February 22

PROCESS SAFETY MANAGEMENT

(PSM)
Presented by
Dr. Mohamed Gamal Kafafy, PhD, DBA
President, World Green Economy Council (WGECO)
Chief Consultant, WFDP- United Nations

Importance of Effective
Participation

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2021

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 1

 February 22

PROGRAM OBJECTIVES
Participants will be provided with essential
knowledge regarding process safety principles
and procedures. Moreover, participants will learn
about the most recently applied safety programs
and regulations utilizing modern hazards analysis
tools and techniques.

OUTLINES
• Fundamentals Concepts of HSE
• Safety & Productivity
• Risk Management
• Safety Process Planning & Controlling
• Accidents & Their Effects
• Roles of Safety Professionals
• Accident Investigation & Reporting
• Hazards Assessment, Prevention and Control

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 2

 February 22

FUNDAMENTAL Concepts of HSE

SAFETY
Safety is the state of being "safe" (from French sauf),
the condition of being protected from harm or other
non-desirable outcomes. Safety can also refer to the
control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an
acceptable level of risk.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 3

 February 22

SAFETY

MILESTONES IN THE SAFETY

MOVEMENT
• The safety movement traces its roots to
England.
– In the Industrial Revolution, child labor in factories
was common.
– Hours were long, work hard, and conditions often
unhealthy & unsafe.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 4

 February 22

MILESTONES IN THE SAFETY

MOVEMENT
• After an outbreak of fever among children
working
in their cotton mills, people of Manchester,
England, demanded better factory working
conditions.
– In 1802 the Health & Morals of Apprentices Act
passed.
• Marked the beginning of governmental involvement in
workplace safety.

MILESTONES IN THE SAFETY

MOVEMENT
• When the industrial sector began to grow in the US,
hazardous working conditions were commonplace.
– Factory inspection began in Massachusetts in 1867.
– In 1868, the first barrier safeguard was patented.
– In 1869, the Pennsylvania legislature passed a mine safety
law requiring two exits from all mines.
– The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) was started in 1869.
– In 1877, the Massachusetts legislature passed a law
requiring safeguards for hazardous machinery.
– 1877 also saw passage of the Employer’s Liability Law.
• Establishing potential for employer liability in workplace accidents.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 5

 February 22

MILESTONES IN THE SAFETY

MOVEMENT
• In 1892, the first recorded safety program was
established in a Joliet, Illinois, steel plant.
– In response to a scare caused when a flywheel
exploded.
• Following the explosion, a committee of
managers formed to investigate and make
recommendations.
– Used as the basis for development of a safety
program considered to be the first in American
industry.

MILESTONES IN THE SAFETY

MOVEMENT
• Around 1900, Frederick Taylor began studying
efficiency in manufacturing, and drew a
connection between lost personnel time &
management policies and procedures.
• In 1907, the U.S. Dept. of the Interior created the
Bureau of Mines to investigate accidents,
examine health hazards, and make
recommendations for improvements.
– In 1908 an early form of workers’ compensation was
introduced in the United States.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 6

 February 22

MILESTONES IN THE SAFETY

MOVEMENT
• Workers’ compensation actually had its
beginnings in Germany, and soon spread
through Europe.
• Workers’ compensation made great strides in
the US when Wisconsin passed the first
effective workers’ compensation law in 1911.
– Today, all 50 states have some form of workers’
compensation.

MILESTONES IN THE SAFETY

MOVEMENT
• The Association of Iron and Steel Electrical
Engineers (AISEE), formed in the early 1900s,
pressed for a national conference on safety.
– The first meeting of the Cooperative Safety Congress
(CSC) took place in Milwaukee in 1912.
• A year after the initial meeting of the CSC, the
National Council of Industrial Safety (NCIS) was
established in Chicago.
– In 1915, this organization changed its name to the
National Safety Council, now the premier safety
organization in the United States.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 7

 February 22

MILESTONES IN THE SAFETY

MOVEMENT
• From 1918 through the 1950s, the federal
government encouraged contractors to
implement & maintain a safe work environment.
• Industry in the US arrived at two critical
conclusions
– There is a definite connection between quality &
safety.
– Off-the-job accidents have a negative impact on
productivity.

MILESTONES IN THE SAFETY MOVEMENT

• The 1960s saw the passage of a flurry of legislation
promoting workplace safety.
– The Service Contract Act
– The Federal Metal & Nonmetallic Mine Safety Act.
– The Federal Coal Mine and Safety Act
– The Contract Workers and Safety Standards Act.

• These laws applied to a limited audience of workers, and the

injury & death toll due to industrial mishaps was still too high.
– In the late 1960s, more than 14,000 employees
were killed annually in connection with their jobs.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 8

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MILESTONES IN THE SAFETY

MOVEMENT
• Work injury rates were taking an upward swing, the
primary reasons for passage of the Occupational
Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) of 1970 and the
Federal Mine Safety Act of 1977.
• Superfund Amendments & Reauthorization Act
of 1986, and the Amended Clean Air Act in 1990
were major pieces of environmental legislation.
• The concept of Total Safety Management (TSM) was
introduced in 1996 to help safety professionals in
organizations using Total Quality Management (TQM)
philosophy and/or ISO 9000 registration.

MILESTONES IN THE SAFETY

MOVEMENT
• In 2000, U.S. firms began to pursue ISO 14000.
– Workplace terrorism became an important issue
in 2003.
• In 2007 special safety needs of older people
who reentered the workforce became an issue
for safety professionals.
• In 2010, organizations began to concern
themselves with off-the-job safety as a critical
part of their overall safety and health plan.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 9

 February 22

TRAGEDIES THAT HAVE CHANGED THE

SAFETY MOVEMENT
• Safety & health tragedies in the workplace
greatly accelerated the pace of the safety
movement in
the US.

TRAGEDIES THAT HAVE CHANGED THE

SAFETY MOVEMENT
• Hawk’s Nest Tragedy - solidified public opinion in favor
of protecting workers from the debilitating disease
silicosis.
• A company contracted to drill a passage through a
mountain in the Hawk’s Nest region of West Virginia.
– Workers spent as many as 10 hours per day breathing
dust created by drilling and blasting.
• This mountain had an unusually high silica content.
• Silicosis normally takes 10 to 30 years to show up.
– Hawk’s Nest workers began dying in as little as a year.
• By the time the project was completed, hundreds had died.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 10

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TRAGEDIES THAT HAVE CHANGED THE

SAFETY MOVEMENT
• This tragedy & resulting public outcry led a group
of companies to form the Air Hygiene
Foundation.
– To research & develop standards for work in dusty
areas.
• The US Department of Labor helped make
silicosis a compensable disease in most states.
– Approximately 1 million workers in the US are
still exposed to silica every year.
• 250 people die annually from silicosis.

TRAGEDIES THAT HAVE CHANGED THE

SAFETY MOVEMENT
• Asbestos Menace - in 1964, Dr. Irving J. Selikoff told a
conference on biological effects of asbestos that the
widely used material was killing workers.
– Asbestos was once considered a “miracle” fiber.
• At the time of Selikoff’s findings, asbestos was one of
the most widely used materials in the US.
– Found in homes, schools, offices, factories, ships, and even
in the filters of cigarettes.
• This conference changed how Americans viewed not
just asbestos, but workplace hazards in general.
– Selikoff was the first to link asbestos to lung cancer and
respiratory diseases.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 11

 February 22

TRAGEDIES THAT HAVE CHANGED THE

SAFETY MOVEMENT
• Selikoff continued to study the effects of
asbestos exposure from 1967 to 1986.
– In the 1970s-80s, asbestos became a controlled
material.
• Regulations governing use, standards for
exposure were established, and asbestos-
related lawsuits changed how industry dealt
with this tragic material.

TRAGEDIES THAT HAVE CHANGED THE

SAFETY MOVEMENT
• Bhopal Tragedy - On Dec. 3, 1984, over 40 tons
of methyl isocyanate (MIC) & other gases, including
hydrogen cyanide, leaked into north Bhopal, India.
– Killing more than 3,000 people in its aftermath.
• It was discovered the protective equipment that could
have halted impending disaster was not
in full working order.
• The International Medical Commission found that
as many as 50,000 people were exposed, and
may still suffer disability as a result.
– This disaster shocked the world.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 12

 February 22

TRAGEDIES THAT HAVE CHANGED THE

SAFETY MOVEMENT
• Union Carbide Corporation, owner of the plant, was
accused of many things, including:
– Criminal negligence.
– Corporate prejudice - choosing poverty-stricken Bhopal, on
the assumption few would care if anything went wrong.
– Avoidance - putting its plant in Bhopal to avoid stricter US
safety & health standards.
• In February 1989, India’s Supreme Court ordered Union Carbide
India Ltd., to pay $470 million in compensatory damages.
– Funds were paid to the Indian government to be
used to compensate the victims.

DEVELOPMENT OF ACCIDENT
PREVENTION PROGRAMS
• Widely used accident prevention techniques
include:
– Failure minimization, fail-safe designs.
– Isolation, lockouts, screening.
– Personal protective equipment.
– Redundancy, timed replacements, etc.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 13

 February 22

DEVELOPMENT OF ACCIDENT
PREVENTION PROGRAMS
• Individual components of broader safety
programs have evolved since the late 1800s.
– Early employers had little concern for worker safety.
• And little incentive to be concerned.
– Between World War I & World War II, industry
discovered the connection between quality & safety.
– World War II labor shortages created a greater
openness toward giving safety the serious
consideration it deserved.

DEVELOPMENT OF ACCIDENT
PREVENTION PROGRAMS
• Industry began to realize:
– Improved engineering could prevent accidents.
– Employees were willing to learn and accept
established safety rules, which could be enforced.
– Financial savings from safety improvement could
be reaped by savings in compensation and
medical bills.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 14

 February 22

DEVELOPMENT OF ACCIDENT
PREVENTION PROGRAMS
• Early safety programs were based
on the three E’s of safety:
– Engineering.
– Education.
– Enforcement.

DEVELOPMENT OF ACCIDENT
PREVENTION PROGRAMS
• Engineering aspects of a safety program involve
design improvements to both product & process.
• Manufacturing processes can be engineered to
decrease potential hazards associated with them.
• Education ensures that employees know how to
work safely, why it is important to do so, and that
safety is expected by management.
• Enforcement involves making sure employees
abide by safety policies, rules, regulations,
practices, and procedures.
– Supervisors & fellow employees play a key role.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 15

 February 22

DEVELOPMENT OF
SAFETY ORGANIZATIONS
• Numerous
organizations are
devoted in full, or at
least in part, to
promotion of safety &
health in the
workplace.
– Shown are organizations
with workplace safety as
Figure 1-3
part of their missions.
Organizations concerned with workplace safety.

SAFETY AND HEALTH MOVEMENT

TODAY
• Early, vocal proponent of the cooperative/integrated
approach was H.G.Dyktor, who advocated:
– Learn more by sharing knowledge about workplace health
problems, particularly those caused by toxic substances.
– Provide a greater level of expertise in evaluating health
and safety problems.
– Provide a broad database that can be used to compare
health and safety problems experienced by different
companies in the same industry.
– Encourage accident prevention.
– Make employee health and safety a high priority.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 16

 February 22

INTEGRATED APPROACH TO SAFETY AND HEALTH

• OSHA reinforces the integrated approach by
requiring companies to have a plan for:
– Providing appropriate medical treatment for injured
or ill workers.
– Regularly examining workers who are exposed to
toxic substances.
– Having a qualified first-aid person available during
all working hours.
• Larger companies often maintain a staff of safety
& health professionals.
– Smaller companies may contract out fulfillment of these
requirements.

INTEGRATED APPROACH TO SAFETY

AND HEALTH
• Health & safety staff in a modern industrial company
may include the following positions:
– Industrial hygiene chemist and/or engineer - companies
that use toxic substances may employ industrial hygiene
chemists to test work environment & people working in it.
– Radiation control specialist - monitor radiation levels
to which workers may be exposed, test for levels of
exposure, respond to radiation accidents, develop
company-wide plans for handling radiation accidents.
– Industrial safety engineer or manager - safety & health
generalists with specialized education and training.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 17

 February 22

NEW MATERIALS, NEW PROCESSES,

AND NEW PROBLEMS
• The materials out of which products are made
have become increasingly complex and exotic.
– Carbon steels, cast steels, cast irons, tungsten,
molybdenum, lead, tin, zinc, and powdered metals.
• Each of these metals requires its own specialized processes.
• Nonmetals are more numerous & more complex, with
their own potential hazards to the workplace
– Plastics, plastic alloys and blends, advanced composites.
– Fibrous materials, elastomers, and ceramics.
• Modern industrial processes are also becoming more
complex—as they are automated, potential hazards
associated with them often increase.

RAPID GROWTH IN THE PROFESSION

• Complexities of the modern workplace have made
safety and health a growing profession.
– Associate & baccalaureate degree programs in industrial
technology typically include industrial safety courses.
• Some engineering degree programs have safety &
health tracks, and several colleges and universities
offer full degrees in occupational safety & health.
• More large companies are employing safety & health
professionals and more small companies
are assigning these duties to existing employees.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 18

 February 22

INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE
Industrial hygiene has been defined as “that science and
art devoted to the anticipation, recognition, evaluation,
and control of those environmental factors or stresses
arising in or from the workplace, which may cause
sickness, impaired health and well-being, or significant
discomfort among workers or among the citizens of the
community.”

Industrial hygienists use environmental monitoring and

analytical methods to detect the extent of worker
exposure and employ engineering, work practice
controls, and other methods to control potential health
hazards.

INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 19

 February 22

INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE
WORKSITE ANALYSIS

A worksite analysis is an essential first step that helps an industrial

hygienist determine what jobs and work stations are the sources of
potential problems. During the worksite analysis, the industrial
hygienist measures and identifies exposures, problem tasks, and risks.

The most-effective worksite analyses include all jobs, operations, and

work activities. The industrial hygienist inspects, researches, or
analyzes how the particular chemicals or physical hazards at that
worksite affect worker health. If a situation hazardous to health is
discovered, the industrial hygienist recommends the appropriate
corrective actions.

INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE
RECOGNIZING AND CONTROLLING HAZARDS
Industrial hygienists recognize that engineering, work
practice, and administrative controls are the primary means
of reducing employee exposure to occupational hazards.
• Engineering controls minimize employee exposure by either reducing or
removing the hazard at the source or isolating the worker from the hazard.
Engineering controls include eliminating toxic chemicals and substituting
non-toxic chemicals, enclosing work processes or confining work
operations, and the installation of general and local ventilation systems.
• Work practice controls alter the manner in which a task is performed.
Some fundamental and easily implemented work practice controls include
(1) changing existing work practices to follow proper procedures that
minimize exposures while operating production and control equipment;
(2) inspecting and maintaining process and control equipment on a regular
basis; (3) implementing good housekeeping procedures; (4) providing
good supervision; and (5) mandating that eating, drinking, smoking,
chewing tobacco or gum, and applying cosmetics in regulated areas be
prohibited.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 20

 February 22

INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE
Administrative controls include controlling employees' exposure by
scheduling production and tasks, or both, in ways that minimize exposure
levels. For example, the employer might schedule operations with the highest
exposure potential during periods when the fewest employees are present.
When effective work practices or engineering controls are not feasible or
while such controls are being instituted, appropriate personal protective
equipment must be used.
EXAMPLES OF JOB HAZARDS
Air Contaminants, Dusts, Fumes, Fibers such as asbestos, Gases, Chemical
Hazards, Biological Hazards, Physical Hazards and Ergonomic Hazards

Vision Zero –
Why?

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 21

 February 22

Vision Zero – Why?

“Because we believe that a world of work
without accidents and diseases is possible!”

XX. World Congress for Safety and Health at Work 2014, Frankfurt (Germany)
01/02/2022 43

Vision Zero –
Why?
• 2.78 Million
work-related deaths

• 374 Million
occupational accidents & illnesses
worldwide

• 3.94%
annual economic loss worldwide

01/02/2022 44

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 22

 February 22

Vision Zero Campaign philosophy

▪ All occupational accidents,

harm and diseases are
preventable

▪ A process – rather than a

target

▪ A transformational
approach to prevention

▪ Building a culture of
prevention that integrates
both safety, health and well-
being at work
01.02.2022 5

Why a Vision Zero

Campaign?

- To provide a global strategy,

platform and resources in support
of Vision Zero

- To encourage synergies among

prevention organizations
worldwide through a joint campaign

- To support businesses in the

development of a workplace prevention
culture based on Vision Zero

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 23

 February 22

Vision Zero Campaign design

▪ The Vision Zero approach is

flexible. One can focus on
health, on safety or on well-
being issues depending on what
is most relevant

▪ With this flexibility Vision Zero

is of benefit for all, for
governments and health and
safety organizations in any
country and for companies of
any scale

▪ “Seven Golden Rules” form

the roadmap towards Vision
Zero, based on successful,
practical management concepts
01/02/2022 47

VISION ZERO.
ZERO HARM – HEALTHY WORK!

➢ Is a PREVENTION STRATEGY for a safe & healthy future.

➢ EVERY accident is preventable!

➢ NOBODY gets killed at work!

➢ NO SERIOUS occupational diseases, work accidents or

traffic accidents!

48

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 24

 February 22

Vision Zero - 7 Golden Rules

1. Take leadership – demonstrate commitment

2. Identify hazards – control risks

3. Define Targets – develop programmes

4. Ensure a safe and healthy system – be

well-organised

5. Ensure safety and health in machines,

equipments and workplaces

6. Improve qualifications – develop

competence

7. Invest in People – motivate by participation

01/02/2022 49

Take leadership
1 demonstrate commitment

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 25

 February 22

Identify hazards
2 control risks

3 Define targets
develop programmes

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 26

 February 22

4 Ensure a safe and healthy

system be well-organized

5 Ensure safety and health in

machines, equipment and workplaces

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 27

 February 22

Improve qualifications
6 develop competence

Invest in people
7 motivate by participation

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 28

 February 22

Safety & Productivity

7 M’s of Production & Operations

Management
1.Man
2.Money
3.Machine
4.Materials
5.Management
6.Market
7.Mother-Nature

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 29

 February 22

Production versus Safety

• Industrial firms are in business to make a profit
by producing or processing products.
– Anything that interferes with production or processing
is likely to be looked on unfavorably.
• The modern marketplace sometimes puts safety
& health professional at odds with others,
responsible for productivity, quality, cost, and
response time.
– A health or safety measure can be viewed as
interfering with productivity.

Company-Wide Commitment to Safety

& Health
• The most successful safety & health managers
understand goals of improved productivity,
quality, cost, image, service, and response time.
– And convey the message that a safe, healthy
workplace
is the best way to accomplish these goals.
• The least successful earn a reputation as grumpy
in-house bureaucrats quoting regulations,
chapter
& verse, but know little, and care less about
profits.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 30

 February 22

Lack of Resources
Continual improvements can be
achieved and maintained best in
a safe, healthy work environment.

Competitiveness comes
from continually improving
productivity, quality, cost,
image, service & response
time.

Safety and health managers

should use this message to gain
a commitment from management
and employees.

Lack of Resources
• Safety & health managers find their departments rank
lower in priority than production & operations.
– Until a disaster occurs.
• Safety and health managers need to become proficient
in showing the financial benefits of a
safe workplace.
• Today’s safety & health manager must understand
bottom-line concerns of management, supervisors, and
employees and be able to use these concerns to gain a
commitment to safety and health.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 31

 February 22

Productivity, Quality, Cost, and

Response Time
• The most productive company is the one that generates the most output
with the least input.
– Output is the company’s product.
– Input is any resource—time, talent, money, technology—needed to produce the product.
• Quality is a measure of reliability & customer satisfaction.
• Cost is the amount of money required to purchase the item.
• Response time is the elapsed amount of time between an order being placed
and the product being delivered.

Productivity, Quality, Cost, and

Response Time
• Successfully competing in the global
marketplace means having the best people, the
best technology, and getting the most out of
both, using the best management strategies.
– Safety & health managers who understand this can
use their knowledge to gain a commitment to their
programs.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 32

 February 22

Productivity, Quality, Cost, and

Response Time
• The following five points are helpful:
– A safe and healthy workplace will help attract & keep
the best people,
– To get the most out of talented people, it is important
to keep them safe & healthy, functioning peak
performance.
– Employees cannot concentrate fully on quality when
they are concerned for their safety and health.
– Keeping industrial technologies up-to-date requires
the continual investment of funds.
– With the skyrocketing costs, it costs less to prevent
accidents than pay for them.

Education/Training for Safety & Health

Managers
• Advances have made the safety & health professional
job more complex than ever before.
– Increasing the importance of education & training.
• The ideal formula for safety & health professionals
is formal education prior to entering the profession.
– Supplemented by lifelong in-service training.
• Formal education provides the foundation of
knowledge needed to enter the profession.
– The challenge is keeping up as laws, standards, and overall
body of knowledge grow, change, and evolve.
• New safety & health managers should join the
appropriate professional organizations.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 33

 February 22

Image and Service

• A company’s image, internal & external, can
be a deciding factor in its ability to succeed.
– A solid internal image in terms of safety & health
makes
it easier to attract and keep the best employees.
– A solid external image in regard to
environmental/product safety issues makes it
easier to attract & retain customers.

Image and Service

• Gaining a full, real commitment to safety & health
in the workplace is one of the most important
roles of the safety and health manager.
• In a competition-driven workplace, managers
responsible for bottom line may resent arguments
based on government mandates and regulations.
• Points about productivity, quality, cost, image,
and response time go a long way in helping to
gain management commitment to safety & health.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 34

 February 22

You can’t manage or improve

what you can’t measure
WHY, WHAT AND HOW TO MEASURE ?!
– Productivity
– Efficiency
– Effectiveness
– Risk

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2021

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 35

 February 22

Management Triangle

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2021

Systems Concept

inputs outputs
transformations Customers
Land Goods
people and
SYSTEM
capital services
facilities
equipment
tools O
energy I
materials
information productivity

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 36

 February 22

Productivity Concepts
• Productivity = output/input
• Productivity is considered a key source of
economic growth and competitiveness
• Productivity is reduction in wastage of resources
like men, material, machine, time, space, capital.
• It can be expressed as human efforts to produce
more and more with less and less inputs of
resources
• Productivity denotes relationship between output
and one or all associated inputs

Production improvement does not necessarily mean

productivity improvement.
• Suppose a bank processed 1,000 checks yesterday, using 20
hours of labor.
• Let’s say that the same bank processed 1,200 checks today,
using 24 hours.
• Production has increased by 20%, from 1,000 to 1,200 checks.
However, the labor productivity for this operation is unchanged,
because 1,000 / 20 is equal to 50 checks per hour yesterday, and
1,200 / 24 is equal to 50 checks per labor hour today.
• Therefore, improvement in production does not necessarily
generate improvement in labor productivity.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 37

 February 22

Efficiency, Effectiveness, and Productivity

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2021

Difference between efficiency,

effectiveness, and productivity
• Efficiency is determined by the amount of time, money, and
energy – i.e. resources – that are necessary to obtain certain
results. In order to meet our daily production quantity
– we are able to meet our daily production with less energy
and fewer operators, we have operated more efficiently.
• Effectiveness is determined by comparing what a process or
installation can produce with what they actually produce;
therefore, effectiveness does not tell anything about the
efficiency
• Productivity is determined by looking at the production
obtained (effectiveness) versus the invested effort in order to
achieve the result (efficiency)
– in other words, if we can achieve more with less effort,
productivity increases.

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 February 22

Examples make improved or higher

productivity
• Improved productivity of land
– using better seed, better methods of cultivation
(improved) productivity by 50 percent
– For industrial purposes productivity increased if the output
of goods or services within that area of land is increased by
whatever means.
• Improved productivity of materials
• skilled worker is 16.6 percent greater than unskilled labour
• Improved productivity of machines
– the use of improved cutting tools, the output is increased
then the productivity of that machine will be increased by
33.33 percent.
• Improved productivity of Men (Labour)
– improved methods of work productivity of worker will be
improved by 31.25 percent

Productivity as an Factor concept

• Partial Factor Productivity
– Considers a single input in the ratio.
– Partial-factor productivity would be - the ratio of total output to
a single input.
– Output/labor, output/machine, output/capital, or
output/energy.
• Multi Factor Productivity
– Utilizes more than a single factor.
– is the ratio of total output to a subset of inputs
– A subset of inputs might consist of only labor and materials or it
could include capital
• Total Factor productivity
– Measured by combining the effects of all the resources used in
the production of goods and services (labor, capital, raw
material, energy, etc.) and dividing it into the output

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 February 22

The importance of productivity

• Productivity is a key to prosperity.
– has direct impact on standard of living.
– reduces cost per unit and enables reduction in sale price.
– increases wages for workers and increased profit for
organization.
– Higher demand creates more employment opportunities.
• Higher productivity leads to economic growth and
social progress
– helps to reduce cost per piece which make product
available at cheaper rate.
– Low price increases demand of the product.
– Higher profit enables organization to offer higher dividend
for shareholders
– increases export and increases foreign exchange reserves
of a country.

The importance of productivity

• Higher productivity requires elimination of
waste in all forms.
– eliminate wastage in raw material, wastage of time in
case of men and machinery, wastage of space etc.
• statistical quality control,
• inventory control,
• operation research,
• value analysis
• Improvement in productivity is important for
country.
– minimize level of poverty and unemployment.

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 February 22

Ways of Improving Productivity

• Increase the amount of output without
a similar increase in inputs or costs.
• Decrease costs of inputs without
decreasing the amount of output.
• Combination between the first and the
second way

ways of improving productivity

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 February 22

ways of improving productivity

steps to productivity improvement

• Develop productivity measures for all operations;
measurement is the first step in managing and controlling
an organization.
• Look at the system as a whole in deciding which operations
are most critical
• Develop methods for achieving productivity improvement
– Soliciting ideas from workers
– studying how other firms have increased productivity
– reexamining the way work is done.
• Establish reasonable goals for improvement.
• Make it clear that management supports and encourages
productivity improvement. Consider incentives to reward
workers for contributions.
• Measure improvements and publicize them.

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 February 22

Productivity Management Framework

Different techniques used to Measure

and Improve productivity
• Training and empowerment
• Work Study
• Times and methods study
• Measuring performance
• Line Balancing
• Quality
• Personnel Management
• Better equipment

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 February 22

1- Productivity Improvement Indices

i) Labour productivity
• depends upon how labours are utilised.
• Labour productivity can be higher or lower depending on
factors like
– availability of work load
– material
– working tools
– availability of power
– work efficiency
– level of motivation
– level of training
– level of working condition (comfortable or poor) etc.
• Labour productivity can be measured in terms of hours or
money.

The productivity of labour can be increased by

increasing efficiency of labour and reducing
labour time.

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 February 22

• Ii) Material productivity

– Material productivity depends upon how material is
effectively utilized in its conversion into finished product.
– depends upon percentage of rejection, creation of scrap,
level of spoilage, work wastage

Material productivity can be increased by

using skilled workers, adequate machine
tools, good design of product

• Iii) Machine Productivity

– Machine productivity depends upon availability of raw
material, power, skill of workers, machine layout.

