Exploring the criteria and factors affecting firefighters' resilience: A qualitative study / 中华创伤杂志(英文版)

PURPOSE@#Firefighters are exposed to high levels of occupational risk factors, such as safety risks, chemical, ergonomic, and physical hazards that may jeopardize their lives. To overcome these hazards, firefighters must be physically, mentally, and personally fit to work. This study aimed to explore the criteria and factors affecting firefighters' resilience based on stakeholders' experiences.@*METHODS@#This qualitative study was carried out using conventional content analysis. In total, 21 face-to-face interviews were conducted by firefighters who were experienced in the field. The interviews were carried out from July 2019 to January 2020. The data were collected using 3 unstructured interviews and then resumed by 18 semi-structured interviews. Data analysis was done using Graneheim method.@*RESULTS@#The participants had more than 5 years of experience in the field of search and rescue. The extracted codes through data analysis were classified into 3 main categories (individual, organizational, and social factors), 9 sub-categories (mental, physical, occupational, managerial, colleagues-related, equipment-related, environmental, community-related, and family-related factors), as well as 19 sub-sub-categories and 570 codes.@*CONCLUSION@#Firefighters' personality, physical condition, behavior and psychological characteristics can affect their resilience along with organizational and management factors that play significant role in people's safety. Developing a tool for assessing resilience can help decision makers to have a real depict of firefighters' job qualifications.

Evaluation of the Quality of Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems Based on Key Performance Indicators in Certified Organizations

BACKGROUND: Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems are becoming more widespread in organizations. Consequently, their effectiveness has become a core topic for researchers. This paper evaluates the performance of the Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series 18001 specification in certified companies in Iran. METHODS: The evaluation is based on a comparison of specific criteria and indictors related to occupational health and safety management practices in three certified and three noncertified companies. RESULTS: Findings indicate that the performance of certified companies with respect to occupational health and safety management practices is significantly better than that of noncertified companies. CONCLUSION: Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series 18001-certified companies have a better level of occupational health and safety; this supports the argument that Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems play an important strategic role in health and safety in the workplace.

Helping HSE team in learning from accident by using the Management Oversight and Risk Tree [MORT] analysis Method

Introduction: The effects of accidents vary from minor injuries to fatalities and from insignificant damage to very severe damage to the environment and property

In order to prevent accidents in the work place, the root causes of and events should be identified using a systematic method and the results should be published. The current study aims to investigate the given causes of an accident in order to implement preventive actions in accidents and similar organizations

Methods: In this case study, after choosing the main event; to analyze the accidents, at first a set of questions in MORT were answered. By answering the questions, the final events, and the inappropriate management risks [color-coded red] followed by the leading causes of the accident were identified

Results: After analyzing the given accident, 22 inappropriate final events [color-coded red] and 4 assumed risks were identified. Of the total 12 identified basic causes, about 75% were classified as the management policies and decision makings group, 17% as the individual factors, and 18 % as the environmental factors group

Conclusion: The analysis using MORT method helped the organization with learning lessons from the accident especially at the management level. In order to prevent the similar and dissimilar accidents, the inappropriate informational network within the organization, inappropriate operational readiness, lack of proper implementation of work permit, the inappropriate and lack of updated technical information systems regarding equipments and working process, and the inappropriate barriers should be considered in a special way

Surprising Incentive: An Instrument for Promoting Safety Performance of Construction Employees

BACKGROUND: In comparison with other industries, the construction industry still has a higher rate of fatal injuries, and thus, there is a need to apply new and innovative approaches for preventing accidents and promoting safe conditions at construction sites. METHODS: In this study, the effectiveness of a new incentive system-the surprising incentive system-was assessed. One year after the implementation of this new incentive system, behavioral changes of employees with respect to seven types of activities were observed. RESULTS: The results of this study showed that there is a significant relationship between the new incentive system and the safety performance of frontline employees. The new incentive system had a greater positive impact in the first 6 months since its implementation. In the long term, however, safety performance experienced a gradual reduction. Based on previous studies, all activities selected in this study are important indicators of the safety conditions at workplaces. However, there is a need for a comprehensive and simple-to-apply tool for assessing frontline employees' safety performance. Shortening the intervals between incentives is more effective in promoting safety performance. CONCLUSION: The results of this study proved that the surprising incentive would improve the employees' safety performance just in the short term because the surprising value of the incentives dwindle over time. For this reason and to maintain the surprising value of the incentive system, the amount and types of incentives need to be evaluated and modified annually or biannually.

