quartile score were related to knowledge transfer resources and strategies, whereas eight of them were in the highest quartile and related to 'The question of research' and 'Knowledge production'. The self-assessment tool identifies the gaps in capacity and infrastructure of knowledge translation support within research organizations. Assessment of research institutes using SATORI pointed out that strengthening knowledge translation through provision of financial support for knowledge translation activities, creating supportive and facilitating infrastructures, and facilitating interactions between researchers and target audiences to exchange questions and research findings are among the priorities of research centres and/or departments.

Challenges in Implementing IAEA National Nuclear Safety Knowledge Platforms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Samba, R.N.; Simo, A.

2016-01-01

Full text: Integrated Management Systems and human resource development of nuclear knowledge have always been a challenge for developing countries. NRPA staff when trained by IAEA return and restitute with all colleagues the themes acquired in nuclear knowledge. NRPA became a member of Forum for Nuclear Regulatory Bodies in Africa (FNRBA) in 2009. FNRBA organized with IAEA a workshop from 14th to 18th October 2013 in Nairobi, Kenya on Knowledge Safety Network. NRPA of Cameroon created the first National Nuclear Portail under FNRBA. This was linked to other national websites. During the IAEA review missions, most counterparts took opportunity from the thermatic site to share information and develop advance reference materials. The IAEA Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) team also shared materials that could not be transferred through email with national counterparts using the Global Nuclear Safety and Security Network (GNSSN) sharepoint website due to large file sizes.The regulatory documents have been uploaded on the platform and can be accessed through FNRBA and NRPA website (www.anrp.cm). UN organizations implementing projects in Cameroon are also linked to the platform. The action plans and progress reports for IAEA/AFRA projects are also available. Moreover, NRPA regulatory activities and licensing sources are available on this platform. (author

Evaluation of static analysis tools used to assess software important to nuclear power plant safety

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ourghanlian, Alain [EDF Lab CHATOU, Simulation and Information Technologies for Power Generation Systems Department, EDF R and D, Cedex (France)

2015-03-15

We describe a comparative analysis of different tools used to assess safety-critical software used in nuclear power plants. To enhance the credibility of safety assessments and to optimize safety justification costs, Electricit e de France (EDF) investigates the use of methods and tools for source code semantic analysis, to obtain indisputable evidence and help assessors focus on the most critical issues. EDF has been using the PolySpace tool for more than 10 years. Currently, new industrial tools based on the same formal approach, Abstract Interpretation, are available. Practical experimentation with these new tools shows that the precision obtained on one of our shutdown systems software packages is substantially improved. In the first part of this article, we present the analysis principles of the tools used in our experimentation. In the second part, we present the main characteristics of protection-system software, and why these characteristics are well adapted for the new analysis tools.

Measurement tools and process indicators of patient safety culture in primary care. A mixed methods study by the LINNEAUS collaboration on patient safety in primary care

Science.gov (United States)

Parker, Dianne; Wensing, Michel; Esmail, Aneez; Valderas, Jose M

2015-01-01

ABSTRACT Background: There is little guidance available to healthcare practitioners about what tools they might use to assess the patient safety culture. Objective: To identify useful tools for assessing patient safety culture in primary care organizations in Europe; to identify those aspects of performance that should be assessed when investigating the relationship between safety culture and performance in primary care. Methods: Two consensus-based studies were carried out, in which subject matter experts and primary healthcare professionals from several EU states rated (a) the applicability to their healthcare system of several existing safety culture assessment tools and (b) the appropriateness and usefulness of a range of potential indicators of a positive patient safety culture to primary care settings. The safety culture tools were field-tested in four countries to ascertain any challenges and issues arising when used in primary care. Results: The two existing tools that received the most favourable ratings were the Manchester patient safety framework (MaPsAF primary care version) and the Agency for healthcare research and quality survey (medical office version). Several potential safety culture process indicators were identified. The one that emerged as offering the best combination of appropriateness and usefulness related to the collection of data on adverse patient events. Conclusion: Two tools, one quantitative and one qualitative, were identified as applicable and useful in assessing patient safety culture in primary care settings in Europe. Safety culture indicators in primary care should focus on the processes rather than the outcomes of care. PMID:26339832

Quality and Safety as a Core Leadership Competency.

Science.gov (United States)

Bleich, Michael R

2018-05-01

A leader's toolbox of competencies comprises knowledge, skills, and abilities in clinical care, finance, human resource management, and more. As essential as these are, a strong command of quality and safety competencies is sovereign in leading and managing, ensuring an optimal patient experience. Four core areas of quality and safety competencies are presented: systems science, knowledge workers, implementation science and big data, and quality safety tools and techniques. J Contin Educ Nurs. 2018;49(5):200-202. Copyright 2018, SLACK Incorporated.

Food safety knowledge, attitudes and self-reported practices among Ontario high school students.

Science.gov (United States)

Majowicz, Shannon E; Diplock, Kenneth J; Leatherdale, Scott T; Bredin, Chad T; Rebellato, Steven; Hammond, David; Jones-Bitton, Andria; Dubin, Joel A

2016-03-16

To measure the food safety knowledge, attitudes and self-reported practices of high school students in Ontario. We administered a school-wide paper survey to the student body (n = 2,860) of four Ontario high schools. We developed the survey by selecting questions from existing, validated questionnaires, prioritizing questions that aligned with the Canadian Partnership for Consumer Food Safety Education's educational messages and the food safety objectives from the 2013 Ontario High School Curriculum. One in five students reported currently handling food in commercial or public-serving venues; of these, 45.1% had ever taken a course that taught them how to prepare food (e.g., food and nutrition classes, food handler certification). Food safety knowledge among respondents was low. For example, 17.3% knew that the best way to determine whether hamburgers were cooked enough to eat was to measure the temperature with a food thermometer. Despite low knowledge, most respondents (72.7%) reported being confident that they could cook safe, healthy meals for themselves and their families. Safe food handling practices were frequently self-reported. Most students (86.5%) agreed that being able to cook safe, healthy meals was an important life skill, although their interest in learning about safe food handling and concern about foodborne disease were less pronounced. Our findings suggest that food safety knowledge is low, yet confidence in preparing safe, healthy meals is high, among high school students. Because work and volunteer opportunities put students in contact with both the public and food, this group is important to target for increased education about safe food handling.

Did you have an impact? A theory-based method for planning and evaluating knowledge-transfer and exchange activities in occupational health and safety.

Science.gov (United States)

Kramer, Desré M; Wells, Richard P; Carlan, Nicolette; Aversa, Theresa; Bigelow, Philip P; Dixon, Shane M; McMillan, Keith

2013-01-01

Few evaluation tools are available to assess knowledge-transfer and exchange interventions. The objective of this paper is to develop and demonstrate a theory-based knowledge-transfer and exchange method of evaluation (KEME) that synthesizes 3 theoretical frameworks: the promoting action on research implementation of health services (PARiHS) model, the transtheoretical model of change, and a model of knowledge use. It proposes a new term, keme, to mean a unit of evidence-based transferable knowledge. The usefulness of the evaluation method is demonstrated with 4 occupational health and safety knowledge transfer and exchange (KTE) implementation case studies that are based upon the analysis of over 50 pre-existing interviews. The usefulness of the evaluation model has enabled us to better understand stakeholder feedback, frame our interpretation, and perform a more comprehensive evaluation of the knowledge use outcomes of our KTE efforts.

Knowledge translation tools for parents on child health topics: a scoping review

OpenAIRE

Albrecht, Lauren; Scott, Shannon D.; Hartling, Lisa

2017-01-01

Background An emerging field of knowledge translation (KT) research has begun to focus on health consumers, particularly in child health. KT tools provide health consumers with research knowledge to inform health decision-making and may foster ‘effective consumers’. Thus, the purpose of this scoping review was to describe the state of the field of previously published effectiveness research on child health-related KT tools for parents/caregivers to understand the evidence-base, identify gaps,...

Tools for the performance assessment and improvement of food safety management systems ; review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jacxsens, L.; Luning, P.A.; Marcelis, W.J.; Boekel, van M.A.J.S.; Rovira, J.; Oses Gomez, S.; Kousta, M.; Drosinos, E.H.; Jasson, V.; Uyttendaele, M.

2011-01-01

Food business operators are challenged to combine requirements from different stakeholders (e.g. government, retailers) into a company specific Food Safety Management System (FSMS). Tools to diagnose the performance of an implemented FSMS (diagnostic tools), tools to help a selection process

Transformational leadership and safety performance among nurses: the mediating role of knowledge-related job characteristics.

Science.gov (United States)

Lievens, Ilse; Vlerick, Peter

2014-03-01

To report the impact of transformational leadership on two dimensions of nurses' safety performance (i.e. safety compliance and safety participation) and to study the mediating role of knowledge-related job characteristics in this relationship. Safety performance refers to the behaviours that employees exhibit to adhere to safety guidelines and to promote health and safety at their workplace. Nurses' safety performance is a major challenge for healthcare settings, urging the need to identify the key determinants and psychological mechanisms that influence it. A cross-sectional survey study. The study was carried out in September 2010 in a large Belgian hospital. We used self-administered questionnaires; 152 nurses participated. The hypotheses were tested using hierarchical regression analyses. In line with our first hypothesis, the results show that transformational leadership exerted a significant positive impact on both dimensions of nurses' safety performance. This positive relation was mediated by knowledge-related job characteristics, supporting our second hypothesis. Head nurses' transformational leadership can enhance nurses' compliance with and participation in safety. Furthermore, transformational head nurses are able to influence the perception that their nurses have about the kind and amount of knowledge in their job, which can also lead to increases in both dimensions of nurses' safety performance. This study therefore demonstrates the key impact that transformational head nurses have, both directly and indirectly, on the safety performance of their nurses. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

[Adaptation of the Medical Office Survey on Patient Safety Culture (MOSPSC) tool].

Science.gov (United States)

Silvestre-Busto, C; Torijano-Casalengua, M L; Olivera-Cañadas, G; Astier-Peña, M P; Maderuelo-Fernández, J A; Rubio-Aguado, E A

2015-01-01

To adapt the Medical Office Survey on Patient Safety Culture (MOSPSC) Excel(®) tool for its use by Primary Care Teams of the Spanish National Public Health System. The process of translation and adaptation of MOSPSC from the Agency for Healthcare and Research in Quality (AHRQ) was performed in five steps: Original version translation, Conceptual equivalence evaluation, Acceptability and viability assessment, Content validity and Questionnaire test and response analysis, and psychometric properties assessment. After confirming MOSPSC as a valid, reliable, consistent and useful tool for assessing patient safety culture in our setting, an Excel(®) worksheet was translated and adapted in the same way. It was decided to develop a tool to analyze the "Spanish survey" and to keep it linked to the "Original version" tool. The "Spanish survey" comparison data are those obtained in a 2011 nationwide Spanish survey, while the "Original version" comparison data are those provided by the AHRQ in 2012. The translated and adapted tool and the analysis of the results from a 2011 nationwide Spanish survey are available on the website of the Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality. It allows the questions which are decisive in the different dimensions to be determined, and it provides a comparison of the results with graphical representation. Translation and adaptation of this tool enables a patient safety culture in Primary Care in Spain to be more effectively applied. Copyright © 2014 SECA. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

The knowledge, attitude and behavior on the radiation safety management for dental hygiene major students

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeon, Yeo Reong; Cho, Pyong Kon; Kim, Yong Min; Han, Eun Ok; Jang, Hyon Chul; Ko, Jong Kyung

2015-01-01

This study tries to find the educational basis based on the radiation safety knowledge, attitudes and behaviors to check the level of radiation safety behavior in domestic students who study dental hygiene. The students of 3rd and 4th grades in 83 universities which have registered on the Korean University Education Council were involved, and they were given a questionnaire for this study. The questionnaire was provided via visit with 20 copies to each university (total 1660 copies), mail by post and e-mail. Among them, we analyzed only 723 copies that we can trust. The data were analyzed with frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation and Pearson’s correlation using the SPSS/WIN 15.0. As a result, there are correlations in the students’ knowledge, attitudes and behaviors regarding the radiation safety management. It means that the education which can improve the knowledge and attitudes should be applied to increase the action level of the radiation safety. In addition, the physical environment is the most closely correlated with the individual behavior, so it will be limited to improve the behavioral levels of the radiation safety if the physical environment is not prepared. Therefore, the physical environment should be supported to enhance the level of the radiation safety activity, and to increase the individual attitude level of radiation safety. The knowledge level of the radiation safety management is relatively lower than the attitudes level, and the behavior level is the lowest. Therefore, the education policy of the safety behavior must be enhanced. For domestic students, the educational intervention is necessary to improve their behavioral level of radiation safety management because they will be able to reduce the amount of radiation exposure of their patients in dental care after getting a job

The knowledge, attitude and behavior on the radiation safety management for dental hygiene major students

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jeon, Yeo Reong; Cho, Pyong Kon; Kim, Yong Min [Dept. of Radiological Science, Daegu Catholic University, Daegu (Korea, Republic of); Han, Eun Ok [Korea Academy of Nuclear Safety, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Jang, Hyon Chul [Dept. of Radiological Technology, Suseong College, Daegu (Korea, Republic of); Ko, Jong Kyung [Radiation Safety Management Commission, Daegu Health College, (Korea, Republic of)

2015-12-15

This study tries to find the educational basis based on the radiation safety knowledge, attitudes and behaviors to check the level of radiation safety behavior in domestic students who study dental hygiene. The students of 3rd and 4th grades in 83 universities which have registered on the Korean University Education Council were involved, and they were given a questionnaire for this study. The questionnaire was provided via visit with 20 copies to each university (total 1660 copies), mail by post and e-mail. Among them, we analyzed only 723 copies that we can trust. The data were analyzed with frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation and Pearson’s correlation using the SPSS/WIN 15.0. As a result, there are correlations in the students’ knowledge, attitudes and behaviors regarding the radiation safety management. It means that the education which can improve the knowledge and attitudes should be applied to increase the action level of the radiation safety. In addition, the physical environment is the most closely correlated with the individual behavior, so it will be limited to improve the behavioral levels of the radiation safety if the physical environment is not prepared. Therefore, the physical environment should be supported to enhance the level of the radiation safety activity, and to increase the individual attitude level of radiation safety. The knowledge level of the radiation safety management is relatively lower than the attitudes level, and the behavior level is the lowest. Therefore, the education policy of the safety behavior must be enhanced. For domestic students, the educational intervention is necessary to improve their behavioral level of radiation safety management because they will be able to reduce the amount of radiation exposure of their patients in dental care after getting a job.

Knowledge management as an approach to strengthen safety culture in nuclear organizations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karseka, T.S.; Yanev, Y.L.

2013-01-01

In the last 10 years knowledge management (KM) in nuclear organizations has emerged as a powerful strategy to deal with important and frequently critical issues of attrition, generation change and knowledge transfer. Applying KM practices in operating organizations, in technical support organizations and regulatory bodies has proven to be efficient and necessary for maintaining competence and skills for achieving high level of safety and operational performance. The IAEA defines KM as an integrated, systematic approach to identifying, acquiring, transforming, developing, disseminating, using, sharing, and preserving knowledge, relevant to achieving specified objectives. KM focuses on people and organizational culture to stimulate and nurture the sharing and use of knowledge; on processes or methods to find, create, capture and share knowledge; and on technology to store and assimilate knowledge and to make it readily accessible in a manner which will allow people to work together even if they are not located together. A main objective of this paper is to describe constructive actions which can sponsor knowledge sharing and solidarity in safety conscious attitude among all employees. All principles and approaches refer primarily to Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) operating organizations but are also applicable to other institutions involved into nuclear sector. (orig.)

Knowledge management as an approach to strengthen safety culture in nuclear organizations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Karseka, T.S.; Yanev, Y.L. [International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna (Austria). Nuclear Energy Dept.

2013-04-15

In the last 10 years knowledge management (KM) in nuclear organizations has emerged as a powerful strategy to deal with important and frequently critical issues of attrition, generation change and knowledge transfer. Applying KM practices in operating organizations, in technical support organizations and regulatory bodies has proven to be efficient and necessary for maintaining competence and skills for achieving high level of safety and operational performance. The IAEA defines KM as an integrated, systematic approach to identifying, acquiring, transforming, developing, disseminating, using, sharing, and preserving knowledge, relevant to achieving specified objectives. KM focuses on people and organizational culture to stimulate and nurture the sharing and use of knowledge; on processes or methods to find, create, capture and share knowledge; and on technology to store and assimilate knowledge and to make it readily accessible in a manner which will allow people to work together even if they are not located together. A main objective of this paper is to describe constructive actions which can sponsor knowledge sharing and solidarity in safety conscious attitude among all employees. All principles and approaches refer primarily to Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) operating organizations but are also applicable to other institutions involved into nuclear sector. (orig.)

Evaluating the impact of child safety seat check-up events on parental knowledge.

Science.gov (United States)

Herring, Ashley B; Jones, Ches; Nunez, Casandra

2002-12-01

Riding unrestrained is the greatest risk factor for death and injury among children in motor vehicles. Restraining a child can reduce the risk of death for that child by up to 71%. However, despite increased awareness, child safety seat usage rates are still disturbingly low. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact that child safety seat check-up events have on parental knowledge on child safety seats and installation. The subjects for this study were 101 parents/caregivers who attended child safety seat check-up events in northwest Arkansas from May 2000 through June 2001. A 20-item survey was conducted via the telephone. Results showed that the check-up events in northwest Arkansas have had an impact on self-efficacy. The participants of the events were primarily Caucasian and females in the 30-34 age group. Nine of 10 subjects scored in the high knowledge category. Conclusions are that check-up events do have an impact on parental knowledge and are accepted by the target group. Additionally, participants believed that car seats are of great importance and do protect their children in the event of a crash.

Analysing supercritical water reactor's (SCWR's) special safety systems using probabilistic tools

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ituen, I.; Novog, D.R.

2011-01-01

The next generation of reactors, termed Generation IV, has very attractive features -- its superior safety characteristics, high thermal efficiency, and fuel cycle sustainability. A key element of the Generation IV designs is the improvement in safety, which in turn requires improvements in safety system performance and reliability, as well as a reduction in initiating event frequencies. This study compares the response of the systems important to safety in the CANDU-Supercritical Water Reactor to those of the generic CANDU under a main steamline break accident and loss of forced circulation events -- to quantify the improvements in safety for the pre-conceptual CANDU SCWR design. Probabilistic safety analysis is the tool used in this study to test the behavior of the pre- conceptual design during these events. (author)

Knowledge Based Product Configuration - a documentatio tool for configuration projects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hvam, Lars; Malis, Martin

2003-01-01

. A lot of knowledge isput into these systems and many domain experts are involved. This calls for an effective documentation system in order to structure this knowledge in a way that fits to the systems. Standard configuration systems do not support this kind of documentation. The chapter deals...... with the development of a Lotus Notes application that serves as a knowledge based documentation tool for configuration projects. A prototype has been developed and tested empirically in an industrial case-company. It has proved to be a succes....

Effect of safety education on knowledge of and compliance with road safety signs among commercial motorcyclists in Uyo, Southern Nigeria.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, O E; Adebayo, A M

2011-09-01

Compliance with road safety signs is important in the reduction of motorcycle accidents. The aim of this study was to implement health education intervention and assess its impact on the knowledge of and compliance with road safety signs among commercial motorcyclists in Uyo, Southern Nigeria. This was an intervention study among motorcyclists in Uyo, Southern Nigeria, with a control group from a similar town. The instrument of data collection was a semi-structured interviewer administered questionnaire. Subjects were selected through multistage sampling method. Baseline data on compliance to road safety signs was collected from both groups. Motorcyclists in the intervention group were given education on the importance of compliance to road safety signs. Data was subsequently collected from both groups 3 months post intervention and analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 11. A total of 200 respondents participated in the study, 100 from each group. Following intervention, respondents with good knowledge score increased from 21% at baseline to 82% at 3 months post intervention in the intervention group (proad safety signs was recorded among motorcyclists in the intervention group after safety education. All motorcyclists should therefore be given education on road safety signs as this will improve compliance and lead to safer road use among them.

Sustainable Development of Food Safety

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fabech, B.; Georgsson, F.; Gry, Jørn

to food safety - Strengthen efforts against zoonoses and pathogenic microorganisms - Strengthen safe food handling and food production in industry and with consumers - Restrict the occurrence of chemical contaminants and ensure that only well-examined production aids, food additives and flavours are used...... - Strengthen scientific knowledge of food safety - Strengthen consumer knowledge The goals for sustainable development of food safety are listed from farm to fork". All of the steps and areas are important for food safety and consumer protection. Initiatives are needed in all areas. Many of the goals...... in other areas. It should be emphasized that an indicator will be an excellent tool to assess the efficacy of initiatives started to achieve a goal. Conclusions from the project are: - Sustainable development in food safety is important for humanity - Focus on the crucial goals would optimize the efforts...

Risk monitor - a tool for operational safety assessment risk monitor - user's manual

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hari Prasad, M.; Vinod, Gopika; Saraf, R.K.; Ghosh, A.K.

2006-06-01

Probabilistic Safety Assessment has become a key tool as on today to identify and understand Nuclear Power Plant vulnerabilities. As a result of the availability of these PSA studies, there is a desire to use them to enhance plant safety and to operate the nuclear stations in the most efficient manner. Risk Monitor is a PC based tool, which computes the real time safety level and assists plant personnel to manage day-to-day activities. Risk Monitor is a PC based user friendly software tool used for modification and re-analysis of a nuclear Power plant. Operation of Risk Monitor is based on PSA methods for assisting in day to day applications. Risk Monitoring programs can assess the risk profile and are used to optimize the operation of Nuclear Power Plants with respect to a minimum risk level over the operating time. This report presents the background activities of Risk Monitor, its application areas and the step by step procedure for the user.to interact with the software. This software can be used with the PSA model of any Nuclear Power Plant. (author)

Tool and ideological knowledge in Street Outreach Office working process.

Science.gov (United States)

Kami, Maria Terumi Maruyama; Larocca, Liliana Muller; Chaves, Maria Marta Nolasco; Piosiadlo, Laura Christina Macedo; Albuquerque, Guilherme Souza

2016-01-01

To identify ideological knowledge and tool knowledgethat provide support to the Street Outreach Office working process. Qualitative and exploratory research. TwentyStreet Outreach Office professionals and six users collected the data, applying different semi-structured interview schedules for each category of participants. The resulting categories were analyzed in light of tool and ideological knowledge presented in the working process. From the participant discourses the following ideological knowledge emerged: public policies and the needs of the person ina street situation and tool knowledge, as well as devices and tools for the care of people in street situations and a weekly schedule. The focus on the working process discourse, supported by ideological knowledge, was verified. The structural dimension of the objective reality of the population in street situations was perceptible in the social determination of being situating on the street. When daily situations were revealed, the limitations to be overcome in the working process context were noticed. Identificar os saberes ideológicos e instrumentais que subsidiam o processo de trabalho do Consultório na Rua. Pesquisa qualitativa e exploratória. A coleta de dados foi realizada junto a 20 profissionais e seis usuários do Consultório na Rua de um município do sul do Brasil, por meio de entrevistas com roteiros semiestruturados distintos para cada categoria de participantes. As classes resultantes foram analisadas à luz dos saberes ideológicos e instrumentais presentes no processo de trabalho. Dos discursos dos participantes emergiram os saberes ideológicos: políticas públicas e necessidades da pessoa em situação de rua e os saberes instrumentais: dispositivos e instrumentos no cuidado à pessoa em situação de rua e agenda semanal. Constatou-se a centralidade dos discursos no processo de trabalho, sustentado pelos saberes ideológicos. A dimensão estrutural da realidade objetiva da população em

Safety knowledge and risk behaviour of injured and uninjured young skiers and snowboarders.

Science.gov (United States)

Macnab, A J; Cadman, R E; Greenlaw, J V

1998-09-01

Earlier studies of ski injury indicated that youths were at increased risk of injury, that males were most likely to injure the head or face, and that females were most likely to injure the knee. To obtain information about safety knowledge and risk behaviour that might contribute to injury among young skiers and snow-boarders. Survey of knowledge and behaviour in injured and noninjured cohorts. Blackcomb Mountain, Whistler, British Columbia. A total of 863 noninjured and 118 injured skiers and snowboarders aged five to 17 years using Blackcomb during 1993/94. Skier Knowledge Inventory Questionnaire. The injured cohort had less knowledge of the Skiers Responsibility Code. In both groups, almost half had had no lessons, 31% had had bindings adjusted by nonprofessionals and chair lift safety bars were used one ride in four by children age 13 to 17 years. The injuried cohort wore helmets slightly less often. Both groups regularly skied through the trees (60% to 70%), and one-thirds had skied on closed runs. Excessive speed was identified as the major cause of injury. Skiers did not recognize jumping as contributing to injury. Lack of knowledge of safety rules was more prevalent among the injured cohort. Skiing without due care - including skiing through tress, skiing on closed runs, skiing with excessive speed and jumping, particularly by snowboarders - were identified as potential causes of injury.

Performance Assessment Tools for Distance Learning and Simulation: Knowledge, Models and Tools to Improve the Effectiveness of Naval Distance Learning

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Baker, Eva L; Munro, Allen; Pizzini, Quentin A; Brill, David G; Michiuye, Joanne K

2006-01-01

... by (a) extending CRESST's knowledge mapping tool's authoring and scoring functionality and (b) providing the capability to embed a knowledge mapping assessment in simulation-based training developed by BTL...

Knowledge of commercial bus drivers about road safety measures in Lagos, Nigeria.

Science.gov (United States)

Okafor Ifeoma, P; Odeyemi Kofoworola, A; Dolapo Duro, C

2013-01-01

Road traffic injuries have persisted as a serious public health problem and much of the health burden is in developing countries. Over-speeding, poor enforcement of traffic regulations and commuter buses have been highly implicated in road traffic injuries in developing countries. The aim of this study was to determine drivers' knowledge of selected road safety measures, i.e. the pre-requisites for driver's license, road signs and speed limits. This was a cross-sectional study carried out in Lagos, Nigeria. Simple random sampling was used to select the two motor parks used for the study and all the consenting commercial minibus drivers operating within the parks (407) were included in the study. Data was collected with a pre-tested, structured, interviewer-administered questionnaire and analyzed with epi-info statistical software. Two hundred and sixty-one (64.1%) of them knew that Visual Acuity test should be done before obtaining driver's license and 53.8% knew the correct minimum age for obtaining driver's license. Only 1% of the drivers had correct knowledge of the driver's license authorities in Nigeria. The drivers had poor knowledge of road signs (59.0%) and poor knowledge of maximum speed limits (100%). The oldest, least educated and least experienced drivers had the poorest level of knowledge. The drivers demonstrated poor knowledge of road safety measures. There is need for driver education to improve their knowledge.

Knowledge of Health Volunteers in the Damavand District on Food Safety: A Study Based on the World Health Organization Manual

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M Ghfari

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Food borne illnesses are usually infectious or toxic in nature and caused by bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical substances entering the body through contaminated food or water. Unsafe food causes more than 200 diseases - ranging from diarrhea to cancers. Food safety is a public health priority. The aim of present study was determine level of health communicators' knowledge about food safety in Damavand city that was performed according to the World Health Organization guide. Methods: This study is a descriptive analysis of the target a group of health Volunteers in Damavand depended to Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. 109 persons were enrolled with s awareness, scarification and consent of the census. Tools for data collection was a questionnaire consisting of 13 questions on demographic characteristics and 24 questions about food safety according to WHO’s guide. Data was analyzed with SPSS-18 software and statistical analysis includes one-way ANOVA, t-test and spearman correlation. Results: The mean age of participant was 44.75 ± 9.98 years. Average score of awareness of food safety was 35.87 ±6.22 and for awareness was 77 (71%. No significant relationships was observed between of awareness and marital status, age, education, occupation and education of wife was not significant relationships (p>0/05. Conclusion: In some safety food items the level of knowledge in some safety food items was good, in other one, such as food storage, transmission of microbes, cooking temperature for meat there was low awareness. In this respect, information, education programs to raise awareness of the health status for health volunteers is recommended

Development and evaluation of intelligent machine tools based on knowledge evolution in M2M environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Dong Hoon; Song, Jun Yeob; Lee, Jong Hyun; Cha, Suk Keun

2009-01-01

In the near future, the foreseen improvement in machine tools will be in the form of a knowledge evolution-based intelligent device. The goal of this study is to develop intelligent machine tools having knowledge-evolution capability in Machine to Machine (M2M) wired and wireless environment. The knowledge evolution-based intelligent machine tools are expected to be capable of gathering knowledge autonomously, producing knowledge, understanding knowledge, applying reasoning to knowledge, making new decisions, dialoguing with other machines, etc. The concept of the knowledge-evolution intelligent machine originated from the process of machine control operation by the sense, dialogue and decision of a human expert. The structure of knowledge evolution in M2M and the scheme for a dialogue agent among agent-based modules such as a sensory agent, a dialogue agent and an expert system (decision support agent) are presented in this paper, and work-offset compensation from thermal change and recommendation of cutting condition are performed on-line for knowledge-evolution verification

TEL4Health – Mobile tools to improve patient safety

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Drachsler, Hendrik; Kalz, Marco; Specht, Marcus

2013-01-01

Drachsler, H., Kalz, M., & Specht, M. (2013, 10 October). TEL4Health – Mobile tools to improve patient safety. Presentation given at the blended learning platform of the Netherlands Organisation for Hospitals (Nederlandse Vereniging van Ziekenhuizen), Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Uncertain added value of Global Trigger Tool for monitoring of patient safety in cancer care

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lipczak, Henriette; Neckelmann, Kirsten; Steding-Jessen, Marianne

2011-01-01

Monitoring patient safety is a challenging task. The lack of a golden standard has contributed to the recommendation and introduction of several methods. In 2000 the Danish Lung Cancer Registry (DLCR) was established to monitor the clinical management of lung cancer. In 2008 the Global Trigger Tool...... (GTT) was recommended in Denmark as a tool for the monitoring of patient safety. Ideally, the recommendation of a new tool should be preceded by a critical assessment of its added value....

Choice and complexation of techniques and tools for assessment of NPP I and C systems safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Illiashenko, Oleg; Babeshko, Eugene

2011-01-01

There are a lot of techniques to analyze and assess reliability and safety of NPP Instrumentation and Control (I and C) systems (e.g. FMEA - Failure Modes and Effects Analysis and its modifications, FTA - Fault Tree Analysis, HAZOP - Hazard and Operability Analysis, RBD - Reliability Block Diagram, Markov Models, etc.) and quantity of tools based on these techniques is constantly increasing. Known ways of safety assessment, as well as problems of their choice and complexation are analyzed. Objective of the paper is the development of general 'technique of techniques choosing' and tool for support of such technique. The following criteria are used for analysis and comparison and their features are described: compliance to normative documents; experience of application in industry; methods used for assessment of system NPP I and C safety; tool architecture/framework; reporting; vendor support, etc. Comparative analysis results of existing T and T - Tools and Techniques for safety analysis are presented in matrix form ('Tools-Criterion') with example. Features of complexation of different safety assessment techniques (FMECA, FTA, RBD, Markov Models) are described. The proposed technique is implemented as special tool for decision-making. The proposed technique was used for development of RPC Radiy company standard CS 66. This guide contains requirements and procedures of FMECA analysis of developed and produced NPP I and C systems based on RADIY platform. (author)

Knowledge, attitude and practice of aspects of laboratory safety in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Result: Gross deficiencies were found in the knowledge, attitudes and practice of laboratory safety by laboratory staff in areas of use of personal protective equipment, specimen collection and processing, centrifuge – related hazards, infective hazards waste disposal and provision and use of First Aid Kits. Conclusion: ...