• iv) Capital productivity

- depends on how effectively facilities of machines, tools,
land etc. are utilised

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 February 22

2- Work Study as a Productivity

Improvement Technique
• Work study is an important management tool to achieve
higher productivity.
• It is related to human work, method of doing work and
standard of performance.
• One of the effective ways of raising productivity is the
development of new process and installation of modern
plant and equipment
• But this approach requires heavy capital investment.
• work study aims to improve productivity through the
analysis of existing operations, processes and work
methods so as to improve their efficiency with little or no
extra capital expenditure

Risk Management

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 February 22

What is Risk ?
▪ Risk – Events or consequences that have
the probability of occurring during a project
and that are measured by their impacts on
the project

▪ Components
▪ Risk event
▪ Risk event probability
▪ Risk outcome or consequence (Amount at stake)
▪ Risk event status (Probability x amount at stake)

The Benefits and Goals of

Risk Management
As with enterprise risk management, the ultimate goal in
project risk management is to recognize that external or
internal factors can pose risks to the success of any given
project. Project risk management is the practice of
identifying, weighing and monitoring those risks. The goals
and benefits of project risk management include:
• To identify, monitor and mitigate risks. Ideally, nothing should be a
surprise.
• To be as proactive as possible in risk prevention.
• To provide clear steps for risk remediation in case something happens.
• To provide transparency, accountability, and increase faith and
confidence of shareholders.
• To protect stakeholders and project managers.

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 February 22

The Elements of a Project Risk

Management Plan
The factors will vary by industry and type of project, but
certain elements will be relevant to most project risk
management plans. These elements, to be quantified and
weighted for potential impact of each risk, include:
• Budget and costs
• The process of identifying, analyzing, evaluating, and
mitigating risk
• A risk log template, which is reviewed and evaluated on an
ongoing basis
• Identification of roles and ownership of various risks and
their solutions
• Risk categories and severity

Risk Management
Risk is the possibility of losing something of value. Values (such
as physical health, social status, emotional well-being, or financial wealth)
can be gained or lost when taking risk resulting from a given action or
inaction, foreseen or unforeseen (planned or not planned).

1. Risk identification
2. Risk analysis
3. Response to risk

A hazard is anything that has the potential to cause harm.

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 February 22

Breakdown into Sub-processes

1. Risk planning
2. Risk identification
3. Qualitative risk analysis
4. Quantitative risk analysis
5. Risk response planning
6. Risk monitoring and control

Risk Analysis

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 February 22

Risk Response Planning

Mitigation
(Corrective action)

Acceptance
Avoidance
(Accept consequences)
(Prevention)

Transference
(Shift Responsibility)

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 February 22

Risk Management Maturity Models

An enterprise risk management maturity model consists of
two axis of desired business outcomes measured against
investments and a timeline. Ideally, a strategic organization
working on enterprise risk management will see its progress
go up and to the right over time. As a company matures, so
should its strategic implementation of risk management.

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 February 22

Risk Register
Using a risk register adds structure and consistency to the risk
management process by having a readily-available document that
targets each individual risk before it occurs.
You should incorporate a risk register at the beginning stages of
the project planning process. When updated regularly and shared
with team members, a risk register serves as a useful tool to
manage and reduce the risks associated with any given project.

Risk Register
Using a risk register during business planning can help you to do the
following:
• Provide a documentation of risk strategies
• Grade all potential risks
• Ensure communication with key stakeholders and senior management,
should risks come into effect
• Identify mitigation actions required to solve a risk or its impact
• Forecast and preparing a strategy for inevitable risks
• Flag unidentified risks through open communication and input from
team members
• Instigate actions to reduce probability and potential impact
Although risk register templates are extremely useful for project owners
as they work to identify risks and combat them, there are some downfalls
in preplanning for risks so meticulously.

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 February 22

Tips For Creating a Risk Register

As you create your risk register template for your project, keep these tips
in mind to create the most effective, comprehensive documentation of
risks.
• Create the plan when the project is approved as part of the project proposal or
brief.
• Include active risks in project status reports to maintain visibility.
• Identify new risks or update risks as the project progresses.
• Assign each risk a separate identification number to ensure continuity and
clarity.
• Define risk impacts and probabilities in a manner that is easy to understand
(i.e. low, medium, and high).
• Review the risk register regularly, especially before progressing to the next
phase of the project.
• Do not skip the process of creating a risk register.

Workshop for Risk Management

- Risk Assessment
- Safety Risk Register

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 February 22

Safety Process
Planning & Controlling

What Is Planning?
•Planning
A primary managerial activity that involves:
❖ Defining the organization’s goals
❖ Establishing an overall strategy for achieving those goals
❖ Developing plans for organizational work activities
Formal planning
❖ Specific goals covering a specific time period
❖ Written and shared with organizational members

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2020

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 February 22

Why Do Managers Plan?

•Purposes of Planning
➢ Provides direction
➢ Reduces uncertainty
➢ Minimizes waste and redundancy
➢ Sets the standards for controlling

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2020

Planning and Performance

➢ Formal planning is associated with:
– Higher profits and returns on assets.
– Positive financial results.
➢ The quality of planning and implementation affects
performance more than the extent of planning.
➢ The external environment can reduce the impact of
planning on performance.
➢ Formal planning must be used for several years
before planning begins to affect performance.

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 February 22

Planning in Arab Culture

➢ Planning is underdeveloped in Arab societies

– some attribute this to an Arab culture that is supposedly fixated
on the past and resists planning for the future.
➢ Fatalism
– the belief in predestination, in the sense that a person has no
control over things that happen to him as things have already
been predestined from God.
➢ This is a mistaken understanding of Qadar.
– Belief in Qadar does not mean that people should not plan.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2020

Planning in Arab Culture (cont’d)

➢ Early Arabs planned, which explains their successes.

➢ Later, however, fatalism – as a historic practice, not a
religious doctrine – has displayed itself in their societies.
➢ What is needed is a gradual development in value
systems, leading to the notion that planning is
required to succeed and this is – in fact – in harmony
with religious teachings.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2020

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 February 22

Planning in Arab Culture (cont’d)

➢ Emergence of many successful Arab entrepreneurs and

managers.
➢ They built their businesses on proper planning and
adequate organization.
➢ This demonstrates that they have been progressively
adopting modern managerial standards.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2020

How Do Managers Plan?

•Elements of Planning
Goals (also Objectives)
❖ Desired outcomes for individuals, groups, or entire
organizations
❖ Provide direction and evaluation performance criteria
Plans
❖ Documents that outline how goals are to be accomplished
❖ Describe how resources are to be allocated and establish
activity schedules

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 February 22

Types of Goals

➢ Financial Goals are related to the expected internal

financial performance of the organization.
➢ Strategic Goals are related to the performance of
the firm relative to factors in its external environment
(e.g., competitors).
➢ If managers emphasize only one goal, other goals
necessary for long-term success are ignored.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2020

SMART Objectives

Specific

Measurable

Attainable

Relevant

Time bound

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2020

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 February 22

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2020

Traditional Goal Setting

➢ Broad goals are set at the top of the organization.

➢ Goals are then broken into sub-goals for each
organizational level.
➢ Assumes that top management knows best
because they can see the “big picture”.
➢ Goals are intended to direct, guide, and constrain
from above.
➢ Goals lose clarity and focus as lower-level
managers attempt to interpret and define the goals
for their areas of responsibility.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2020

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 February 22

The Downside of Traditional Goal Setting

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2020

Maintaining the Hierarchy of Goals

Means–Ends Chain
❖ The integrated network of goals that results from
establishing a clearly-defined hierarchy of organizational
goals.
❖ Achievement of lower-level goals is the means by which to
reach higher-level goals (ends).

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2020

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 February 22

Planning in the Hierarchy of Organizations

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2020

•Quality Control
– The process of monitoring activities to ensure that they are
being accomplished as planned and of correcting any
significant deviations.
•The Purpose of Control
– To ensure that activities are completed in ways that lead to
accomplishment of organizational goals.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2020

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 February 22

The Planning–Controlling Link

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2020

The Process of Control

1. Measuring actual performance
2. Comparing actual performance against a
standard
3. Taking action to correct deviations or
inadequate standards

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2021

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 February 22

Step 1: Measuring
How and What We Measure
•Sources of Information (How) • Control Criteria (What)
– Personal observation Employees
– Statistical reports – Satisfaction
– Oral reports – Turnover
– Written reports – Absenteeism
Budgets
– Costs
– Output
– Sales

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2020

Common Sources of Information

for Measuring Performance

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2020

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 February 22

Step 2: Comparing

•Determining the degree of variation between

actual performance and the standard.
Significance of variation is determined by:
–The acceptable range of variation from the standard
(forecast or budget).
–The size (large or small) and direction (over or under) of
the variation from the standard (forecast or budget).

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2020

Defining the Acceptable Range of Variation

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2020

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 February 22

Example of Determining Significant Variation

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2020

Step 3: Taking Managerial Action

•Courses of Action
“Doing nothing”
– Only if deviation is judged to be insignificant.
Correcting actual (current) performance
– Immediate corrective action to correct the problem at once.
– Basic corrective action to locate and to correct the source of
the deviation.
– Corrective Actions
– Change strategy, structure, compensation scheme, or training
programs; redesign jobs; or fire employees

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 February 22

Step 3: Taking Managerial Action (cont’d)

•Courses of Action (cont’d)

Revising the standard
– Examining the standard to ascertain whether or not the
standard is realistic, fair, and achievable.
– Upholding the validity of the standard.
– Resetting goals that were initially set too low or too high.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2020

Managerial Decisions in the Control Process

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2021

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 February 22

Types of Control

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2020

- Number of Reported Accidents & Incidents

- Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate
- Lost Time Injury Incidence Rate
- Equipment Breakdowns
- Employee Perception of Management Commitment
- Average Overtime Hours Per Person
- Satisfaction With Environment Score
- Fitness Assessments
- Monthly Health and Safety Prevention Costs
- Productive Days %
- % of Management Trained in Health & Safety
- Average Time To Resolution of Risks & Issues

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 67

 February 22

ACCIDENTS AND THEIR EFFECTS

ACCIDENTS AND THEIR EFFECTS

• Accidents are the fourth leading cause of death in
USA after heart disease, cancer, and strokes.
• There is a long history of debate on the effect of
accidents on industry (workers and companies).
– Historically, the prevailing view was that accident
prevention programs were too costly.
– The contemporary view is that accidents are too costly
and accident prevention makes sense economically.
• Accident prevention, which had been advocated on
a moral basis, is now justified in economic terms.

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 February 22

COSTS OF ACCIDENTS
• A proper perspective on economics of workplace
accidents can be gained by viewing them in the
overall context of all accidents.
– Overall cost of accidents in the US is about $150 billion.

Figure 2-1 Accident costs by accident

type (in billions, in a typical year).
Figure 2-2 Accident costs by categories
(in billions, in a typical year).

Accidents on and off the job cost US industry dearly.

ACCIDENTAL DEATHS IN THE UNITED STATES

• US accidental deaths result from many causes:
– Motor vehicle accidents.
– Falls, poisoning, drowning, fire-related injuries.
– Suffocation (ingested object), firearms (non-combat).
– Medical complications.
– Air transport accidents, interaction with machinery.
– Mechanical suffocation, impact of falling objects.
• The NSC periodically computes death totals and death
rates in each of these categories.
– In a typical year, there are over 14,000 deaths in these
subcategories.

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 February 22

ACCIDENTAL VS OTHER CAUSES OF DEATH

• There are more yearly deaths of heart disease,
cancer & strokes than from accidents.
– But concentrated among people at or near
Note that for persons from
retirement age. 25 to 44 years of age, the
leading cause is accidents.
Accidents are a serious
detriment to productivity,
quality & competitiveness
in today’s workplace.
Figure 3 Causes of accidents
(ages 25 to 44 years, typical year).

Accidents are one cause of death & injury

that companies can most easily control.

WORK ACCIDENT COSTS AND RATES

• Workplace accidents cost employers millions yearly.
– Arco Chemical Co. was fined $3.48 for failing to protect
workers from an explosion at a Channelview, Texas plant.
– USX paid a $3.25 million fine to settle numerous health
and safety violation citations.
– BASF Corporation agreed to pay a fine of $1.06 million
to associated with an explosion at a Cincinnati chemical
plant that caused two deaths and 17 injuries.
• In addition to fines, employers incurred costs for safety
corrections, medical treatment, survivor benefits, death &
burial costs, & other indirect costs.
– Clearly, work accidents are expensive.

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 February 22

WORK ACCIDENT COSTS AND RATES

• The trend in the rate of accidents is
downward, evidence of success of the US
safety movement.
– According to the NSC, Between 1912 &1998,
accidental work deaths per 100,000 reduced 81%,
from 21 to 4.

WORK ACCIDENT COSTS AND RATES

• In 1998, a workforce more than triple that of
1912 produced 11 times the goods & services,
with approximately 10,000 work deaths
– Cost of the work deaths and
injuries was $48.5 billion.
Figure 2-1 Accident costs by accident
type (in billions, in a typical year).

A cost of $420 per worker in the US, computed as the

value-add required per worker to offset cost of work injuries.
Translates further into $610,000 per death
and $18,000 per disabling injury.

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 February 22

WORK ACCIDENT COSTS AND RATES

• Many safety & health professionals believe the
major cost of accidents & injuries on the job
results from damage to morale.
• It is widely accepted that few factors affect
productivity more than employee morale.
– Employees with low morale do not produce up to
their maximum potential.
• Accidents can have a devastating effect on
morale.
– Few things are as detrimental to employee morale as
seeing a fellow worker injured.