Evaluation of Coordination of Emergency Response Team through the Social Network Analysis. Case Study: Oil and Gas Refinery

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to examine the cohesions status of the coordination within response teams in the emergency response team (ERT) in a refinery. METHODS: For this study, cohesion indicators of social network analysis (SNA; density, degree centrality, reciprocity, and transitivity) were utilized to examine the coordination of the response teams as a whole network. The ERT of this research, which was a case study, included seven teams consisting of 152 members. The required data were collected through structured interviews and were analyzed using the UCINET 6.0 Social Network Analysis Program. RESULTS: The results reported a relatively low number of triple connections, poor coordination with key members, and a high level of mutual relations in the network with low density, all implying that there were low cohesions of coordination in the ERT. CONCLUSION: The results showed that SNA provided a quantitative and logical approach for the examination of the coordination status among response teams and it also provided a main opportunity for managers and planners to have a clear understanding of the presented status. The research concluded that fundamental efforts were needed to improve the presented situations.

Framework for Continuous Assessment and Improvement of Occupational Health and Safety Issues in Construction Companies

BACKGROUND: Construction industry is among the most hazardous industries, and needs a comprehensive and simple-to-administer tool to continuously assess and promote its health and safety performance. METHODS: Through the study of various standard systems (mainly Health, Safety, and Environment Management System; Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series 180001; and British Standard, occupational health and safety management systems-Guide 8800), seven main elements were determined for the desired framework, and then, by reviewing literature, factors affecting these main elements were determined. The relative importance of each element and its related factors was calculated at organizational and project levels. The provided framework was then implemented in three construction companies, and results were compared together. RESULTS: The results of the study show that the relative importance of the main elements and their related factors differ between organizational and project levels: leadership and commitment are the most important elements at the organization level, whereas risk assessment and management are most important at the project level. CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrated that the framework is easy to administer, and by interpreting the results, the main factors leading to the present condition of companies can be determined.

intervention for the promotion of supervisor's incidents reporting process: the case of a steel company

The analysis of incidents is one way of increasing safety in workplaces. In this approach, the process of preparing exact and scientific report is a critical step. The aim of this paper was to describe an intervention supporting the improvement of supervisors' participation to report all occurred incidents. In this study, Future Workshop method was used with 44 supervisors in TAB Steel Company, Tabriz, Iran. In each subject, 11 supervisors were participated in four small groups, which they normally worked. In the Critique phase, the 4 teams reported 126 problems in the incident report process. During the fantasy phase, the teams produced 727 suggestions to solve the problems. Then, the supervisors made decisions on 35 commitments to change their incident reporting behaviors. Finally, in the implementation phase the number of reported incidents increased by 79.4% during the 1-year follow-up period. The discussion method used in Japan, Finland, and Sweden was also successfully implemented in Iran, and the process raised a great number of problems and suggestions related to supervisor's incident reporting process. Creating and maintaining the proper communicational canals among supervisors and the managers of safety and health unit are the suggestions, which have been presented to increase the amount of partnership

[ relationship between job stress and occupational accidents in an automobile manufacturing company]

Automobile manufacturing industries are consider among the main sites where accidents are likely to happen. From a cognitive point of view, stress can cause problems such as poor concentration, absent-mindedness, and hesitancy while making decision. This study examines the relationship between job stress and occupational accidents in an automobile manufacturing company. For this descriptive- analytic study, the psychological stress of the occupational groups was measured using standard job stress questionnaire. Safety Behavior Sampling [SBS] technique was used to collect samples of dangerous behaviors. Data were then analyzed using descriptive statistic, ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficient and Logistic regression tests. Based on our results 88% of the sample suffered from a high level of occupational stress. There was also a statistically significant correlation between level of stress and number of accidents experienced by an individual. [P<0.05]. Having considered the relationship between occupational stress and work-related accidents, minimizing or eliminating risk factors need to be carried out through developing occupational stress management programs as well as following safety measures through reinforcing principles of safe behavior at all levels of organization