Knowledge and practices of food hygiene and safety among camel ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The respondents showed low knowledge in answering questions regarding spoilage microorganisms and effective cleaning of containers. About 53% of women retailers used rejected/spoiled milk for household consumption. This could result in a high food safety risk. Therefore, training of actors along the camel milk value ...

Formal testing and utilization of streaming media to improve flight crew safety knowledge.

Science.gov (United States)

Bellazzini, Marc A; Rankin, Peter M; Quisling, Jason; Gangnon, Ronald; Kohrs, Mike

2008-01-01

Increased concerns over the safety of air medical transport have prompted development of novel ways to increase safety. The objective of our study was to determine if an Internet streaming media safety video increased crew safety knowledge. 23 out of 40 crew members took an online safety pre-test, watched a safety video specific to our program and completed immediate and long-term post-testing 6 months later. Mean pre-test, post-test and 6 month follow up test scores were 84.9%, 92.3% and 88.4% respectively. There was a statistically significant difference in all scores (p Streaming media proved to be an accessible and effective supplement to safety training in our study.

BARC-risk monitor- a tool for operational safety assessment in nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vinod, Gopika; Saraf, R.K.; Babar, A.K.; Hadap, Nikhil

2000-12-01

Probabilistic safety assessment has become a key tool as on today to identify and understand nuclear power plant vulnerabilities. As a result of the availability of these PSA studies, there is a desire to use them to enhance plant safety and to operate the nuclear stations in the most efficient manner. Risk monitor is a PC based tool, which computes the real time safety level and assists plant personnel to manage day-to-day activities. Risk monitor is a PC based user friendly software tool used for modification and re-analysis of a nuclear power plant. Operation of risk monitor is based on PSA methods for assisting in day to day applications. Risk monitoring programs can assess the risk profile and are used to optimise the operation of nuclear power plants with respect to a minimum risk level over the operating time. This report presents the background activities of risk monitor, its application areas and also gives the status of such tools in international scenarios. The software is based on the PSA model of Kaiga generating station and would be applicable to similar design configuration. (author)

Role of computer techniques for knowledge propagation about nuclear energetics safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Osachkin, V.S.

1996-01-01

The development of nuclear power engineering depends on the levels of nuclear, radiological and ecological safety. To ensure the approval of such levels by the community to spread the knowledge on Safety of Nuclear Engineering in understandable forms. New computer technologies may play an important role in the safety education of the public and upgrading of qualification of personnel. The progress in computer nets development makes it possible to use besides e-mail qualification of personnel. The progress in computer in nets development makes it possible to use besides e-mail and BBS the Internet system for remote education. As an example a computer course on Atomic Energy and its safety presented. This course now written in Russian consists of 6 parts, namely: physical basis of utilization of Nuclear energy; technical bases of uses of Nuclear energy; nuclear Reactors and their Systems; safety Principles, Goals, Nuclear Safety Regulation; the Environmental Impact of the us of Nuclear Power, severe accident consequences and scenarios

Knowledge representation in safety assessment: improving transparency and traceability

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lemos, F.L. de [Centro de Desenvolvimento da Tecnologia Nuclear (CDTN/CNEN-MG), Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil); Sullivan, T. [Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Ross, T. [University of New Mexico (UNM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Guimaraes, L.N.F. [Instituto de Estudos Avancados (IEAv/CTA), Sao Jose dos Campos, SP (Brazil)

2011-07-01

Transparency and traceability are key factors for confidence building, acceptability, and quality enhancement of the safety assessment, and safety case for a radioactive waste disposal facility. In order to facilitate analysis and promote discussions, all of the information used to make decisions should be readily available to stake holders. The information should convey a good understanding of the intermediate decisions processes, allowing examination of alternatives and 'what if questions'. In an ideal situation all stake holders, including scientists and the public, should be able to follow the path of a certain parameter, from the beginning where it was defined, its assumptions and uncertainties, throughout the calculations until the final results of the safety assessment. One of the main challenges, to achieving such a transparency and traceability, is that stake holders are a very diverse audience, with very different backgrounds. This could require preparation of various versions of the same documentation, which would be impractical. While the linguistic information is of crucial importance to understanding the reasoning, it is very difficult to convey the supporting conditions, and consequent uncertainties for the selection of parameters values. Even scientists involved in the process can become confused due to the overwhelming amount of information that is used to support parameter value selection. The amount of details makes it difficult to track the decisions, which lead to the selection of a certain parameter, throughout the calculations. This paper presents a methodology to represent the linguistic information used in the safety assessment in terms of mathematical expressions by using the fuzzy sets and fuzzy logic tools. This methodology aims to help information to be readily available while keeping, as much as possible, the original meaning of the linguistic expressions and, consequently, to be available at any time as a quick reference

Knowledge representation in safety assessment: improving transparency and traceability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lemos, F.L. de; Sullivan, T.; Ross, T.; Guimaraes, L.N.F.

2011-01-01

Transparency and traceability are key factors for confidence building, acceptability, and quality enhancement of the safety assessment, and safety case for a radioactive waste disposal facility. In order to facilitate analysis and promote discussions, all of the information used to make decisions should be readily available to stake holders. The information should convey a good understanding of the intermediate decisions processes, allowing examination of alternatives and 'what if questions'. In an ideal situation all stake holders, including scientists and the public, should be able to follow the path of a certain parameter, from the beginning where it was defined, its assumptions and uncertainties, throughout the calculations until the final results of the safety assessment. One of the main challenges, to achieving such a transparency and traceability, is that stake holders are a very diverse audience, with very different backgrounds. This could require preparation of various versions of the same documentation, which would be impractical. While the linguistic information is of crucial importance to understanding the reasoning, it is very difficult to convey the supporting conditions, and consequent uncertainties for the selection of parameters values. Even scientists involved in the process can become confused due to the overwhelming amount of information that is used to support parameter value selection. The amount of details makes it difficult to track the decisions, which lead to the selection of a certain parameter, throughout the calculations. This paper presents a methodology to represent the linguistic information used in the safety assessment in terms of mathematical expressions by using the fuzzy sets and fuzzy logic tools. This methodology aims to help information to be readily available while keeping, as much as possible, the original meaning of the linguistic expressions and, consequently, to be available at any time as a quick reference. This would

Food Safety Instruction Improves Knowledge and Behavior Risk and Protection Factors for Foodborne Illnesses in Pregnant Populations.

Science.gov (United States)

Kendall, Patricia; Scharff, Robert; Baker, Susan; LeJeune, Jeffrey; Sofos, John; Medeiros, Lydia

2017-08-01

Objective This study compared knowledge and food-handling behavior after pathogen-specific (experimental treatment) versus basic food safety instruction (active control) presented during nutrition education classes for low-income English- and Spanish-language pregnant women. Methods Subjects (n = 550) were randomly assigned to treatment groups in two different locations in the United States. Food safety instruction was part of an 8-lesson curriculum. Food safety knowledge and behavior were measured pre/post intervention. Descriptive data were analyzed by Chi-Square or ANOVA; changes after intervention were analyzed by regression analysis. Results Knowledge improved after intervention in the pathogen-specific treatment group compared to active control, especially among Spanish-language women. Behavior change after intervention for the pathogen-specific treatment group improved for thermometer usage, refrigeration and consumption of foods at high risk for safety; however, all other improvements in behavior were accounted for by intervention regardless of treatment group. As expected, higher pre-instruction behavioral competency limited potential gain in behavior post-instruction due to a ceiling effect. This effect was more dominant among English-language women. Improvements were also linked to formal education completed, a partner at home, and other children in the home. Conclusions for Practice This study demonstrated that pathogen-specific food safety instruction leads to enhance knowledge and food handling behaviors that may improve the public health of pregnant women and their unborn children, especially among Spanish-language women. More importantly, food safety instruction, even at the most basic level, benefited pregnant women's food safety knowledge and food-handling behavior after intervention.

An exploratory study of knowledge brokering in hospital settings: facilitating knowledge sharing and learning for patient safety?

Science.gov (United States)

Waring, Justin; Currie, Graeme; Crompton, Amanda; Bishop, Simon

2013-12-01

This paper reports on an exploratory study of intra-organisational knowledge brokers working within three large acute hospitals in the English National Health Services. Knowledge brokering is promoted as a strategy for supporting knowledge sharing and learning in healthcare, especially in the diffusion of research evidence into practice. Less attention has been given to brokers who support knowledge sharing and learning within healthcare organisations. With specific reference to the need for learning around patient safety, this paper focuses on the structural position and role of four types of intra-organisational brokers. Through ethnographic research it examines how variations in formal role, location and relationships shape how they share and support the use of knowledge across organisational and occupational boundaries. It suggests those occupying hybrid organisational roles, such as clinical-managers, are often best positioned to support knowledge sharing and learning because of their 'ambassadorial' type position and legitimacy to participate in multiple communities through dual-directed relationships. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Food safety knowledge and practices of street foodvendors in Atbara ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The study was conducted to evaluate the food safety knowledge and practices of street food vendors in Atbara city between March and April, 2008. The questionnaires respondents were 28% male and 72% were female, 48% of them had primary school education while 42% were illiterates. The most prevalent isolated ...

A mixed methods study of food safety knowledge, practices and beliefs in Hispanic families with young children.

Science.gov (United States)

Stenger, Kristen M; Ritter-Gooder, Paula K; Perry, Christina; Albrecht, Julie A

2014-12-01

Children are at a higher risk for foodborne illness. The objective of this study was to explore food safety knowledge, beliefs and practices among Hispanic families with young children (≤10 years of age) living within a Midwestern state. A convergent mixed methods design collected qualitative and quantitative data in parallel. Food safety knowledge surveys were administered (n = 90) prior to exploration of beliefs and practices among six focus groups (n = 52) conducted by bilingual interpreters in community sites in five cities/towns. Descriptive statistics determined knowledge scores and thematic coding unveiled beliefs and practices. Data sets were merged to assess concordance. Participants were female (96%), 35.7 (±7.6) years of age, from Mexico (69%), with the majority having a low education level. Food safety knowledge was low (56% ± 11). Focus group themes were: Ethnic dishes popular, Relating food to illness, Fresh food in home country, Food safety practices, and Face to face learning. Mixed method analysis revealed high self confidence in preparing food safely with low safe food handling knowledge and the presence of some cultural beliefs. On-site Spanish classes and materials were preferred venues for food safety education. Bilingual food safety messaging targeting common ethnic foods and cultural beliefs and practices is indicated to lower the risk of foodborne illness in Hispanic families with young children. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

A primer of drug safety surveillance: an industry perspective. Part II: Product labeling and product knowledge.

Science.gov (United States)

Allan, M C

1992-01-01

To place the fundamentals of clinical drug safety surveillance in a conceptual framework that will facilitate understanding and application of adverse drug event data to protect the health of the public and support a market for pharmaceutical manufacturers' products. Part II of this series discusses specific issues regarding product labeling, such as developing the labeling, changing the labeling, and the legal as well as commercial ramifications of the contents of the labeling. An adverse event report scenario is further analyzed and suggestions are offered for maintaining the product labeling as an accurate reflection of the drug safety surveillance data. This article also emphasizes the necessity of product knowledge in adverse event database management. Both scientific and proprietary knowledge are required. Acquiring product knowledge is a part of the day-to-day activities of drug safety surveillance. A knowledge of the history of the product may forestall adverse publicity, as shown in the illustration. This review uses primary sources from the federal laws (regulations), commentaries, and summaries. Very complex topics are briefly summarized in the text. Secondary sources, ranging from newspaper articles to judicial summaries, illustrate the interpretation of adverse drug events and opportunities for drug safety surveillance intervention. The reference materials used were articles theoretically or practically applicable in the day-to-day practice of drug safety surveillance. The role of clinical drug safety surveillance in product monitoring and drug development is described. The process of drug safety surveillance is defined by the Food and Drug Administration regulations, product labeling, product knowledge, and database management. Database management is subdivided into the functions of receipt, retention, retrieval, and review of adverse event reports. Emphasis is placed on the dynamic interaction of the components of the process. Suggestions are offered

Knowledge base technology for CT-DIMS: Report 1. [CT-DIMS (Cutting Tool - Database and Information Management System)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kelley, E.E.

1993-05-01

This report discusses progress on the Cutting Tool-Database and Information Management System (CT-DIMS) project being conducted by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) under contract to the Department of Energy. This project was initiated in October 1991 by UIUC. The Knowledge-Based Engineering Systems Research Laboratory (KBESRL) at UIUC is developing knowledge base technology and prototype software for the presentation and manipulation of the cutting tool databases at Allied-Signal Inc., Kansas City Division (KCD). The graphical tool selection capability being developed for CT-DIMS in the Intelligent Design Environment for Engineering Automation (IDEEA) will provide a concurrent environment for simultaneous access to tool databases, tool standard libraries, and cutting tool knowledge.

Assessing Knowledge Retention of an Immersive Serious Game vs. a Traditional Education Method in Aviation Safety.

Science.gov (United States)

Chittaro, Luca; Buttussi, Fabio

2015-04-01

Thanks to the increasing availability of consumer head-mounted displays, educational applications of immersive VR could now reach to the general public, especially if they include gaming elements (immersive serious games). Safety education of citizens could be a particularly promising domain for immersive serious games, because people tend not to pay attention to and benefit from current safety materials. In this paper, we propose an HMD-based immersive game for educating passengers about aviation safety that allows players to experience a serious aircraft emergency with the goal of surviving it. We compare the proposed approach to a traditional aviation safety education method (the safety card) used by airlines. Unlike most studies of VR for safety knowledge acquisition, we do not focus only on assessing learning immediately after the experience but we extend our attention to knowledge retention over a longer time span. This is a fundamental requirement, because people need to retain safety procedures in order to apply them when faced with danger. A knowledge test administered before, immediately after and one week after the experimental condition showed that the immersive serious game was superior to the safety card. Moreover, subjective as well as physiological measurements employed in the study showed that the immersive serious game was more engaging and fear-arousing than the safety card, a factor that can contribute to explain the obtained superior retention, as we discuss in the paper.

Road Safety Data, Collection, Transfer and Analysis DaCoTa. Deliverable 1.2: Road safety management investigation model and questionnaire.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dupont, H. Martensen, H. Papadimitriou, E. Yannis, G. Muhlrad, N. Jähi, H. Vallet, G. Giustiniani, G. Tripodi, A. Usami, D. Bax, C. Wijnen, W. Schöne, M.-L. Machata, K. Buttler, I. Zysinska, M. Talbot, R. Gitelman, V. & Hakkert, S. & Muhlrad, N. Gitelman, V. & Buttler, I. (Eds.)

2012-01-01

The aim of the DaCoTA Work Package 1 is to investigate road safety policy-making and management processes in Europe. In the Deliverables released previously, the Work Package 1 assessed the experts’ needs in terms of road safety knowledge, data and decision support tools (Deliverable 1.1/4.1), as

Knowledge and perceived implementation of food safety risk analysis framework in Latin America and the Caribbean region.

Science.gov (United States)

Cherry, C; Mohr, A Hofelich; Lindsay, T; Diez-Gonzalez, F; Hueston, W; Sampedro, F

2014-12-01

Risk analysis is increasingly promoted as a tool to support science-based decisions regarding food safety. An online survey comprising 45 questions was used to gather information on the implementation of food safety risk analysis within the Latin American and Caribbean regions. Professionals working in food safety in academia, government, and private sectors in Latin American and Caribbean countries were contacted by email and surveyed to assess their individual knowledge of risk analysis and perceptions of its implementation in the region. From a total of 279 participants, 97% reported a familiarity with risk analysis concepts; however, fewer than 25% were able to correctly identify its key principles. The reported implementation of risk analysis among the different professional sectors was relatively low (46%). Participants from industries in countries with a long history of trade with the United States and the European Union, such as Mexico, Brazil, and Chile, reported perceptions of a higher degree of risk analysis implementation (56, 50, and 20%, respectively) than those from the rest of the countries, suggesting that commerce may be a driver for achieving higher food safety standards. Disagreement among respondents on the extent of the use of risk analysis in national food safety regulations was common, illustrating a systematic lack of understanding of the current regulatory status of the country. The results of this survey can be used to target further risk analysis training on selected sectors and countries.

Food Safety at Farmers' Markets: A Knowledge Synthesis of Published Research.

Science.gov (United States)

Young, Ian; Thaivalappil, Abhinand; Reimer, Danielle; Greig, Judy

2017-12-01

Farmers' markets are increasingly popular venues in North America for the sale of fresh produce and other foods. However, the nature of their operation can present possible food safety issues, challenges, and risks to consumers. A knowledge synthesis was conducted to identify, characterize, and summarize published research on the microbial food safety issues and implications associated with farmers' markets. A scoping review was conducted using the following steps: comprehensive search strategy, relevance screening of abstracts, and characterization of relevant articles. Two subsets of data were prioritized for more detailed systematic review (data extraction and risk-of-bias assessment) and meta-analysis: (i) studies comparing the microbial safety of foods from farmers' markets versus other sources and (ii) studies evaluating the use of food safety practices at farmers' markets. Overall, 83 relevant studies were identified. The majority of studies were published as journal articles (64%), used a cross-sectional design (81%), and were conducted in the United States (78%). Most studies (39%; n = 32) investigated stakeholder, mostly consumer (n = 22), attitudes toward food safety at farmers' markets. Limited but heterogeneous evidence indicated a higher prevalence of Campylobacter and Salmonella in chicken meat from farmers' markets versus other retail sources, but there was no difference in the microbial contamination of fresh produce. Studies evaluating the use of food safety practices at farmers' markets identified some gaps; for example, the average prevalence of vendor hand washing was 4% (95% confidence interval: 0 to 11%; I 2 = 27%; n = 5 studies). Twelve foodborne outbreaks and case reports were identified, resulting in a total of 411 illnesses, 38 hospitalizations, and two deaths from 1994 to 2016. Only five intervention studies were identified. Key knowledge gaps and areas warranting future research, training, and education are highlighted and discussed.

Development of a multilevel health and safety climate survey tool within a mining setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Parker, Anthony W; Tones, Megan J; Ritchie, Gabrielle E

2017-09-01

This study aimed to design, implement and evaluate the reliability and validity of a multifactorial and multilevel health and safety climate survey (HSCS) tool with utility in the Australian mining setting. An 84-item questionnaire was developed and pilot tested on a sample of 302 Australian miners across two open cut sites. A 67-item, 10 factor solution was obtained via exploratory factor analysis (EFA) representing prioritization and attitudes to health and safety across multiple domains and organizational levels. Each factor demonstrated a high level of internal reliability, and a series of ANOVAs determined a high level of consistency in responses across the workforce, and generally irrespective of age, experience or job category. Participants tended to hold favorable views of occupational health and safety (OH&S) climate at the management, supervisor, workgroup and individual level. The survey tool demonstrated reliability and validity for use within an open cut Australian mining setting and supports a multilevel, industry specific approach to OH&S climate. Findings suggested a need for mining companies to maintain high OH&S standards to minimize risks to employee health and safety. Future research is required to determine the ability of this measure to predict OH&S outcomes and its utility within other mine settings. As this tool integrates health and safety, it may have benefits for assessment, monitoring and evaluation in the industry, and improving the understanding of how health and safety climate interact at multiple levels to influence OH&S outcomes. Copyright © 2017 National Safety Council and Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A randomized controlled trial to evaluate the Make Safe Happen® app-a mobile technology-based safety behavior change intervention for increasing parents' safety knowledge and actions.

Science.gov (United States)

McKenzie, Lara B; Roberts, Kristin J; Clark, Roxanne; McAdams, Rebecca; Abdel-Rasoul, Mahmoud; Klein, Elizabeth G; Keim, Sarah A; Kristel, Orie; Szymanski, Alison; Cotton, Christopher G; Shields, Wendy C

2018-03-12

Many unintentional injuries that occur in and around the home can be prevented through the use of safety equipment and by consistently following existing safety recommendations. Unfortunately, uptake of these safety behaviors is unacceptably low. This paper describes the design of the Make Safe Happen® smartphone application evaluation study, which aims to evaluate a mobile technology-based safety behavior change intervention on parents' safety knowledge and actions. Make Safe Happen® app evaluation study is a randomized controlled trial. Participants will be parents of children aged 0-12 years who are recruited from national consumer online survey panels. Parents will complete a pretest survey, and will be randomized to receive the Make Safe Happen® app or a non-injury-related app, and then complete a posttest follow-up survey after 1 week. Primary outcomes are: (1) safety knowledge; (2) safety behaviors; (3) safety device acquisition and use, and (4) behavioral intention to take safety actions. Anticipated study results are presented. Wide-reaching interventions, to reach substantial parent and caregiver audiences, to effectively reduce childhood injuries are needed. This study will contribute to the evidence-base about how to increase safety knowledge and actions to prevent home-related injuries in children. NCT02751203 ; Pre-results.

Infrastructure requirement of knowledge management system model of statistical learning tool (SLT) for education community

Science.gov (United States)

Abdullah, Rusli; Samah, Bahaman Abu; Bolong, Jusang; D'Silva, Jeffrey Lawrence; Shaffril, Hayrol Azril Mohamed

2014-09-01

Today, teaching and learning (T&L) using technology as tool is becoming more important especially in the field of statistics as a part of the subject matter in higher education system environment. Eventhough, there are many types of technology of statistical learnig tool (SLT) which can be used to support and enhance T&L environment, however, there is lack of a common standard knowledge management as a knowledge portal for guidance especially in relation to infrastructure requirement of SLT in servicing the community of user (CoU) such as educators, students and other parties who are interested in performing this technology as a tool for their T&L. Therefore, there is a need of a common standard infrastructure requirement of knowledge portal in helping CoU for managing of statistical knowledge in acquiring, storing, desseminating and applying of the statistical knowedge for their specific purposes. Futhermore, by having this infrastructure requirement of knowledge portal model of SLT as a guidance in promoting knowledge of best practise among the CoU, it can also enhance the quality and productivity of their work towards excellence of statistical knowledge application in education system environment.

A ligand predication tool based on modeling and reasoning with imprecise probabilistic knowledge.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Weiru; Yue, Anbu; Timson, David J

2010-04-01

Ligand prediction has been driven by a fundamental desire to understand more about how biomolecules recognize their ligands and by the commercial imperative to develop new drugs. Most of the current available software systems are very complex and time-consuming to use. Therefore, developing simple and efficient tools to perform initial screening of interesting compounds is an appealing idea. In this paper, we introduce our tool for very rapid screening for likely ligands (either substrates or inhibitors) based on reasoning with imprecise probabilistic knowledge elicited from past experiments. Probabilistic knowledge is input to the system via a user-friendly interface showing a base compound structure. A prediction of whether a particular compound is a substrate is queried against the acquired probabilistic knowledge base and a probability is returned as an indication of the prediction. This tool will be particularly useful in situations where a number of similar compounds have been screened experimentally, but information is not available for all possible members of that group of compounds. We use two case studies to demonstrate how to use the tool. 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

TOOLS OF KNOWLEDGE DISSEMINATION WITHIN A NATIONAL DEFENSE INSTITUTION FOR INNOVATION, TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Edson Aparecida de Araújo Querido Oliveira

2006-11-01

Full Text Available This paper describes and analyzes in a National Defense Institution for Innovation, Technology and Science its tools of knowledge dissemination. The methodology contemplates the period of 2004 and 2005. Qualitative and quantitative information orientate the research in order to understand focal aspects on knowledge dissemination, in comparison with theoretical references of renowned authors and other elaborated research searching for elements to perform an organizational diagnosis, focused on the knowledge dissemination as well as on the forces which promote or obstruct the organizational development. Conclusions are that the tools of knowledge dissemination must suitable to spread the tacit knowledge in such a way as the explicit ones and that, in a National Defense Institution, other important aspects must be considered, a time that, being the spread knowledge of wrong form can, besides bringing damages for the organization, to compromise the national sovereignty.

Knowledge Management Implementation and the Tools Utilized in Healthcare for Evidence-Based Decision Making: A Systematic Review

OpenAIRE

Shahmoradi, Leila; Safadari, Reza; Jimma, Worku

2017-01-01

Background Healthcare is a knowledge driven process and thus knowledge management and the tools to manage knowledge in healthcare sector are gaining attention. The aim of this systematic review is to investigate knowledge management implementation and knowledge management tools used in healthcare for informed decision making. Methods Three databases, two journals websites and Google Scholar were used as sources for the review. The key terms used to search relevant articles include: “Healthcar...

Accident prediction models for rural junctions on four European countries. Road Infrastructure Safety Management Evaluation Tools (RISMET), Deliverable No. 6.1.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Azeredo Lopes, S. de & Lourenço Cardoso, J.

2014-01-01

The "Road Infrastructure Safety Management Evaluation Tools (RISMET)" project targets objective A (Development of evaluation tools) of the Joint Call for Proposals for Safety at the Heart of Road Design ("The Call"). This project aims at developing suitable road safety engineering evaluation tools

Knowledge Preservation and Consolidation through an Innovative Multimedia Tool

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Corniani, E.

2013-01-01

The JRC (Joint Research Centre) is the European Commission’s in-house science service. It provides the science for policy decisions, with a view to ensuring that the EU achieves its Europe 2020 goals for a productive economy as well as a safe, secure and sustainable future. The JRC plays a key role in the European Research Area and reinforces its multi-disciplinarity by networking extensively with leading scientific organisations in the Member States, Associated Countries and worldwide. The presentation is about • JRC methodology in Knowledge Preservation; • A Multimedia tool developed for preserving knowledge on WWER reactors; • EC involvement on Fast Reactors

Processes, dimensions and tools for the management of knowledge in industrial maintenance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Javier Cárcel Carrasco

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Knowledge management, implanted in some areas of the company, is usually forgotten in the own service organizations is one of the activities requiring a deep knowledge of the physical assets of the company, that influences the own reliability of the processes of exploitation, the productivity of the company and is where higher level of tacit knowledge based on the experience of the operators. This article is a review of the literature, marking processes, dimensions and tools that can be used for the management of knowledge in the field of industrial maintenance.

Food safety knowledge, attitudes and practices of institutional food-handlers in Ghana.

Science.gov (United States)

Akabanda, Fortune; Hlortsi, Eli Hope; Owusu-Kwarteng, James

2017-01-06

In large scale cooking, food is handled by many individuals, thereby increasing the chances of food contamination due to improper handling. Deliberate or accidental contamination of food during large scale production might endanger the health of consumers, and have very expensive repercussions on a country. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the food safety knowledge, attitudes, and practices among institutional food- handlers in Ghana. The study was conducted using a descriptive, cross-sectional survey of 29 institutions by conducting face to face interview and administration of questionnaire to two hundred and thirty-five (235) institutional food-handlers. The questionnaire was peer-reviewed and pilot tested in three institutions in the Upper East Region of Ghana, before the final version was distributed to food-handlers. The questionnaire was structured into five distinctive parts to collect information on (i) demographic characteristics, (ii) employees' work satisfaction, (iii) knowledge on food safety, (iv) attitudes towards food safety and (v) food hygiene practices. Majority of the food-handlers were between 41-50 years (39.1%). Female respondents were (76.6%). In our study, the food-handlers were knowledgeable about hygienic practices, cleaning and sanitation procedures. Almost all of the food-handlers were aware of the critical role of general sanitary practices in the work place, such as hand washing (98.7% correct answers), using gloves (77.9%), proper cleaning of the instruments/utensils (86.4%) and detergent use (72.8%). On disease transmission, the results indicates that 76.2% of the food- handlers did not know that Salmonella is a food borne pathogens and 70.6% did not know that hepatitis A is a food borne pathogen. However, 81.7% handlers agreed that typhoid fever is transmitted by food and 87.7% agreed that bloody diarrhea is transmitted by food. Logistic regression analysis testing four models showed statistically significant differences

Knowledge and attitude towards health and food safety among students of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Parvin Dehghan

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Health and food safety is one of the most important issues of nutrition science. The present study aims to examine the knowledge and attitude towards health and food safety among students of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran. Methods: This study was conducted through cross-sectional approach on 300 students of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences who were selected through stratified random sampling method, using a validated and reliable researcher-made questionnaire. Data were analyzed by SPSS.Results: More than 50% of students had high attitude and knowledge towards health and food safety and washing hands before cooking. Further, more than 60% of students had low attitude on other related items such as unimportance of food additives in food safety. Besides, more than 50% of students had low knowledge about best temperature to store cooked food which is between 5 to 65 °C and the most appropriate plastic containers to keep food healthy. About 87.3% of students had good knowledge about diseases that could be transmitted through food. That there was a significant relationship between students' attitude and taking courses related to health and food safety (P = 0.010. There was also a significant relationship between students' knowledge and their college (P = 0.001 and major (P = 0.020. Conclusion: Results obtained revealed that students from some colleges and some majors had low knowledge of health and food safety. It is therefore necessary to hold training programs through workshops or to include courses in the curriculum of majors that lack such credits.

AN ADVANCED TOOL FOR APPLIED INTEGRATED SAFETY MANAGEMENT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Potts, T. Todd; Hylko, James M.; Douglas, Terence A.