TIME LOST BECAUSE OF WORK INJURIES

• An important effect of accidents on industry is
the amount of lost time due to work injuries.
– About 35 million hours are lost in a typical year.
• Additional time is lost for medical checkups
after the injured employee returns to work.
– Accidents in previous years often continue to
cause lost time in the current year.

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 February 22

WORK INJURIES BY TYPE OF ACCIDENT

• Work injuries can be classified by the type of
accident from which they resulted.
– Overexertion; Impact accidents; Falls; Compression.
– Exposure to radiation/caustics; Bodily reaction (to
chemicals).
– Rubbing or abrasions; Exposure to extreme
temperatures.
– Motor vehicle accidents.

• Overexertion, the result of working beyond physical

limits, is the leading cause, at 31% of work injuries.
– The next most prominent cause of work injuries is falls.

DEATHS IN WORK ACCIDENTS

• Deaths on the job have

decreased markedly.
– But still occur, with
causes that vary.

Figure 4 Work deaths

by cause for a typical year.

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 February 22

DEATH RATES BY INDUSTRY

• Variety agencies & organizations collect & rank
data on death rates within industrial categories.
• Highest to lowest:
– Mining/quarrying - including oil & gas drilling/extraction.
– Agriculture - including farming, forestry, and fishing.
– Construction; Transportation/public utilities.
– Federal, state, and local government
– Manufacturing.
– Services - including finance, insurance & real estate.
– Trade - both wholesale and retail.
• Death rates are computed based of the number
of deaths per 100,000 workers in a given year.
– Rankings sometimes change slightly from year to year.

PARTS OF THE BODY INJURED ON THE

JOB
• To develop/maintain an effective safety & health
program, it is also necessary to know the parts
of the body most frequently injured.
– 1998 disabling work injuries totaled about 1.75 million.
• 10,400 fatal & 60,000 resulted in some permanent impairment.
• Injuries to the back occurred most frequently.
– Followed by thumb & finger injuries and leg injuries.
• Frequent injury rankings show that a fundamental
component of a safety & health program should be
instruction on how to lift without hurting the back.

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 February 22

CHEMICAL BURN INJURIES

• The greatest incidence of chemical burns, about
one-third, occurs in manufacturing, with the rest
in services, trade, and construction.
– Acids & alkalis; soaps, detergents, cleaning compounds.
– Solvents and degreasers.
– Calcium hydroxide (used in cement & plaster).
– Potassium hydroxide (drain cleaners, etc.).
– Sulfuric acid (battery acid).
• Many occur, in spite of personal protective equipment,
safety instruction, and available treatment facilities.

CHEMICAL BURN INJURIES

• Strategies recommended for safety & health
professionals, for preventing chemical burn
injuries:
– Familiarize yourself, workers & supervisors with the
chemicals to be used and their inherent dangers.
– Secure the proper personal protection equipment.
– Provide instruction on proper use of equipment.
• Supervisors confirm equipment is used properly every time.
– Replace personal protection equipment when it
begins to show wear.

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 February 22

HEAT BURN INJURIES

• Almost 40% of heat burn injuries occur in
manufacturing every year.
– Most frequent causes are flame (also smoke inhalation),
molten metal, petroleum asphalts, steam & water.
• Employees should be familiar with hazards, know the
appropriate safety precautions, and have & use the
proper personal protection equipment.
• Safety professionals should monitor to ensure
that safety rules are being followed, personal
protection equipment is being used correctly,
and that it is in good condition.

HEAT BURN INJURIES

• Factors contributing to workplace heat burn injuries:
– Employer has no health & safety policy regarding heat
hazards.
– Employer fails to enforce safety procedures & practices.
– Employees are not familiar with the employer’s safety
policy and procedures concerning heat hazards.
– Employees fail to use, or improperly use personal
protection equipment.
– Employees have inadequate or worn personal protection
equipment and/or poorly maintained tools and
equipment.
– Employees work in a limited space, attempt to work too
fast, or carelessly.

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 February 22

REPETITIVE STRAIN/SOFT TISSUE

INJURIES
• Repetitive strain injury (RSI) are typically associated
with soft tissues of hands, arms, neck & shoulders.
• Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most widely
known, but there are several other RSIs also.
– CTS is typically caused by repeated and cumulative stress
on the median nerve.
– Symptoms of CTS include numbness, a tingling sensation,
and pain in the fingers, hand, and/ or wrist.
– Evidence suggests a higher incidence of CTS among
women than men.
– Overall incidence rate for CTS is increasing at a rate
of more than 15% per year.

ESTIMATING THE COST OF ACCIDENTS

Successful, safety & health professionals must show
that accidents are more expensive than prevention.
– They must be able to estimate the cost of accidents.

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 February 22

ESTIMATING THE COST OF ACCIDENTS

Cost-Estimation Method
• To have value, a cost estimate must relate
directly to the specific company in question.
– Applying broad industry cost factors will not
suffice.
• To arrive at company-specific figures, divide
costs associated with an accident be into
insured & uninsured costs.
– Determining insured costs of accidents is
a matter of examining accounting records.

Cost-Estimation Method
• To calculate uninsured costs, divide accidents into
the following four classes:
– Class 1 accidents - lost workdays, permanent partial
disabilities, and temporary total disabilities.
– Class 2 accidents - treatment by a physician outside
the company’s facility.
– Class 3 accidents- locally provided first aid, property
damage less than $100, or loss of less than eight hours
of work time.
– Class 4 accidents - injuries so minor they require no
physician attention, property damage of $100 or less,
or eight or fewer work hours lost.

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 February 22

Cost-Estimation Method
• Average uninsured costs for each class of
accident can be determined from records of
accidents in a specified period.
– For each accident in each class, record every cost
not covered by insurance.

Compute total of these costs by class of

accident & divide by the total number of
accidents in that class to determine an
average uninsured cost for each class,
specific to the particular company.

Cost-Estimation Method
• Shown is an example of how to determine average
cost of a selected sample of Class 1 accidents.
There were four
Class 1 accidents
in the pilot test.
The accidents cost the
company $554.23 in
uninsured costs, or an
average of $138.56
per accident.
With this information,
accurate cost estimates
of an accident can be
figured, and accurate
predictions made.

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 February 22

Other Cost-Estimation Methods

• Costs associated with workplace accidents,
injuries, & incidents fall into broad categories
such as:
– Lost work hours; Medical costs.
– Property damage; Fire losses.
– Insurance premiums and administration; Indirect
costs.

Other Cost-Estimation Methods

• Compile total number lost hours for the period and
multiply times the applicable loaded labor rate.
– The employee’s hourly rate plus benefits.

• Subtotal cost is medical costs, insurance premiums,

property damage & fire losses for the period.
– Increased by a standard percentage for indirect costs,
to determine total cost of accidents for a specific period.

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 February 22

Estimating Hidden Costs

• Accident costs are like an iceberg, in that the
larger part of the actual cost is hidden beneath
the surface.
• There is usually a great deal of activity when a
serious accident occurs.
– There may be a slowdown in production near the site.
– There also will be a need to replace the injured
worker.
• Costs associated with the learning curve of the replacement.
– The supervisor & accident investigation team probably
will need to spend time conducting an investigation.

Estimating Hidden Costs

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 81

 February 22

ACCIDENT CAUSATION
• Each year, work-related accidents cost almost $50
billion in lost wages, medical expenses, insurance costs,
and indirect costs.
• The number injured in industrial place accidents in
a typical year is 7,128,000.
– 3 per 100 persons per year.
• There is an accidental workplace death about every 51
minutes, and one injury every 19 seconds.
• Why do accidents happen?
– To prevent accidents we must know why they happen.

ACCIDENT CAUSATION
• The most widely known theories of accident
causation are:
– The domino theory.
– The human factors theory.
– The accident/incident theory.
– The epidemiological theory.
– The systems theory.
– The combination theory.
– The behavioral theory.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 82

 February 22

DOMINO THEORY OF ACCIDENT

CAUSATION
• After studying 75,000 industrial accidents,
Herbert W. Heinrich of Travelers Insurance
concluded in the 1920s, that 88% of industrial
accidents are caused by unsafe acts committed
by fellow workers.
• Heinrich’s study laid the foundation for his
Axioms
of Industrial Safety, and his now outdated
domino theory of accident causation
– Some of today’s more widely accepted theories
can be traced back to Heinrich’s theory.

Heinrich’s 10 Axioms of Industrial

Safety
1. Injuries result from a completed series of
factors, one of which is the accident itself.
2. An accident can occur only as the result of an
unsafe act by a person and/or a physical or
mechanical hazard.
3. Most accidents are the result of unsafe behavior
by people.
4. An unsafe act by a person or an unsafe condition
does not always immediately result in an
accident/injury.

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 February 22

Heinrich’s 10 Axioms of Industrial

Safety
5. Reasons why people commit unsafe acts can
serve as helpful guides in selecting corrective
actions.
6. Severity of an accident is largely fortuitous, and
the accident that caused it is largely
preventable.
7. The best accident prevention techniques are
analogous with the best quality and productivity
techniques.

Heinrich’s 10 Axioms of Industrial Safety

8. Management should assume responsibility for
safety because it is in the best position to get
results.
9. The supervisor is the key person in the prevention
of industrial accidents.
10. In addition to the direct costs of an accident (for
example, compensation, liability claims, medical
costs, and hospital expenses), there are also
hidden or indirect costs.
Any accident prevention program that takes all ten axioms into
account is more likely to be effective than a program that leaves out
one or more.

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 February 22

Heinrich’s Domino Theory

• According to Heinrich, there are five factors in the
sequence of events leading up to an accident:
1- Ancestry and social environment - character traits
that lead people to behave in an unsafe manner can be
inherited, or acquired as a result of social environment.
2- Fault of person - negative traits, inherited or acquired,
are why people behave in an unsafe manner and why
hazardous conditions exist.
3- Unsafe act/mechanical or physical hazard - acts
by people, and mechanical/physical hazards are the
direct causes of accidents.

Heinrich’s Domino Theory

• According to Heinrich, there are five factors in the
sequence of events leading up to an accident:
4- Accident - typically, injury accidents are caused by falling or
being hit by moving objects.
5- Injury - typical injuries resulting from accidents include lacerations and
fractures.

Injuries are caused by the action of preceding factors.

Removal of the central factor (unsafe act/hazardous
condition) negates the action of the preceding factors and
prevents accidents and injuries.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 85

 February 22

HUMAN FACTORS THEORY OF CAUSATION

• Attributes accidents to a chain of events,
ultimately caused by human error.

Overload
• Overload - imbalance between a person’s
capacity at any given time & the load that person
is carrying in a given state.
– Capacity is a product of natural ability, training,
state of mind, fatigue, stress & physical condition.
– Load consists of tasks for which a person is
responsible, and…
• Added environmental burdens (noise, distractions, etc.)
• Internal factors (personal problems, emotional stress/worry)
• Situational factors (level of risk, unclear instructions, etc.)

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 February 22

Inappropriate Response and

Incompatibility
• Inappropriate responses in a given situation can lead to
accidents…
– Detecting a hazardous condition, and not to correcting it.
– Removes a machine safeguard from to increase output.
– Disregarding an established safety procedure.

Inappropriate Response and Incompatibility

• Workstation incompatibility - incompatibility of
a person’s workstation with regard to size, force,
reach, feel & similar factors can lead to accidents
and injuries.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 87

 February 22

Inappropriate Activities
• Human error - can be the result of inappropriate
activities—such as when a person undertakes
a task that he/she doesn’t know how to do.
– Such inappropriate activities can lead to accidents/injuries.

ACCIDENT/INCIDENT THEORY OF CAUSATION

• An extension of the human factors theory was
developed by Dan Petersen, introducing…
– Ergonomic traps; Decision to err; Systems failures.

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 February 22

ACCIDENT/INCIDENT THEORY OF
CAUSATION
• Following are just some of the different ways that
systems can fail, according to Petersen’s theory:
– Management does not establish a comprehensive
safety policy.
– Responsibility and authority with regard to safety
are not clearly defined.
– Safety procedures such as measurement, inspection,
correction, and investigation are ignored or given
insufficient attention.
– Employees do not receive proper orientation.
– Employees are not given sufficient safety training.

ACCIDENT/INCIDENT THEORY OF CAUSATION

• Decision to err may be conscious, based on logic
or it may be unconscious.
– Overload, ergonomic traps, deadlines, budget factors
& peer pressure can lead to unsafe behavior.

The “It won’t happen

to me” syndrome.

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 February 22

EPIDEMIOLOGICAL THEORY OF CAUSATION

• Current safety theories/programs trend to a broad

perspective encompassing industrial hygiene.
– Concerns environmental factors that can lead to
sickness, disease, or other forms of impaired health.
• Epidemiology is the study of causal relationships
between environmental factors and disease.
– The epidemiological theory holds uses those models
to study relationships between environmental factors
& accidents or diseases.

EPIDEMIOLOGICAL THEORY OF
CAUSATION

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 February 22

SYSTEMS THEORY OF ACCIDENT

CAUSATION
• A system is a group of regularly interacting &
interrelated components that form a unified
whole.
• The systems theory of accident causation views
a situation in which an accident may occur as a
system comprised of the following components:
– Person (host); Machine (agency); Environment.
• Likelihood of an accident occurring is determined
by how these components interact.
– Changes in the patterns of interaction can increase
or reduce the probability of an accident.

SYSTEMS THEORY OF ACCIDENT CAUSATION

• As a person interacts After collecting information by
with a machine within observing & noting current
circumstances, a person weighs
an environment, three risks & decides whether to
activities take place: perform the task.

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 February 22

SYSTEMS THEORY OF ACCIDENT CAUSATION

• As a person interacts If information was right & the risk
with a machine within assessment accurate, the task will
probably be accomplished without
an environment, three accident.
activities take place:

SYSTEMS THEORY OF ACCIDENT

CAUSATION
• Stressors can cloud judgment of those
collecting information, weighing risks &
making the decision:
– A machine operator working in an unusually hectic
environment.
– Intense pressure to complete an order already
behind schedule.

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 February 22

SYSTEMS THEORY OF ACCIDENT

CAUSATION
• Five factors should be considered before
beginning the process of collecting information,
weighing risks, and making a decision:
– Job requirements.
– The workers’ abilities and limitations.
– The gain if the task is successfully accomplished.
– The loss if the task is attempted but fails.
– The loss if the task is not attempted.
• Particularly important when stressors such as
noise, time constraints, or supervisor pressure
may tend to cloud one’s judgment.

COMBINATION THEORY OF CAUSATION

• Often the cause of an accident cannot be
adequately explained by one model or theory.
– According to the combination theory, the actual
cause
may combine parts of several different models.
– Safety personnel should avoid the tendency to
try to apply one model to all accidents.

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 February 22

BEHAVIORAL THEORY OF CAUSATION

• This theory of accident causation & prevention is often
referred to as behavior-based safety (BBS).
has seven basic principles:
1- Intervention that is focused on employee behavior;
2- Identification of external factors that will help understand
and improve employee behavior.
3- Direct behavior with activators or events antecedent to
the desired behavior, and motivation of the employee
to behave as desired with incentives and rewards.
4- Focus on the positive consequences that will result from
the desired behavior as a way to motivate employees.

BEHAVIORAL THEORY OF CAUSATION

• This theory of accident causation & prevention is often
referred to as behavior-based safety (BBS).
has seven basic principles:
5- Application of the scientific method to improve
attempts
at behavioral interventions.
6- Use of theory to integrate information rather than to
limit possibilities.
7- Planned interventions with the feelings and attitudes
of the individual employee in mind.

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 February 22

BEHAVIORAL THEORY OF CAUSATION

• An innovative, practical application of standard
behavioral theory to the field of occupational safety.
– Positive reinforcement in the form of incentives and
rewards is used to promote the desired (safe) behaviors.
• And discourage undesirable (unsafe) behaviors.
• Proponents use the “ABC” model to summarize
understanding human behavior & developing
interventions when behavior is undesirable (unsafe).
• “A” stands for activators or antecedent events that
precede behavior—“B” & “C” refer to consequences
following behavior, or produced by it.

DRUGS AND ACCIDENT CAUSATION

• Drugs & alcohol are the root or contributing cause
of many accidents on the job every year.
– According to Health & Human Services surveys, an
estimated 6.5% of full-time & 8.6% of part-time workers
use illicit drugs.
– More than a third of all workers between the ages of
18 and 25 are binge drinkers.
• Many companies implement drug-free workplace
programs, typically with the following components:
– Drug-free workplace policy; Supervisory training.
– Employee education; employee assistance programs.
– Alcohol and drug testing.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 95

 February 22

DEPRESSION AND ACCIDENT

CAUSATION
• People who suffer from clinical depression are
seriously impaired and pose a clear & present safety
risk to themselves, fellow workers & their employee
– Mental health professionals estimate up to 10% of the
adult population in the US suffers from clinical depression.
• Depression results costs the US economy over
200 million lost workdays & $43.7 billion annually.
– Including $23.8 billion in absenteeism & lost productivity.
• Studies suggest that depressed workers may be more
prone to accidents.
– Lack of concentration, fatigue, failing memory and slow
reaction time are reasons workers may not work safely.

Warning Signs
• Safety & health professionals should be alert to the
warning signs of clinical depression in employees.
– Persistent dreary moods. (sadness, anxiety, nervousness)
– Sleeping on the job or persistent drowsiness.
– Sudden weight loss or gain; Chronic physical problems.
– General loss of interest, restlessness, inability to
concentrate, or irritability.
– Forgetfulness or an inability to make simple decisions.
– Persistent feelings of guilt; Feelings of low self-worth.
– Focus on death or talk of suicide.

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 February 22

Warning Signs
• Safety & health professionals who recognize any
or all of these symptoms in an employee should
get the employee into the hands of competent mental
health professionals right away.
• Approach the employee’s supervisor & recommend
referring the employee to the company’s employee
assistance program (EAP) or HR department.
• If the supervisor is uncomfortable, or does not know
how to go about it, recommend that he/she use the
statement suggested by the Society for Human
Resource Management:

“I’m concerned that recently you’ve been late to work often

and are not meeting your performance objectives.”
“I’d like to see you get back on track.”
“I don’t know whether this is the case for you, but if personal
issues are affecting your work, you can
speak confidentially to one of our employee
assistance counselors.”
“The service was set up to help employees.”
“Our conversation today and appointments with the
counselor will be kept confidential.”
“Whether or not you contact this service, you will still be
expected to meet your performance goals.”

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 97

 February 22

MANAGEMENT FAILURES AND

CAUSATION
• A leading cause of accidents in the workplace is
failure of management to ensure a safe & healthy
work environment.
– The level of management with the most direct, hands-
on, day-to-day responsibility for workplace safety &
health
is the supervisory level.
• Supervisors should be assigned responsibility
for the work environment and for the safety of
employees in their units.
– Safety & health professionals should be readily
available to help supervisors fulfill this responsibility.

Supervisor Role in Workplace Safety & Health

• Key responsibilities of supervisors relating to
workplace safety and health include the following:
– Orienting new employees to the safe way to do their
jobs.
– Ensuring new & experienced employees receive safety
& health training they need on a continual basis.
– Monitoring employee performance and enforcing safety
rules and regulations.
– Assisting safety & health professionals in conducting
accident investigations and developing accident reports.
– Keeping up-to-date on safety issues.
– Setting a positive example for employees that says
“The safe way is the right way”.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 98

 February 22

Management Failures That Cause

Accidents
• If management is serious about providing a safe and
healthy work environment for employees it must…
– Show employees that safe, healthy work practices are
expected by including such practices in job descriptions.
– Monitor employee work practices, and set an example
of safe & healthy work practices
– Provide training in how to work safely, including
orientation training for new employees and ongoing
updated training for experienced employees.
– Include safe & healthy work practices as criteria in the
periodic performance appraisals of employees.
– Reinforce safe & healthy work practices by rewarding
and recognizing employees who use them.

Occupational Safety and Health

• Occupational safety - concerned with the
avoidance of industrial accidents and in particular
accidents that cause injury or fatality
– Goal in ergonomics:
• To understand how and why they occur
• To undertake steps to prevent them
• Occupational Health - concerned with avoidance
of diseases and disorders induced by exposure to
materials or conditions in the workplace

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 99

 February 22

ROLES OF SAFETY & HEALTH

PROFESSIONALS

ROLES OF SAFETY & HEALTH PROFESSIONALS

MODERN SAFETY AND HEALTH TEAMS
The issues that concern modern safety and
health managers include:
– Stress; explosives; laws, standards, and codes.
– Radiation; AIDS; product safety and liability.
– Ergonomics; ethics; automation; workers’
compensation.
– An ever-changing multitude of other issues.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 100

 February 22

MODERN SAFETY AND HEALTH TEAMS

Typical positions comprising a safety & health team.

It is unreasonable to expect one person

to be an expert in all the complex & diverse
issues faced in the modern workplace.

SAFETY AND HEALTH MANAGER

• Companies committed to a safe & healthy
workplace employ a safety & health manager at an
appropriate level in the corporate hierarchy.
– The manager’s position in the hierarchy is an indication
of the company’s commitment and priorities.

Safety & health manager duties range

include hazard analysis, accident
reporting, standards/compliance, record
keeping, training, emergency planning,
etc.

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 February 22

Role in the Company Hierarchy

• The safety & health manager’s role in a company
depends in part on whether his/her safety & health
duties are full time or are in addition to other duties.
– In some companies, safety & health managers may have other
duties, like a production or personnel manager.
• Does the safety and health manager have line or staff
authority?
– Line authority means the safety & health manager has
authority over and supervises certain employees.
– Staff authority means safety & health manager is responsible
for a certain function, but has no line
authority over others involved with that function.

Role in the Company Hierarchy

• Staff positions operate like internal consultants—they
may recommend, suggest & promote—but
do not have the authority to order or mandate.
– Typically the case with safety &health managers.
• Managers with line authority over safety & health
personnel typically have a staff relationship with other
functional managers.
– Personnel, production, or purchasing.
• A successful safety & health manager is resourceful,
clever, astute in corporate politics, good at building
relationships, persuasive, adept at trading favors,
credible, talented in development & use of influence.

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 February 22

Problems Safety and Health Managers

Face
• Lack of Commitment - top management may see
safety & health program as a necessary evil.
– A collection of government regulations that interfere
with profits.
• Safety & health professionals should be prepared
to confront a less than wholehearted
commitment
in some companies.

Production versus Safety

• Industrial firms are in business to make a profit
by producing or processing products.
– Anything that interferes with production or processing
is likely to be looked on unfavorably.
• The modern marketplace sometimes puts safety
& health professional at odds with others,
responsible for productivity, quality, cost, and
response time.
– A health or safety measure can be viewed as
interfering with productivity.

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 February 22

Company-Wide Commitment to Safety

& Health
• The most successful safety & health managers
understand goals of improved productivity,
quality, cost, image, service, and response time.
– And convey the message that a safe, healthy
workplace
is the best way to accomplish these goals.
• The least successful earn a reputation as grumpy
in-house bureaucrats quoting regulations,
chapter
& verse, but know little, and care less about
profits.

Helpful Agencies and Organizations

• Numerous agencies
& organizations are
available to help the
safety & health
manager keep
up-to-date.
There are professional societies,
trade associations, scientific
organizations, certification boards,
service organizations, and
emergency service organizations.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 104

 February 22

ENGINEERS AND SAFETY

• Engineers can make a contributions to safety,
or cause, inadvertently or by incompetence,
accidents that result in serious injury &
property damage.
– Opportunity for good & bad comes during design.
• Engineers involved in design are usually in the
aerospace, electrical, mechanical & nuclear
fields.

ENGINEERS AND SAFETY

• Safety & health professionals should be familiar
with the design process to more fully understand
the role of engineers concerning workplace safety.
– Not all engineers are design engineers.

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 February 22

Safety Engineer
• The title safety engineer is often a misnomer, implying
the person in the position is a degreed engineer with
formal education and/or special training in workplace
safety.
• The title is typically given to the person with overall
responsibility for the company’s safety program.
– Or a member of the company’s safety team.
• Persons with bachelor’s or associate degrees in areas
other than engineering should be encouraged to seek
such positions.
– Industrial technology, engineering & manufacturing,
industrial management & industrial safety technology.

Safety Engineer
• There are signs that engineering schools are
becoming more sensitive to safety & health
issues.
– Graduate degrees in such areas as nuclear physics
& nuclear engineering now often require safety
courses.
– The federal government sponsors postgrad safety
studies.
– Four states now have registration of professional
engineers in a Safety Engineer discipline.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 106

 February 22

Industrial Engineers and Safety

• Industrial engineers are the most likely candidates from
among the various engineering disciplines to work as
safety engineers.
– Knowledge of industrial systems can make them
valuable members of a design team
– They can also contribute as a member of a company’s
safety team by helping design job & plant layouts for
efficiency & safety.
• Industrial engineers are more likely to work as
safety engineers than those from other disciplines.
– They are not much more likely to have safety courses
as a required part of their program of study.

Environmental Engineers and Safety

• Environmental engineering is a relatively new
discipline, and may be described as follows:
– A field in which the application of engineering &
scientific principles is used to protect and preserve
human health and the well-being of the environment.

Course work environmental

engineers take is particularly
relevant since all of it relates
directly or indirectly to health.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 107

 February 22

Chemical Engineers and Safety

• Modern chemical engineers, also called process
engineers, are concerned with physical/chemical
changes of matter to economically produce a
product or result that is useful to mankind.
– Versatile in a chemical, petroleum, aerospace, nuclear,
materials, microelectronics, sanitation, food
processing, and computer technology.
• Increasingly, industrial companies are seeking
chemical engineers to fill the industrial hygiene
role on the safety and health team.
– Their formal education makes people in this discipline
well equipped to serve in this capacity.

INDUSTRIAL HYGIENIST
• An industrial hygienist is a person degreed in
engineering, chemistry, physics, medicine, or
related sciences.
– Who, by virtue of special studies and training, has
acquired competence in industrial hygiene.
• Industrial hygienists are primarily concerned about the
following types of hazards:
– Solvents, particulates, toxic substances.
– Dermatoses, ergonomics, noise, temperature.
– Radiation, biological substances.
– Ventilation, gas, and vapors.

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 February 22

INDUSTRIAL HYGIENIST
• Special studies/training must have been sufficient
to provide the ability to…
– Recognize environmental factors and to understand
their effect on humans and their well-being.
– Evaluate the magnitude of these stresses in terms of ability to impair human
health and well-being.
– Prescribe methods to eliminate, control, or reduce such stresses when necessary
to alleviate their effects.
• In a safety and health team, the industrial hygienist typically
reports to the safety and health manager.

HEALTH PHYSICIST
• Health physicists are concerned primarily with
radiation in the workplace.
– Monitoring radiation inside and outside the facility,
– Measuring the radioactivity levels of biological samples,
– Developing the radiation components of the company’s
emergency action plan.
– Supervising the decontamination of workers and the
workplace when necessary.
• Nuclear engineering & nuclear physics are the most
widely pursued fields of study for health physicists.
– Professionals in this field may be certified by the American
Board of Health Physics (ABHP).