2003-02-27

WESKEM, LLC's Environmental, Safety and Health (ES&H) Department had previously assessed that a lack of consistency, poor communication and using antiquated communication tools could result in varying operating practices, as well as a failure to capture and disseminate appropriate Integrated Safety Management (ISM) information. To address these issues, the ES&H Department established an Activity Hazard Review (AHR)/Activity Hazard Analysis (AHA) process for systematically identifying, assessing, and controlling hazards associated with project work activities during work planning and execution. Depending on the scope of a project, information from field walkdowns and table-top meetings are collected on an AHR form. The AHA then documents the potential failure and consequence scenarios for a particular hazard. Also, the AHA recommends whether the type of mitigation appears appropriate or whether additional controls should be implemented. Since the application is web based, the information is captured into a single system and organized according to the >200 work activities already recorded in the database. Using the streamlined AHA method improved cycle time from over four hours to an average of one hour, allowing more time to analyze unique hazards and develop appropriate controls. Also, the enhanced configuration control created a readily available AHA library to research and utilize along with standardizing hazard analysis and control selection across four separate work sites located in Kentucky and Tennessee. The AHR/AHA system provides an applied example of how the ISM concept evolved into a standardized field-deployed tool yielding considerable efficiency gains in project planning and resource utilization. Employee safety is preserved through detailed planning that now requires only a portion of the time previously necessary. The available resources can then be applied to implementing appropriate engineering, administrative and personal protective equipment

Safety assessment driving radioactive waste management solutions (SADRWMS Methodology) implemented in a software tool (SAFRAN)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kinker, M., E-mail: M.Kinker@iaea.org [International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Vienna (Austria); Avila, R.; Hofman, D., E-mail: rodolfo@facilia.se [FACILIA AB, Stockholm (Sweden); Jova Sed, L., E-mail: jovaluis@gmail.com [Centro Nacional de Seguridad Nuclear (CNSN), La Habana (Cuba); Ledroit, F., E-mail: frederic.ledroit@irsn.fr [IRSN PSN-EXP/SSRD/BTE, (France)

2013-07-01

In 2004, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) organized the International Project on Safety Assessment Driving Radioactive Waste Management Solutions (SADRWMS) to examine international approaches to safety assessment for predisposal management of radioactive waste. The initial outcome of the SADRWMS Project was achieved through the development of flowcharts which could be used to improve the mechanisms for applying safety assessment methodologies to predisposal management of radioactive waste. These flowcharts have since been incorporated into DS284 (General Safety Guide on the Safety Case and Safety Assessment for Predisposal Management of Radioactive Waste), and were also considered during the early development stages of the Safety Assessment Framework (SAFRAN) Tool. In 2009 the IAEA presented DS284 to the IAEA Waste Safety Standards Committee, during which it was proposed that the graded approach to safety case and safety assessment be illustrated through the development of Safety Reports for representative predisposal radioactive waste management facilities and activities. To oversee the development of these reports, it was agreed to establish the International Project on Complementary Safety Reports: Development and Application to Waste Management Facilities (CRAFT). The goal of the CRAFT project is to develop complementary reports by 2014, which the IAEA could then publish as IAEA Safety Reports. The present work describes how the DS284 methodology and SAFRAN Tool can be applied in the development and review of the safety case and safety assessment to a range of predisposal waste management facilities or activities within the Region. (author)

Safety assessment driving radioactive waste management solutions (SADRWMS Methodology) implemented in a software tool (SAFRAN)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kinker, M.; Avila, R.; Hofman, D.; Jova Sed, L.; Ledroit, F.

2013-01-01

In 2004, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) organized the International Project on Safety Assessment Driving Radioactive Waste Management Solutions (SADRWMS) to examine international approaches to safety assessment for predisposal management of radioactive waste. The initial outcome of the SADRWMS Project was achieved through the development of flowcharts which could be used to improve the mechanisms for applying safety assessment methodologies to predisposal management of radioactive waste. These flowcharts have since been incorporated into DS284 (General Safety Guide on the Safety Case and Safety Assessment for Predisposal Management of Radioactive Waste), and were also considered during the early development stages of the Safety Assessment Framework (SAFRAN) Tool. In 2009 the IAEA presented DS284 to the IAEA Waste Safety Standards Committee, during which it was proposed that the graded approach to safety case and safety assessment be illustrated through the development of Safety Reports for representative predisposal radioactive waste management facilities and activities. To oversee the development of these reports, it was agreed to establish the International Project on Complementary Safety Reports: Development and Application to Waste Management Facilities (CRAFT). The goal of the CRAFT project is to develop complementary reports by 2014, which the IAEA could then publish as IAEA Safety Reports. The present work describes how the DS284 methodology and SAFRAN Tool can be applied in the development and review of the safety case and safety assessment to a range of predisposal waste management facilities or activities within the Region. (author)

Changing the Focus of Knowledge Management for Nuclear Decommissioning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Radford, R.

2016-01-01

Full text: Knowledge Management (KM) has long been a recognized tool for improving the safety, efficiency and effectiveness of nuclear facilities. However, the objectives, tools and mechanisms utilized are often focused on steady-state maintenance of established knowledge and on incremental improvements to current practice. When nuclear facilities transition from routine operations to project-based decommissioning activities there is a need to reconsider the knowledge objectives, methodologies and tools to ensure that KM practices are relevant to the new activities being carried out and provide solutions to the new challenges posed in decommissioning. It is important that the changes required in preparation for and during the decommissioning phase are factored in to knowledge planning to ensure that KM activities are efficient and effective. This transition requires a change in the KM mind-set and a different way of setting new KM objectives. (author

Content Maps: A Teaching and Assessment Tool for Content Knowledge

Science.gov (United States)

Ward, Phillip; Lehwald, Harry; Lee, Yun Soo

2015-01-01

Developing content knowledge in teachers presents a constant challenge for teacher educators. This article introduces a teaching and assessment tool called a "content map," which allows teacher educators, teachers, and coaches to conceptualize the scope, sequence, and relational characteristics of the content being taught. Content maps…

Knowledge and use of asthma control measurement tools in the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Objective: To investigate the knowledge and use of asthma control measurement (ACM) tools in the management of asthma among doctors working in family and internal medicine practice in Nigeria. Method: A questionnaire based on the global initiative on asthma (GINA) guideline was self-administered by 194 doctors.

BCD: a wiki-based decommissioning knowledge management tool

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fontaine, V.; Coudouneau, L.; Goursaud, V.

2008-01-01

Knowledge management allows decommissioning stakeholders to take advantage of past experience (in terms of efficiency, quality, safety, cost, etc.), avoid repeating previous errors, and identify good ideas and practices. It is usually broken down into three processes: collecting information, supplementing and enriching it, and making it available to all decommissioning stakeholders. The CEA has been collecting and centralizing data for many years: the first qualitative assessment of operational experience began in 1991. However, the documents collected were not always relevant for this assessment and, for lack of enrichment and distribution, were generally not used to a significant extent. In order to take advantage of the existing and future body of knowledge and to share this knowledge among decommissioning stakeholders, the CEA decommissioning review unit decided to develop an intranet site known as BCD (from the French acronym for Central Decommissioning Database) using the same wiki technology as the collaborative web encyclopedia, Wikipedia. The objective of BCD is to develop a decommissioning encyclopedia comprising definitions and terminology, the regulatory framework, the lessons of experience with technical or contractual projects, guidelines, statements of results, etc. This article describes BCD and its potential, together with the results observed to date and its prospects for future development. (authors)

Radiographers' professional knowledge regarding parameters and safety issues in plain radiography: a questionnaire survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Farajollahi, A R; Fouladi, D F; Ghojazadeh, M; Movafaghi, A

2014-08-01

To review the knowledge of radiographers and examine the possible sociodemographic and situational contributors to this knowledge. A questionnaire survey was devised and distributed to a cohort of 120 radiographers. Each questionnaire contained two sections. In the first section, background data, including sex, age, highest academic level, grade point average (GPA), length of time from graduation, work experience as a radiographer and the status of previous refresher course(s), were collected. The second section contained 17 multiple-choice questions concerning radiographic imaging parameters and safety issues. The response rate was 63.8%. In univariate analytic model, higher academic degree (p workplace (p = 0.04) and taking previous refresher course(s) (p = 0.01) were significantly associated with higher knowledge score. In multivariate analytic model, however, higher academic degree (B = 1.62; p = 0.01), higher GPA (B = 0.50; p = 0.01) and taking previous refresher course(s) (B = -1.26; p = 0.03) were independently associated with higher level of knowledge. Age, sex, length of time from graduation and work experience were not associated with the respondents' knowledge score. Academic background is a robust indicator of a radiographer's professional knowledge. Refresher courses and regular knowledge assessments are highly recommended. This is the first study in the literature that examines professional knowledge of radiographers in terms of technical and safety issues in plain radiography. Academic degree, GPA and refresher courses are independent predictors of this knowledge. Regular radiographer professional knowledge checks may be recommended.

Training of occupational safety and health: knowledge among healthcare professionals in Malaysia.

Science.gov (United States)

Lugah, V; Ganesh, B; Darus, A; Retneswari, M; Rosnawati, M R; Sujatha, D

2010-07-01

Awareness of occupational safety and health (OSH) plays an important role in the prevention of occupational injuries and diseases. Following the enactment of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) in 1994, various programmes have been implemented by different agencies to increase awareness and knowledge of OSH in the workplace, including among healthcare workers. The objective of this study was to determine the level of OSH awareness and knowledge among healthcare professionals in Malaysia. A cross-sectional study was conducted using a 21-item self-administered questionnaire addressing information on demographics, general OSH issues, OSH legislations, occupational hazards in the healthcare setting and personal protective equipment (PPE). The response rate was 93.1 percent (284 healthcare professionals). The overall level of knowledge on OSH was moderate, with a mean score of 62.0 percent. A larger proportion of doctors showed good OSH knowledge compared to other categories of healthcare workers, with administrative staff scoring the poorest marks. Participants were most knowledgeable about PPE, with a mean score of 72.0 percent (95 percent confidence interval [CI] 68.3, 75.6), compared to other sections such as general OSH, legislations and occupational hazards, with mean scores of 58.0 percent (95 percent CI 56.1, 60.1), 57.0 percent (95 percent CI 54.1, 60.8) and 64.0 percent (95 percent CI 61.7, 66.2), respectively. Although the OSHA 1994 has existed in Malaysia for more than ten years, awareness of OSH remains relatively poor. This warrants a greater effort to promote OSH knowledge and principles among the professionals.

Assessing the Food Safety Knowledge of University of Maine Students

Science.gov (United States)

Ferk, Chelsea C.; Calder, Beth L.; Camire, Mary Ellen

2016-01-01

Foodborne illness is a global public health issue. Young adults may work in foodservice while they are university students, and their habits may later shape the practices and well-being of their children. The objective of this study was to establish baseline data and assess the food safety knowledge of 18- to 26-year-old Univ. of Maine students.…

An evaluation of The Great Escape: can an interactive computer game improve young children's fire safety knowledge and behaviors?

Science.gov (United States)

Morrongiello, Barbara A; Schwebel, David C; Bell, Melissa; Stewart, Julia; Davis, Aaron L

2012-07-01

Fire is a leading cause of unintentional injury and, although young children are at particularly increased risk, there are very few evidence-based resources available to teach them fire safety knowledge and behaviors. Using a pre-post randomized design, the current study evaluated the effectiveness of a computer game (The Great Escape) for teaching fire safety information to young children (3.5-6 years). Using behavioral enactment procedures, children's knowledge and behaviors related to fire safety were compared to a control group of children before and after receiving the intervention. The results indicated significant improvements in knowledge and fire safety behaviors in the intervention group but not the control. Using computer games can be an effective way to promote young children's understanding of safety and how to react in different hazardous situations.

Evaluation of methods and tools to develop safety concepts and to demonstrate safety for an HLW repository in salt. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bollingerfehr, W.; Buhmann, D.; Doerr, S.; and others

2017-03-15

safety demonstration are the integrity proofs for the geological and geotechnical barriers and analysis of backfill compaction. In addition, any possible radionuclide release from the repository to the environment has also to be assessed. The safety and demonstration concept developed in the course of the ISIBEL project was further evolved and applied in the course of the R and D project ''Vorlaeufige Sicherheitsanalyse Gorleben - VSG'' (preliminary safety analysis Gorleben) as an example for an HLW repository in a domal salt structure. The repository concepts also consider the requirement for retrievability of stored waste during the operational phase of the repository. The results of the R and D project VSG provide evidence that a safe HLW repository within a salt dome of a suitable geologic structure is feasible. The long-term safety can be ensured using state-of-the-art science and technology. In 2010, the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) issued new safety requirements for the disposal of heat-generating radioactive waste. These requirements have been included in the analysis. After completion of the VSG project in 2013 complementary work has been performed within the framework of the ISIBEL programme. In this context e.g. potential contributions of natural and antropogenic analogs to confidence building were addressed as well as the feasibility and limits of deriving a repository conc ept strictly from requirements. The report in hands provides a comprehensive summary of the results of R and D work regarding HLW disposal in domal salt formations that has been performed after launching the ISIBEL programme in 2005. This study shows the depth of the geological and technical knowledge on final disposal of HLW in a salt dome with a suitable geologic structure that had been gained up to now and demonstrates that the tools required for safety evaluations are available and allow reliable safety

Evaluation of methods and tools to develop safety concepts and to demonstrate safety for an HLW repository in salt. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bollingerfehr, W.; Buhmann, D.; Doerr, S.

2017-03-01

safety demonstration are the integrity proofs for the geological and geotechnical barriers and analysis of backfill compaction. In addition, any possible radionuclide release from the repository to the environment has also to be assessed. The safety and demonstration concept developed in the course of the ISIBEL project was further evolved and applied in the course of the R and D project ''Vorlaeufige Sicherheitsanalyse Gorleben - VSG'' (preliminary safety analysis Gorleben) as an example for an HLW repository in a domal salt structure. The repository concepts also consider the requirement for retrievability of stored waste during the operational phase of the repository. The results of the R and D project VSG provide evidence that a safe HLW repository within a salt dome of a suitable geologic structure is feasible. The long-term safety can be ensured using state-of-the-art science and technology. In 2010, the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) issued new safety requirements for the disposal of heat-generating radioactive waste. These requirements have been included in the analysis. After completion of the VSG project in 2013 complementary work has been performed within the framework of the ISIBEL programme. In this context e.g. potential contributions of natural and antropogenic analogs to confidence building were addressed as well as the feasibility and limits of deriving a repository conc ept strictly from requirements. The report in hands provides a comprehensive summary of the results of R and D work regarding HLW disposal in domal salt formations that has been performed after launching the ISIBEL programme in 2005. This study shows the depth of the geological and technical knowledge on final disposal of HLW in a salt dome with a suitable geologic structure that had been gained up to now and demonstrates that the tools required for safety evaluations are available and allow reliable safety assessments of HLW

Relationship between knowledge, attitude, behavior, and self-efficacy on the radiation safety on dental hygienist

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Han, Eun Ok; Jun, Sung Hee

2008-01-01

The objective of this study is to draw an educational plant for reducing the probability of troubles caused by radiation for dental hygienists who are the major applicants of radiation equipments used in dental offices. This study investigated the knowledge and self-efficacy, which is the major variable that affects the attitude and behavior, on the radiation safety that is an educational approach. Also, this study obtained following results from a survey for 25 days from June 15, 2008 that was applied for 225 dental hygienists worked at dental offices and clinics in the area of Youngnam in order to verify the relationship between such variables. The average scores for the knowledge, attitude, and behavior were 54.28±16.33, 87.93±9.75, and 59.85±14.76, respectively. Also, the average score of the self-efficacy was 72.88±8.60. In the knowledge level for the radiation safety, ‘a case that prepares personal dosimeters’, ‘a case that establishes protection facilities’, ‘a case that presents 6⁓10 dental hygienists’, ‘a case that presents radiological technologists’, and ‘a case that is a general hospital’ represented high values. In the attitude level for the radiation safety, ‘a case who is a married person’, ‘a case that prepares personal dosimeters’, and ‘a case that is a general hospital’ showed high values. In the behavior level for the radiation safety, ‘a case that shows a career in dental hygienist or radiographic for 6⁓10 years’, ‘a case that attends radiation safety education’, ‘a case that establishes protection facilities’ showed high values. Also, in the self-efficacy level, ‘a case that who has a high education level more than graduate school education’ and ‘a case that establishes protection facilities’ represented high values. In the relationship between the knowledge, attitude, behavior, and self-efficacy for the radiation safety, it showed statistically significant differences in this

Relationship between knowledge, attitude, behavior, and self-efficacy on the radiation safety on dental hygienist

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Han, Eun Ok; Jun, Sung Hee [Daegu Health College, Daegu (Korea, Republic of)

2008-11-15

The objective of this study is to draw an educational plant for reducing the probability of troubles caused by radiation for dental hygienists who are the major applicants of radiation equipments used in dental offices. This study investigated the knowledge and self-efficacy, which is the major variable that affects the attitude and behavior, on the radiation safety that is an educational approach. Also, this study obtained following results from a survey for 25 days from June 15, 2008 that was applied for 225 dental hygienists worked at dental offices and clinics in the area of Youngnam in order to verify the relationship between such variables. The average scores for the knowledge, attitude, and behavior were 54.28±16.33, 87.93±9.75, and 59.85±14.76, respectively. Also, the average score of the self-efficacy was 72.88±8.60. In the knowledge level for the radiation safety, ‘a case that prepares personal dosimeters’, ‘a case that establishes protection facilities’, ‘a case that presents 6⁓10 dental hygienists’, ‘a case that presents radiological technologists’, and ‘a case that is a general hospital’ represented high values. In the attitude level for the radiation safety, ‘a case who is a married person’, ‘a case that prepares personal dosimeters’, and ‘a case that is a general hospital’ showed high values. In the behavior level for the radiation safety, ‘a case that shows a career in dental hygienist or radiographic for 6⁓10 years’, ‘a case that attends radiation safety education’, ‘a case that establishes protection facilities’ showed high values. Also, in the self-efficacy level, ‘a case that who has a high education level more than graduate school education’ and ‘a case that establishes protection facilities’ represented high values. In the relationship between the knowledge, attitude, behavior, and self-efficacy for the radiation safety, it showed statistically significant differences in this

Understanding and assessing safety culture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dalling, Ian

1997-01-01

The 'Dalling' integrated model of organisational performance is introduced and described. A principal element of this model is culture, which is dynamically contrasted with the five other interacting critical elements, which comprise: the management system, the knowledge base, corporate leadership, stakeholders and consciousness. All six of these principal driving elements significantly influence health, safety, environmental, security, or any other aspect of organisational performance. It is asserted that the elements of organisational performance must be clearly defined and understood if meaningful measurements are to be carried out and sustained progress made in improving the knowledge of organisational performance. AEA Technology's safety culture research programme is then described together with the application of a safety culture assessment tool to organisations in the nuclear, electricity, transport, and oil and gas industries, both within and outside of the United Kingdom. (author)

ACCIDENT WITH NEEDLESTICK: KNOWLEDGE AND USE OF SAFETY DEVICE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sandra Maria Souza da Silva

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Health workers engaged in labour activities in environments surrounded the occupational hazards. Identify knowledge and use of safety devide for preventing accidents with sharp objects between nurses and nurse technicians, workers of the Intensive Care Unit, Emergency and Surgical Block, during the month of may 2015. Exploratory study, quantitative, developed in a teaching hospital in in Recife-PE. The data collection was conducted using a questionnaire prepared by the research authors. The results were submitted to descriptive statistical analysis, being evidenced that, although data indicate high rate of respondents know and use products with referencing safety devices to prevent accidents, cite gloves and masks as representatives of those materials, which requires clarification in discussion of the study. It is necessary to guide and clarify as to such mechanisms, through the permanent education, and training among workers.

Food safety knowledge, attitude and practices of meat handler in abattoir and retail meat shops of Jigjiga Town, Ethiopia.

Science.gov (United States)

Tegegne, H A; Phyo, H W W

2017-12-01

A cross-sectional survey was carried out among 91 meat handlers by using structured questionnaire to determine the food safety knowledge, attitude and practices in abattoir and retail meat shops of Jigjiga Town. The result shows that majority of the meat handlers were illiterate (30.8%) and primary school leaver (52.7%), and no one went through any food safety training except one meat inspector. The food-handlers' knowledge and safety practices were below acceptable level with the mean score of 13.12 ± 2.33 and 7.7 ± 2.1 respectively. Only few respondents knew about Staphylococcus aureus (3.3% correct answer), hepatitis A virus (19.8% correct answer), and E. coli (5.5% correct answer) as food borne pathogens. About 64% of meat handlers have good attitude about safety of food with mean of total score 14.4 ± 2. All respondents answer correctly questions about proper meat handling and hand washing but they did not translate into strict food hygiene practices. Chi2 analysis testing for the association between knowledge, attitude and practices did not show any significant association. It may be due to meat handlers' below acceptable level safety practices regardless of sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge and attitude. However, there was strong association between level of education and knowledge, and knowledge and hand washing (p practices through better understanding and positive attitude.

Road Safety Data, Collection, Transfer and Analysis DaCoTa. Deliverable 1.5. Vol.1 — Analysis of the stakeholder survey: perceived priority and availability of data and tools and relation to the stakeholders' characteristics. Vol.II: Analysis of Road Safety Management in the European countries.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Papadimitriou, E. Yannis, G. Muhlrad, N. Vallet, G. Butler, I. Gitelman, V. Doveh, E. Dupont, E. Thomas, P. Talbot, R. Giustiniani, G. Machata, K. & Bax, C.

2015-01-01

Volume I: This report is part of the ‘Policy’ Work Package of the DaCoTA project (www.dacotaproject.eu). The ‘Policy’ Work Package is designed to fill in the gap in knowledge on road safety policy making processes, their institutional framework and the data, methods and technical tools needed to

The Aviation Performance Measuring System (APMS): An Integrated Suite of Tools for Measuring Performance and Safety

Science.gov (United States)

Statler, Irving C.; Connor, Mary M. (Technical Monitor)

1998-01-01

This is a report of work in progress. In it, I summarize the status of the research and development of the Aviation Performance Measuring System (APMS) for managing, processing, and analyzing digital flight-recorded data, The objectives of the NASA-FAA APMS research project are to establish a sound scientific and technological basis for flight-data analysis, to define an open and flexible architecture for flight-data analysis systems, and to articulate guidelines for a standardized database structure on which to continue to build future flight-data-analysis extensions. APMS offers to the air transport community an open, voluntary standard for flight-data-analysis software; a standard that will help to ensure suitable functionality and data interchangeability among competing software programs. APMS will develop and document the methodologies, algorithms, and procedures for data management and analyses to enable users to easily interpret the implications regarding safety and efficiency of operations. APMS does not entail the implementation of a nationwide flight-data-collection system. It is intended to provide technical tools to ease the large-scale implementation of flight-data analyses at both the air-carrier and the national-airspace levels in support of their Flight Operations and Quality Assurance (FOQA) Programs and Advanced Qualifications Programs (AQP). APMS cannot meet its objectives unless it develops tools that go substantially beyond the capabilities of the current commercially available software and supporting analytic methods that are mainly designed to count special events. These existing capabilities, while of proven value, were created primarily with the needs-of aircrews in mind. APMS tools must serve the needs of the government and air carriers, as well as aircrews, to fully support the FOQA and AQP programs. They must be able to derive knowledge not only through the analysis of single flights (special-event detection), but also through

Facilitation of Function and Manipulation Knowledge of Tools Using Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ryo Ishibashi

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Using a variety of tools is a common and essential component of modern human life. Patients with brain damage or neurological disorders frequently have cognitive deficits in their recognition and manipulation of tools. In this study, we focused on improving tool-related cognition using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS. Converging evidence from neuropsychology, neuroimaging and non- invasive brain stimulation has identified the anterior temporal lobe (ATL and inferior parietal lobule (IPL as brain regions supporting action semantics. We observed enhanced performance in tool cognition with anodal tDCS over ATL and IPL in two cognitive tasks that require rapid access to semantic knowledge about the function or manipulation of common tools. ATL stimulation improved access to both function and manipulation knowledge of tools. The effect of IPL stimulation showed a trend toward better manipulation judgments. Our findings support previous studies of tool semantics and provide a novel approach for manipulation of underlying circuits.

Assessment of the global trigger tool to measure, monitor and evaluate pateint safety in cancer patients

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Otto Mattsson, Thea; Lehmann-Knudsen, Janne; Lauritsen, Jens M

2013-01-01

BACKGROUND: Countries around the world are currently aiming to improve patient safety by means of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement global trigger tool (GTT), which is considered a valid tool for evaluating and measuring patient safety within organisations. So far, only few data....... RESULTS: Only 31% of adverse events (AE) were identified by both teams, and further differences in categorisation of identical events was found. Moderate interrater agreement (κ=0.45) between teams gave rise to different conclusions on the patient safety process when monitoring using SPC charts. The Bland......-Altman plot suggests little systematic error but large random error. CONCLUSIONS: Review teams may identify different AE and reach different conclusions on the safety process when using the GTT on identical charts. Tracking true change in the safety level is difficult due to measurement error of the GTT...

Development of the Knowledge of Dementia Competencies Self-Assessment Tool.

Science.gov (United States)

Curyto, Kimberly J; Vriesman, Deedre K

2016-02-01

Competent dementia care requires caregivers with specialized knowledge and skills. The Knowledge of Dementia Competencies Self-Assessment Tool was developed to help direct care workers (DCWs) assess their knowledge of 7 dementia competencies identified by the Michigan Dementia Coalition. Item selection was guided by literature review and expert panel consultation. It was given to 159 DCWs and readministered to 57 DCWs in a range of long-term care settings and revised based on qualitative feedback and statistical item analyses, resulting in 82 items demonstrating good internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Performance on items assessing competencies rated as most important was significantly related to training in these competencies. The DCWs in day care obtained higher scores than those in home care settings, and their sites reported a greater number of hours of dementia training. Validation in a more diverse group of DCWs and assessing its relationship to other measures of knowledge and skill is needed. © The Author(s) 2015.

Food safety knowledge, attitudes and practices of institutional food-handlers in Ghana

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Fortune Akabanda

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In large scale cooking, food is handled by many individuals, thereby increasing the chances of food contamination due to improper handling. Deliberate or accidental contamination of food during large scale production might endanger the health of consumers, and have very expensive repercussions on a country. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the food safety knowledge, attitudes, and practices among institutional food- handlers in Ghana. Methods The study was conducted using a descriptive, cross-sectional survey of 29 institutions by conducting face to face interview and administration of questionnaire to two hundred and thirty-five (235 institutional food-handlers. The questionnaire was peer-reviewed and pilot tested in three institutions in the Upper East Region of Ghana, before the final version was distributed to food-handlers. The questionnaire was structured into five distinctive parts to collect information on (i demographic characteristics, (ii employees’ work satisfaction, (iii knowledge on food safety, (iv attitudes towards food safety and (v food hygiene practices. Results Majority of the food-handlers were between 41–50 years (39.1%. Female respondents were (76.6%. In our study, the food-handlers were knowledgeable about hygienic practices, cleaning and sanitation procedures. Almost all of the food-handlers were aware of the critical role of general sanitary practices in the work place, such as hand washing (98.7% correct answers, using gloves (77.9%, proper cleaning of the instruments/utensils (86.4% and detergent use (72.8%. On disease transmission, the results indicates that 76.2% of the food- handlers did not know that Salmonella is a food borne pathogens and 70.6% did not know that hepatitis A is a food borne pathogen. However, 81.7% handlers agreed that typhoid fever is transmitted by food and 87.7% agreed that bloody diarrhea is transmitted by food. Logistic regression analysis testing four models

Patient safety: knowledge between multiprofessional residents.

Science.gov (United States)

Oliveira, João Lucas Campos de; Silva, Simone Viana da; Santos, Pamela Regina Dos; Matsuda, Laura Misue; Tonini, Nelsi Salete; Nicola, Anair Lazzari

2017-01-01

To assess the knowledge of multiprofesional residents in health about the security of the patient theme. Cross-sectional study, quantitative, developed with graduate courses/residence specialties of health in a public university of Paraná, Brazil. Participants (n=78) answered a questionnaire containing nine objective questions related to patient safety. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, in proportion measures. The minimum 75% of correct answers was considered the cutoff for positive evaluation. The sample was predominantly composed of young people from medical programs. Almost half of the items evaluated (n=5) achieved the established positive pattern, especially those who dealt with the hand hygiene moments (98.8%) and goal of the Patient Safety National Program (92.3%). The identification of the patient was the worst rated item (37.7%). In the analysis by professional areas, only the Nursing reached the standard of hits established. Knowledge of the residents was threshold. Verificar o conhecimento de residentes multiprofissionais na área da saúde sobre o tema segurança do paciente. Estudo transversal, quantitativo, desenvolvido com pós-graduandos dos cursos/especialidades de residência da área da saúde de uma universidade pública do Paraná. Os participantes (n=78) responderam um questionário contendo nove questões objetivas relacionadas com a segurança do paciente. Os dados foram analisados por estatística descritiva, em medidas de proporção. O mínimo de 75% de acertos foi considerado ponto de corte para avaliação positiva. A amostra foi composta por profissionais predominantemente jovens, oriundos de programas médicos. Quase metade dos itens avaliados (n=5) alcançou o padrão de positividade estabelecido, com destaque para os que trataram dos momentos de higienização das mãos (98,8%) e o objetivo do Programa Nacional de Segurança do Paciente (92,3%). A identificação do paciente foi o pior item avaliado (37,7%). Na an

Mechanical knowledge does matter to tool use even when assessed with a non-production task: Evidence from left brain-damaged patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Lesourd, Mathieu; Budriesi, Carla; Osiurak, François; Nichelli, Paolo F; Bartolo, Angela

2017-12-20

In the literature on apraxia of tool use, it is now accepted that using familiar tools requires semantic and mechanical knowledge. However, mechanical knowledge is nearly always assessed with production tasks, so one may assume that mechanical knowledge and familiar tool use are associated only because of their common motor mechanisms. This notion may be challenged by demonstrating that familiar tool use depends on an alternative tool selection task assessing mechanical knowledge, where alternative uses of tools are assumed according to their physical properties but where actual use of tools is not needed. We tested 21 left brain-damaged patients and 21 matched controls with familiar tool use tasks (pantomime and single tool use), semantic tasks and an alternative tool selection task. The alternative tool selection task accounted for a large amount of variance in the single tool use task and was the best predictor among all the semantic tasks. Concerning the pantomime of tool use task, group and individual results suggested that the integrity of the semantic system and preserved mechanical knowledge are neither necessary nor sufficient to produce pantomimes. These results corroborate the idea that mechanical knowledge is essential when we use tools, even when tasks assessing mechanical knowledge do not require the production of any motor action. Our results also confirm the value of pantomime of tool use, which can be considered as a complex activity involving several cognitive abilities (e.g., communicative skills) rather than the activation of gesture engrams. © 2017 The British Psychological Society.

Assessment of Food Safety Knowledge, Attitude, Self-Reported Practices, and Microbiological Hand Hygiene of Food Handlers

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Hui Key; Abdul Halim, Hishamuddin; Thong, Kwai Lin; Chai, Lay Ching

2017-01-01

Institutional foodborne illness outbreaks continue to hit the headlines in the country, indicating the failure of food handlers to adhere to safe practices during food preparation. Thus, this study aimed to compare the knowledge, attitude, and self-reported practices (KAP) of food safety assessment and microbiological assessment of food handlers’ hands as an indicator of hygiene practices in food premises. This study involved 85 food handlers working in a university located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The food safety KAP among food handlers (n = 67) was assessed using a questionnaire; while the hand swabs (n = 85) were tested for the total aerobic count, coliforms, and Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella, Vibrio cholerae and Vibrio parahaemolyticus. The food handlers had moderate levels of food safety knowledge (61.7%) with good attitude (51.9/60) and self-reported practices (53.2/60). It is noteworthy that the good self-reported practices were not reflected in the microbiological assessment of food handlers’ hands, in which 65% of the food handlers examined had a total aerobic count ≥20 CFU/cm2 and Salmonella was detected on 48% of the food handlers’ hands. In conclusion, the suggestion of this study was that the food handlers had adequate food safety knowledge, but perceived knowledge failed to be translated into practices at work.