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 109

 February 22

OCCUPATIONAL PHYSICIAN
• Occupational medicine as a field dates to World
War II, classified in 1955 as a medical specialty.
• Concerns of the Occupational Physician include:
– Appraisal, maintenance, restoration and improvement
of worker health.
– Promotion of productive,fulfilling interaction of worker
and job, via application of principles of human behavior.
– Active appreciation of social, economic & administrative
needs and responsibilities of both worker & community.
– Team approach to safety & health, involving cooperation of
the physician with occupational or industrial hygienists,
occupational health nurses, safety personnel, and other
specialties.

OCCUPATIONAL PHYSICIAN
• Occupational physicians are fully degreed and licensed
medical doctors, and must have completed
postgraduate work in many areas, including:
– Biostatistics, epidemiology, industrial toxicology.
– Work physiology, principles of occupational safety.
– Radiation (ionizing and nonionizing), biological monitoring.
– Ergonomics, noise/hearing conservation.
– Fundamentals of industrial hygiene, occupational aspects
of dermatology.
– Record and data collection, governmental regulations.
– General environmental health (air, water, ground pollution,
and waste management control).

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 February 22

OCCUPATIONAL PHYSICIAN
• The OP should be the leader of other medical
personnel.
– There should be a written medical program available
to all management and employees.
– Periodic tours of all facilities are necessary for an
understanding of possible work-related injuries.
• The OP should understand the workplace and the
chemicals used & produced.
– Should be familiar with OSHA & NIOSH health mandates.

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH NURSE

• Occupational health nursing is application of
nursing principles in conserving health of workers.
– Requires special skills and knowledge in the areas of
health education and counseling, environmental health,
rehabilitation, and human relations.

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 February 22

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH NURSE

• AAOHN defines occupational nurse objectives:
– To adapt the nursing program to meet the specific
needs of the individual company.
– To provide competent nursing care for all employees, or
seek competent medical direction if unavailable on-site.
– To establish & maintain an adequate system of records.
– To plan, prepare, promote, present, and broker
educational activities for employees.
– To establish and maintain positive working relationships
with all departments within the company.
– To maintain positive working relationships with all
components of the local health care community.
– Monitor, evaluate & adjust the nursing program.

RISK MANAGER
• Risk management consists of activities &
strategies an organization can use to protect itself
from situations, circumstances, or events that
may undermine its security.
– Organizations are at risk every time they open their
doors for business.
• Risk managers work closely with safety & health
personnel to reduce the risk of accidents and
injuries on the job.
– They also work closely with insurance companies to
achieve the most effective transference possible.

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 February 22

ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION &

REPORTING

ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION &

REPORTING
• An accident has been defined as
– “any unplanned event that causes injury, illness,
property damage or harmful disruption of work
process.”
• When an accident occurs, it is important that
it be investigated thoroughly.
– The results of an accident report can help safety &
health professionals pinpoint the cause, and help
prevent future accidents—the primary purpose of
accident investigation.

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 February 22

TYPES OF ACCIDENT INVESTIGATIONS

• There are accident reports, and there are accident-
analysis reports.
– An accident report is completed when the accident
in question represents only a minor incident.
• It answers: Who, What, Where, and When—not Why.
• OSHA Form 301 can be used for accident reports.
– An accident-analysis report is completed when the
accident in question is serious—and should answer
Why.
• Analysis must identify the root cause or the company will
treat only symptoms, or worse, solve the wrong problem.
• Serious accidents are always accompanied by the potential
for litigation

TYPES OF ACCIDENT INVESTIGATIONS

• Accident-analysis reports are called for when
any of the following circumstances result from
the accident:
– Death; Loss of consciousness; Professional
medical treatment beyond first aid.
– One or more days of lost work, over & above time
lost beyond the day of the accident.
– Modifications to the injured employee’s work
duties, beyond those that might occur on the day
of the injury.

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 February 22

WHEN TO INVESTIGATE
• All accidents, no matter how small, should be
investigated, and a near-miss should be treated
like an accident.
– As soon as all emergency procedures have been
accomplished, accident investigation should begin.
• Waiting too long can harm the results.
• Immediate investigations are more likely to
produce accurate information.
• An immediate investigation is evidence of
management’s commitment to preventing future
accidents.

WHAT TO INVESTIGATE
• The purpose of an accident investigation is to
collect facts—not to find fault.
– Causes of the accident should be the primary focus.
• The investigation should be guided by:
– Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How.
• As you investigate, don’t put the emphasis on
identifying who could be blamed for the accident.
– A quality job of investigating is objective & analytical.

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 February 22

WHAT TO INVESTIGATE
• Some questions SME recommends using:
– Exactly what was the injured person doing or trying
to do at the time of the accident?
– Had the worker received proper training?
– Was the injured person authorized to use the equipment
or perform the process involved in the accident?
– Was the task in question being performed according to
properly approved procedures?
– Was the proper equipment being used, including personal
protective equipment?
– Was the employee new, or was the process, equipment,
or system involved new?
– Were any safety/procedures not being followed?

Common Causes of Accidents

• Personal beliefs and feelings.
– Individual did not believe the accident would happen
to him or her
– Individual was working too fast, showing off, or
being a know-it-all.
– Individual ignored the rules out of contempt for
authority and rules in general.
– Individual gave in to peer pressure.
– Individual had personal problems that clouded
his/her judgment.

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 February 22

Common Causes of Accidents

• Decision to work unsafely.
– Some people feel it is in their best interests or to
their benefit to work unsafely, and make a
conscious
decision to do so.

Common Causes of Accidents

• Mismatch or overload.
– Individual is in poor physical condition or is fatigued.
– Individual has high stress, is mentally
unfocused/distracted.
– The task required is too complex or difficult, or is
boring.
– The physical environment is stressful.
– The work in question is very demanding—even for
an individual in good physical condition.
– The individual has a negative attitude.

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 February 22

Common Causes of Accidents

• Systems failure.
– Lack of clear policy, rules/regulations/procedures.
• Rules in place, but not enforced
– Poor hiring procedures/insufficient training.
– Inadequate monitoring and inspections.
– Failure to correct known hazards.
– No reward/reinforcement of safe behavior
– Inadequate tools and equipment provided.
– Production requirements set too high.
– Inadequate employee communication.
– Poor safety management/insufficient job safety analysis
and insufficient management support for safety.

Common Causes of Accidents

• Traps.
– Defective equipment.
– Failure to provide/maintain/personal protective equipment.
– Failure to train employees.
– Overly complicated/confusing controls.
– Poorly laid out work area.
– Mechanical lifting equipment inadequate for jobs required.
– Uncontrolled hazards that might lead to slips and falls.
– Excessive reaching/bending/stooping/twisting.
– Excessive contact pressure/vibration/force.
– Awkward postures from poor workstation or tool design.
– Temperature extremes; insufficient lighting/ventilation.

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 February 22

Common Causes of Accidents

• Unsafe conditions.
– Created by the person injured in the accident.
– Created by a fellow employee or a third party.
– Created by, or knowingly overlooked by
management.
– Created by the elements (rain, sun, snow, ice,
wind, dark).

Common Causes of Accidents

• Unsafe acts.
– Ignoring rules, horseplay/fighting, drugs/alcohol.
– Individual uses unauthorized tools or equipment.
– Individual chooses an improper work method.
– Individual fails to ask for information or other
resources needed to do the job safely.
– Individual forgets a rule/regulation/procedure.
– Individual does not pay proper attention.
– Individual uses improper body mechanics.

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 February 22

WHO SHOULD INVESTIGATE

• In some companies, the supervisor of the
injured worker conducts the investigation.
– In others, a safety & health professional performs
the job.
• Some companies form an investigative team.
– Others bring in outside specialists.

WHO SHOULD INVESTIGATE

• Some factors considered in deciding how to
approach accident investigations include:
– Size of the company.
– Structure of the company’s safety & health program.
– Type, seriousness & technical complexity of the
accident.
– Number of times that similar accidents have occurred.
– Company’s management philosophy & commitment
to safety & health.

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 February 22

CONDUCTING THE INVESTIGATION

Five steps to follow
in conducting an
accident investigation.

INTERVIEWING WITNESSES - When to

Interview
• Interviews should begin as soon as the witness
list has been compiled and proceed expeditiously.
– Recollections will be best right after the accident.
– Immediacy avoids the possibility of witnesses
comparing
notes and, as a result, changing their stories.
• Witnesses should be interviewed individually and
separately, preferably before they have talked to
each other.

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 February 22

INTERVIEWING WITNESSES - Where to

Interview
• The best place is at the accident scene—if not
possible, in a private setting elsewhere.
– It is important to ensure distractions are removed,
and interruptions guarded against.
– It is also important to select a neutral location in
which witnesses will feel comfortable.
• All persons interviewed should be allowed to
relate their recollections without fear of
contradiction or influence by other witnesses or
employees.

INTERVIEWING WITNESSES - How to

Interview
• Put the witness at ease and to listen.
– What is said; How it is said; What is not said.
• Phrase questions in an open-ended format.
– Don’t lead witnesses with your questions or influence
them with gestures, facial expressions, tone of voice,
or any other form of nonverbal communication.
• Interrupt only if absolutely necessary to seek
clarification on a critical point.
– Remain nonjudgmental and objective

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 February 22

INTERVIEWING WITNESSES - How to

Interview

INTERVIEWING WITNESSES - How to

Interview
• If you can keep your note taking to a minimum
during the interview, your chances of getting
uninhibited information are increased.
– Note taking can distract and even frighten a witness.
• Listen during the interview, make mental notes of
critical information, summarize you have heard,
and have the witness verify your summary.
– After the witness leaves, develop your notes
immediately.

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 February 22

INTERVIEWING WITNESSES - How to

Interview
• Why not tape the interview?
– Safety & health professionals disagree on effectiveness
and advisability of taping.
• Those who favor it claim it allows the interviewer to
concentrate on listening, without having to worry
about forgetting a key point or interrupting the
witnesses to jot down critical information.
• Those opposed to taping say that taping devices tend
to inhibit witnesses, so that they are not as
forthcoming as they would be without taping.
– Taping also slows down the investigation while the
taped interview is transcribed

INTERVIEWING WITNESSES - How to

Interview
• If the interview is to be taped, the following rules of
thumb should be applied:
– Use the smallest, most unobtrusive device available.
– Inform the witness that the interview will be taped.
– Make sure the device is working properly & can run long
enough so you don’t have to interrupt to change it.
– Discuss unrelated matters at the beginning, to put the
witness at ease.
– Make personnel available to transcribe tapes immediately.
– Read transcripts as soon as available, and highlight critical
information.

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 February 22

INTERVIEWING WITNESSES - How to

Interview
• An effective technique to use with eyewitnesses
is
to ask them to reenact the accident for you.
– Enhanced if it can take place at the accident site.
• In using the reenactment technique, if an
eyewitness does exactly what the victim did,
there may be another accident.
– Have the eyewitnesses explain what they are going to
do before letting them do it, and have them simulate,
rather than actually perform, the steps that led to the
accident.

REPORTING ACCIDENTS
• An accident investigation should culminate in
a comprehensive accident report.
– To record the findings of the accident
investigation, cause(s) of the accident, and
recommendations for corrective action.

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 February 22

Why Some Accidents Are Not

Reported
• In spite of OSHA reporting specifications,
some accidents, possibly a majority, still go
unreported.
• Many firms fail to report OSHA recordable
incidents.
– Presumably to avoid OSHA inspections, or to
achieve statistical goals.

Why Some Accidents Are Not

Reported
• There are several reasons accidents go unreported:
– Red tape - Some people see paperwork involved in
accident reporting as red tape, to be avoided.
– Ignorance - Not all managers/supervisors know as much as
they should be about reasons for accident reporting.
• Many are not familiar with OSHA reporting specifications.
– Embarrassment - A supervisor/manager who did not
properly supervise/train or provide proper training may
be embarrassed to file a report.
– Record-spoiling - Some accidents are unreported to
preserve a safety record, such as accident-free days
worked.

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 February 22

Why Some Accidents Are Not

Reported
• There are several reasons accidents go unreported:
– Fear of repercussions - Some accidents go unreported
because the people involved are afraid of being found at
fault, being labeled accident prone, or subjected to
other
negative repercussions.
– No feedback - Some accidents go unreported because those
involved feel filing a report is a waste of time.
• Typically happens when management does not respond to
recommendations made in earlier accident reports.

Why Some Accidents Are Not

Reported
• To overcome inhibitors, it is necessary to
develop a simple reporting system that will
not be viewed as too much bureaucratic
paperwork to have to do.
– Safety & health professionals must educate
personnel about the purpose/importance of
accident reporting.

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 February 22

Discipline and Accident Reporting

• An investigation sometimes shows that an
employee has violated or overlooked safety
regulations.
• Many companies condone nonconformance to
safety rules as long as no injury results.
– However, if nonconformance results in an accident
involving an injury, discipline results.

Discipline and Accident Reporting

• Recommended procedures:
– Never discipline an employee because of an
accident.
– Always discipline employees for noncompliance
with safety regulations.
• Such an approach applied will help maintain
the integrity of both the accident investigation
process and the overall safety program.

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 February 22

ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION MISTAKES TO AVOID

• Failing to investigate near misses.

– A near miss is an accident that did not happen due to luck.
• Taking ineffective corrective action.
– Often the result of a cursory accident investigation.
• Allowing biases to color investigation results.
– Look for facts & be objective when investigating accidents.
• Failing to investigate in a timely manner.
– It is important to begin an accident investigation as soon as
possible after an accident occurs so that evidence and the
memories of witnesses are still fresh.

ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION MISTAKES TO AVOID

• Failing to account for human nature when

conducting investigations.
– Often what people will say during an interview will be
shaped by their desire to escape or deflect blame to
someone else, or protect a friend.
• Failing to learn investigation techniques.
– Safety/health professionals should complete
specialized training, or self-study to learn investigation
techniques.
• Allowing politics to enter into an investigation.
– Personal likes, dislikes, favoritism, and office politics
will corrupt an investigation from the outset.

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 February 22

ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION MISTAKES TO AVOID

• Failing to conduct an in-depth investigation.

– Everyone is in a hurry, accident investigation was not on
the agenda, pressure from higher management to “get
this thing behind us.
• Surface-level investigations almost ensure the same type
of accident will happen again.
• Allowing conflicting goals to enter an investigation.
– While the ultimate goal of an accident investigation is to
prevent future accidents and injuries, safety and health
professionals should be aware that other agendas may
be in play in an accident investigation.

ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION MISTAKES TO AVOID

• Failing to account for the effects of uncooperative

people.
– People will not always cooperate for a variety of
reasons.
• All growing out of the concept of perceived self-interest.
– Lack of cooperation will not always be overt—in fact,
often it will be covert
– Safety & health professionals must understand that
self-interest is a most powerful, and factor this into
their planning for accident investigations.

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 February 22

HUMAN FACTORS AND

ERGONOMIC HAZARDS

Ergonomics
• An applied scientific discipline concerned with
how humans interact with the tools and
equipment they use while performing tasks
and other activities
• Derived from the Greek words ergon, meaning
work, and nomos, meaning laws

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 February 22

Human Factors
• Human factors is synonymous with ergonomics
• Ergonomics emphasizes work physiology and
anthropometry
– Europe – industrial work systems
• Human factors emphasizes experimental
psychology and systems engineering
– U.S. – military work systems

Objectives of Ergonomics
operational objectives users and operators
• increase safety - improve working environment
• increase reliability - increase ease of use
• improve system performance - increase user acceptance
• improve maintainability - increase human comfort
• reduce loss of time and - reduce monotony
equipment - reduce fatigue
• reduce errors - reduce mental and physical
• assess personnel requirements stress
• assess training requirements
• increase economy of
production

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 February 22

Fields of application

Human-Machine Systems
Defined as a combination of humans and
equipment interacting to achieve some
desired result
• Types of human-machine systems:
1. Manual systems
2. Mechanical systems
3. Automated systems

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 February 22

Human-Machine Interactions

System Components
• The human
• The equipment
• The environment

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 February 22

Human Components
• Human senses ( to sense the operation)
– Vision, hearing, touch, taste, and smell
• Human brain ( for information processing)
– Thinking, planning, calculating, making decisions,
solving problems
• Human effectors (to take action)
– Fingers, hands, feet, and voice

Machine Components
• The process – function or operation
performed by human-machine system
• Displays - to observe the process
– Direct observation for simple processes
– Artificial displays for complex processes
• Controls - to actuate and regulate the process
– Steering wheel, computer keyboard

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 February 22

Environmental Components
• Physical environment
– Location and surrounding lighting, noise,
temperature, and humidity
• Social environment
– Co-workers and colleagues at work
– Immediate supervisors
– Organizational culture
– Pace of work

Topic Areas in Ergonomics

• Physical ergonomics
• Cognitive ergonomics
• The physical work environment
• Occupational safety and health

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 February 22

Physical Ergonomics
• How the human body functions during
physical exertion
• How physical dimensions of the body affect
capabilities of worker
– Anthropometry – physical dimensions of the
human body

Body Systems
• moving parts (bones, joints, muscles,
ligaments and tendons)
• energy conversion system (physiology and
metabolism)
• movement control system (nervous system)
• feedback and decision-making system (senses
and brain).

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 February 22

Anthropometry
Empirical science concerned with the physical
measurements of the human body, such as
height, range of joint movements, and weight
• Derived from the Greek words anthropos
(man) and metron (to measure)
• Usually considered a branch of anthropology

Anthropometric Analysis and Data

1. Static dimensions – body measurements
while in a fixed position
– Data are more easily determined, so much more
static data are available
2. Dynamic dimensions – body measurements
while performing some physical activity
– Probably more relevant in design

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 February 22

Human Variability
• Differences in body dimensions exist among
people because of:
– Ethnicity and Nationality
– Heredity
– Diet
– Health
– Sex
– Age
– Living conditions

Static and dynamic Dimensions of

Human Body
Standing

dynamic

Seated

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 February 22

Examples of Static Muscle Loading in

Work Tasks

Anthropometric Design Principles

• Design for extreme individuals
– Designing for the maximum( Doorway heights, Automobile
door openings)
– Designing for the minimum (Heights of kitchen cabinets)
• Design for adjustability
– To accommodate a wide range of users( Automobile driver
seats, Office chairs)
• Design for the average user
– For situations in which design for extreme individuals and
adjustability are not feasible (Stair heights, Stadium seats ,
Sofas)
• Design different sizes for different size users
– When the only way to accommodate user population is to
make the product in different sizes (Clothing, Shoes)

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 February 22

Cognitive Ergonomics
Study of the capabilities and limitations of the
human brain and sensory system while
performing activities that have a significant
information processing content
• Why cognitive ergonomics is important
• Growth in the service industry sector in which work has
high content of information processing and
communication
• More use of mechanization and automation
• Increased use of technologically sophisticated
equipment

Perception and Cognition

• the output of people at work is determined by
both their physical and cognitive capacity.

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 February 22

From an ergonomics perspective

• we need to ensure that information is
- Not overloading the human with information
- Not providing too little information
- Not presenting the information too quickly

Memory

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 February 22

Common Cognitive Tasks

• Decision making
Once we perceive information, we make a
decision to act upon it.
• planning
• Problem solving
– Mathematical calculations
– Brainstorming
– Analysis and diagnosis
– Evaluation of alternatives

The Physical Work Environment

VISION & LIGHTING
• About 80% of the information input to the human
brain comes from visual stimuli
• To improve visual acuity one can increase
illumination and/or increase contrast.
• At low light levels we cannot see colour, and as
lighting increases we can gradually detect colour
and detail
• in a dark environment and needs to see detail the
use of a red light is recommended as the rods

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 February 22

Lighting For Work

• Lighting levels are usually measured in terms
of the illuminance, which is the amount of
light falling on a surface (luminous flux
incident on a surface per unit area).
• The unit for illuminance is lumens per square
metre, or lux (lx).

Lighting Systems
• Lamp - a single artificial source of light (e.g.,
an incandescent lamp)
• Luminaire - complete lighting unit, including
– One or more lamps
– Reflectors and other apparatus to distribute the
light
– Means to connect to power supply

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 February 22

Types of Luminaires

Direct lighting

Types of Luminaires

Indirect lighting

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 145

 February 22

Types of Luminaires

Combination of direct and

indirect lighting

Auditory Environment and Noise

• The second most important means by which
humans receive information
• Visual and auditory stimuli account for 95% or
more of a person's information input
• The auditory environment also includes:
– Noise - defined as unwanted sound

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 February 22

Effects of Noise on Humans

• Distraction
• Negative emotions such as annoyance,
frustration, anger, and fear
• Interference with conversation, thinking, and
other cognitive processes
• Interference with sleeping
• Temporary hearing loss
• Permanent hearing loss

Noise Control
• Administrative controls
– Managing the exposure durations for employees
working in noisy environments
• Setting time limits on exposure to noise level
• Engineering controls
– Noise abatement at three locations:
• Source - design quieter machinery
• Receiver - use of ear plugs, helmets
• Path between source and receiver - enclosures for noisy
machines

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 February 22

Climate Control
• Four primary variables that define climate:
1. Air temperature
2. Humidity - usually relative humidity
3. Air movement
4. Radiation from surrounding objects, including the
sun
• Most comfortable working environment
(called the comfort zone)
– Air temperature = 19 to 26C (66 to 79F)
– Relative humidity = 50%
– Slow air movement = 0.2 m/s (0.64 ft/sec)

Heat Stress
• Occurs when body absorbs more heat than it
gives off, raising the body core temperature
• Illnesses resulting from heat stress:
1. Heat rash - areas of skin erupt into red or white
bumps due to inflammation of sweat glands
2. Heat cramps - spasms of muscles in physical labor
3. Heat exhaustion - muscle weakness, nausea,
dizziness
4. Heatstroke - fever, dry skin, convulsions, coma (in
extreme cases: death)

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 February 22

Work in Which Heat Stress Occurs

• Foundries (metal casting)
• Boiler operations (steam and power
generation)
• Basic metals industries (e.g., iron- and steel-
making, aluminum production)
• Hot working of metals (e.g., hot forging)
• Heat treatment of metals and glasses
• Outdoor construction in summertime
• Agricultural work in summertime
• Landscaping in summertime

Reducing Heat Stress

• Administrative controls:
– Provide water for workers
– Frequent rest breaks
– Limit times in hot environment
– Work in the shade, not in the sun
• Engineering controls:
– Provide air conditioning if feasible
– Provide fans
– Shield radiant heat sources
– Wear protective clothing

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 February 22

Cold Stress
• Drop in core body temperature below normal
due to net heat loss from combination of low
temperature and air movement
• Jobs where cold stress is a problem:
– Refrigerated warehouses
– Construction jobs in wintertime
– Aboard ships in extreme northern climates

Reducing Cold Stress

• Administrative controls:
– Limit work times in cold environment
– Allow frequent breaks to warm hands
– Drink hot beverages
• Engineering controls:
– Proper clothing (layering principle - multiple layers
of clothing)
– Provide gloves
– Provide space heaters when building is cold

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 150

 February 22

HUMAN FACTORS AND ERGONOMIC

HAZARDS
• What is meant by the term human factors?
– A profession to help ensure that equipment & systems
are safe & easy to operate by human beings.
• A human factors researcher gathers and analyzes data
on human beings,
– How they work, their size, capabilities & limitations,
• A human factors engineer works with designers.
– To incorporate data into designs to make sure people
can operate and maintain the product or system.
• Human factors experts are trained in:
– Psychology, anthropology, engineering, biology,
medicine, education, and physiology.

Human Factors in Action

• Predesign analysis - Human factors professionals
conduct research to answer such questions as:
– What is the best way for humans to interact with
computers?
– What factors contribute to fatigue and stress in an
office environment?
– How can designers overcome these factors?
• Preliminary design - Study of machine and
human capabilities to determine which tasks
should be undertaken manually and which should
be automated.

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 February 22

Human Factors in Action

• Detail design and development - defining the
environment required for operator safety,
enhanced operator performance, and the
reduction or prevention of operator stress and
fatigue.
• Test and evaluation - In this stage, human
factors professionals test actual humans in
using the prototype equipment or system.

Human Factors and Safety

• The science of human factors can help reduce both
product and workplace hazards…
– Hazard elimination by design - Intelligent design
can reduce human errors by providing controls that
are simple to understand and operate
– Provision & location of safety devices - Design/location of
safety devices such as emergency cutoff switches can
reduce human error on the job, correspondingly reducing
the chances of an accident.
– Provision of warning devices - Color, location & wording of
warning devices; pitch & volume of warning signals; design
of caution markings on gauges and video displays are
important factors in reducing human error.

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 February 22

Human Factors and Safety

• The science of human factors can help reduce
both product and workplace hazards…
– Establishment of procedures/provision of training - When
hazards cannot be realistically designed out of a system,
administrative procedures for hazard reduction must be
established, and training relating to those procedures must be
provided.

FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH PHYSICAL STRESS

• Eight variables can influence the amount of physical

stress experienced on the job are as follows:
– Sitting versus standing.
– Stationary versus moveable/mobile.
– Large demand for strength/power vs. small demand
for strength/power.
– Good horizontal work area vs. bad horizontal work area.
– Good vertical work area vs. bad vertical work area
– Nonrepetitive motion vs. repetitive motion
– Low surface versus high surface contact
– No negative environmental factors vs. negative
environmental factors

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 153

 February 22

OSHA VOLUNTARY ERGONOMICS

GUIDELINES
• OSHA ergonomics guidelines are designed to give
employers information & guidance needed to
meet OSH Act obligations regarding ergonomics.
– OSHA has guidelines specifically for meatpacking,
ship-yards, poultry processing, nursing homes & retail
stores.
• Meatpacking & poultry processing were singled
out because of the high incidence of cumulative
trauma disorders (CTDs) associated with these
industries.
– Injuries that result from an accumulation of repetitive
motion stress.

OSHA VOLUNTARY ERGONOMICS

STANDARD
• OSHA’s current plan for reducing ergonomic
hazards in the workplace has four elements:
– Voluntary guidelines for specific industries.
– Enforcement of the guidelines under the general
duty clause of the OSH Act 5(a)(1).
– Compliance assistance to help employers reduce
ergonomic hazards.
– Research into ergonomic issues to help identify
gaps
in the body of knowledge surrounding this topic.

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 February 22

Enforcement by OSHA
• OSHA criteria for applying the general duty
clause:
– Is there currently an ergonomic hazard causing
injuries?
– Does the employer in question know about the hazard
(or should the employer know)?
– Are the injuries caused by the ergonomic hazard
resulting
in serious physical harm?
– Are there feasible alternatives available to the
employer
for reducing, abating, or minimizing the hazard?