Assessment of Food Safety Knowledge, Attitude, Self-Reported Practices, and Microbiological Hand Hygiene of Food Handlers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hui Key Lee

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Institutional foodborne illness outbreaks continue to hit the headlines in the country, indicating the failure of food handlers to adhere to safe practices during food preparation. Thus, this study aimed to compare the knowledge, attitude, and self-reported practices (KAP of food safety assessment and microbiological assessment of food handlers’ hands as an indicator of hygiene practices in food premises. This study involved 85 food handlers working in a university located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The food safety KAP among food handlers (n = 67 was assessed using a questionnaire; while the hand swabs (n = 85 were tested for the total aerobic count, coliforms, and Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella, Vibrio cholerae and Vibrio parahaemolyticus. The food handlers had moderate levels of food safety knowledge (61.7% with good attitude (51.9/60 and self-reported practices (53.2/60. It is noteworthy that the good self-reported practices were not reflected in the microbiological assessment of food handlers’ hands, in which 65% of the food handlers examined had a total aerobic count ≥20 CFU/cm2 and Salmonella was detected on 48% of the food handlers’ hands. In conclusion, the suggestion of this study was that the food handlers had adequate food safety knowledge, but perceived knowledge failed to be translated into practices at work.

Development of the Consumer Refrigerator Safety Questionnaire: A Measure of Consumer Perceptions and Practices.

Science.gov (United States)

Cairnduff, Victoria; Dean, Moira; Koidis, Anastasios

2016-09-01

Food preparation and storage behaviors in the home deviating from the "best practice" food safety recommendations may result in foodborne illnesses. Currently, there are limited tools available to fully evaluate the consumer knowledge, perceptions, and behavior in the area of refrigerator safety. The current study aimed to develop a valid and reliable tool in the form of a questionnaire, the Consumer Refrigerator Safety Questionnaire (CRSQ), for assessing systematically all these aspects. Items relating to refrigerator safety knowledge (n =17), perceptions (n =46), and reported behavior (n =30) were developed and pilot tested by an expert reference group and various consumer groups to assess face and content validity (n =20), item difficulty and consistency (n =55), and construct validity (n =23). The findings showed that the CRSQ has acceptable face and content validity with acceptable levels of item difficulty. Item consistency was observed for 12 of 15 in refrigerator safety knowledge. Further, all 5 of the subscales of consumer perceptions of refrigerator safety practices relating to risk of developing foodborne disease showed acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach's α value > 0.8). Construct validity of the CRSQ was shown to be very good (P = 0.022). The CRSQ exhibited acceptable test-retest reliability at 14 days with the majority of knowledge items (93.3%) and reported behavior items (96.4%) having correlation coefficients of greater than 0.70. Overall, the CRSQ was deemed valid and reliable in assessing refrigerator safety knowledge and behavior; therefore, it has the potential for future use in identifying groups of individuals at increased risk of deviating from recommended refrigerator safety practices, as well as the assessment of refrigerator safety knowledge and behavior for use before and after an intervention.

Probabilistic Safety Assessment: An Effective Tool to Support “Systemic Approach” to Nuclear Safety and Analysis of Human and Organizational Aspects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuzmina, I.

2016-01-01

The Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) represents a comprehensive conceptual and analytical tool for quantitative evaluation of risk of undesirable consequences from nuclear facilities and drawing on qualitative insights for nuclear safety. PSA considers various technical, human, and organizational factors in an integral manner thus explicitly pursuing a true ‘systemic approach’ to safety and enabling holistic insights for further safety improvement. Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) is one of the major tasks within PSA. The poster paper provides an overview of the objectives and scope of PSA and HRA and discusses on further needs in the area of HRA. (author)

Identifying and prioritizing the tools/techniques of knowledge management based on the Asian Productivity Organization Model (APO) to use in hospitals.

Science.gov (United States)

Khajouei, Hamid; Khajouei, Reza

2017-12-01

Appropriate knowledge, correct information, and relevant data are vital in medical diagnosis and treatment systems. Knowledge Management (KM) through its tools/techniques provides a pertinent framework for decision-making in healthcare systems. The objective of this study was to identify and prioritize the KM tools/techniques that apply to hospital setting. This is a descriptive-survey study. Data were collected using a -researcher-made questionnaire that was developed based on experts' opinions to select the appropriate tools/techniques from 26 tools/techniques of the Asian Productivity Organization (APO) model. Questions were categorized into five steps of KM (identifying, creating, storing, sharing, and applying the knowledge) according to this model. The study population consisted of middle and senior managers of hospitals and managing directors of Vice-Chancellor for Curative Affairs in Kerman University of Medical Sciences in Kerman, Iran. The data were analyzed in SPSS v.19 using one-sample t-test. Twelve out of 26 tools/techniques of the APO model were identified as the tools applicable in hospitals. "Knowledge café" and "APO knowledge management assessment tool" with respective means of 4.23 and 3.7 were the most and the least applicable tools in the knowledge identification step. "Mentor-mentee scheme", as well as "voice and Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP)" with respective means of 4.20 and 3.52 were the most and the least applicable tools/techniques in the knowledge creation step. "Knowledge café" and "voice and VOIP" with respective means of 3.85 and 3.42 were the most and the least applicable tools/techniques in the knowledge storage step. "Peer assist and 'voice and VOIP' with respective means of 4.14 and 3.38 were the most and the least applicable tools/techniques in the knowledge sharing step. Finally, "knowledge worker competency plan" and "knowledge portal" with respective means of 4.38 and 3.85 were the most and the least applicable tools

Safety-barrier diagrams as a safety management tool

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Duijm, Nijs Jan

2009-01-01

Safety-barrier diagrams and “bow-tie” diagrams have become popular methods in risk analysis and safety management. This paper describes the syntax and principles for constructing consistent and valid safety-barrier diagrams. The latter's relation to other methods such as fault trees and Bayesian...

The 7 basic tools of quality applied to radiological safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gonzalez F, J.A.

1991-01-01

This work seeks to establish a series of correspondences among the search of the quality and the optimization of the doses received by the occupationally exposed personnel. There are treated about the seven basic statistic tools of the quality: the Pareto technique, Cause effect diagrams, Stratification, Verification sheet, Histograms, Dispersion diagrams and Graphics and control frames applied to the Radiological Safety

Understanding the Knowledge Gap Experienced by U.S. Safety Net Patients in Teleretinal Screening.

Science.gov (United States)

George, Sheba M; Hayes, Erin Moran; Fish, Allison; Daskivich, Lauren Patty; Ogunyemi, Omolola I

2016-01-01

Safety-net patients' socioeconomic barriers interact with limited digital and health literacies to produce a "knowledge gap" that impacts the delivery of healthcare via telehealth technologies. Six focus groups (2 African- American and 4 Latino) were conducted with patients who received teleretinal screening in a U.S. urban safety-net setting. Focus groups were analyzed using a modified grounded theory methodology. Findings indicate that patients' knowledge gap is primarily produced at three points during the delivery of care: (1) exacerbation of patients' pre-existing personal barriers in the clinical setting; (2) encounters with technology during screening; and (3) lack of follow up after the visit. This knowledge gap produces confusion, potentially limiting patients' perceptions of care and their ability to manage their own care. It may be ameliorated through delivery of patient education focused on both disease pathology and specific role of telehealth technologies in disease management.

Aviation’s Normal Operations Safety Audit: a safety management and educational tool for health care? Results of a small-scale trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bennett SA

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Simon A Bennett Civil Safety and Security Unit, School of Business, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK Background: A National Health Service (NHS contingent liability for medical error claims of over £26 billion. Objectives: To evaluate the safety management and educational benefits of adapting aviation’s Normal Operations Safety Audit (NOSA to health care. Methods: In vivo research, a NOSA was performed by medical students at an English NHS Trust. After receiving training from the author, the students spent 6 days gathering data under his supervision. Results: The data revealed a threat-rich environment, where errors – some consequential – were made (359 threats and 86 errors were recorded over 2 weeks. The students claimed that the exercise improved their observational, investigative, communication, teamworking and other nontechnical skills. Conclusion: NOSA is potentially an effective safety management and educational tool for health care. It is suggested that 1 the UK General Medical Council mandates that all medical students perform a NOSA in fulfillment of their degree; 2 the participating NHS Trusts be encouraged to act on students’ findings; and 3 the UK Department of Health adopts NOSA as a cornerstone risk assessment and management tool. Keywords: aviation, safety audit, health care, management benefits, educational benefits

Survey on the use of configuration risk and safety management tools at nuclear power plants. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fleming, K.N.; Read, J.W.; Dagan, W.J.; Bidwell, D.A.

1998-09-01

In order to provide input to Electricite de France's (EDF) evaluation of the use of configuration safety and risk management tools in the French plants and to collect information to guide the EPRI efforts to provide useful tools for the EPRI member utilities and international partners, a joint effort to survey US and selected non-US nuclear power stations was conducted. This survey examined the use of various approaches, techniques, and software tools that are being used to evaluate the safety and risk aspects of plant configuration changes and configuration changes during plant outages as well as during power operation. The use of these tools has increased in recent years as a result of efforts to optimize plant maintenance programs, improve plant safety, and increase plant reliability and availability. This report provides the results of the survey of 37 organizations covering 54 nuclear plant sites and 97 reactor units

Knowledge Preservation and Web-tools

Science.gov (United States)

Moreman, Douglas; Dyer, John; Ahmad, Rashed

1998-01-01

We propose a library of "netbooks" as part of a national effort, preserving the wisdom of the early Space Program. NASA is losing its rocket scientists who designed the great systems of the past. Few new systems of similar ambition are being built; much of the expertise that took us to the Moon is evaporating. With retiring NASA designers, we work to preserve something of the expertise of these individuals, developed at great national cost. We show others the tools that make preservation easy and cheap. Retiring engineers and scientists can be coached into speaking (without charge) into recording devices about ideas not widely appreciated but of potential future value. Transcripts of the recordings and the audio itself are combined (cheaply) in netbooks accessible via a standard web-browser (free). Selected netbooks are indexed into a rapidly searchable system, an electronic Library. We recruit support in establishing a standards committee for that Library. The system is to be a model for access by the blind as well as for preservation of important, technical knowledge.

Trends in HFE Methods and Tools and Their Applicability to Safety Reviews

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

O' Hara, J.M.; Plott, C.; Milanski, J.; Ronan, A.; Scheff, S.; Laux, L.; and Bzostek, J.

2009-09-30

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) conducts human factors engineering (HFE) safety reviews of applicant submittals for new plants and for changes to existing plants. The reviews include the evaluation of the methods and tools (M&T) used by applicants as part of their HFE program. The technology used to perform HFE activities has been rapidly evolving, resulting in a whole new generation of HFE M&Ts. The objectives of this research were to identify the current trends in HFE methods and tools, determine their applicability to NRC safety reviews, and identify topics for which the NRC may need additional guidance to support the NRC's safety reviews. We conducted a survey that identified over 100 new HFE M&Ts. The M&Ts were assessed to identify general trends. Seven trends were identified: Computer Applications for Performing Traditional Analyses, Computer-Aided Design, Integration of HFE Methods and Tools, Rapid Development Engineering, Analysis of Cognitive Tasks, Use of Virtual Environments and Visualizations, and Application of Human Performance Models. We assessed each trend to determine its applicability to the NRC's review by considering (1) whether the nuclear industry is making use of M&Ts for each trend, and (2) whether M&Ts reflecting the trend can be reviewed using the current design review guidance. We concluded that M&T trends that are applicable to the commercial nuclear industry and are expected to impact safety reviews may be considered for review guidance development. Three trends fell into this category: Analysis of Cognitive Tasks, Use of Virtual Environments and Visualizations, and Application of Human Performance Models. The other trends do not need to be addressed at this time.

Trends in HFE Methods and Tools and Their Applicability to Safety Reviews

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O'Hara, J.M.; Plott, C.; Milanski, J.; Ronan, A.; Scheff, S.; Laux, L.; Bzostek, J.

2009-01-01

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) conducts human factors engineering (HFE) safety reviews of applicant submittals for new plants and for changes to existing plants. The reviews include the evaluation of the methods and tools (M and T) used by applicants as part of their HFE program. The technology used to perform HFE activities has been rapidly evolving, resulting in a whole new generation of HFE M and Ts. The objectives of this research were to identify the current trends in HFE methods and tools, determine their applicability to NRC safety reviews, and identify topics for which the NRC may need additional guidance to support the NRC's safety reviews. We conducted a survey that identified over 100 new HFE M and Ts. The M and Ts were assessed to identify general trends. Seven trends were identified: Computer Applications for Performing Traditional Analyses, Computer-Aided Design, Integration of HFE Methods and Tools, Rapid Development Engineering, Analysis of Cognitive Tasks, Use of Virtual Environments and Visualizations, and Application of Human Performance Models. We assessed each trend to determine its applicability to the NRC's review by considering (1) whether the nuclear industry is making use of M and Ts for each trend, and (2) whether M and Ts reflecting the trend can be reviewed using the current design review guidance. We concluded that M and T trends that are applicable to the commercial nuclear industry and are expected to impact safety reviews may be considered for review guidance development. Three trends fell into this category: Analysis of Cognitive Tasks, Use of Virtual Environments and Visualizations, and Application of Human Performance Models. The other trends do not need to be addressed at this time.

Development Of Dynamic Probabilistic Safety Assessment: The Accident Dynamic Simulator (ADS) Tool

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, Y.H.; Mosleh, A.; Dang, V.N.

2003-01-01

The development of a dynamic methodology for Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) addresses the complex interactions between the behaviour of technical systems and personnel response in the evolution of accident scenarios. This paper introduces the discrete dynamic event tree, a framework for dynamic PSA, and its implementation in the Accident Dynamic Simulator (ADS) tool. Dynamic event tree tools generate and quantify accident scenarios through coupled simulation models of the plant physical processes, its automatic systems, the equipment reliability, and the human response. The current research on the framework, the ADS tool, and on Human Reliability Analysis issues within dynamic PSA, is discussed. (author)

Development Of Dynamic Probabilistic Safety Assessment: The Accident Dynamic Simulator (ADS) Tool

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chang, Y.H.; Mosleh, A.; Dang, V.N

2003-03-01

The development of a dynamic methodology for Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) addresses the complex interactions between the behaviour of technical systems and personnel response in the evolution of accident scenarios. This paper introduces the discrete dynamic event tree, a framework for dynamic PSA, and its implementation in the Accident Dynamic Simulator (ADS) tool. Dynamic event tree tools generate and quantify accident scenarios through coupled simulation models of the plant physical processes, its automatic systems, the equipment reliability, and the human response. The current research on the framework, the ADS tool, and on Human Reliability Analysis issues within dynamic PSA, is discussed. (author)

Level of knowledge among the population of radiation safety basic issues

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. A. Zelencova

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The goal of research was to determine the level of knowledge among the population on issues like sources of ionising radiation, methods of ionising radiation measurement, measures of self-protection in case of threating or actual radioactive pollution in the district, and to study self-estimation by the population of their knowledge of radiation safety issues. Research was carried out using the method of questioning of population groups in three regions close to the places of previous peaceful nuclear explosions (Arkhangelsk, Murmansk and Tyumen regions, and in five Far East regions of the Russian Federation (Kamchatka, Khabarovsk, Primorsky, Magadan and South-Sakhalin regions after radiation accident in Japan at "Fukushima-1" NPP. This research included processing of 243 questionnaires from the regions close to places of previous peaceful nuclear explosions and 216 questionnaires from the Far East regions.The analysis of obtained questioning results enabled to make the following conclusions: the level of knowledge among the population about the basic concepts of radiation safety appeared to be generally low among respondents of all eight territories. Considerable number of respondents in seven groups correctly mentioned the x-ray device as a source of ionising radiation (from 71 to 88 % of answers. In Murmansk region – only 52 % of the answers. Respondents of the same seven groups often correctly answered the question on how to detect ionising radiation (only with devices – from 68 to 98 % in different groups. The smallest number of correct answers to this question (42 % is also noted among respondents from the Murmansk region.Level of knowledge on self-protection measures at threating or actual radioactive pollution of the places of residence appeared a little higher among the Far East region population, who had actual concerns regarding the threat of radioactive pollution at the present time. However, in all eight investigated groups

Application of ICT tools in communicating information and knowledge to artisanal fishermen communities in Zanzibar

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ronald Benard

2017-06-01

Full Text Available This article assesses the application of ICT tools in communicating information and knowledge to artisanal fishermen communities in Zanzibar. The study was carried out in four purposefully selected wards in Unguja District in Zanzibar, Tanzania. The study involved a sample size of 80 respondents. Data were collected by using document reviews, questionnaires, focus group discussions and personal observations. Results showed that artisanal fishermen need information and knowledge on weather condition, modern fish capturing methods, market and marketing, fish preservation and processing. The study also found that mobile phones and radio are the most ICTs tools used by the artisanal fishermen. The findings also revealed that communicating information and knowledge through ICT tools was limited by lack of funds, poor network connectivity, lack of training and seminars on the use of ICTs in accessing information and poor coverage on radio and television transmission. It is therefore recommended that the government should support artisanal fishermen in acquiring some of the fishing gears and ICTs tools such as GPS and sonar through subsidizing them.

Use of reliability engineering tools in safety and risk assessment of nuclear facilities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Raso, Amanda Laureano; Vasconcelos, Vanderley de; Marques, Raíssa Oliveira; Soares, Wellington Antonio; Mesquita, Amir Zacarias, E-mail: amandaraso@hotmail.com, E-mail: vasconv@cdtn.br, E-mail: raissaomarques@gmail.com, E-mail: soaresw@cdtn.br, E-mail: amir@cdtn.br [Centro de Desenvolvimento da Tecnologia Nuclear (CDTN/CNEN-MG), Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil). Serviço de Tecnologia de Reatores

2017-07-01

Safety, reliability and availability are fundamental criteria in design, construction and operation of nuclear facilities, as nuclear power plants. Deterministic and probabilistic risk assessments of such facilities are required by regulatory authorities in order to meet licensing regulations, contributing to assure safety, as well as reduce costs and environmental impacts. Probabilistic Risk Assessment has become an important part of licensing requirements of the nuclear power plants in Brazil and in the world. Risk can be defined as a qualitative and/or quantitative assessment of accident sequence frequencies (or probabilities) and their consequences. Risk management is a systematic application of management policies, procedures and practices to identify, analyze, plan, implement, control, communicate and document risks. Several tools and computer codes must be combined, in order to estimate both probabilities and consequences of accidents. Event Tree Analysis (ETA), Fault Tree Analysis (FTA), Reliability Block Diagrams (RBD), and Markov models are examples of evaluation tools that can support the safety and risk assessment for analyzing process systems, identifying potential accidents, and estimating consequences. Because of complexity of such analyzes, specialized computer codes are required, such as the reliability engineering software develop by Reliasoft® Corporation. BlockSim (FTA, RBD and Markov models), RENO (ETA and consequence assessment), Weibull++ (life data and uncertainty analysis), and Xfmea (qualitative risk assessment) are some codes that can be highlighted. This work describes an integrated approach using these tools and software to carry out reliability, safety, and risk assessment of nuclear facilities, as well as, and application example. (author)

Use of reliability engineering tools in safety and risk assessment of nuclear facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Raso, Amanda Laureano; Vasconcelos, Vanderley de; Marques, Raíssa Oliveira; Soares, Wellington Antonio; Mesquita, Amir Zacarias

2017-01-01

Safety, reliability and availability are fundamental criteria in design, construction and operation of nuclear facilities, as nuclear power plants. Deterministic and probabilistic risk assessments of such facilities are required by regulatory authorities in order to meet licensing regulations, contributing to assure safety, as well as reduce costs and environmental impacts. Probabilistic Risk Assessment has become an important part of licensing requirements of the nuclear power plants in Brazil and in the world. Risk can be defined as a qualitative and/or quantitative assessment of accident sequence frequencies (or probabilities) and their consequences. Risk management is a systematic application of management policies, procedures and practices to identify, analyze, plan, implement, control, communicate and document risks. Several tools and computer codes must be combined, in order to estimate both probabilities and consequences of accidents. Event Tree Analysis (ETA), Fault Tree Analysis (FTA), Reliability Block Diagrams (RBD), and Markov models are examples of evaluation tools that can support the safety and risk assessment for analyzing process systems, identifying potential accidents, and estimating consequences. Because of complexity of such analyzes, specialized computer codes are required, such as the reliability engineering software develop by Reliasoft® Corporation. BlockSim (FTA, RBD and Markov models), RENO (ETA and consequence assessment), Weibull++ (life data and uncertainty analysis), and Xfmea (qualitative risk assessment) are some codes that can be highlighted. This work describes an integrated approach using these tools and software to carry out reliability, safety, and risk assessment of nuclear facilities, as well as, and application example. (author)

Web-based international knowledge exchange tool on urban resilience and climate proofing cities : climatescan

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boogaard, Floris; Tipping, Jonathan; Muthanna, T.; Duffy, A.; Bendall, Barry; Kluck, Jeroen

There is a wide diversity of projects undertaken to address urban resillience and climate proofing in the world. International knowledge exchange tools are evaluated with result: stakeholders demand tools that are interactive, open source and provide more detailed information (location, free photo

Indicators and Measurement Tools for Health Systems Integration: A Knowledge Synthesis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Esther Suter

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Background: Despite far reaching support for integrated care, conceptualizing and measuring integrated care remains challenging. This knowledge synthesis aimed to identify indicator domains and tools to measure progress towards integrated care. Methods: We used an established framework and a Delphi survey with integration experts to identify relevant measurement domains. For each domain, we searched and reviewed the literature for relevant tools. Findings: From 7,133 abstracts, we retrieved 114 unique tools. We found many quality tools to measure care coordination, patient engagement and team effectiveness/performance. In contrast, there were few tools in the domains of performance measurement and information systems, alignment of organizational goals and resource allocation. The search yielded 12 tools that measure overall integration or three or more indicator domains. Discussion: Our findings highlight a continued gap in tools to measure foundational components that support integrated care. In the absence of such targeted tools, “overall integration” tools may be useful for a broad assessment of the overall state of a system. Conclusions: Continued progress towards integrated care depends on our ability to evaluate the success of strategies across different levels and context. This study has identified 114 tools that measure integrated care across 16 domains, supporting efforts towards a unified measurement framework.

Indicators and Measurement Tools for Health Systems Integration: A Knowledge Synthesis

Science.gov (United States)

Oelke, Nelly D.; da Silva Lima, Maria Alice Dias; Stiphout, Michelle; Janke, Robert; Witt, Regina Rigatto; Van Vliet-Brown, Cheryl; Schill, Kaela; Rostami, Mahnoush; Hepp, Shelanne; Birney, Arden; Al-Roubaiai, Fatima; Marques, Giselda Quintana

2017-01-01

Background: Despite far reaching support for integrated care, conceptualizing and measuring integrated care remains challenging. This knowledge synthesis aimed to identify indicator domains and tools to measure progress towards integrated care. Methods: We used an established framework and a Delphi survey with integration experts to identify relevant measurement domains. For each domain, we searched and reviewed the literature for relevant tools. Findings: From 7,133 abstracts, we retrieved 114 unique tools. We found many quality tools to measure care coordination, patient engagement and team effectiveness/performance. In contrast, there were few tools in the domains of performance measurement and information systems, alignment of organizational goals and resource allocation. The search yielded 12 tools that measure overall integration or three or more indicator domains. Discussion: Our findings highlight a continued gap in tools to measure foundational components that support integrated care. In the absence of such targeted tools, “overall integration” tools may be useful for a broad assessment of the overall state of a system. Conclusions: Continued progress towards integrated care depends on our ability to evaluate the success of strategies across different levels and context. This study has identified 114 tools that measure integrated care across 16 domains, supporting efforts towards a unified measurement framework. PMID:29588637

Food safety knowledge of undergraduate students at a Canadian university: results of an online survey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sarah M. Courtney

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Foodborne diseases are an important public health issue, and young adults are an important demographic to target with food safety education. Our objective was to assess the food safety knowledge of undergraduate students at a Canadian university, to identify potential areas for such education. Methods In February 2015, we conducted an online survey of 485 undergraduate students at a university in Ontario, Canada. We assessed various food-related factors, including cooking frequency and prior food handling or preparation education. We then modeled the relationship between ‘overall knowledge score’ and the demographic and food skills/cooking experience predictors using multivariable log-binomial regression, to determine factors associated with relatively higher proportions of correct responses. Results Respondents were, on average, 20.5 years old, and the majority (64.8 % lived off campus. Students cooked from basic ingredients infrequently, with 3 in 4 doing so a few times a year to never. Students averaged 6.2 correct answers to the 11 knowledge questions. Adjusting for other important covariates, older age and being a current food handler were associated with relatively higher knowledge, whereas working/volunteering in a hospital and infrequent cooking were associated with relatively lower knowledge. Males in the Faculty of Science had relatively higher knowledge than females in the Faculty of Science, both of whom had relatively higher knowledge than all students in other Faculties. Among students who had never taken a food preparation course, knowledge increased with self-reported cooking ability; however, among students who had taken such a course, knowledge was highest among those with low self-reported cooking ability. Conclusions Consistent with other similar studies, students in Faculties outside of the Faculty of Science, younger students, and those who cook infrequently could benefit from food safety education

Food safety knowledge of undergraduate students at a Canadian university: results of an online survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Courtney, Sarah M; Majowicz, Shannon E; Dubin, Joel A

2016-11-09

Foodborne diseases are an important public health issue, and young adults are an important demographic to target with food safety education. Our objective was to assess the food safety knowledge of undergraduate students at a Canadian university, to identify potential areas for such education. In February 2015, we conducted an online survey of 485 undergraduate students at a university in Ontario, Canada. We assessed various food-related factors, including cooking frequency and prior food handling or preparation education. We then modeled the relationship between 'overall knowledge score' and the demographic and food skills/cooking experience predictors using multivariable log-binomial regression, to determine factors associated with relatively higher proportions of correct responses. Respondents were, on average, 20.5 years old, and the majority (64.8 %) lived off campus. Students cooked from basic ingredients infrequently, with 3 in 4 doing so a few times a year to never. Students averaged 6.2 correct answers to the 11 knowledge questions. Adjusting for other important covariates, older age and being a current food handler were associated with relatively higher knowledge, whereas working/volunteering in a hospital and infrequent cooking were associated with relatively lower knowledge. Males in the Faculty of Science had relatively higher knowledge than females in the Faculty of Science, both of whom had relatively higher knowledge than all students in other Faculties. Among students who had never taken a food preparation course, knowledge increased with self-reported cooking ability; however, among students who had taken such a course, knowledge was highest among those with low self-reported cooking ability. Consistent with other similar studies, students in Faculties outside of the Faculty of Science, younger students, and those who cook infrequently could benefit from food safety education. Supporting improved hand hygiene, in particular clarifying hand

Relationship between knowledge, attitude, behavior, and self-efficacy on the radiation safety management of radiation workers in medical institutions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Han, Eun Ok

2007-01-01

Radiation safety managements in medical institutions are needed to protect certain radiation damages as a part of National Coalition. This study investigates the characteristics of self-efficacy that become the major factor on the knowledge, attitude, and behavior on the radiation safety management of radiation workers as an approach of educational aspects and analyzes the relationship between such factors to provide basic materials for improving the activity level of radiation safety managements. In order to implement the goal of this study, a survey was performed for 1,200 workers who were engaged in radiation treatments in medical centers, such as general hospital, university hospital, private hospital, and public health center for 42 days from July 23, 2006. Then, the results of the analysis can be summarized as follows: 1. Average scores on knowledge, attitude, and behavior in the radiation safety management were presented as 75.76±11.20, 90.55±8.59, 80.58±11.70, respectively. Also, the average score of self-efficacy was recorded as 73.55±9.82. 2. Knowledge levels in the radiation safety management showed significant differences according to the sex, age, marriage, education, and experience. Also, males of married, older, highly educated, and largely experienced represented high knowledge levels. Attitude levels in the radiation safety management showed certain significant differences according to the type of medical centers in which private hospitals showed a relatively low level compared to that of high levels in university hospitals. Behavior levels in the radiation safety management also represented significant differences according to the age, marriage, education, experience, and types of medical centers. Factors in married, general hospital, older, highly educated, and largely experienced showed high behavior levels. In addition, the self-efficacy showed certain differences according to the marriage and types of medical centers. Factors in married

Relationship between knowledge, attitude, behavior, and self-efficacy on the radiation safety management of radiation workers in medical institutions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Han, Eun Ok [Daegu Health College, Daegu (Korea, Republic of)

2007-06-15

Radiation safety managements in medical institutions are needed to protect certain radiation damages as a part of National Coalition. This study investigates the characteristics of self-efficacy that become the major factor on the knowledge, attitude, and behavior on the radiation safety management of radiation workers as an approach of educational aspects and analyzes the relationship between such factors to provide basic materials for improving the activity level of radiation safety managements. In order to implement the goal of this study, a survey was performed for 1,200 workers who were engaged in radiation treatments in medical centers, such as general hospital, university hospital, private hospital, and public health center for 42 days from July 23, 2006. Then, the results of the analysis can be summarized as follows: 1. Average scores on knowledge, attitude, and behavior in the radiation safety management were presented as 75.76{+-}11.20, 90.55{+-}8.59, 80.58{+-}11.70, respectively. Also, the average score of self-efficacy was recorded as 73.55{+-}9.82. 2. Knowledge levels in the radiation safety management showed significant differences according to the sex, age, marriage, education, and experience. Also, males of married, older, highly educated, and largely experienced represented high knowledge levels. Attitude levels in the radiation safety management showed certain significant differences according to the type of medical centers in which private hospitals showed a relatively low level compared to that of high levels in university hospitals. Behavior levels in the radiation safety management also represented significant differences according to the age, marriage, education, experience, and types of medical centers. Factors in married, general hospital, older, highly educated, and largely experienced showed high behavior levels. In addition, the self-efficacy showed certain differences according to the marriage and types of medical centers. Factors in

Integrating declarative knowledge programming styles and tools for building expert systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barbuceanu, M; Trausan-Matu, S; Molnar, B

1987-01-01

The XRL system reported in this paper is an integrated knowledge programming environment whose major research theme is the investigation of declarative knowledge programming styles and features and of the way they can be effectively integrated and used to support AI programming. This investigation is carried out in the context of the structured-object representation paradigm which provides the glue keeping XRL components together. The paper describes several declarative programming styles and associated support tools available in XRL. These include an instantiation system supporting a generalized view of the ubiquous frame installation process, a description based programming system providing a novel declarative programming style which embeds a mathematical oriented description language in the structured object environment and a transformational interpreter for using it, a semantics oriented programming framework which offers a specific semantic construct based approach supporting maintenance and evolution and a self description and self generation tool which applies the latter approach to XRL itself. 29 refs., 16 figs.

[Safety Walkround as a risk assessment tool: the first Italian experience].

Science.gov (United States)

Levati, A; Amato, S; Adrario, E; De Flaviis, C; Delia, C; Milesi, S; Petrini, F; Bevilacqua, L

2009-01-01

In 2007 the Study Group "Clinical Risk Management" of the Italian Society of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Unit (SIAARTI) performed a multicentric study in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) to assess the feasibility and efficacy of the Safety WalkRound (SWR) as a tool for the risk assessment. As the environment and organization of ICU are more complex than anaesthesia ones, mainly due to the severity of patients, high number of involved healthcare givers and different kinds of procedures, the Study Group decided that a check list is not fit for ICU and , after a careful review of the literature, chose to test the Safety WalkRound. in four Italian General ICUs. The SWR was born in 2003 when Frankel plans a structured interview of 15 questions (about 50% open) to collect operators' opinion about rate and type of errors, near misses, communication, problems regarding the report of adverse events and suggestions to increase patient safety. Consequently SWR is a tool of risk assessment alternative to the Incident Reporting which is marked by a diffuse underreporting of operators. Although the SWR is a new tool not validated in Italian language neither published in Italy on PubMed journals , the Study Group has decided that it might be fit for the organization of Italian Healthcare System. A back translation of the validated model of Joint Commission was provided and the translated version has been lightly changed to be employed in hospitals with and without Incident Reporting . The questions have been changed or introduced on the basis of the organization vulnerabilities detected with observational techniques or Focus Group. The interview performed in Italy contains 16 questions classified into five groups: a) error, b) error prevention, c) communication, teamwork and leadership, d) error discussion and e) relationship with patients and their families. The answers collected have been analyzed to detect the vulnerabilities in the organizations and specify the improvements to

Efficacy of a food safety comic book on knowledge and self-reported behavior for persons living with AIDS.

Science.gov (United States)

Dworkin, Mark S; Peterson, Caryn E; Gao, Weihua; Mayor, Angel; Hunter, Robert; Negron, Edna; Fleury, Alison; Besch, C Lynn

2013-01-01

Persons living with AIDS are highly vulnerable to foodborne enteric infections with the potential for substantial morbidity and mortality. Educational materials about foodborne enteric infections intended for this immunocompromised population have not been assessed for their efficacy in improving knowledge or encouraging behavior change. AIDS patients in four healthcare facilities in Chicago, New Orleans, and Puerto Rico were recruited using fliers and word of mouth to healthcare providers. Those who contacted research staff were interviewed to determine food safety knowledge gaps and risky behaviors. A food safety educational comic book that targeted knowledge gaps was created, piloted, and provided to these patients who were instructed to read it and return at least 2 weeks later for a follow-up interview. The overall food safety score was determined by the number of the 26 knowledge/belief/behavior questions from the survey answered correctly. Among 150 patients who participated in both the baseline and follow-up questionnaire, the intervention resulted in a substantial increase in the food safety score (baseline 59%, post-intervention 81%, pcomic book format intervention to educate persons living with AIDS was highly effective. Future studies should examine to what extent long-term behavioral changes result.

Food Safety Knowledge and Practices of Older Adult Participants of the Food Stamp Nutrition Education Program

OpenAIRE

Rasnake, Crystal Michelle

2000-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine food safety knowledge and practices of older adult participants in the Food Stamp Nutrition Education Program (FSNEP) in Virginia. One hundred and sixty-five FSNEP participants were assigned to two possible intervention groups, group one received the food safety lesson from the Healthy Futures Series currently used in FSNEP, while group two received the food safety lesson plus an additional food safety video. FSNEP participants completed food safet...

Post-Project Market Review as a Tool for Stimulating Commercialisation of Knowledge Creation Projects

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bout, Y.; Lombaers, Jaap H.M.; Constantinides, Efthymios; Fisscher, O.A.M.; de Weerd-Nederhof, Petronella C.; Oakey, R.; Groen, A.; Cook, G.; van der Sijde, P.

2009-01-01

Post-Project Reviews are mainly used as a tool to improve organisational learning (Busby, 1999; von Zedtwitz, 2002). However, post-project reviews can also be used as a tool to identify new market potential and to hand over technical knowledge from technical to marketing personnel (von Zedtwitz,

The role of simulation in mixed-methods research: a framework & application to patient safety.

Science.gov (United States)

Guise, Jeanne-Marie; Hansen, Matthew; Lambert, William; O'Brien, Kerth

2017-05-04

Research in patient safety is an important area of health services research and is a national priority. It is challenging to investigate rare occurrences, explore potential causes, and account for the complex, dynamic context of healthcare - yet all are required in patient safety research. Simulation technologies have become widely accepted as education and clinical tools, but have yet to become a standard tool for research. We developed a framework for research that integrates accepted patient safety models with mixed-methods research approaches and describe the performance of the framework in a working example of a large National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded R01 investigation. This worked example of a framework in action, identifies the strengths and limitations of qualitative and quantitative research approaches commonly used in health services research. Each approach builds essential layers of knowledge. We describe how the use of simulation ties these layers of knowledge together and adds new and unique dimensions of knowledge. A mixed-methods research approach that includes simulation provides a broad multi-dimensional approach to health services and patient safety research.

Trainee Knowledge of Imaging Appropriateness and Safety: Results of a Series of Surveys From a Large Academic Medical Center.

Science.gov (United States)

Hollingsworth, Thaddeus D; Duszak, Richard; Vijayasarathi, Arvind; Gelbard, Rondi B; Mullins, Mark E

2017-10-31

In order to provide high quality care to their patients and utilize imaging most judiciously, physician trainees should possess a working knowledge of appropriate use, radiation dose, and safety. Prior work has suggested knowledge gaps in similar areas. We aimed to evaluate the knowledge of imaging appropriateness, radiation dose, and MRI and contrast safety of physician trainees across a variety of specialties. Between May 2016 and January 2017, three online surveys were distributed to all interns, residents, and fellows in ACGME accredited training programs at a large academic institution over two academic years. Response rates to three surveys ranged from 17.2% (218 of 1266) for MRI and contrast material safety, 19.1% (242 of 1266) for imaging appropriateness, to19.9% (246 of 1238) for radiation dose. Overall 72% (509 of 706) of survey respondents reported regularly ordering diagnostic imaging examinations, but fewer than half (47.8%; 470 of 984) could correctly estimate radiation dose across four commonly performed imaging studies. Only one third (34%; 167 of 488) of trainees chose appropriate imaging in scenarios involving pregnant patients. Trainee post-graduate year was not significantly correlated with overall radiation safety scores, and no significant difference was found between radiation safety or appropriate imaging scores of those who participated in a medical school radiology elective vs. those who did not. A total of 84% (57 of 68) of radiology trainees and 43% (269 of 630) of non-radiology trainees considered their knowledge adequate but that correlated only weakly correlated to actual knowledge scores (pimaging safety exist among many trainees. In order to enhance the value of imaging at the population level, further work is needed to assess the most appropriate method and stage of training to address these knowledge gaps. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The fault tree as a tool in safety analysis in nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Waddington, J.G.; Wild, A.

1981-01-01

Modern safety analysis must be able to identify realistic failure modes based on realistic operation and system malfunction, demonstrate rigorously that adequate independence exists between a malfunctioning system and those other systems required to mitigate the effects of the malfunction, design adequate reliability into systems important to plant safety and to demonstrate rigorously that the design reliability is met in operation, and identify the realistic actions expected of the operator. Fault trees, which have proved to be a powerful tool to achieve these objectives, are inevitably large and must be computerized. However, the computerized system must be simple, must allow merging of branches developed independently, must provide for easy modification and the processing must be economical and easily accessible. A new system for displaying, plotting and analysing fault trees has been developed and implemented on a small computer at AECB to demonstrate the viability of the approach to designers, and to provide a tool to assess licensee's submissions on failure modes of support systems such as electrical, service water and air, and to assess reliability predictions for special safety systems. (author)

Post-project market review as a tool for stimulating commercialisation of knowledge creation projects

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bout, L.Y.; Lombaers, J.H.M.; Constantinides, E.; Weerd-Nederhof, P.C. de

2009-01-01

Post-Project Reviews are mainly used as a tool to improve organisational learning (Busby, 1999; von Zedtwitz, 2002). However, the concept of post-project review can also be used as a tool to identify new market potential and to hand over technical knowledge from technical to marketing personnel (von

A Spanish-language patient safety questionnaire to measure medical and nursing students' attitudes and knowledge

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José J. Mira

2015-08-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: To design and validate a questionnaire for assessing attitudes and knowledge about patient safety using a sample of medical and nursing students undergoing clinical training in Spain and four countries in Latin America. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, a literature review was carried out and total of 786 medical and nursing students were surveyed at eight universities from five countries (Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Spain to develop and refine a Spanish-language questionnaire on knowledge and attitudes about patient safety. The scope of the questionnaire was based on five dimensions (factors presented in studies related to patient safety culture found in PubMed and Scopus. Based on the five factors, 25 reactive items were developed. Composite reliability indexes and Cronbach's alpha statistics were estimatedfor each factor, and confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to assess validity. After a pilot test, the questionnaire was refined using confirmatory models, maximum-likelihood estimation, and the variance-covariance matrix (as input. Multiple linear regression models were used to confirm external validity, considering variables related to patient safety culture as dependent variables and the five factors as independent variables. RESULTS: The final instrument was a structured five-point Likert self-administered survey (the "Latino Student Patient Safety Questionnaire" consisting of 21 items grouped into five factors. Compound reliability indexes (Cronbach's alpha statistic calculated for the five factors were about 0.7 or higher. The results of the multiple linear regression analyses indicated good model fit (goodness-of-fit index: 0.9. Item-total correlations were higher than 0.3 in all cases. The convergent-discriminant validity was adequate. CONCLUSIONS: The questionnaire designed and validated in this study assesses nursing and medical students' attitudes and knowledge about patient safety. This

A Spanish-language patient safety questionnaire to measure medical and nursing students' attitudes and knowledge.

Science.gov (United States)

Mira, José J; Navarro, Isabel M; Guilabert, Mercedes; Poblete, Rodrigo; Franco, Astolfo L; Jiménez, Pilar; Aquino, Margarita; Fernández-Trujillo, Francisco J; Lorenzo, Susana; Vitaller, Julián; de Valle, Yohana Díaz; Aibar, Carlos; Aranaz, Jesús M; De Pedro, José A

2015-08-01

To design and validate a questionnaire for assessing attitudes and knowledge about patient safety using a sample of medical and nursing students undergoing clinical training in Spain and four countries in Latin America. In this cross-sectional study, a literature review was carried out and total of 786 medical and nursing students were surveyed at eight universities from five countries (Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Spain) to develop and refine a Spanish-language questionnaire on knowledge and attitudes about patient safety. The scope of the questionnaire was based on five dimensions (factors) presented in studies related to patient safety culture found in PubMed and Scopus. Based on the five factors, 25 reactive items were developed. Composite reliability indexes and Cronbach's alpha statistics were estimated for each factor, and confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to assess validity. After a pilot test, the questionnaire was refined using confirmatory models, maximum-likelihood estimation, and the variance-covariance matrix (as input). Multiple linear regression models were used to confirm external validity, considering variables related to patient safety culture as dependent variables and the five factors as independent variables. The final instrument was a structured five-point Likert self-administered survey (the "Latino Student Patient Safety Questionnaire") consisting of 21 items grouped into five factors. Compound reliability indexes (Cronbach's alpha statistic) calculated for the five factors were about 0.7 or higher. The results of the multiple linear regression analyses indicated good model fit (goodness-of-fit index: 0.9). Item-total correlations were higher than 0.3 in all cases. The convergent-discriminant validity was adequate. The questionnaire designed and validated in this study assesses nursing and medical students' attitudes and knowledge about patient safety. This instrument could be used to indirectly evaluate whether or

Technology and Tool Development to Support Safety and Mission Assurance

Science.gov (United States)

Denney, Ewen; Pai, Ganesh

2017-01-01

The Assurance Case approach is being adopted in a number of safety-mission-critical application domains in the U.S., e.g., medical devices, defense aviation, automotive systems, and, lately, civil aviation. This paradigm refocuses traditional, process-based approaches to assurance on demonstrating explicitly stated assurance goals, emphasizing the use of structured rationale, and concrete product-based evidence as the means for providing justified confidence that systems and software are fit for purpose in safely achieving mission objectives. NASA has also been embracing assurance cases through the concepts of Risk Informed Safety Cases (RISCs), as documented in the NASA System Safety Handbook, and Objective Hierarchies (OHs) as put forth by the Agency's Office of Safety and Mission Assurance (OSMA). This talk will give an overview of the work being performed by the SGT team located at NASA Ames Research Center, in developing technologies and tools to engineer and apply assurance cases in customer projects pertaining to aviation safety. We elaborate how our Assurance Case Automation Toolset (AdvoCATE) has not only extended the state-of-the-art in assurance case research, but also demonstrated its practical utility. We have successfully developed safety assurance cases for a number of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) operations, which underwent, and passed, scrutiny both by the aviation regulator, i.e., the FAA, as well as the applicable NASA boards for airworthiness and flight safety, flight readiness, and mission readiness. We discuss our efforts in expanding AdvoCATE capabilities to support RISCs and OHs under a project recently funded by OSMA under its Software Assurance Research Program. Finally, we speculate on the applicability of our innovations beyond aviation safety to such endeavors as robotic, and human spaceflight.

Safe operation of nuclear power plants - Is safety culture an adequate management method?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Piirto, A.

2012-01-01

One of the characteristics of a good safety culture is a definable commitment to the improvement of safety behaviours and attitudes at all organisational levels. A second characteristic of an organisation with excellent safety culture is free and open communication. The general understanding has been that safety culture is a part of organisation culture. In addition to safety culture thinking, proactive programmes and displays of proactive work to improve safety are required. This work needs to include, qt a minimum, actions aiming at reducing human errors, the development of human error prevention tools, improvements in training, and the development of working methods and the organisation's activities. Safety depends not only on the technical systems, but also on the organisation. There is a need for better methods and tools for organisational assessment and development. Today there is universal acceptance of the significant impact that management and organisational factors have over the safety significance of complex industrial installations such as nuclear power plants. Many events with significant economic and public impact had causes that have been traced to management deficiencies. The objective of this study is development of new methods to increase safety of nuclear power plant operation. The research has been limited to commercial nuclear power plants that are intended for electrical power generation in Finland. Their production activities, especially operation and maintenance, are primarily reviewed from a safety point of view, as well as human performance and organisational factors perspective. This defines the scope and focus of the study. The research includes studies related to knowledge management and tacit knowledge in the project management context and specific studies related to transfer of tacit knowledge in the maintenance organization and transfer of tacit knowledge between workers of old generation and young generation. The empirical results

Safe operation of nuclear power plants - Is safety culture an adequate management method?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Piirto, A.

2012-07-01

One of the characteristics of a good safety culture is a definable commitment to the improvement of safety behaviours and attitudes at all organisational levels. A second characteristic of an organisation with excellent safety culture is free and open communication. The general understanding has been that safety culture is a part of organisation culture. In addition to safety culture thinking, proactive programmes and displays of proactive work to improve safety are required. This work needs to include, qt a minimum, actions aiming at reducing human errors, the development of human error prevention tools, improvements in training, and the development of working methods and the organisation's activities. Safety depends not only on the technical systems, but also on the organisation. There is a need for better methods and tools for organisational assessment and development. Today there is universal acceptance of the significant impact that management and organisational factors have over the safety significance of complex industrial installations such as nuclear power plants. Many events with significant economic and public impact had causes that have been traced to management deficiencies. The objective of this study is development of new methods to increase safety of nuclear power plant operation. The research has been limited to commercial nuclear power plants that are intended for electrical power generation in Finland. Their production activities, especially operation and maintenance, are primarily reviewed from a safety point of view, as well as human performance and organisational factors perspective. This defines the scope and focus of the study. The research includes studies related to knowledge management and tacit knowledge in the project management context and specific studies related to transfer of tacit knowledge in the maintenance organization and transfer of tacit knowledge between workers of old generation and young generation. The empirical

Risk Perception, Knowledge and Safety Attitude and Hearing Protector Use in Petrochemical Industry Workers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mahdi Jahangiri

2008-06-01

Full Text Available Background and Aim: Hearing protectors (HP are widely employed as the only measure against noise exposure. However, it is well known that unless do workers wear HP continuously, its efficacy will be very low. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of risk perception, knowledge and safety attitude on hearing protection use in petrochemical industry's workers.Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study a structural questionnaire was administrated to 236 randomly selected workers in Iranian petrochemical industry who had been to 85 dBA noise and some influencing factors including risk perception, knowledge and general attitude to safety on using of HP had been investigated.Results: This study showed that only 20.3% of employees claimed to wear hearing protection all the time when they exposed to noise. There was a significant relationship between use of hearing protector and worker's risk perception (p=0.048 and also their knowledge about hearing protection(p=0.009. Also, the relationship between general attitude of workers to safety and risk perception was statistically significant (p=0.046. Conclusion: The results of the study showed that for promoting the use of hearing protectors, two main strategy should be followed. First, removing the barriers to make hearing protectors compliant, and second enhancing the workers’ risk perception about hearing loss and proper use of ear protectors.

The Online Learning Knowledge Garden: A Pedagogic Planning Tool for e-Learning

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Scott, Bernard

2006-01-01

Please, cite this publication as: Scott, B. (2006). The Online Learning Knowledge Garden: A Pedagogic Planning Tool for e-Learning. Proceedings of International Workshop in Learning Networks for Lifelong Competence Development, TENCompetence Conference. March 30th-31st, Sofia, Bulgaria:

Assessing organisational culture for quality and safety improvement: a national survey of tools and tool use.

Science.gov (United States)

Mannion, R; Konteh, F H; Davies, H T O

2009-04-01

There is growing international interest in managing organisational culture as a lever for healthcare improvement. This has prompted a practical need to understand what instruments and tools exist for assessing cultures in healthcare contexts. The present study was undertaken to determine the culture assessment tools being used in the English NHS and assess their fitness for purpose. Postal questionnaire survey of clinical governance leads in 275 English NHS organisations, with a response rate of 77%. A third of the organisations were currently using a culture assessment instrument to support their clinical governance activity. Although we found a high degree of satisfaction with existing instruments, in terms of ease of use and relevance, there is an immediate practical need to develop new and better bespoke culture assessment tools to bridge the gap between the cultural domains covered by extant instruments and the broader range of concerns of clinical governance managers. There is growing interest in understanding and shaping local cultures in healthcare, which is not yet matched by widespread use of available instruments. Even though extant tools cover many of the most important cultural attributes identified by clinical governance managers, the over-riding focus of tools in use is on safety rather than a holistic assessment of the dimensions of healthcare quality and performance.

Modelling of the knowledge for monitoring expert systems in nuclear power plant safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Machado, Liana; Schirru, Roberto; Martinez, Aquilino S.

1997-01-01

Safety operation support systems for NPP faced problems of difficult solutions along their development. This work presents possible solution to such problems, and contribute to enhance the reliability and performance of such system using Artificial Intelligence. Knowledge representation is capital in this work since it express the dependence on variables in a rather natural way. therefore, it makes intrinsic the concepts of synchronism and concurrence in real-time approach. Other advantages are easy V and V processes and simplification of the system maintenance procedures. The inference process is carried out through the rules that are generated from knowledge base. These rules are charged following a conflict resolution optimized for time-real approach. The real application used to validate the model efficiency, consists in part of SICA (Integrated System of the Angra-1 Computers). The application results revealed very positive reducing the quantity of the SICA conventional software code programming. As far the system performance. the knowledge structures and the conflict resolution strategy adopted allowed for guarantee not only the time control for inference, but also a response time compatible with that requested for power plant safety support. (author) 12 refs., 4 figs

Knowledge translation tools for parents on child health topics: a scoping review.

Science.gov (United States)

Albrecht, Lauren; Scott, Shannon D; Hartling, Lisa

2017-09-29

An emerging field of knowledge translation (KT) research has begun to focus on health consumers, particularly in child health. KT tools provide health consumers with research knowledge to inform health decision-making and may foster 'effective consumers'. Thus, the purpose of this scoping review was to describe the state of the field of previously published effectiveness research on child health-related KT tools for parents/caregivers to understand the evidence-base, identify gaps, and guide future research efforts. A health research librarian developed and implemented search strategies in 8 databases. One reviewer conducted screening using pre-determined criteria. A second reviewer verified 10% of screening decisions. Data extraction was performed by one reviewer. A descriptive analysis was conducted and included patient-important outcome classification, WIDER Recommendation checklist, and methodological quality assessment. Seven thousand nine hundred fifty two independent titles and abstracts were reviewed, 2267 full-text studies were retrieved and reviewed, and 18 articles were included in the final data set. A variety of KT tools, including single- (n = 10) and multi-component tools (n = 10), were evaluated spanning acute (n = 4), chronic (n = 5) and public/population health (n = 9) child health topics. Study designs included: cross-sectional (n = 4), before-after (n = 1), controlled before-after (n = 2), cohort (n = 1), and RCTs (n = 10). The KT tools were evaluated via single primary outcome category (n = 11) and multiple primary outcome categories (n = 7). Two studies demonstrated significant positive effects on primary outcome categories; the remaining studies demonstrated mixed effects (n = 9) and no effect (n = 3). Overall, methodological quality was poor; studies lacked a priori protocols (n = 18) and sample size calculations (n = 13). Overall, intervention reporting was also poor; KT tools lacked description of

Pediatrician attitudes, knowledge, and practice behavior regarding teen driving safety.

Science.gov (United States)

Campbell, Brendan T; Borrup, Kevin; Corsi, John M; Kelliher, Kristine M; Saleheen, Hassan; Banco, Leonard; Lapidus, Garry

2009-01-01

Each year about 4,000 teens ages 16-19 die on U.S. roads. Injury prevention counseling is recommended as a valuable and cost-effective part of routine health supervision. This study describes pediatrician knowledge and practice regarding teen driving safety. A 31-item self-administered survey was mailed to pediatricians. 160 of 392 pediatricians (41%) completed the survey. During a health supervision visit 93% of pediatricians reported discussing seat belt use, 89% impaired driving, 54% teen licensing laws, and 16% parent teen contract. Half reported having a teen in their practice killed in a crash. A majority surveyed report discussing and counseling teens on first wave teen driver safety issues (seat belts, alcohol use), but most do not discuss graduated driver licensing laws or related issues. Broadly adopted, this inexpensive counseling approach, could lead to reductions in teen motorvehicle crash injuries.

IMPACTS OF SAFETY and QUALITY IN ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION AT HANFORD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

PREVETTE, S.S.

2004-01-01

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the integration of safety methodology, quality tools, leadership, and teamwork at Hanford and their significant positive impact on safe performance of work. Control charts, Pareto Charts, Dr. W. Edward Deming's Red Bead Experiment, and Dr. Deming's System of Profound Knowledge have been the principal tools and theory of an integrated management system. Coupled with involved leadership and teamwork they have led to significant improvements in worker safety and protection, and environmental restoration at one of the nation's largest nuclear cleanup sites

Determinants of Knowledge and Safety Practices of Occupational Hazards of Textile Dye Workers in Sokoto, Nigeria: A Descriptive Analytic Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Okafoagu, Nneka Christina; Oche, Mansur; Awosan, Kehinde Joseph; Abdulmulmuni, Hashim Bala; Gana, Godwin Jiya; Ango, Jessica Timane; Raji, Ismail

2017-06-23

Textile dye workers are subject to occupational hazards on a daily basis due to exposure to precarious conditions in the workplace. This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude and safety practices and its determinants among textile dye workers in Sokoto metropolis, Nigeria. This is a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted among 200 textile dye workers and the respondents were selected by multi stage sampling technique. Data was collected using an interviewer administered questionnaire. Data was processed using SPSS IBM version 20 and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Majority of the respondents (74.0%) had good knowledge of workplace hazards; (81.0%) had positive attitude and only 20% observed all the safety practices. Formal education (P=0.047); working less than 5 days a week (P=0.001) and permanent employment (P=0.013) were found to be determinants of respondents' knowledge and attitude towards workplace hazards. Although the respondents had good knowledge and positive attitude, their lack of observance of safety practices brings to fore the need for direct safety instruction and training and retraining of textile dye workers on workplace hazards and safety practices.

Toward a common nuclear safety culture: from knowledge creation to competence building in Euratom programmes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Goethem, G.

2010-01-01

Content of the presentation: Introduction: towards a common nuclear safety culture 2. EU Stakeholders in nuclear fission and « Nuclear Safety Directive » June 2009 3. EURATOM policy for education (from knowledge creation …) 4. EURATOM policy for training (… to competence building) 5. Examples of EFTS running under FP-7 EURATOM 6. Conclusion: EC “seed money” for effort shared with MS

Tool to manage Road Safety Deficiencies and risk of highway crashes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lopez Maldonado, G.; Baena Ruiz, L.; Garach Morcillo, L.; Oña Lopez, J. de

2016-07-01

In order to facilitate the management of the results obtained in the project “Analysis of the relationship between Road Safety Deficiencies, crashes and hazardous sections” financed by Public Works Agency of the Regional Government of Andalusia (AOPJA) and led by the research group TRYSE from University of Granada, a safety management tool has been developed. This application allows safety managers to consult some factors affecting crashes on two-lane rural highways.The main aim of that project was to analyze the influence of some road deficiencies on crashes and hazardous sections in the Complementary Road Network of Andalusia. These deficiencies were defined in a checklist and were identified by a road inspection. Decision Trees (DTs), that are a data mining technique that allows the extraction of Decision Rules (DRs), were used. DRs revealed the relationship between road deficiencies and crashes.The application allows two different analyses. A specific analysis of the Complementary Road Network of Andalusia, in which, particular safety problems can be identified, and the location of roads with those problems can be obtained. A more general analysis in which some characteristics related to road safety can be selected in order to know the combination of factors contributing to traffic crashes. Safety problems are based on data from Complementary Road Network of Andalusia but results can be extrapolated to other rural highways in Spain. (Author)

CNCAN Knowledge Management Process and Tools in Support of Sustainable Development of Regulatory Competences

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tronea, M.; Ciurea, C.; Oprisescu, M.; Liutiev, C.; Ghinea, P.

2016-01-01

Full text: The paper presents the knowledge management process and the knowledge management portal developed by CNCAN, in the framework of the Regional Excellence Project on Regulatory Capacity Building in Nuclear and Radiological Safety, Emergency Preparedness and Response in Romania. The activities of this project started in 2014. The general process for knowledge management is presented, together with its sub-processes: identification of the necessary knowledge; identification of the risk of knowledge loss; acquisition and/or creation of knowledge; knowledge retention (capture, collect, store and organize knowledge); knowledge utilization; review of the effectiveness of the knowledge management process; identification of opportunities for improving the knowledge management process. The paper also presents a set of indicators of the effectiveness of the knowledge management process and the artifacts, espoused values and basic assumptions supporting an effective knowledge management process. The necessary knowledge has been identified using the IAEA recommendations on managing regulatory body competence and the SARCoN methodology. The knowledge management process has been developed based on the IAEA publications on knowledge management in the nuclear industry and in regulatory bodies. The implementation of the process and the development of the portal are ongoing, with more than 20% of the staff using the portal. (author

Analysis of adverse events as a contribution to safety culture in the context of practice development

Science.gov (United States)

Hoffmann, Susanne; Frei, Irena Anna

2017-01-01

Background: Analysing adverse events is an effective patient safety measure. Aim: We show, how clinical nurse specialists have been enabled to analyse adverse events with the „Learning from Defects-Tool“ (LFD-Tool). Method: Our multi-component implementation strategy addressed both, the safety knowledge of clinical nurse specialists and their attitude towards patient safety. The culture of practice development was taken into account. Results: Clinical nurse specialists relate competency building on patient safety due to the application of the LFD-tool. Applying the tool, fosters the reflection of adverse events in care teams. Conclusion: Applying the „Learning from Defects-Tool“ promotes work-based learning. Analysing adverse events with the „Learning from Defects-Tool“ contributes to the safety culture in a hospital.

Development of an integrated knowledge-base and its management tool for computerized alarm processing system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heo, Gyun Young; Choi, Seong Soo; Kim, Han Gon; Chang, Soon Heung

1997-01-01

For a long time, a number of alarm processing techniques have been researched to reduce the number of actuated alarms for operators to deal with effectively during the abnormal as well as the normal conditions. However, the strategy that the only systems with a few clear technologies should be used as a part of an alarm annunciation system has been adopted considering the effectiveness and the reliability in actual alarm processing systems. Therefore, alarm processing systems have difficult knowledge-base maintenance problems and limited expansion or enhancement defects. To solve these shortcomings, the integrated knowledge-base which can express the general information related to all the alarm processing techniques is proposed and its management tool, Knowledge Input Tool for Alarm (KIT-A) which can handle the data of the knowledge-base efficiently is developed. Since the integrated knowledge-base with KIT-A can manipulate all the alarm information without the modification of alarm processing system itself, it is expected to considerably advance the overall capability of maintenance and enhancement of the alarm processing systems

Evaluation of HACCP knowledge of the catering staff

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ewa Cieślik

2013-03-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the results of a study on HACCP knowledge among catering staff. The study involved 100 people working in catering establishments randomly selected, such as restaurants, bars and cafes. The research tool was a survey questionnaire. The results indicate an insufficient level of knowledge of the respondents and indicate the need for training in the principles and significance of the HACCP system among people working in the catering industry. Since their knowledge is highly dependent, functioning of the HACCP system in the catering establishment seriously depends on their knowledge which is reflected in the quality and safety of food produced.

SAFETY PLATFORM OF POLISH TRANSPORT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katarzyna CHRUZIK

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Analyzing the level of Polish transport safety culture can be seen that it is now dependent on the culture of safety management within the organization and the requirements and recommendations of law in this field for different modes of transport (air, rail, road, water. Of the four basic types of transport requirements are widely developed in the aviation, rail, and water – the sea. In order to harmonize the requirements for transport safety so it appears advisable to develop a platform for exchange of safety information for different modes of transport, and the development of good practices multimodal offering the possibility of improving Polish transport safety. Described in the publication of the proposal in addition to the alignment platform experience and knowledge in the field of transport safety in all its kinds, it can also be a tool for perfecting new operators of public transport.

Can evolutionary theory explain the slow development of knowledge about the level of safety built into roads?

Science.gov (United States)

Elvik, Rune

2017-09-01

In several papers, Hauer (1988, 1989, 2000a, 2000b, 2016) has argued that the level of safety built into roads is unpremeditated, i.e. not the result of decisions based on knowledge of the safety impacts of design standards. Hauer has pointed out that the development of knowledge about the level of safety built into roads has been slow and remains incomplete even today. Based on these observations, this paper asks whether evolutionary theory can contribute to explaining the slow development of knowledge. A key proposition of evolutionary theory is that knowledge is discovered through a process of learning-by-doing; it is not necessarily produced intentionally by means of research or development. An unintentional discovery of knowledge is treacherous as far as road safety is concerned, since an apparently effective safety treatment may simply be the result of regression-to-the-mean. The importance of regression-to-the-mean was not fully understood until about 1980, and a substantial part of what was regarded as known at that time may have been based on studies not controlling for regression-to-the-mean. An attempt to provide an axiomatic foundation for designing a safe road system was made by Gunnarsson and Lindström (1970). This had the ambition of providing universal guidelines that would facilitate a preventive approach, rather than the reactive approach based on accident history (i.e. designing a system known to be safe, rather than reacting to events in a system of unknown safety). Three facts are notable about these principles. First, they are stated in very general terms and do not address many of the details of road design or traffic control. Second, they are not based on experience showing their effectiveness. Third, they are partial and do not address the interaction between elements of the road traffic system, in particular road user adaptation to system design. Another notable fact consistent with evolutionary theory, is that the safety margins built

SU-E-P-43: A Knowledge Based Approach to Guidelines for Software Safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salomons, G; Kelly, D

2015-01-01

Purpose: In the fall of 2012, a survey was distributed to medical physicists across Canada. The survey asked the respondents to comment on various aspects of software development and use in their clinic. The survey revealed that most centers employ locally produced (in-house) software of some kind. The respondents also indicated an interest in having software guidelines, but cautioned that the realities of cancer clinics include variations, that preclude a simple solution. Traditional guidelines typically involve periodically repeating a set of prescribed tests with defined tolerance limits. However, applying a similar formula to software is problematic since it assumes that the users have a perfect knowledge of how and when to apply the software and that if the software operates correctly under one set of conditions it will operate correctly under all conditions Methods: In the approach presented here the personnel involved with the software are included as an integral part of the system. Activities performed to improve the safety of the software are done with both software and people in mind. A learning oriented approach is taken, following the premise that the best approach to safety is increasing the understanding of those associated with the use or development of the software. Results: The software guidance document is organized by areas of knowledge related to use and development of software. The categories include: knowledge of the underlying algorithm and its limitations; knowledge of the operation of the software, such as input values, parameters, error messages, and interpretation of output; and knowledge of the environment for the software including both data and users. Conclusion: We propose a new approach to developing guidelines which is based on acquiring knowledge-rather than performing tests. The ultimate goal is to provide robust software guidelines which will be practical and effective

SU-E-P-43: A Knowledge Based Approach to Guidelines for Software Safety

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Salomons, G [Cancer Center of Southeastern Ontario & Queen’s University, Kingston, ON (Canada); Kelly, D [Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston, ON, CA (Canada)

2015-06-15

Purpose: In the fall of 2012, a survey was distributed to medical physicists across Canada. The survey asked the respondents to comment on various aspects of software development and use in their clinic. The survey revealed that most centers employ locally produced (in-house) software of some kind. The respondents also indicated an interest in having software guidelines, but cautioned that the realities of cancer clinics include variations, that preclude a simple solution. Traditional guidelines typically involve periodically repeating a set of prescribed tests with defined tolerance limits. However, applying a similar formula to software is problematic since it assumes that the users have a perfect knowledge of how and when to apply the software and that if the software operates correctly under one set of conditions it will operate correctly under all conditions Methods: In the approach presented here the personnel involved with the software are included as an integral part of the system. Activities performed to improve the safety of the software are done with both software and people in mind. A learning oriented approach is taken, following the premise that the best approach to safety is increasing the understanding of those associated with the use or development of the software. Results: The software guidance document is organized by areas of knowledge related to use and development of software. The categories include: knowledge of the underlying algorithm and its limitations; knowledge of the operation of the software, such as input values, parameters, error messages, and interpretation of output; and knowledge of the environment for the software including both data and users. Conclusion: We propose a new approach to developing guidelines which is based on acquiring knowledge-rather than performing tests. The ultimate goal is to provide robust software guidelines which will be practical and effective.

DASHBOARDS AND CONTROL CHARTS. EXPERIENCES IN IMPROVING SAFETY AT HANFORD WASHINGTON

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

PREVETTE, S.S.

2006-01-01

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the integration of safety methodology, quality tools, leadership, and teamwork at Hanford and their significant positive impact on safe performance of work. Dashboards, Leading Indicators, Control charts, Pareto Charts, Dr. W. Edward Deming's Red Bead Experiment, and Dr. Deming's System of Profound Knowledge have been the principal tools and theory of an integrated management system. Coupled with involved leadership and teamwork, they have led to significant improvements in worker safety and protection, and environmental restoration at one of the nation's largest nuclear cleanup sites

Food safety knowledge and practices of abattoir and butchery shops and the microbial profile of meat in Mekelle City, Ethiopia

Science.gov (United States)

Haileselassie, Mekonnen; Taddele, Habtamu; Adhana, Kelali; Kalayou, Shewit

2013-01-01

Objective To assess the food safety knowledge and practices in meat handling, and to determine microbial load and pathogenic organisms in meat at Mekelle city. Methods A descriptive survey design was used to answer questions concerning the current status of food hygiene and sanitation practiced in the abattoir and butcher shops. Workers from the abattoir and butcher shops were interviewed through a structured questionnaire to assess their food safety knowledge. Bacterial load was assessed by serial dilution method and the major bacterial pathogens were isolated by using standard procedures. Results 15.4% of the abattoir workers had no health certificate and there was no hot water, sterilizer and cooling facility in the abattoir. 11.3% of the butchers didn't use protective clothes. There was a food safety knowledge gap within the abattoir and butcher shop workers. The mean values of bacterial load of abattoir meat, butcher shops and street meat sale was found to be 1.1×105, 5.6×105 and 4.3×106 cfu/g, respectively. The major bacterial pathogens isolated were Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus. Conclusions The study revealed that there is a reasonable gap on food safety knowledge by abattoir and butcher shop workers. The microbial profile was also higher compared to standards set by World Health Organization. Due attention should be given by the government to improve the food safety knowledge and the quality standard of meat sold in the city. PMID:23646306

Hybrid knowledge expert tool for load capacity assessment of railway plate girders with defects

Science.gov (United States)

KuŻawa, M.; Bień, J.; Gładysz, M.

2013-10-01

Importance of the bridge structures as components of the transportation network is increasing and requires regular development of the management methodology. The main activities are focused on the safety of the users of the transportation network and on the safety of structures, based on monitoring and analysis of the bridge condition changes caused by various types of defects. The paper presents application of the hybrid network technology in the expert tool NOBLA supporting condition assessment of bridge plate girders, taking into account defects of the structures.

Network analytical tool for monitoring global food safety highlights China.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tamás Nepusz

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The Beijing Declaration on food safety and security was signed by over fifty countries with the aim of developing comprehensive programs for monitoring food safety and security on behalf of their citizens. Currently, comprehensive systems for food safety and security are absent in many countries, and the systems that are in place have been developed on different principles allowing poor opportunities for integration. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We have developed a user-friendly analytical tool based on network approaches for instant customized analysis of food alert patterns in the European dataset from the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed. Data taken from alert logs between January 2003-August 2008 were processed using network analysis to i capture complexity, ii analyze trends, and iii predict possible effects of interventions by identifying patterns of reporting activities between countries. The detector and transgressor relationships are readily identifiable between countries which are ranked using i Google's PageRank algorithm and ii the HITS algorithm of Kleinberg. The program identifies Iran, China and Turkey as the transgressors with the largest number of alerts. However, when characterized by impact, counting the transgressor index and the number of countries involved, China predominates as a transgressor country. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This study reports the first development of a network analysis approach to inform countries on their transgressor and detector profiles as a user-friendly aid for the adoption of the Beijing Declaration. The ability to instantly access the country-specific components of the several thousand annual reports will enable each country to identify the major transgressors and detectors within its trading network. Moreover, the tool can be used to monitor trading countries for improved detector/transgressor ratios.

The Registry of Knowledge Translation Methods and Tools: a resource to support evidence-informed public health.

Science.gov (United States)

Peirson, Leslea; Catallo, Cristina; Chera, Sunita

2013-08-01

This paper examines the development of a globally accessible online Registry of Knowledge Translation Methods and Tools to support evidence-informed public health. A search strategy, screening and data extraction tools, and writing template were developed to find, assess, and summarize relevant methods and tools. An interactive website and searchable database were designed to house the registry. Formative evaluation was undertaken to inform refinements. Over 43,000 citations were screened; almost 700 were full-text reviewed, 140 of which were included. By November 2012, 133 summaries were available. Between January 1 and November 30, 2012 over 32,945 visitors from more than 190 countries accessed the registry. Results from 286 surveys and 19 interviews indicated the registry is valued and useful, but would benefit from a more intuitive indexing system and refinements to the summaries. User stories and promotional activities help expand the reach and uptake of knowledge translation methods and tools in public health contexts. The National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools' Registry of Methods and Tools is a unique and practical resource for public health decision makers worldwide.

Use of information technologies to contribute for optimizing the safety radiation management in Cuba

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Valdes Ramos, M.; Prendes Alonso, M.; Hernandez Saiz, A.; Manzano de Armas, J.

2013-01-01

This paper presents the results achieved in Cuba, with the development of a group of information management tools to implement radiation safety systemic and proactive approaches to safety and ICT supported. These tools were designed for different organisms with responsibility for the security at the country level, to the regulatory authority, for user entities, for individual monitoring services and other radiation protection services. It describes the philosophy of information management model used, the characteristics of the developed tools and their integration, the work performed for the homogenization of information available and the ability to capture and deliver data at different levels in decision making. The tools developed are based on the use of variables and indicators of importance to the safety and the systemic approach adopted allows to facilitate the optimization process for supervision of safety practices as well as contribute to the management of knowledge in radiation safety, through a synergistic combination of process data, information, information management systems, and the creative and innovative radiation safety experts

Patient Safety Walkaround: a communication tool for the reallocation of health service resources

Science.gov (United States)

Ferorelli, Davide; Zotti, Fiorenza; Tafuri, Silvio; Pezzolla, Angela; Dell’Erba, Alessandro

2016-01-01

Abstract The study aims to evaluate the use of Patient Safety Walkaround (SWR) execution model in an Italian Hospital, through the adoption of parametric indices, survey tools, and process indicators. In the 1st meeting an interview was conducted to verify the knowledge of concepts of clinical risk management (process indicators). One month after, the questions provided by Frankel (survey tool) were administered. Each month after, an SWR has been carried trying to assist the healthcare professionals and collecting suggestions and solutions. Results have been classified according to Vincent model and analyzed to define an action plan. The amount of risk was quantified by the risk priority index (RPI). An organizational deficit concerns the management of the operating theatre. A state of intolerance was noticed of queuing patients for outpatient visits. The lack of scheduling of the operating rooms is often the cause of sudden displacements. A consequence is the conflict between patients and caregivers. Other causes of the increase of waiting times are the presence in the ward of a single trolley for medications and the presence of a single room for admission and preadmission of patients. Patients victims of allergic reactions have attributed such reactions to the presence of other patients in the process of acceptance and collection of medical history. All health professionals have reported the problem of n high number of relatives of the patients in the wards. Our study indicated the consistency of SWR as instrument to improve the quality of the care. PMID:27741109

An E-learning Tool as Living Book for Knowledge Preservation in Neutron Activation Analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bode, P.; Landsberger, S.; Ridikas, D.; Iunikova, A.

2016-01-01

Full text: Neutron activation analysis (NAA) is one of the most common activities in research reactors, irrespective of their power size. Although being a well-established technique, it has been observed that retirement and/or departure of experienced staff often results in gaps in knowledge of methodological principles and metrological aspects of the NAA technique employed, both within the remaining NAA team and for new recruits. Existing books are apparently not sufficient to timely transfer the knowledge on the practice of NAA. As such, the IAEA has launched a project resulting in an E-learning tool for NAA, consisting of lecture noes, animations, practical exercises and self-assessments. The tool includes more than 30 modules and has been reviewed and tested during an IAEA workshop by experienced and new coming practitioners. It is expected that the tool will be developed as a ‘living book’ which can be permanently updated and extended and serve as an archive, fostering unpublished experimental experiences. (author

Knowledge and practice of food hygiene and safety among food handlers in fast food restaurants in Benin City, Edo State.

Science.gov (United States)

Isara, A R; Isah, E C

2009-09-01

To assess the knowledge and practice of food hygiene and safety among food handlers in fast food restaurants in Benin City, Edo State. A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among 350 respondents who were selected by means of a systematic sampling method and interviewed using a semi-structured researcher-administered questionnaire. An observational checklist was thereafter used to inspect their personal hygiene status. The mean age of the food handlers was 26.4 +/- 6.1 years. Two hundred and twenty eight (65.1%) were females while 34.9% were males. A majority (98%) of the respondents had formal education. There was good knowledge and practice of food hygiene and safety among the respondents. Knowledge was significantly influenced by previous training in food hygiene and safety (p = 0.002). Food handlers who had worked for longer years in the fast food restaurants had better practice of food hygiene and safety (p = 0.036). The level of education of respondents did not significantly influenced their practice of food hygiene and safety (p = 0.084). Although, 299 (85.4%) food handlers were generally clean, skin lesions was seen in 4 (7.3%) of them. This study showed good knowledge and practice of food hygiene and safety by food handlers in the fast food restaurants in Benin City, but there is need for improvement through training and retraining of food handlers by the management of the restaurants and the local government authorities.

An engineering paradigm in the biomedical sciences: Knowledge as epistemic tool.

Science.gov (United States)

Boon, Mieke

2017-10-01

In order to deal with the complexity of biological systems and attempts to generate applicable results, current biomedical sciences are adopting concepts and methods from the engineering sciences. Philosophers of science have interpreted this as the emergence of an engineering paradigm, in particular in systems biology and synthetic biology. This article aims at the articulation of the supposed engineering paradigm by contrast with the physics paradigm that supported the rise of biochemistry and molecular biology. This articulation starts from Kuhn's notion of a disciplinary matrix, which indicates what constitutes a paradigm. It is argued that the core of the physics paradigm is its metaphysical and ontological presuppositions, whereas the core of the engineering paradigm is the epistemic aim of producing useful knowledge for solving problems external to the scientific practice. Therefore, the two paradigms involve distinct notions of knowledge. Whereas the physics paradigm entails a representational notion of knowledge, the engineering paradigm involves the notion of 'knowledge as epistemic tool'. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery tools for exploiting big Earth-Observation data

Science.gov (United States)

Espinoza Molina, D.; Datcu, M.

2015-04-01

The continuous increase in the size of the archives and in the variety and complexity of Earth-Observation (EO) sensors require new methodologies and tools that allow the end-user to access a large image repository, to extract and to infer knowledge about the patterns hidden in the images, to retrieve dynamically a collection of relevant images, and to support the creation of emerging applications (e.g.: change detection, global monitoring, disaster and risk management, image time series, etc.). In this context, we are concerned with providing a platform for data mining and knowledge discovery content from EO archives. The platform's goal is to implement a communication channel between Payload Ground Segments and the end-user who receives the content of the data coded in an understandable format associated with semantics that is ready for immediate exploitation. It will provide the user with automated tools to explore and understand the content of highly complex images archives. The challenge lies in the extraction of meaningful information and understanding observations of large extended areas, over long periods of time, with a broad variety of EO imaging sensors in synergy with other related measurements and data. The platform is composed of several components such as 1.) ingestion of EO images and related data providing basic features for image analysis, 2.) query engine based on metadata, semantics and image content, 3.) data mining and knowledge discovery tools for supporting the interpretation and understanding of image content, 4.) semantic definition of the image content via machine learning methods. All these components are integrated and supported by a relational database management system, ensuring the integrity and consistency of Terabytes of Earth Observation data.

REVEAL - A tool for rule driven analysis of safety critical software

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miedl, H.; Kersken, M.

1998-01-01

As the determination of ultrahigh reliability figures for safety critical software is hardly possible, national and international guidelines and standards give mainly requirements for the qualitative evaluation of software. An analysis whether all these requirements are fulfilled is time and effort consuming and prone to errors, if performed manually by analysts, and should instead be dedicated to tools as far as possible. There are many ''general-purpose'' software analysis tools, both static and dynamic, which help analyzing the source code. However, they are not designed to assess the adherence to specific requirements of guidelines and standards in the nuclear field. Against the background of the development of I and C systems in the nuclear field which are based on digital techniques and implemented in high level language, it is essential that the assessor or licenser has a tool with which he can automatically and uniformly qualify as many aspects as possible of the high level language software. For this purpose the software analysis tool REVEAL has been developed at ISTec and the Halden Reactor Project. (author)

Knowledge modelling and reliability processing: presentation of the Figaro language and associated tools

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bouissou, M.; Villatte, N.; Bouhadana, H.; Bannelier, M.

1991-12-01

EDF has been developing for several years an integrated set of knowledge-based and algorithmic tools for automation of reliability assessment of complex (especially sequential) systems. In this environment, the reliability expert has at his disposal all the powerful software tools for qualitative and quantitative processing, besides he gets various means to generate automatically the inputs for these tools, through the acquisition of graphical data. The development of these tools has been based on FIGARO, a specific language, which was built to get an homogeneous system modelling. Various compilers and interpreters get a FIGARO model into conventional models, such as fault-trees, Markov chains, Petri Networks. In this report, we introduce the main basics of FIGARO language, illustrating them with examples

Drive Cost Reduction, Increase Innovation and Mitigate Risk with Advanced Knowledge Discovery Tools Designed to Unlock and Leverage Prior Knowledge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mitchell, I.

2016-01-01

Full text: The nuclear industry is knowledge-intensive and includes a diverse number of stakeholders. Much of this knowledge is at risk as engineers, technicians and project professionals retire, leaving a widening skills and information gap. This knowledge is critical in an increasingly complex environment with information from past projects often buried in decades-old, non-integrated systems enterprise. Engineers can spend 40% or more of their time searching for answers across the enterprise instead of solving problems. The inability to access trusted industry knowledge results in increased risk and expense. Advanced knowledge discovery technologies slash research times by as much as 75% and accelerate innovation and problem solving by giving technical professionals access to the information they need, in the context of the problems they are trying to solve. Unlike traditional knowledge management approaches, knowledge discovery tools powered by semantic search technologies are adept at uncovering answers in unstructured data and require no tagging, organization or moving of data, meaning a smaller IT footprint and faster time-to-knowledge. This session will highlight best-in-class knowledge discovery technologies, content, and strategies to give nuclear industry organizations the ability to leverage the corpus of enterprise knowledge into the future. (author

Road Safety Data, Collection, Transfer and Analysis DaCoTa. Deliverable 1.6: Final Report of WP1 – road safety policy.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Muhlrad, N. Papadimitriou, E. & Yannis, G.

2015-01-01

The ‘Policy’ Work Package of DaCoTA was designed to fill in the gap in knowledge on road safety policy making processes, their institutional framework and the data, methods and technical tools needed to base policy formulation and adoption on scientifically-established evidence. More specifically,

Evaluation of a survey tool to measure safety climate in Australian hospital pharmacy staff.

Science.gov (United States)

Walpola, Ramesh L; Chen, Timothy F; Fois, Romano A; Ashcroft, Darren M; Lalor, Daniel J

Safety climate evaluation is increasingly used by hospitals as part of quality improvement initiatives. Consequently, it is necessary to have validated tools to measure changes. To evaluate the construct validity and internal consistency of a survey tool to measure Australian hospital pharmacy patient safety climate. A 42 item cross-sectional survey was used to evaluate the patient safety climate of 607 Australian hospital pharmacy staff. Survey responses were initially mapped to the factor structure previously identified in European community pharmacy. However, as the data did not adequately fit the community pharmacy model, participants were randomly split into two groups with exploratory factor analysis performed on the first group (n = 302) and confirmatory factor analyses performed on the second group (n = 305). Following exploratory factor analysis (59.3% variance explained) and confirmatory factor analysis, a 6-factor model containing 28 items was obtained with satisfactory model fit (χ 2 (335) = 664.61 p  0.643) and model nesting between the groups (Δχ 2 (22) = 30.87, p = 0.10). Three factors (blame culture, organisational learning and working conditions) were similar to those identified in European community pharmacy and labelled identically. Three additional factors (preoccupation with improvement; comfort to question authority; and safety issues being swept under the carpet) highlight hierarchical issues present in hospital settings. This study has demonstrated the validity of a survey to evaluate patient safety climate of Australian hospital pharmacy staff. Importantly, this validated factor structure may be used to evaluate changes in safety climate over time. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Road safety audit tools, procedures, and experiences : a literature review and recommendations : research in the framework of the European research project Safety Standards for Road Design and Redesign SAFESTAR, Workpackage 8.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kooi, R.M. van der

1999-01-01

This report describes tools and procedures established in different countries which apply Road Safety Audits (RSA). These RSAs are utilized to identify potential safety problems and they concentrate on safety measures to overcome these problems. This technique is used to detect possible safety

Formalization of Technological Knowledge in the Field of Metallurgy using Document Classification Tools Supported with Semantic Techniques

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Regulski K.

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The process of knowledge formalization is an essential part of decision support systems development. Creating a technological knowledge base in the field of metallurgy encountered problems in acquisition and codifying reusable computer artifacts based on text documents. The aim of the work was to adapt the algorithms for classification of documents and to develop a method of semantic integration of a created repository. Author used artificial intelligence tools: latent semantic indexing, rough sets, association rules learning and ontologies as a tool for integration. The developed methodology allowed for the creation of semantic knowledge base on the basis of documents in natural language in the field of metallurgy.

Domain-Specific Thesaurus as a Tool for Information Retrieval and Collection of Knowledge

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vladimir N. Boikov

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This paper reports basic approaches to constructive creation of an open resource named ”Domain-specified thesaurus of poetics”, which is one of the levels of an information-analytical system of the Russian poetry (IAS RP. The poetics is a group of disciplines focused on a comprehensive theoretical and historical study of poetry. IAS RP will be used as a tool for a wide range of studies allowing to determine the characteristic features of the analyzed works of poetry. Consequently, the thesaurus is the knowledge base from which one can borrow input data for training the system. The aim of our research requires a specific approach to formating the knowledge base. Thesaurus is a web-based resource which includes a domain-specific directory, information retrieval tools and tools for further analyzes. The study of glossary consisting of three thousand terms and a set of semantic fields is reviewed in this paper. Rdf-graph of the domain-specified thesaurus of poetics is presented, containing 9 types of objects and different kinds of relationships among them. Wiki-tecnologies are used for implementing a resource which allows to store data in Semantic Web formats.

Indicators and measurement tools for health system integration: a knowledge synthesis protocol.

Science.gov (United States)

Oelke, Nelly D; Suter, Esther; da Silva Lima, Maria Alice Dias; Van Vliet-Brown, Cheryl

2015-07-29

Health system integration is a key component of health system reform with the goal of improving outcomes for patients, providers, and the health system. Although health systems continue to strive for better integration, current delivery of health services continues to be fragmented. A key gap in the literature is the lack of information on what successful integration looks like and how to measure achievement towards an integrated system. This multi-site study protocol builds on a prior knowledge synthesis completed by two of the primary investigators which identified 10 key principles that collectively support health system integration. The aim is to answer two research questions: What are appropriate indicators for each of the 10 key integration principles developed in our previous knowledge synthesis and what measurement tools are used to measure these indicators? To enhance generalizability of the findings, a partnership between Canada and Brazil was created as health system integration is a priority in both countries and they share similar contexts. This knowledge synthesis will follow an iterative scoping review process with emerging information from knowledge-user engagement leading to the refinement of research questions and study selection. This paper describes the methods for each phase of the study. Research questions were developed with stakeholder input. Indicator identification and prioritization will utilize a modified Delphi method and patient/user focus groups. Based on priority indicators, a search of the literature will be completed and studies screened for inclusion. Quality appraisal of relevant studies will be completed prior to data extraction. Results will be used to develop recommendations and key messages to be presented through integrated and end-of-grant knowledge translation strategies with researchers and knowledge-users from the three jurisdictions. This project will directly benefit policy and decision-makers by providing an easy

The Surgical Safety Checklist and Teamwork Coaching Tools: a study of inter-rater reliability.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Lyen C; Conley, Dante; Lipsitz, Stu; Wright, Christopher C; Diller, Thomas W; Edmondson, Lizabeth; Berry, William R; Singer, Sara J

2014-08-01

To assess the inter-rater reliability (IRR) of two novel observation tools for measuring surgical safety checklist performance and teamwork. Data surgical safety checklists can promote adherence to standards of care and improve teamwork in the operating room. Their use has been associated with reductions in mortality and other postoperative complications. However, checklist effectiveness depends on how well they are performed. Authors from the Safe Surgery 2015 initiative developed a pair of novel observation tools through literature review, expert consultation and end-user testing. In one South Carolina hospital participating in the initiative, two observers jointly attended 50 surgical cases and independently rated surgical teams using both tools. We used descriptive statistics to measure checklist performance and teamwork at the hospital. We assessed IRR by measuring percent agreement, Cohen's κ, and weighted κ scores. The overall percent agreement and κ between the two observers was 93% and 0.74 (95% CI 0.66 to 0.79), respectively, for the Checklist Coaching Tool and 86% and 0.84 (95% CI 0.77 to 0.90) for the Surgical Teamwork Tool. Percent agreement for individual sections of both tools was 79% or higher. Additionally, κ scores for six of eight sections on the Checklist Coaching Tool and for two of five domains on the Surgical Teamwork Tool achieved the desired 0.7 threshold. However, teamwork scores were high and variation was limited. There were no significant changes in the percent agreement or κ scores between the first 10 and last 10 cases observed. Both tools demonstrated substantial IRR and required limited training to use. These instruments may be used to observe checklist performance and teamwork in the operating room. However, further refinement and calibration of observer expectations, particularly in rating teamwork, could improve the utility of the tools. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already

Consecutive collection of new finding and knowledge on science and technology to be reflected to seismic safety assessment for nuclear facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsutsumi, Hideaki; Iijima, Toru

2013-05-01

JNES had been collecting and analyzing new finding and knowledge on science and technology to be reflected to seismic safety assessment for nuclear facilities, which was updated so as to develop a system to organize and disseminate such information in response to Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA)'s policy on new safety regulations requesting enhanced protective measures against extreme natural hazards. The tasks were as follows; (1) collection of new finding and knowledge from seismic safety research of JNES, (2) constructing database of seismic safety research from documents published by committees and including the Great East Japan Earthquake and (3) dissemination of information related to seismic research. As for JFY 2012 activities, collecting and analyzing new finding and knowledge were on three areas such as active fault, seismic source/ground motion and tsunami. 4 theme related with the Great East Japan Earthquake, 7 items not related with the Great East Japan Earthquake and one item on external event were collected and analyzed whether incorporating in seismic safety research important for regulation to increase seismic safety of nuclear facilities, with no such theme confirmed. (T. Tanaka)

Development of Application Programming Tool for Safety Grade PLC (POSAFE-Q)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koo, Kyungmo; You, Byungyong; Kim, Tae-Wook; Cho, Sengjae; Lee, Jin S.

2006-01-01

The pSET (POSAFE-Q Software Engineering Tool) is an application programming tool of the POSAFE-Q which is a safety graded programmable logic controller (PLC) developed for the reactor protect system of the nuclear power plant. The pSET provides an integrated development environment (IDE) which includes editors, compiler, simulator, down loader, debugger, and monitor. The pSET supports the IEC61131-3 standard software model and languages such as LD (ladder diagram) and FBD (function block diagram) which are two of the most widely used PLC programming languages in industry fields. The pSET will also support SFC (sequential function chart) language. The pSET is developed as a part of a Korea Nuclear Instrumentation and Control System (KNICS) project

Perspectives of expert systems in the field of reactor safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bastl, W.

1989-01-01

The furure potential of expert systems is based on the following factors: the efficient storage of information in the knowledge basis, the efficient use of comprehensive information bases, the interactive approach, the rapid production of prototypes. The main problems which are encountered at present relate to the input of knowledge derived from experience, the qualification of the contents of the knowledge bases and to the interfacing to technical processes, as real time work is required in such cases. However, the practical use of expert systems in reactor safety is expected to make considerable progress. The following preferred fields should be mentioned: knowledge bases and analysis tools for safety investigations, diagnostic and practising systems for safe operation and, above all in the field of accident management, trainers, in-situ guiding systems or information systems in supraregional guiding centers. (orig./DG) [de

A tool to assess knowledge, attitude and behavior of indonesian health care workers regarding infection control

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Duerink, D.O.; Hadi, U.; Lestari, E.S.; Roeshadi, D.; Wahyono, H.; Nagelkerke, N.J.; Meulen, R.G.; Broek, P.J.A. van den

2013-01-01

Aim: to investigate knowledge, attitude and behaviour toward infection control in two teaching hospitals on the island of Java by means of a questionnaire and to evaluate the use of the questionnaire as a tool. Methods: we investigated knowledge, attitude and behaviour toward infection control in

Advancement of Tools Supporting Improvement of Work Safety in Selected Industrial Company

Science.gov (United States)

Gembalska-Kwiecień, Anna

2018-03-01

In the presented article, the advancement of tools to improve the safety of work in the researched industrial company was taken into consideration. Attention was paid to the skillful analysis of the working environment, which includes the available technologies, work organization and human capital. These factors determine the development of the best prevention activities to minimize the number of accidents.

Positioning Continuing Education: Boundaries and Intersections between the Domains Continuing Education, Knowledge Translation, Patient Safety and Quality Improvement

Science.gov (United States)

Kitto, Simon; Bell, Mary; Peller, Jennifer; Sargeant, Joan; Etchells, Edward; Reeves, Scott; Silver, Ivan

2013-01-01

Public and professional concern about health care quality, safety and efficiency is growing. Continuing education, knowledge translation, patient safety and quality improvement have made concerted efforts to address these issues. However, a coordinated and integrated effort across these domains is lacking. This article explores and discusses the…

Knowing the operative game plan: a novel tool for the assessment of surgical procedural knowledge.

Science.gov (United States)

Balayla, Jacques; Bergman, Simon; Ghitulescu, Gabriela; Feldman, Liane S; Fraser, Shannon A

2012-08-01

What is the source of inadequate performance in the operating room? Is it a lack of technical skills, poor judgment or a lack of procedural knowledge? We created a surgical procedural knowledge (SPK) assessment tool and evaluated its use. We interviewed medical students, residents and training program staff on SPK assessment tools developed for 3 different common general surgery procedures: inguinal hernia repair with mesh in men, laparoscopic cholecystectomy and right hemicolectomy. The tools were developed as a step-wise assessment of specific surgical procedures based on techniques described in a current surgical text. We compared novice (medical student to postgraduate year [PGY]-2) and expert group (PGY-3 to program staff) scores using the Mann-Whitney U test. We calculated the total SPK score and defined a cut-off score using receiver operating characteristic analysis. In all, 5 participants in 7 different training groups (n = 35) underwent an interview. Median scores for each procedure and overall SPK scores increased with experience. The median SPK for novices was 54.9 (95% confidence interval [CI] 21.6-58.8) compared with 98.05 (95% CP 94.1-100.0) for experts (p = 0.012). The SPK cut-off score of 93.1 discriminates between novice and expert surgeons. Surgical procedural knowledge can reliably be assessed using our SPK assessment tool. It can discriminate between novice and expert surgeons for common general surgical procedures. Future studies are planned to evaluate its use for more complex procedures.

Concept maps: A tool for knowledge management and synthesis in web-based conversational learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Joshi, Ankur; Singh, Satendra; Jaswal, Shivani; Badyal, Dinesh Kumar; Singh, Tejinder

2016-01-01

Web-based conversational learning provides an opportunity for shared knowledge base creation through collaboration and collective wisdom extraction. Usually, the amount of generated information in such forums is very huge, multidimensional (in alignment with the desirable preconditions for constructivist knowledge creation), and sometimes, the nature of expected new information may not be anticipated in advance. Thus, concept maps (crafted from constructed data) as "process summary" tools may be a solution to improve critical thinking and learning by making connections between the facts or knowledge shared by the participants during online discussion This exploratory paper begins with the description of this innovation tried on a web-based interacting platform (email list management software), FAIMER-Listserv, and generated qualitative evidence through peer-feedback. This process description is further supported by a theoretical construct which shows how social constructivism (inclusive of autonomy and complexity) affects the conversational learning. The paper rationalizes the use of concept map as mid-summary tool for extracting information and further sense making out of this apparent intricacy.

The effect of a road safety educational program for kindergarten children on their parents' behavior and knowledge.

Science.gov (United States)

Ben-Bassat, Tamar; Avnieli, Shani

2016-10-01

Road safety education for children is one of the most important means for raising awareness of road safety and for educating children to behave safely as pedestrians, bicycle riders, and vehicle passengers. The current research presents a novel attempt to examine the effect of a unique road safety educational program for kindergarten children on a secondary target group-the parents. The program, named the "Zahav Bagan" program (ZBP), is presented at kindergartens once a week during the entire academic year. It is conducted by senior citizen volunteers and is part of the formal education of the children. The main purpose of the current study was to compare the behavior, awareness, and knowledge about child road safety, of two groups of parents-those whose children participated in the ZBP group, and those whose children did not; this latter group was the control group. A telephone-based survey was conducted using a sample of 76 ZBP parents and 59 control group parents. Results of the survey showed no effect of ZBP on parents' knowledge of child road safety law and recommendations, but more importantly, the results did show a significant effect in terms of parents' observance of safe behavior and in their awareness of road safety in everyday life. These results confirm the importance of educational programs on road safety, especially as triggers and reminders to children and to their parents, to act as cautious road users. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Exploring an educational assessment tool to measure registered nurses' knowledge of hearing impairment and effective communication strategies: A USA study.

Science.gov (United States)

Ruesch, Amy L

2018-01-01

Poor communication between the Registered Nurse and a hearing impaired patient can affect quality of care and health outcomes. Communication skills training programs for healthcare providers are needed to improve patient centered care. A descriptive research study, using a knowledge assessment tool developed and validated by the researcher, was conducted on 339 Registered Nurses to identify knowledge deficits to be addressed in a communication skills training program being designed. The educational tool measured the Registered Nurses' knowledge across four areas - hearing impairment, hearing aids, communication strategies, and regulations regarding access to care for a person with a hearing disability. Knowledge deficits were detected in all four areas. Using this educational assessment tool may enable nurse educators to tailor communication skills training programs to specifically address the gaps identified regarding hearing impairment and how to effectively communicate with the hearing impaired patient. Post training program, nurse educators can use the tool to evaluate effectiveness. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Two NextGen Air Safety Tools: An ADS-B Equipped UAV and a Wake Turbulence Estimator

Science.gov (United States)

Handley, Ward A.

Two air safety tools are developed in the context of the FAA's NextGen program. The first tool addresses the alarming increase in the frequency of near-collisions between manned and unmanned aircraft by equipping a common hobby class UAV with an ADS-B transponder that broadcasts its position, speed, heading and unique identification number to all local air traffic. The second tool estimates and outputs the location of dangerous wake vortex corridors in real time based on the ADS-B data collected and processed using a custom software package developed for this project. The TRansponder based Position Information System (TRAPIS) consists of data packet decoders, an aircraft database, Graphical User Interface (GUI) and the wake vortex extension application. Output from TRAPIS can be visualized in Google Earth and alleviates the problem of pilots being left to imagine where invisible wake vortex corridors are based solely on intuition or verbal warnings from ATC. The result of these two tools is the increased situational awareness, and hence safety, of human pilots in the National Airspace System (NAS).

Factors Influencing Knowledge, Food Safety Practices and Food Preferences During Warm Weather of Salmonella and Campylobacter Cases in South Australia.

Science.gov (United States)

Milazzo, Adriana; Giles, Lynne C; Zhang, Ying; Koehler, Ann P; Hiller, Janet E; Bi, Peng

2017-03-01

To assess food safety practices, food shopping preferences, and eating behaviors of people diagnosed with Salmonella or Campylobacter infection in the warm seasons, and to identify socioeconomic factors associated with behavior and practices. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among Salmonella and Campylobacter cases with onset of illness from January 1 to March 31, 2013. Multivariable logistic regression analyses examined relationships between socioeconomic position and food safety knowledge and practices, shopping and food preferences, and preferences, perceptions, and knowledge about food safety information on warm days. Respondents in our study engaged in unsafe personal and food hygiene practices. They also carried out unsafe food preparation practices, and had poor knowledge of foods associated with an increased risk of foodborne illness. Socioeconomic position did not influence food safety practices. We found that people's reported eating behaviors and food preferences were influenced by warm weather. Our study has explored preferences and practices related to food safety in the warm season months. This is important given that warmer ambient temperatures are projected to rise, both globally and in Australia, and will have a substantial effect on the burden of infectious gastroenteritis including foodborne disease. Our results provide information about modifiable behaviors for the prevention of foodborne illness in the household in the warm weather and the need for information to be disseminated across the general population. An understanding of the knowledge and factors associated with human behavior during warmer weather is critical for public health interventions on foodborne prevention.

The Radiation Safety Culture: Image Gently

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Applegate, E.K.

2015-01-01

Barriers to Implementing Safety include Silos of Knowledge, Time, training and Resources. Creating a Safety Culture in Healthcare include Decreased authority gradients, Checklists and audits (QA), Use of structured language (SBAR), Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation Team briefings and debriefings (immediate learning, team building tools), Lifelong learning (PQI). Use of Collective Learning Opportunities - QA and PQI that include Web sites: IG, WFPI, IAEA, ISR and Data Registries: ACR . The Key Principles of Radiation Protection: When do we learn them? For Occupational Workers:Time, Distance and Shielding while those of For Patients: Justification, Optimization and Dose Limits (dose reference levels)

Operating experience: safety perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Piplani, Vivek; Krishnamurthy, P.R.; Kumar, Neeraj; Upadhyay, Devendra

2015-01-01

Operating Experience (OE) provides valuable information for improving NPP safety. This may include events, precursors, deviations, deficiencies, problems, new insights to safety, good practices, lessons and corrective actions. As per INSAG-10, an OE program caters as a fundamental means for enhancing the defence-in-depth at NPPs and hence should be viewed as ‘Continuous Safety Performance Improvement Tool’. The ‘Convention on Nuclear Safety’ also recognizes the OE as a tool of high importance for enhancing the NPP safety and its Article 19 mandates each contracting party to establish an effective OE program at operating NPPs. The lessons drawn from major accidents at Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima Daiichi NPPs had prompted nuclear stalwarts to change their safety perspective towards NPPs and to frame sound policies on issues like safety culture, severe accident prevention and mitigation. An effective OE program, besides correcting current/potential problems, help in proactively improving the NPP design, operating and maintenance procedures, practices, training, etc., and thus plays vital role in ensuring safe and efficient operation of NPPs. Further it enhances knowledge with regard to equipment operating characteristics, system performance trends and provides data for quantitative and qualitative safety analysis. Besides all above, an OE program inculcates a learning culture in the organisation and thus helps in continuously enhancing the expertise, technical competency and knowledge base of its staff. Nuclear and Radiation Facilities in India are regulated by Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB). Operating Plants Safety Division (OPSD) of AERB is involved in managing operating experience activities. This paper provides insights about the operating experience program of OPSD, AERB (including its on-line data base namely OPSD STAR) and its utilisation in improving the regulations and safety at Indian NPPs/projects. (author)

Capturing district nursing through a knowledge-based electronic caseload analysis tool (eCAT).

Science.gov (United States)

Kane, Kay

2014-03-01

The Electronic Caseload Analysis Tool (eCAT) is a knowledge-based software tool to assist the caseload analysis process. The tool provides a wide range of graphical reports, along with an integrated clinical advisor, to assist district nurses, team leaders, operational and strategic managers with caseload analysis by describing, comparing and benchmarking district nursing practice in the context of population need, staff resources, and service structure. District nurses and clinical lead nurses in Northern Ireland developed the tool, along with academic colleagues from the University of Ulster, working in partnership with a leading software company. The aim was to use the eCAT tool to identify the nursing need of local populations, along with the variances in district nursing practice, and match the workforce accordingly. This article reviews the literature, describes the eCAT solution and discusses the impact of eCAT on nursing practice, staff allocation, service delivery and workforce planning, using fictitious exemplars and a post-implementation evaluation from the trusts.

Knowledge translation regarding financial abuse and dementia for the banking sector: the development and testing of an education tool.

Science.gov (United States)

Peisah, Carmelle; Bhatia, Sangita; Macnab, Jenna; Brodaty, Henry

2016-07-01

Financial abuse is the most common form of elder abuse. Capacity Australia, established to promote education regarding capacity and abuse prevention across health, legal and financial sectors, was awarded a grant by the Dementia Collaborative Research Centre to educate the banking sector on financial abuse and dementia. We aimed to develop a knowledge translation tool for bank staff on this issue. The banking sector across Australia was engaged and consulted to develop a tailored education tool based on Australian Banking Association's Guidelines on Financial Abuse Prevention, supplemented by information related to dementia, financial capacity and supported decision-making. The tool was tested on 69 banking staff across Australia from two major banks. An online education tool using adaptive learning was developed, comprising a pretest of 15 multiple choice questions, followed by a learning module tailored to the individual's performance on the pretest, and a post-test to assess knowledge translation. A significant increase in scores was demonstrated when baseline scores were compared with post-course scores (mean difference in scores = 3.5; SD = 1.94; t = 15.1; df = 68; p tool took approximately 10-20 min to complete depending on the knowledge of participant and continuity of completion. The Australian banking industry was amenable to assist in the development of a tailored education tool on dementia, abuse and financial capacity. This online e-tool provides an effective medium for knowledge translation. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

An online network tool for quality information to answer questions about occupational safety and health: usability and applicability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

van Dijk Frank JH

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Common information facilities do not always provide the quality information needed to answer questions on health or health-related issues, such as Occupational Safety and Health (OSH matters. Barriers may be the accessibility, quantity and readability of information. Online Question & Answer (Q&A network tools, which link questioners directly to experts can overcome some of these barriers. When designing and testing online tools, assessing the usability and applicability is essential. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to assess the usability and applicability of a new online Q&A network tool for answers on OSH questions. Methods We applied a cross-sectional usability test design. Eight occupational health experts and twelve potential questioners from the working population (workers were purposively selected to include a variety of computer- and internet-experiences. During the test, participants were first observed while executing eight tasks that entailed important features of the tool. In addition, they were interviewed. Through task observations and interviews we assessed applicability, usability (effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction and facilitators and barriers in use. Results Most features were usable, though several could be improved. Most tasks were executed effectively. Some tasks, for example searching stored questions in categories, were not executed efficiently and participants were less satisfied with the corresponding features. Participants' recommendations led to improvements. The tool was found mostly applicable for additional information, to observe new OSH trends and to improve contact between OSH experts and workers. Hosting and support by a trustworthy professional organization, effective implementation campaigns, timely answering and anonymity were seen as important use requirements. Conclusions This network tool is a promising new strategy for offering company workers high quality information

Development and application of a living probabilistic safety assessment tool: Multi-objective multi-dimensional optimization of surveillance requirements in NPPs considering their ageing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kančev, Duško; Čepin, Marko; Gjorgiev, Blaže

2014-01-01

The benefits of utilizing the probabilistic safety assessment towards improvement of nuclear power plant safety are presented in this paper. Namely, a nuclear power plant risk reduction can be achieved by risk-informed optimization of the deterministically-determined surveillance requirements. A living probabilistic safety assessment tool for time-dependent risk analysis on component, system and plant level is developed. The study herein focuses on the application of this living probabilistic safety assessment tool as a computer platform for multi-objective multi-dimensional optimization of the surveillance requirements of selected safety equipment seen from the aspect of the risk-informed reasoning. The living probabilistic safety assessment tool is based on a newly developed model for calculating time-dependent unavailability of ageing safety equipment within nuclear power plants. By coupling the time-dependent unavailability model with a commercial software used for probabilistic safety assessment modelling on plant level, the frames of the new platform i.e. the living probabilistic safety assessment tool are established. In such way, the time-dependent core damage frequency is obtained and is further on utilized as first objective function within a multi-objective multi-dimensional optimization case study presented within this paper. The test and maintenance costs are designated as the second and the incurred dose due to performing the test and maintenance activities as the third objective function. The obtained results underline, in general, the usefulness and importance of a living probabilistic safety assessment, seen as a dynamic probabilistic safety assessment tool opposing the conventional, time-averaged unavailability-based, probabilistic safety assessment. The results of the optimization, in particular, indicate that test intervals derived as optimal differ from the deterministically-determined ones defined within the existing technical specifications

Application of life-cycle information for advancement in safety of nuclear fuel cycle facilities. Application of safety information to advanced safety management support system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suzuki, Kazuhiko; Ishida, Michihiko

2005-08-01

Risk management is major concern to nuclear energy reprocessing plants to improve plant and process reliability and ensure their safety. This is because we are required to predict potential risks before any accident or disaster occurs. The advancement of safety design and safety systems technologies showed large amount of useful safety-related knowledge that can be of great importance to plant operation to reduce operation risks and ensure safety. This research proposes safety knowledge modeling framework on the basis of ontology technologies to systematically construct plant knowledge model, which includes plant structure, operation, and the associated behaviors. In such plant knowledge model safety related information is defined and linked to the different elements of plant knowledge model. Ontology editor is employed to define the basic concepts and their inter-relations, which are used to capture and construct plant safety knowledge. In order to provide detailed safety knowledgebase, HAZOP results are analyzed and structured so that safety-related knowledge are identified and structured within the plant knowledgebase. The target safety knowledgebase includes: failures, deviations, causes, consequences, and fault propagation as mapped to plant knowledge. The proposed ontology-based safety framework is applied on case study nuclear plant to structure failures, causes, consequences, and fault propagation, which are used to support plant operation. (author)

NS [Nuclear Safety] update. Current safety and security activities and developments taking place in the Department of Nuclear Safety and Security. Issue no. 4, June 2007

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2007-04-01

This newsletter contains information on the Centre for Advanced Safety Assessment Tools (CASAT), the new strategy for the recovery of radioactive sources, the Technical Support Organization Conference and a message form the Director of the Division of Nuclear Installation Safety. To improve the efficiency of safety assessment methods, ensure transparency in their validation and application and establish an excellent knowledge base and training programmes, the IAEA's Centre for Advanced Safety Assessment Tools (CASAT) has therefore been formed. The Centre addresses the need for continuous technical support mechanisms for safety assessment methods. It provides support to Member States to enhance their safety assessment capabilities for present and future generations of nuclear systems, with a special focus on countries with a developing nuclear technology and nuclear safety infrastructure. It serves as a consolidated repository of relevant safety analysis knowledge, provides for focused training including advanced analytical simulations, and supports collaboration on safety assessment projects among Member States. The resources provided through CASAT include codes, models, databases, verification and validation information, analytical procedures and guides. The main purpose of the recently established Radioactive Source Technical Coordination Group (RSTCG) is to facilitate the technical coordination of activities of the IAEA related to the control and management of radioactive sources through the development of common approaches in technical matters and to advise the management of the relevant Divisions. It is the task of the RSTCG to provide the programme managers of the participating divisions/sections with a common opinion/advice on technical issues related to the control and management of radioactive sources. The RSTCG members obtain, inter alia from programme managers, information on all relevant project proposals, and share relevant materials in due time to

Counterheroism, common knowledge, and ergonomics: concepts from aviation that could improve patient safety.

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, Geraint H; Vaithianathan, Rhema; Hockey, Peter M; Hirst, Guy; Bagian, James P

2011-03-01

Many safety initiatives have been transferred successfully from commercial aviation to health care. This article develops a typology of aviation safety initiatives, applies this to health care, and proposes safety measures that might be adopted more widely. It then presents an economic framework for determining the likely costs and benefits of different patient safety initiatives. This article describes fifteen examples of error countermeasures that are used in public transport aviation, many of which are not routinely used in health care at present. Examples are the sterile cockpit rule, flight envelope protection, the first-names-only rule, and incentivized no-fault reporting. It develops a conceptual schema that is then used to argue why analogous initiatives might be usefully applied to health care and why physicians may resist them. Each example is measured against a set of economic criteria adopted from the taxation literature. The initiatives considered in the article fall into three themes: safety concepts that seek to downplay the role of heroic individuals and instead emphasize the importance of teams and whole organizations; concepts that seek to increase and apply group knowledge of safety information and values; and concepts that promote safety by design. The salient costs to be considered by organizations wishing to adopt these suggestions are the compliance costs to clinicians, the administration costs to the organization, and the costs of behavioral distortions. This article concludes that there is a range of safety initiatives used in commercial aviation that could have a positive impact on patient safety, and that adopting such initiatives may alter the safety culture of health care teams. The desirability of implementing each initiative, however, depends on the projected costs and benefits, which must be assessed for each situation. © 2011 Milbank Memorial Fund. Published by Wiley Periodicals Inc.

Roadmap on R&D and Human Resource for Light Water Reactors Safety and Knowledge Management: Status in Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sekimura, N.

2016-01-01

Full text: The roadmap for light water reactor safety technology and human resource has been constructed by the Special Committee on Nuclear Safety Research Roadmap in the Atomic Energy Society of Japan (AESJ). Based upon the lessons learned from the Fukushima Daiichi accident, effective planning of research activities to improve safety can also contribute to enhance human resource and management of accumulated knowledge-base in the future domestic and international community. (author

Competency development information system - Knowledge management based competency development management tool

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aminuddin, R.; Zainuddin, Z.; Taib, Z.; Hamid, A.H.Ab.; Hamdan, S.N.

2007-01-01

Full text: Knowledge identification, acquisition, sharing, preservation and measurement are some of the desired habits and processes necessary for knowledge management to be effective and contributes to increased innovation, organizational value, competitiveness and sustainability. The knowledge workers in the K-economic era are expected to be an innovative knowledge professional who are capable of managing their own work as well as their own competency development. Organizations however need to provide an environment, tools and policies to support and encourage learning and knowledge acquisition in all forms, methods and approaches beyond what is traditionally done. For an ordinary knowledge professional, he is only interested in developing the necessary competency to complete his assigned tasks and progress in his career. He would not be interested to learn and be lectured on knowledge management or learning principles and concepts. But for the organization it is not only important that its staff members understand and able to go through the process of acquiring the necessary skills to carry out their current and future tasks at the right time, but it has to ensure that what they learn or their individual knowledge is converted into organizational knowledge, utilised, shared and preserved. Hence it is important that tools are provided and policies are set in place to ensure that staff identify, acquire, utilise, share and preserve knowledge necessary for organizational sustainability and growth. A Competency Development Information System was recently developed to address the issue of inculcating the habit of identifying, acquiring, utilising, sharing, preserving and measuring knowledge among staff members hands-on by doing and repeating without having to learn the theory first. Besides that it helps organization manage competency development processes from analysis to planning, implementing and right through to evaluation. The process starts from capturing

Food safety knowledge, attitude, and practice toward compliance with abattoir laws among the abattoir workers in Malaysia.

Science.gov (United States)

Abdullahi, Auwalu; Hassan, Azmi; Kadarman, Norizhar; Saleh, Ahmadu; Baraya, Yusha'u Shu'aibu; Lua, Pei Lin

2016-01-01

Foodborne diseases are common in the developing countries due to the predominant poor food handling and sanitation practices, particularly as a result of inadequate food safety laws, weak regulatory structures, and inadequate funding as well as a lack of appropriate education for food-handlers. The most frequently involved foods in disease outbreaks are of animal origin. However, in spite of the adequate legislation and laws governing the abattoir operation in Malaysia, compliance with food safety requirements during meat processing and waste disposal is inadequate. Therefore, the present study was designed to assess the food safety knowledge, attitude, and practice toward compliance with abattoir laws among the workers in Terengganu, Malaysia. A cross-sectional survey was conducted using simple random sampling technique in the six districts of Terengganu: two districts were used for the pilot study and the remaining four were used for the main study. One hundred sixty-five abattoir workers from the selected districts were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. The mean and standard deviation of knowledge, attitude, and practice scores of the workers were 6.02 and 1.954, 45.16 and 4.496, and 18.03 and 3.186, respectively. The majority of the workers (38.8%) had a low level of knowledge and 91.7% had a positive attitude, while 77.7% had a good practice of compliance. Sex had a significant association with the level of knowledge (P<0.001) and practice (P=0.044) among the workers. The females had a higher level of knowledge than the males, while the males had a better practice of compliance than females. Similarly, knowledge also had a significant (P=0.009) association with the level of practice toward compliance with abattoir laws among the workers. The abattoir workers had a positive attitude and good practice, but a low level of knowledge toward compliance with the abattoir laws. Therefore, public awareness, workshops, and seminars relevant to the abattoir

Food safety knowledge, attitude, and practice toward compliance with abattoir laws among the abattoir workers in Malaysia

Science.gov (United States)

Abdullahi, Auwalu; Hassan, Azmi; Kadarman, Norizhar; Saleh, Ahmadu; Baraya, Yusha’u Shu’aibu; Lua, Pei Lin

2016-01-01

Purpose Foodborne diseases are common in the developing countries due to the predominant poor food handling and sanitation practices, particularly as a result of inadequate food safety laws, weak regulatory structures, and inadequate funding as well as a lack of appropriate education for food-handlers. The most frequently involved foods in disease outbreaks are of animal origin. However, in spite of the adequate legislation and laws governing the abattoir operation in Malaysia, compliance with food safety requirements during meat processing and waste disposal is inadequate. Therefore, the present study was designed to assess the food safety knowledge, attitude, and practice toward compliance with abattoir laws among the workers in Terengganu, Malaysia. Materials and methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted using simple random sampling technique in the six districts of Terengganu: two districts were used for the pilot study and the remaining four were used for the main study. One hundred sixty-five abattoir workers from the selected districts were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Results The mean and standard deviation of knowledge, attitude, and practice scores of the workers were 6.02 and 1.954, 45.16 and 4.496, and 18.03 and 3.186, respectively. The majority of the workers (38.8%) had a low level of knowledge and 91.7% had a positive attitude, while 77.7% had a good practice of compliance. Sex had a significant association with the level of knowledge (Plevel of knowledge than the males, while the males had a better practice of compliance than females. Similarly, knowledge also had a significant (P=0.009) association with the level of practice toward compliance with abattoir laws among the workers. Conclusion The abattoir workers had a positive attitude and good practice, but a low level of knowledge toward compliance with the abattoir laws. Therefore, public awareness, workshops, and seminars relevant to the abattoir operations should be

Using knowledge brokers to facilitate the uptake of pediatric measurement tools into clinical practice: a before-after intervention study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cameron Dianne

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The use of measurement tools is an essential part of good evidence-based practice; however, physiotherapists (PTs are not always confident when selecting, administering, and interpreting these tools. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of a multifaceted knowledge translation intervention, using PTs as knowledge brokers (KBs to facilitate the use in clinical practice of four evidence-based measurement tools designed to evaluate and understand motor function in children with cerebral palsy (CP. The KB model evaluated in this study was designed to overcome many of the barriers to research transfer identified in the literature. Methods A mixed methods before-after study design was used to evaluate the impact of a six-month KB intervention by 25 KBs on 122 practicing PTs' self-reported knowledge and use of the measurement tools in 28 children's rehabilitation organizations in two regions of Canada. The model was that of PT KBs situated in clinical sites supported by a network of KBs and the research team through a broker to the KBs. Modest financial remuneration to the organizations for the KB time (two hours/week for six months, ongoing resource materials, and personal and intranet support was provided to the KBs. Survey data were collected by questionnaire prior to, immediately following the intervention (six months, and at 12 and 18 months. A mixed effects multinomial logistic regression was used to examine the impact of the intervention over time and by region. The impact of organizational factors was also explored. Results PTs' self-reported knowledge of all four measurement tools increased significantly over the six-month intervention, and reported use of three of the four measurement tools also increased. Changes were sustained 12 months later. Organizational culture for research and supervisor expectations were significantly associated with uptake of only one of the four measurement tools. Conclusions KBs

Using knowledge brokers to facilitate the uptake of pediatric measurement tools into clinical practice: a before-after intervention study.

Science.gov (United States)

Russell, Dianne J; Rivard, Lisa M; Walter, Stephen D; Rosenbaum, Peter L; Roxborough, Lori; Cameron, Dianne; Darrah, Johanna; Bartlett, Doreen J; Hanna, Steven E; Avery, Lisa M

2010-11-23

The use of measurement tools is an essential part of good evidence-based practice; however, physiotherapists (PTs) are not always confident when selecting, administering, and interpreting these tools. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of a multifaceted knowledge translation intervention, using PTs as knowledge brokers (KBs) to facilitate the use in clinical practice of four evidence-based measurement tools designed to evaluate and understand motor function in children with cerebral palsy (CP). The KB model evaluated in this study was designed to overcome many of the barriers to research transfer identified in the literature. A mixed methods before-after study design was used to evaluate the impact of a six-month KB intervention by 25 KBs on 122 practicing PTs' self-reported knowledge and use of the measurement tools in 28 children's rehabilitation organizations in two regions of Canada. The model was that of PT KBs situated in clinical sites supported by a network of KBs and the research team through a broker to the KBs. Modest financial remuneration to the organizations for the KB time (two hours/week for six months), ongoing resource materials, and personal and intranet support was provided to the KBs. Survey data were collected by questionnaire prior to, immediately following the intervention (six months), and at 12 and 18 months. A mixed effects multinomial logistic regression was used to examine the impact of the intervention over time and by region. The impact of organizational factors was also explored. PTs' self-reported knowledge of all four measurement tools increased significantly over the six-month intervention, and reported use of three of the four measurement tools also increased. Changes were sustained 12 months later. Organizational culture for research and supervisor expectations were significantly associated with uptake of only one of the four measurement tools. KBs positively influenced PTs' self-reported knowledge and self

IRSN safety research carried out for reviewing safety cases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Serres, Ch.

2010-01-01

Christophe Serres from IRSN (France) described the independent role of the IRSN regarding research related to nuclear safety in the context of the French Planning Act of 28 June 2006 foreseeing a licence application to be submitted in 2015 for the creation of a deep geological repository. IRSN research programme is organised along research activities devoted to addressing independently-identified k ey safety issues . These 'key issues' should also be of prime concern for the implementer since they relate to the demonstration of the overall safety of the repository, and the level of funding that the implementer should afford to research activities of concern for safety. He explained that the quality and independency of the research programme carried out by IRSN allow building and improving a set of scientific knowledge and technical skills that serves the public mission of delivering technical appraisal and advice, e.g., on behalf of the national safety authority. In particular they contribute to improving the decisional process by making possible scientific dialogue with stakeholders independently from regulator or implementer. The current IRSN R and D programme is developed along the following lines: - Test the adequacy of experimental methods for which feedback is not sufficient. - Develop basic scientific knowledge in the fields where there is a need for better understanding of complex phenomena and interactions. - Develop and use numerical modelling tools to support studies on complex phenomena and interactions. - Perform specific experimental tests aiming at assessing the key parameters that may warrant the performances of the different components of the repository. These studies are carried out by means of experiments performed either at IRSN surface laboratories, or in the Tournemire Experimental Station (TES), an underground facility operated by IRSN in the south-east of France. Targeted actions on research related to operational safety and reversibility

Application of Modern Tools and Techniques for Mine Safety & Disaster Management

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Dheeraj

2016-04-01

The implementation of novel systems and adoption of improvised equipment in mines help mining companies in two important ways: enhanced mine productivity and improved worker safety. There is a substantial need for adoption of state-of-the-art automation technologies in the mines to ensure the safety and to protect health of mine workers. With the advent of new autonomous equipment used in the mine, the inefficiencies are reduced by limiting human inconsistencies and error. The desired increase in productivity at a mine can sometimes be achieved by changing only a few simple variables. Significant developments have been made in the areas of surface and underground communication, robotics, smart sensors, tracking systems, mine gas monitoring systems and ground movements etc. Advancement in information technology in the form of internet, GIS, remote sensing, satellite communication, etc. have proved to be important tools for hazard reduction and disaster management. This paper is mainly focused on issues pertaining to mine safety and disaster management and some of the recent innovations in the mine automations that could be deployed in mines for safe mining operations and for avoiding any unforeseen mine disaster.

Older Driver Safety: A Survey of Psychologists' Attitudes, Knowledge, and Practices.

Science.gov (United States)

Love, Janet; Tuokko, Holly

2016-09-01

Using an online survey, we examined the knowledge, attitudes, and practices with respect to older driver safety concerns of clinical psychologists from across Canada who self-identified as working with at least some drivers over 60 years of age. Eighty-four psychologists completed the survey, and many were aware of the issues relevant to older driver safety, although only about half reported that assessing fitness to drive was an important issue in their practice. The majority (75%) reported that they would benefit from education concerning evaluation of fitness to drive. The primary recommendation emerging from this investigation is to increase efforts to inform and educate psychologists about driving-related assessment and regulatory issues in general, and specifically with respect to older adults. As the population ages, it is of growing importance for all health care providers to understand the influence of mental health conditions-including cognitive impairment and dementia-on driving skills.

Exploring the Knowledge Management Index as a Performance Diagnostic Tool

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jakov Crnkovic

2005-04-01

Full Text Available The knowledge management index (KMI has been proposed as a parsimonious and useful tool to help organizations gauge their knowledge management (KM capabilities. This may be the first step in understanding the difference between what an organization is currently doing and what it needs to do in order to maintain and improve its performance level. At the macro level, the index enables organizations to compare themselves with each other. At the micro level, it calls attention to areas needing improvement in current and future KM initiatives. In either case, the KMI provides a robust indicator and basis for business decision-making and organizational support and development. This paper presents a holistic approach to KM that relates key knowledge management processes (KMP and critical success factors (CSF needed to successfully implement it. By juxtaposing these processes and success factors, we create Belardo's matrix that will enable us to characterize an organization and estimate the KMI. At the macro level, we used realized KMI values and OP estimates to confirm the positive correlation between the KMI and OP. Additional findings include comparing the current and expected role of KM in organizations and discussion for marginal values of rows (CSF and columns (KM Processes of the proposed matrix.

Developing "My Asthma Diary": a process exemplar of a patient-driven arts-based knowledge translation tool.

Science.gov (United States)

Archibald, Mandy M; Hartling, Lisa; Ali, Samina; Caine, Vera; Scott, Shannon D

2018-06-05

Although it is well established that family-centered education is critical to managing childhood asthma, the information needs of parents of children with asthma are not being met through current educational approaches. Patient-driven educational materials that leverage the power of the storytelling and the arts show promise in communicating health information and assisting in illness self-management. However, such arts-based knowledge translation approaches are in their infancy, and little is known about how to develop such tools for parents. This paper reports on the development of "My Asthma Diary" - an innovative knowledge translation tool based on rigorous research evidence and tailored to parents' asthma-related information needs. We used a multi-stage process to develop four eBook prototypes of "My Asthma Diary." We conducted formative research on parents' information needs and identified high quality research evidence on childhood asthma, and used these data to inform the development of the asthma eBooks. We established interdisciplinary consulting teams with health researchers, practitioners, and artists to help iteratively create the knowledge translation tools. We describe the iterative, transdisciplinary process of developing asthma eBooks which incorporates: (I) parents' preferences and information needs on childhood asthma, (II) quality evidence on childhood asthma and its management, and (III) the engaging and informative powers of storytelling and visual art as methods to communicate complex health information to parents. We identified four dominant methodological and procedural challenges encountered during this process: (I) working within an inter-disciplinary team, (II) quantity and ordering of information, (III) creating a composite narrative, and (IV) balancing actual and ideal management scenarios. We describe a replicable and rigorous multi-staged approach to developing a patient-driven, creative knowledge translation tool, which can be

Consumers’ perception and knowledge of food safety: results of questionnaires accessible on IZSalimenTO website

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amaranta Traversa

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The present survey was undertaken to investigate consumers’ knowledge of the main foodborne agents and dietary regimen during pregnancy. Data were collected using monthly questionnaires available on IZSalimenTO website between March 2013 and January 2014. Hepatitis A virus questionnaire: 20 respondents (77% recognized berries as foodstuff linked to the outbreak of hepatitis A. The majority correctly indicated as precautionary advice to boil berries before consumption. Botulism questionnaire: 29 respondents (62% indicated pesto as food involved in botulism alert in July 2013. The risk of infant botulism in infant less than 1 year old due to honey consumption is known by 24 respondents (51%. Main foodborne disease questionnaire: the risk of infection by Salmonella after the consumption of foods made with raw eggs is known by the majority (94%; N=17 as well as the treatments to be applied in order to make fresh fish safe from parasites (76%. Pregnancy questionnaire: 20 respondents (74% believed that washing vegetables and fruits with sodium bicarbonate or chlorate solution is able to inactivate Toxoplasma; only 4 (15% reported both raw meat and vegetables washed with sodium bicarbonate as food at risk. Results indicate that all consumers should be trained on behaviour and dietary regimen to be adopted in pregnancy and in infant <1 year old. The website may be considered as a useful tool to assess consumers’ knowledge: both the news section and the contents published may be a source of information and education for consumers on food safety.

(Mis)Perceptions of Continuing Education: Insights from Knowledge Translation, Quality Improvement, and Patient Safety Leaders

Science.gov (United States)

Kitto, Simon C.; Bell, Mary; Goldman, Joanne; Peller, Jennifer; Silver, Ivan; Sargeant, Joan; Reeves, Scott

2013-01-01

Introduction: Minimal attention has been given to the intersection and potential collaboration among the domains of continuing education (CE), knowledge translation (KT), quality improvement (QI), and patient safety (PS), despite their overlapping objectives. A study was undertaken to examine leaders' perspectives of these 4 domains and their…

Methods and tools used at the IPSN for the safety assessment of critical software

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Regnier, P.; Henry, J.Y.

1998-01-01

A significant feature of EDF's latest 1400MWe ''N4'' generation of pressurized water reactor (PWR) is the extensive use of computerized instrumentation and control, including a fully digital system for the reactor protection function. For the safety assessment of the software driving the operation of this digital reactor protection called SPIN, IPSN has developed and implemented a set of methods and tools. Using the lessons learned from this experience, IPSN has worked at improving those methods and tools, mainly trying to make them more automatic to use, and has participated in an international assessment exercise to test some other methods and tools, either new products on the market or self-developed products. As a result of these works, this paper presents an up to date overview of the IPSN methods and tools used for the assessment of safety critical software. This assessment, which consists of an analysis of all the documentation associated with the technical specifications and of a representative set of functions, is usually carried out in five steps: (1) critical examination of the documents, (2) evaluation of the quality of the code, (3) determination of the critical software components, (4) development of test cases and choice of testing strategy, (5) dynamic analysis (consistency and robustness). This paper also presents methods and tools developed or implemented by IPSN in order to: evaluate the completeness and consistency of specification and design documents written in natural language; build a model and simulate specification or design items; evaluate the quality of the source code; carry out FMEA analysis; run the binary code and perform tests (CLAIRE); perform random or mutational tests. (author)

Safety issues and updates under MR environments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Soo Jung; Kim, Kyung Ah, E-mail: bellenina@daum.net

2017-04-15

Highlights: • Unexpected biological effects can occur within stronger magnetic fields. • MR safety for MR conditional items is not guaranteed beyond the tested conditions. • Updated knowledge about MR-related safety is important for a safe MR environment. - Abstract: Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging is a useful imaging tool with superior soft tissue contrast for diagnostic evaluation. The MR environments poses unique risks to patients and employees differently from ionizing radiation exposure originated from computed tomography and plain x-ray films. The technology associated with MR system has evolved continuously since its introduction in the late 1970s. MR systems have advanced with static magnetic fields, faster and stronger gradient magnetic fields and more powerful radiofrequency transmission coils. Higher field strengths of MR offers greater signal to noise capability and better spatial resolution, resulting in better visualization of anatomic detail, with a reduction in scan time. With the rapid evolution of technology associated with MR, we encounter new MR-related circumstances and unexpected dangerous conditions. A comprehensive update of our knowledge about MR safety is necessary to prevent MR-related accidents and to ensure safety for patients and staff associated with MR. This review presents an overview about MR-related safety issues and updates.

11-th International conference Nuclear power safety and nuclear education - 2009. Abstracts. Part 1. Session: Safety of nuclear technology; Innovative nuclear systems and fuel cycle; Nuclear knowledge management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2009-01-01

The book includes abstracts of the 11-th International conference Nuclear power safety and nuclear education - 2009 (29 Sep - 2 Oct, 2009, Obninsk). Problems of safety of nuclear technology are discussed, innovative nuclear systems and fuel cycles are treated. Abstracts on professional education for nuclear power and industry are presented. Nuclear knowledge management are discussed

Study of status of safe injection practice and knowledge regarding injection safety among primary health care workers in Baglung district, western Nepal.

Science.gov (United States)

Gyawali, Sudesh; Rathore, Devendra S; Kc, Bhuvan; Shankar, P Ravi

2013-01-03

Unsafe injection practices and injection overuse are widespread in developing countries harming the patient and inviting risks to the health care workers. In Nepal, there is a dearth of documented information about injection practices so the present study was carried out: a) to determine whether the selected government health facilities satisfy the conditions for safe injections in terms of staff training, availability of sterile injectable equipment and their proper disposal after use and b) to assess knowledge and attitudes of healthcare workers in these health care facilities with regard to injection safety. A descriptive cross-sectional mixed type (qualitative and quantitative) survey was carried out from 18th May to 16th June 2012. In-depth interviews with the in-charges were conducted using a semi-structured questionnaire. Observation of the health facilities using a structured observation tool was done. The data were analysed manually by summarizing, tabulating and presenting in various formats. The in-charges (eight males, two females) who participated in the study ranged in age from 30 to 50 years with a mean age of 37.8 years. Severe infection followed by pain was the most important cause for injection use with injection Gentamicin being most commonly prescribed. New single use (disposable) injections and auto-disable syringes were used to inject curative drugs and vaccines respectively. Sufficient safety boxes were also supplied to dispose the used syringe. All health care workers had received full course of Hepatitis B vaccine and were knowledgeable about at least one pathogen transmitted through unsafe injection practices. Injection safety management policy and waste disposal guideline was not available for viewing in any of the facilities. The office staff who disposed the bio-medical wastes did so without taking any safety measures. Moreover, none of these staff had received any formal training in waste management. Certain safe injection

Study of status of safe injection practice and knowledge regarding injection safety among primary health care workers in Baglung district, western Nepal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gyawali Sudesh

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Unsafe injection practices and injection overuse are widespread in developing countries harming the patient and inviting risks to the health care workers. In Nepal, there is a dearth of documented information about injection practices so the present study was carried out: a to determine whether the selected government health facilities satisfy the conditions for safe injections in terms of staff training, availability of sterile injectable equipment and their proper disposal after use and b to assess knowledge and attitudes of healthcare workers in these health care facilities with regard to injection safety. Methodology A descriptive cross-sectional mixed type (qualitative and quantitative survey was carried out from 18th May to 16th June 2012. In-depth interviews with the in-charges were conducted using a semi-structured questionnaire. Observation of the health facilities using a structured observation tool was done. The data were analysed manually by summarizing, tabulating and presenting in various formats. Results The in-charges (eight males, two females who participated in the study ranged in age from 30 to 50 years with a mean age of 37.8 years. Severe infection followed by pain was the most important cause for injection use with injection Gentamicin being most commonly prescribed. New single use (disposable injections and auto-disable syringes were used to inject curative drugs and vaccines respectively. Sufficient safety boxes were also supplied to dispose the used syringe. All health care workers had received full course of Hepatitis B vaccine and were knowledgeable about at least one pathogen transmitted through unsafe injection practices. Injection safety management policy and waste disposal guideline was not available for viewing in any of the facilities. The office staff who disposed the bio-medical wastes did so without taking any safety measures. Moreover, none of these staff had received any formal

Tools for the Knowledge-Based Organization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ravn, Ib

2002-01-01

exist. They include a Master’s degree in knowledge management, a web- or print-based intelligence hub for the knowledge society, collaboration with the Danish intellectual capital reporting project, ongoing research on expertise and ethics in knowledge workers, a comparative study of competence...

Tool for assistance in testing the safety logic section of nuclear plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boulc'h, J.; Meur, M. le; Collart, J.M.; Segalard, J.; Uberschlag, J.

1986-01-01

The analysis of the protection system logic section (SPIN) of the PALUEL plant performed manually have led to the study of a logical tool for testing the safety logic section having or having not failures. It is a dynamic analyser which from a terminal in a sharing time system will be able to generate testing sequences, to simulate a processor and its environment and to analyse the logic sections with their workable code

A Scholarly Pathway in Quality Improvement and Patient Safety.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferguson, Catherine C; Lamb, Geoffrey

2015-10-01

There are several challenges to teaching quality improvement (QI) and patient safety material to medical students, as successful programs should combine didactic and experiential teaching methods, integrate the material into the preclinical and clinical years, and tailor the material to the schools' existing curriculum. The authors describe the development, implementation, and assessment of the Quality Improvement and Patient Safety (QuIPS) Scholarly Pathway-a faculty-mentored, three-year experience for students interested in gaining exposure to QI and patient safety concepts at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW). The QuIPS pathway capitalized on the existing structure of scholarly pathways for MCW medical students, allowing QI and patient safety to be incorporated into the existing curriculum using didactic and experiential instruction and spanning preclinical and clinical education. Student reaction to the QuIPS pathway has been favorable. Preliminary data demonstrate that student knowledge as measured by the Quality Improvement Knowledge Assessment Tool significantly increased after the first year of implementation. A novel curriculum such as the QuIPS pathway provides an important opportunity to develop and test new assessment tools for curricula in systems-based practice and practice-based learning and improvement. The authors also hope that by bringing together local QI and patient safety experts and stakeholders during the curricular development process, they have laid the groundwork for the creation of a more pervasive curriculum that will reach all MCW students in the future. The model may be generalizable to other U.S. medical schools with scholarly pathways as well.

Sociology, systems and (patient) safety: knowledge translations in healthcare policy.

Science.gov (United States)

Jensen, Casper Bruun

2008-03-01

In 2000 the American Institute of Medicine, adviser to the federal government on policy matters relating to the health of the public, published the report To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System, which was to become a call to arms for improving patient safety across the Western world. By re-conceiving healthcare as a system, it was argued that it was possible to transform the current culture of blame, which made individuals take defensive precautions against being assigned responsibility for error - notably by not reporting adverse events, into a culture of safety. The IOM report draws on several prominent social scientists in accomplishing this re-conceptualisation. But the analyses of these authors are not immediately relevant for health policy. It requires knowledge translation to make them so. This paper analyses the process of translation. The discussion is especially pertinent due to a certain looping effect between social science research and policy concerns. The case here presented is thus doubly illustrative: exemplifying first how social science is translated into health policy and secondly how the transformation required for this to function is taken as an analytical improvement that can in turn be redeployed in social research.

Knowledge and Attitudes of Produce and Seafood Processors and Food Safety Educators Regarding Nonthermal Processes

Science.gov (United States)

Pivarnik, Lori F.; Richard, Nicole L.; Gable, Robert K.; Worobo, Randy W.

2016-01-01

A needs assessment survey was designed and administered to measure knowledge of and attitudes toward food safety impacts of nonthermal processing technologies of shellfish and produce industry personnel and extension educators. An online survey was sent via e-mail notification with the survey link through professional listserves. The survey…

The Study of Implement of HCS Program at Hazardous Chemicals Knowledge and Safety performance in Tehran refinery, s laboratory unit

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. Hassanzadeh-Rangi

2008-10-01

Full Text Available Background and aims   The HCS standard includes listing of chemicals, labeling of chemical  containers, preparation of material safety data sheets, writing plan and employee training  programs. The aim of this study was to determine the influence of implemented program to enhance the knowledge and safety performance level of employees.   Methods   The knowledge level and unsafe act ratio were measured using both questionnaire  and behavior checklist (with safety sampling method before and after enforcing this interface.   Results   In this study, the mean and standard deviation of the knowledge level of employees  related to chemical safety before enforcing the interface was 46% and 14%. However, after  enforcing the interface, mean and standard deviation was 88% and 12%. The paired-t-test result   in this parameter was significant (p-value <0.0001. The mean and standard deviation of  knowledge level of employees related to warning labels before to enforcing the interface was 29%  and 22%. After enforcing the interface, mean and standard deviation was 80% and 16%. The paired-t-test result in this parameter was significant (p-value <0.0001. The mean and standard  deviation of the knowledge level of employees related to hazard communication methods before enforcing the interface was 25% and 11%. After enforcing the interface, mean and standard deviation was 79% and 16%. The paired-t-test result in this parameter was significant (p-value   <0.001.   Conclusion   The obtained result revealed that enhancement of the knowledge related to chemical safety, hazard communication methods and warning labels was significant. Statistical paired-t-test and control chart methods was used to comparison between unsafe act ratio before  and after enforcing the interface. The mean and standard deviation of unsafe act ratio before implementation of HCS program was 23.6% and 5.49%. However, mean and standard deviation of unsafe act ratio

Development of a tool of probabilistic safety analysis for advanced nuclear reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hidalgo H, F.E.; Fran N, P.

2007-01-01

It is developing a tool to explain in a simple way in that it consists the Probabilistic Safety Analysis (APS) and at the same time to facilitate the comparison among the different designs of advanced nuclear reactors starting from their safety systems. This tool for teaching contemplates all the workspaces in an APS, but it is deepened only in what is the development of accident sequences and systems models. At the moment its have incorporated three types of advanced reactors, ABWR, ESBWR, and the HTGR and they are compared among if and with a BWR like that of Laguna Verde. This tool is carried out in Visual Basic code because it is a platform that can be used in any Windows atmosphere and for their easy programming. The system includes a tree of events developed for this purpose for a research HTGR built in Japan (HTTR) to have a point of comparison of the same one with other reactors of previous generations. It is that in the fourth generation reactors the measure of frequency of core damage doesn't make the same sense that for reactors of previous generations, which is due to its passive safety systems and its design type of the fuel, that which makes indispensable the development of another type of risk measure. The tree of events is presented for the initiator event 'the rupture of the main pipe' that causes the depressurization of the HTTR reactor. In this article it was concluded that it is necessary to evaluate the accident until reaching to the liberation of fission products that one knows in APS like an APS study level 1 and level 2 together. The final states developed starting from the possible phenomena that happen in these scenarios are presented. For this, its are considered flaws of all the mitigation systems that intervene in this accident. The tree of events developed for this work and the definition of the final states contributes to the development of as carrying out an APS for fourth generation reactors, with the purpose of developing an APS

Managing knowledge in technical and scientific support organizations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beraha, D.; Goetz, K.; Puhr-Westerheide. P.

2007-01-01

Full text: In an introduction, the issues in knowledge management regarding licensing and supervision authorities as well as technical and scientific support organisations (TSO's) will be discussed. Although in general many of these issues are quite similar across organizations in the nuclear field, specific questions arise according to the knowledge management policies in regulation and supervision, as will be demonstrated by discussing the results of a recent workshop on human resource management in regulation and safety. With the need for managing knowledge in regulation and safety, a further field of supporting authorities has been opened to TSO's. As a prerequisite, a good knowledge on knowledge management methods and tools has to be acquired by a TSO, preferably by installing an own knowledge management system, thus gaining the indispensable practical experience. Driven by the ongoing demographic change, some TSO's have started early with the implementation of knowledge management practices in their own organizations. Three examples will be presented in the paper concerning knowledge management in safety and regulation, illustrating the efforts undertaken at GRS, the BMU (German Federal Ministry of Environment, Nature Preservation and Reactor Safety), and the TUV-SUD. At GRS, knowledge management started by specifying the goals of maintaining knowledge, particularly of retiring experts, and transferring this knowledge to the next generation. In addition, the knowledge management methods should become an integral part of every day's work, thus ensuring the sustainability of the effort. Initially, a basis for handling and distributing information and documents was provided by setting up a portal with integrated document management capabilities. In a next step, work was concentrated on the core business process, namely project work. This has been achieved by providing an own portal site for each project where all information pertinent to the project such as

The Sustainability Analysis Framework: An Effective Knowledge Communication Tool in a Whole of Government Context

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kendal Hodgman

2007-06-01

Full Text Available This paper focuses on the structural formation of the Sustainability Analysis Framework (SAF, which has proved to be an effective knowledge communication tool in the largest state administration in Australia, the Government of New South Wales. The SAF, devised by the author, has been implemented across thirty-eight state agencies and demonstrates that a whole of government Sustainability perspective is achievable. The level of the NSW Government's commitment to this process is evidenced by the fact that it was coordinated at the highest levels of the administration and engaged high-level input from a comprehensive portfolio of its agencies. The SAF's successful deployment across this significant bureaucracy shows that the generally applicable mechanism is effective in data collation, information sharing, knowledge organisation and the communication of Sustainability practice and wisdom. At the heart of the paper is the author's contention that one of the key problems which jeopardises our common future on Earth is the lack of effective tools to communicate Sustainability thinking and practice. In the course of the project, upon which this paper is based, the author identified the need for a visually and conceptually accessible mechanism to accelerate the uptake of Sustainability practice in a whole of organization context. In designing the SAF, which has successfully bridged this knowledge communication gap, the author employed two of humanity's fundamental learning tools – the diagram and the story.

The influence of experience and knowledge on reactor safety in Germany

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bointner, Raphael; Schubert, Katharina

2016-01-01

After five decades of nuclear power generation in Germany, the government decided to phase out nuclear power plants until 2022 as a consequence of the Fukushima disaster in 2011. Electricity generation is accompanied by human and technical errors, which questions if the nuclear phase-out has an influence on reactor safety. Past errors, available as so-called reportable events of nuclear power plants, can be approximated with experience measured in cumulated electricity generation by applying the Duffey-Saull method with a high coefficient of determination (R"2 = 0.84). Errors are declining with growing experience, which means the reportable events per TWh are declining over time. Today, approximately 0.9 reportable events per generated TWh occur and, given unchanging operational conditions, it is expected to remain at this magnitude in the near future. Moreover, knowledge induced by public Research and Development expenditures may supplement experience in reducing reportable events. Thus, the cumulative fission knowledge stock of Germany was added to the Duffey-Saull method for the first time. By adjusting the knowledge depreciation rate within this extended method, the prediction of reportable events is more accurate. Best results were obtained with 10.8% depreciation rate, which is also in line with the literature. (author)

FGMReview: design of a knowledge management tool on female genital mutilation.

Science.gov (United States)

Martínez Pérez, Guillermo; Turetsky, Risa

2015-11-01

Web-based literature search engines may not be user-friendly for some readers searching for information on female genital mutilation. This is a traditional practice that has no health benefits, and about 140 million girls and women worldwide have undergone it. In 2012, the website FGMReview was created with the aim to offer a user-friendly, accessible, scalable, and innovative knowledge management tool specialized in female genital mutilation. The design of this website was guided by a conceptual model based on the use of benchmarking techniques and requirements engineering, an area of knowledge from the computer informatics field, influenced by the Transcultural Nursing model. The purpose of this article is to describe this conceptual model. Nurses and other health care providers can use this conceptual model to guide their methodological approach to design and launch other eHealth projects. © The Author(s) 2014.

Pandora - a simulation tool for safety assessments. Technical description and user's guide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ekstroem, Per-Anders

2010-12-01

This report documents a flexible simulation tool, Pandora, used in several post closure safety assessments in both Sweden and Finland to assess the radiological dose to man due to releases from radioactive waste repositories. Pandora allows the user to build compartment models to represent the migration and fate of radionuclides in the environment. The tool simplifies the implementation and simulation of radioecological biosphere models in which there exist a large set of radionuclides and input variables. Based on the well-known technical computing software MATLAB and especially its interactive graphical environment Simulink, Pandora receives many benefits. MATLAB/Simulink is a highly flexible tool used for simulations of practically any type of dynamic system; it is widely used, continuously maintained, and often upgraded. By basing the tool on this commercial software package, we gain both the graphical interface provided by Simulink, as well as the ability to access the advanced numerical equation solving routines in MATLAB. Since these numerical methods are well established and quality assured in their MATLAB implementation, the solution methods used in Pandora can be considered to have high level of quality assurance. The structure of Pandora provides clarity in the model format, which means the model itself assists its own documentation, since the model can be understood by inspecting its structure. With the introduction of the external tool Pandas (Pandora assessment tool), version handling and an integrated way of performing the entire calculation chain has been added. Instead of being dependent on other commercial statistical software as Risk for performing probabilistic assessments, they can now be performed within the tool

Efficient Information Retrieval: Tools for Knowledge Management

OpenAIRE

Schmid, Beat; Stanoevska-Slabeva, Katarina; Handschuh, Siegfried; Hombrecher, Alexis

1998-01-01

Knowledge has become an important resource in many organisations. Thesuccess of an organisation depends on its ability to transform personal knowledge of employees into organisational knowledge. This knowledge can then be madewidely available to the entire organisation and be reused when needed.One necessary prerequisite for reusing knowledge, coded and stored indocuments, are appropriate classification and retrieval procedures. Classificationaccompanies the process of knowledge externalisati...

Is Safety in Danger?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Broncano-Berrocal, Fernando

2014-01-01

In “Knowledge Under Threat” (Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 2012), Tomas Bogardus proposes a counterexample to the safety condition for knowledge. Bogardus argues that the case demonstrates that unsafe knowledge is possible. I argue that the case just corroborates the well-known require......In “Knowledge Under Threat” (Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 2012), Tomas Bogardus proposes a counterexample to the safety condition for knowledge. Bogardus argues that the case demonstrates that unsafe knowledge is possible. I argue that the case just corroborates the well......-known requirement that modal conditions like safety must be relativized to methods of belief formation. I explore several ways of relativizing safety to belief-forming methods and I argue that none is adequate: if methods were individuated in those ways, safety would fail to explain several much-discussed cases. I...... then propose a plausible externalist principle of method individuation. On the one hand, relativizing safety to belief-forming methods in the way suggested allows the defender of safety to account for the cases. On the other hand, it shows that the target known belief of Bogardus’s example is safe. Finally, I...

Maintaining knowledge, training and infrastructure for research and development in nuclear safety - INSAG-16. A report by the International Nuclear Safety Advisory Group

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2003-01-01

The purpose of this report is to emphasize the importance of maintaining capabilities for nuclear research and education, especially with regard to safety aspects, so that nuclear safety may be maintained in IAEA Member States, and to alert Member States to the potential for significant harm if the infrastructure for research, development and education is not maintained. If the infrastructure for nuclear safety is not maintained, there will be a steady decrease in expertise, and thus in capability to respond to new challenges. The lead time in developing replacement educational opportunities is very long, because most institutions will require an indication of the number of enthusiastic potential students before investing in new infrastructure, and potential students may look elsewhere in the absence of an exciting analytical and experimental programme and a growing career field. Once lost, it would require massive inputs of resources from many IAEA Member States to attempt to re-establish the infrastructure, as was done to establish it when nuclear technology was new. The result could be a downward spiral in which expertise is lost, influence of the technical community on the decision making process is diminished, and complacency, fed by diminished technical capability, begins to exert a strong effect. In view of the above, INSAG has the following recommendations: In order to maintain and further enhance the safety of nuclear facilities and to protect workers and the public and the environment from radiological consequences, the infrastructure for safety research (experimental facilities, highly competent staff and modern analytical tools) must be maintained and supported by the responsible governmental organizations as well as by the operating organizations and manufacturers. This support should include international networking and co-operation, including joint funding of centres of excellence that have facilities and equipment for use in nuclear research

The Expert System For Safety Assesment Of Kartini Reactor Operation And Maintenance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Syarip

2000-01-01

An expert system for safety assessment of Kartini reactor operation and maintenance based on fuzzy logic method has been made. The expert system is developed from the Fuzzy Expert System Tools (FEST), i.e. by developing the knowledge base and data base files of Kartini research reactor system and operations with an inference engine based on FEST. The knowledge base is represented in the procedural knowledge as heuristic rules or generally known as rule-base in the from of If-then rule. The fuzzy inference process and the conclusion of the rule is done by FEST based on direct chaining method with interactive as well as non-interactive modes. The safety assessment of Kartini reactor based on this method gives more realistic value than the conventional method or binary logic

Electronic Health Record Tools to Care for At-Risk Older Drivers: A Quality Improvement Project.

Science.gov (United States)

Casey, Colleen M; Salinas, Katherine; Eckstrom, Elizabeth

2015-06-01

Evaluating driving safety of older adults is an important health topic, but primary care providers (PCP) face multiple barriers in addressing this issue. The study's objectives were to develop an electronic health record (EHR)-based Driving Clinical Support Tool, train PCPs to perform driving assessments utilizing the tool, and systematize documentation of assessment and management of driving safety issues via the tool. The intervention included development of an evidence-based Driving Clinical Support Tool within the EHR, followed by training of internal medicine providers in the tool's content and use. Pre- and postintervention provider surveys and chart review of driving-related patient visits were conducted. Surveys included self-report of preparedness and knowledge to evaluate at-risk older drivers and were analyzed using paired t-test. A chart review of driving-related office visits compared documentation pre- and postintervention including: completeness of appropriate focused history and exam, identification of deficits, patient education, and reporting to appropriate authorities when indicated. Data from 86 providers were analyzed. Pre- and postintervention surveys showed significantly increased self-assessed preparedness (p < .001) and increased driving-related knowledge (p < .001). Postintervention charts showed improved documentation of correct cognitive testing, more referrals/consults, increased patient education about community resources, and appropriate regulatory reporting when deficits were identified. Focused training and an EHR-based clinical support tool improved provider self-reported preparedness and knowledge of how to evaluate at-risk older drivers. The tool improved documentation of driving-related issues and led to improved access to interdisciplinary care coordination. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Gerontological Society of America 2015.

Towards a Framework of Using Knowledge Tools for Teaching by Solving Problems in Technology-Enhanced Learning Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Kostousov, Sergei; Kudryavtsev, Dmitry

2017-01-01

Problem solving is a critical competency for modern world and also an effective way of learning. Education should not only transfer domain-specific knowledge to students, but also prepare them to solve real-life problems--to apply knowledge from one or several domains within specific situation. Problem solving as teaching tool is known for a long…

A guide on the elicitation of expert knowledge in constructing BBN for quantitative reliability assessment of safety critical software

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eom, H. S.; Kang, H. G.; Chang, S. C.; Ha, J. J.

2003-08-01

This report describes the methodology which could elicit probabilistic representation from the experts' knowledge or qualitative data. It is necessary to elicit expert's knowledge while we quantitatively assess the reliability of safety critical software using Bayesian Belief Nets(BBNs). Especially in composing the node probability table and in making out the input data for BBN model, experts' qualitative judgment or qualitative data should be converted into probabilistic representation. This conversion process is vulnerable to bias or error. The purpose of the report is to provide the guideline to avoid the occurrence of this kinds of bias/error or to eliminate them which is included in the existing data prepared by experts. The contents of the report are: o The types and the explanation of bias and error The types of bias and error which might be occur in the process of eliciting the expert's knowledge. o The procedure of expert's judgment elicitation. The process and techniques to avoid bias and error in eliciting the expert's judgments. o The examples of expert's knowledge appeared in the BBNs The examples of expert's knowledge (probability values) appeared in the BBNs for assessing the safety of digital system

Generic safety questions. evaluation of investigations, studies and expertises of other states for the knowledge base GeSi; Generische Sicherheitsfragen. Auswertung von Untersuchungen, Studien und Gutachten anderer Staaten fuer die Wissensbasis GeSi

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boenigke, Guenther; Eismar, Shanna

2016-03-15

For the non-profit-making expert organization Gesellschaft fuer Anlagen- und Reaktorsicherheit (GRS) gGmbH, maintaining know-how and broadening its knowledge in the field of nuclear safety is of fundamental relevance. One important approach to achieving this goal is to collect and assess national and international findings and events in the field of nuclear safety e.g. in connection with generic issues - i.e. issues that are not specific to a particular plant. The GeSi/GeSi International database and its subsystems serves for reflecting the current state of the art in science and technology in the field of generic issues and also as a tool in the area of knowledge management. Within the framework of Project 3611 I 01500 sponsored by the BMUB, information on these issues was compiled systematically. The aim of the project was to examine the safety issues that are cur-rently discussed at national and international level with regard to their relevance for the conditions prevailing in Germany and to follow up in detail those issues that are of relevance for national safety practice. Similar knowledge databases also exist in other major nuclear-power-plant-operating countries such as the US, Canada, and France. At present (September 2014), there are 303 issues in the overall database, of which 23 are assessed to be of ''high'' significance for German plants. Of these, 16 issues belong to the sub-database for generic safety issues (GSI) and seven belong to the sub-database for generic research issues (GFO). The database GSI currently contains 138 issues that need to be further addressed and 101 issues that are considered as solved. 43 issues from the database GFO require further investigation, while 21 issues are considered as solved.

Defining safety culture and the nexus between safety goals and safety culture. 3. A Methodology for Identifying Deficiencies in Safety Culture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Apostolakis, George; Weil, Rick

2001-01-01

At present, the drivers of performance problems at nuclear power plants (NPPs) are organizational in nature. Organizational deficiencies and other 'latent' conditions cause human errors, resulting in incidents that impact the performance of NPPs. Therefore, the human reliability community, regulators, and others concerned with NPP safety express the view that safety culture and organizational factors play an important role in plant safety. However, we have yet to identify one complete set of organizational factors, establish links between deficient safety culture and performance, or develop adequate tools to measure safety culture. This paper will contribute to the resolution of these issues. Safety culture is not a single factor but rather is a collection of several distinct factors. This paper asserts that in order to pro-actively manage safety culture at NPPs, leading indicators and appropriate measurements must be identified and developed. Central to this effort are the identification of the distinct factors comprising safety culture and the relationships between those factors and performance. We have identified several factors important to safety culture. We have developed a methodology that is a combination of traditional root-cause analysis and theories of human error, most notably Reason's theory of accident causation. In addition to this methodology's usefulness in identifying deficiencies in safety culture, it could also be used as a starting point to identify leading indicators of deteriorating safety performance. We have identified six organizational factors as being important: communication, formalization, goal prioritization, problem identification, roles and responsibilities, and technical knowledge. In addition, we have found that certain organizational factors, although pervasive throughout the organization, have a much greater influence on the successful outcome of particular tasks of work processes, rather than being equally important to all