Application of the Voluntary

Guidelines
• OSHA ergonomics guidelines are geared toward
manufacturing/materials handling in the general
industry sector—more than 1.5 million
employees nationwide.
– They do not apply to construction, maritime
operations, agriculture, or employers that operate a
railroad,

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 February 22

Proposed Requirements of the

Guidelines
• Organizations in the general industry
classifications of manufacturing & manual
material handling are asked to implement a
“basic ergonomics program.”
– Assigning responsibility for ergonomics to one
individual and informing employees about the risks of
MSD-related injuries, symptoms & why early reporting
is important.
• It also requires employers to establish a system employees
can use to report symptoms of MSD injuries.

Proposed Requirements of the

Guidelines
• The so-called full program consists of:
– Management leadership and employee
participation.
– Training, Record keeping, Job hazard analysis &
control.
– Work restriction protection, MSD management,
Program evaluation.

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 February 22

WORKSITE ERGONOMICS ANALYSIS

PROGRAM
• Although complex analyses are best performed by a
professional ergonomist, this program can be used to
conduct a worksite analysis & identify stressors.
• The discussion of the recommended program for
worksite analysis is divided into four main parts:
– Gathering information from available sources.
– Conducting baseline screening surveys to determine which
jobs need closer analysis.
– Performing ergonomic job hazard analyses of those
workstations with identified risk factors.
– After implementing control measures, conducting periodic
surveys and follow-up studies to evaluate changes.

WORKSITE ERGONOMICS ANALYSIS

PROGRAM
• The essential first step in worksite analysis is records
analysis & tracking to develop information
to identify ergonomic hazards in the workplace.
• Incidence rates for upper extremity disorders and/or
back injuries should be calculated.
• Detailed baseline screening surveys identify jobs that
put employees at risk of developing CTDs.
– If the job places employees at risk, an effective program
will then require the ergonomic job hazard analysis.
– The survey is performed with a checklist of items like
posture, materials handling, and upper extremity factors.
• Tailored to specific needs/conditions of the workplace.

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 February 22

WORKSITE ERGONOMICS ANALYSIS

PROGRAM
• Identification of ergonomic hazards is based
on ergonomic risk factors.
– Conditions of a job process, workstation, or work
method
that contribute to the risk of developing CTDs.
• The combined effect of several risk factors in
the development of CTDs is sometimes
referred to as multiple causation.

CTD Risk Factors

• Some risk factors for CTDs of the upper extremities:
– Repetitive and/or prolonged activities.
– Forceful exertions, usually with hands.
– Prolonged static postures.
– Awkward postures of the upper body.
– Continued physical contact with work surfaces.
– Excessive vibration from power tools.
– Cold temperatures.
– Inappropriate or inadequate tool design.
– High wrist acceleration.
– Fatigue (inadequate recovery time).
– Use of gloves.

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 February 22

Back Disorder Risk Factors

• Risk factors for back disorders include:
– Bad body mechanics such as continued bending or
lifting from below the knees or above the shoulders,
and twisting at the waist, especially while lifting.
– Lifting or moving objects of excessive weight or
asymmetric size
– Prolonged sitting, especially with poor posture.
– Lack of adjustable chairs, footrests, body supports,
and work surfaces at workstations.
– Poor grips on handles.
– Slippery footing.

Ergonomic Job Hazard Analyses

• As an essential third step in the worksite
analysis, an effective ergonomics program
requires a job hazard analysis for each job so
identified.
– Routinely performed by a qualified safety & health
professional, preferably an ergonomist, for jobs
that put workers at risk of developing CTDs.

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 February 22

Workstation Analysis
• For upper extremities, measures of repetitiveness:
– Total hand manipulations per cycle, cycle time & total
manipulations or cycles per work shift.
• Force measurements may be noted as an estimated
average effort and a peak force.
– Light, moderate, or heavy.
• Tools should be checked for excessive vibration.
• Hand, arm, and shoulder postures and movements
should be assessed for levels of risk.
• For manual materials handling, the maximum weight-
lifting values should be calculated.

Workstation Analysis
• Slow-motion videotape or equivalent visual
records of workers performing their routine
job tasks should be analyzed to determine the
demands of the task on the worker and how
each worker actually performs each task.

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 February 22

Periodic Ergonomic Surveys

• Periodic surveys should be conducted to
identify previously unnoticed factors/failures
or deficiencies in work practices or
engineering controls.
– And should include feedback, follow-up & trend
analysis.

Feedback and Follow-Up

• A reliable system should be provided for
employees to notify management about
conditions that appear to be hazardous and to
utilize their insight and experience to
determine work practice and engineering
controls.

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 February 22

Trend Analysis
• Trends of injuries and illnesses related to actual
or potential CTDs should be calculated, using
several years of data where possible.
– For several departments, process units, job titles, or
workstations.
• These trends may also be used to determine…
– Which work positions are most hazardous and need
to be analyzed by the qualified person.
– Determine the priority of screening surveys and/or ergonomic
hazard analyses.

HAZARD PREVENTION AND CONTROL

• Engineering solutions, where feasible, are the
preferred method for hazard prevention &
control.
– The focus of an ergonomics program is to make the
job fit the person— not to make the person fit the job.
• A program with this goal requires research into
currently available controls and technology.
– It should also include provisions for utilizing new
technologies when available, and for in-house
research and testing.

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 February 22

HAZARD PREVENTION AND CONTROL

• Workstations should be designed to accommodate the
persons who actually use them.
– It is not sufficient to design for the average/typical worker.
• Work method analysis should static postures and
repetition rates, supplemented by addressing force
levels and the hand and arm postures involved.
– Tasks should be altered to reduce these and the
other stresses associated with CTDs.
• Tools should be selected and designed to minimize the
risks of upper extremity CTDs and back injuries.
– A variety of sizes, designed to be used by either hand or
providing tools for both left- and right-handed workers.

MEDICAL MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

• An effective medical management program for
CTDs is essential to the success of an ergonomic
program in industries with a high incidence of
CTDs.
– Medical management of CTDs is a developing field,
and
health care providers should monitor developments.
• In an effective ergonomics program, health care
providers should be part of the ergonomics team
interacting and exchanging information routinely
to prevent and treat CTDs properly.

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 February 22

MEDICAL MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

• Appropriately trained health care providers should be
available at all times and on an ongoing basis as part of
the ergonomics program.
• Health care providers should conduct periodic,
systematic workplace walk-throughs to remain
knowledgeable of operations and work practices.
• A standardized measurement should be developed to
determine the extent of work-related disorder
symptoms in each area of the plant.
• Conduct an annual symptoms survey to measure
employee awareness of work-related disorders and to
report location/frequency/duration of discomfort.

MEDICAL MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

• The ergonomist or qualified person should
analyze physical procedures used in each job,
including lifting requirements, postures, hand
grips, and frequency of repetitive motion.
– To develop a list of jobs with the lowest ergonomic
risk.
• This assists health care providers in recommending
assignments to light- or restricted-duty jobs.
– Health care providers should likewise develop a list of
known high-risk jobs.
• Supervisors should periodically review and
update the lists.

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 February 22

MEDICAL MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

• A baseline health surveillance establishes a base
against which changes in health care status can be
evaluated, not prevent people from performing work.
• New/transferred employees should have a four- to six-
week break-in period to condition their muscle-tendon
groups prior to working at full capacity.
• Periodic health surveillance—every two to three
years—should be conducted on workers assigned to
positions involving exposure of a particular body part
to ergonomic stress.

MEDICAL MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

• Health care providers should participate in the training
and education of all employees, including supervisors
& plant management personnel.
– On different types of CTDs & means of prevention,
causes, early symptoms, and treatment of CTDs.
• Employees should be encouraged by health care
providers and supervisors to report early signs and
symptoms of CTDs to the in-plant health facility.
• Health care providers should use written protocols for
health surveillance, and evaluation, treatment, &
follow-up of workers with signs/symptoms of CTDs.
– Qualified health care providers should prepare protocols.

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 February 22

MEDICAL MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

• A good medical management program that
seeks
to identify & treat CTDs is important.
– CTDs are recognized and treated appropriately
early
in their development, a more serious condition
can
likely be prevented.

MEDICAL MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

• The OSH Act & record-keeping regulations provide
specific recording requirements that comprise the
framework of the occupational safety & health
recording system.
– Health care providers should be aware of record-keeping
requirements & participate in fulfilling them.
• Health care providers should periodically review health
care facility sign-in logs, OSHA Form 300, and individual
employee medical records to monitor trends for CTDs
in the plant.
– This ongoing analysis should be made in addition to the
symptoms survey to monitor trends and substantiate the
information obtained in the annual symptoms survey.

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 February 22

TRAINING AND EDUCATION

• Training & education allow managers,
supervisors, and employees to understand the
hazards associated with a job or process, their
prevention and control, and their medical
consequences.
• A training program—designed & implemented by
qualified persons—should include all affected
employees, engineers & maintenance personnel,
supervisors, and health care providers.
• The program should also include a means for
adequately evaluating its effectiveness.

COMMON INDICATORS OF PROBLEMS

• Accident reports, record-keeping documents, first-aid
logs, insurance forms & other available records of
illnesses or injuries, can identify trends.
• Observing the workplace and people at work can help
determine the amount of exposure that employees
have to these factors associated with CTDs & potential
for ergonomics- related problems.
• Musculoskeletal injuries increase significantly when the
job involves lifting large objects or bulky objects, lifting
objects from the floor, and lifting frequently.
– When such conditions exist, the company has ergonomic
problems.

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 February 22

COMMON INDICATORS OF PROBLEMS

– People uncomfortable to the point of physical stress are
more likely to miss work.
• Or leave for less stressful conditions.
– A high incidence of employee complaints can indicate
the presence of ergonomic problems.
• Also high absentee rates and high turnover rates.
– Presence of many employee workplace adaptations,
particularly those intended to decrease physical stress, can
indicate the presence of ergonomic problems.
• Added padding, modified personal protective equipment, brought
in extra lighting, or other modifications.
– Poor quality, while not necessarily caused by ergonomic
problems, can be the result of such problems.
• It is at least an indicator that there may be ergonomic problems.

IDENTIFYING ERGONOMIC PROBLEMS

• A task analysis of the job in question can identify specific
ergonomic problems.

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 February 22

IDENTIFYING ERGONOMIC PROBLEMS

• General observation of a worker or workers
performing the task(s) in question can be an
effective task analysis technique.
• Questionnaires and interviews can be used for
identifying ergonomic problems.
• Videotaping is silent, not intrusive, and can enhance
the observer’s analysis capabilities significantly.
– Photography can also enhance analysis capabilities.
• An accurate sketch of a workstation or a drawing
showing workflow can help identify problems.
• Measurements can help identify specific ergonomic
problems.

IDENTIFYING ERGONOMIC PROBLEMS

• Aging workers present special challenges, and
adaptations must be individualized, and should
take aging factors into account.
– As nearly 30% of the workforce is 45 years of age or
older, organizations must be prepared to adapt to
employees whose physical needs are different from
those of their younger counterparts.
– Nerve conduction velocity, hand-grip strength, muscle
mass, range of motion & flexibility all begin to
diminish about age 45.

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 February 22

ERGONOMIC PROBLEM-SOLVING
•
STRATEGIES
Back, neck, shoulder & lower leg pain are often
associated with seated repetitive work on light
parts .
– It may be necessary to modify the job & the workstation.
Rotate workers between
one or more different jobs.
Adjust height of the work
surface and/or position.
Use adjustable chairs with
hand, wrist, or arm supports.
Ensure sufficient legroom
(height, width, and depth).
Use ergonomic devices to
adjust height & angle of work.

ERGONOMIC PROBLEM-SOLVING
STRATEGIES
• Seated work with larger parts involves interacting
with objects that may be too large to manipulate
manually, associated with assembly & welding jobs.
– Problems are typically related to posture, illumination,
reach, and lifting.

Use technology to lift & position the

work for easy access that does not require
bending, twisting & reaching.
Use supplemental lighting.
Use adjustable chairs/work surfaces.

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 February 22

ERGONOMIC PROBLEM-SOLVING
STRATEGIES
• Seated control work involves sitting in one location and
using wheels, levers, knobs, handles, and buttons to
control a process, system, or equipment.
– Use an adjustable swivel chair with inflatable back and
seat support, and keep both feet on the floor.
– Provide comfortable/convenient locations for controls.
– Sit with a straight back & shift positions frequently.
– Use control devices that do not require more than five
newtons (1.1 lbs); hand levers, 20 newtons (4.5 lbs).
– Position the control seat so a clear line of sight exists
between the work and the person controlling it.
– Get up and walk around on a regular basis.
– Provide a ladder if a workstation is over 14” above ground.

ERGONOMIC PROBLEM-SOLVING
STRATEGIES
• Most jobs performed while standing do not involve
a great deal of repetitive motion, but do involve
handling medium to heavy materials.
– Physical stress includes leg, arm, and back strains.
• Occasionally, side strains occur when bending/twisting.
• Ergonomic strategies for improving work conditions:
– Adjust machines/work surfaces for height/position.
– Make sure there is a recess at the bottom for feet, to allow
operators to stand close to the machine without bending.
– Machines with easily accessible controls, within a comfortable
reach zone for operators.
– Ample free space around machines for moving material
in & out, and for ease of movement in servicing machines.

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 February 22

ERGONOMIC PROBLEM-SOLVING
STRATEGIES
• Standing for heavy lifting and carrying involves
heavy lifting and moving material while standing.
– Lifting and moving may be a relatively small part of
the
job, but are required somewhat regularly.
• Physical stress commonly associated with this
work is back/muscle strains resulting from
improper lifting.
– Stairs increase the physical stress of carrying &
potential for injury; falls can also be a problem.

ERGONOMIC PROBLEM-SOLVING
STRATEGIES
• Ergonomic strategies for improving work conditions,
when standing for heavy lifting and carrying :
– Eliminate manual lifting to the extent possible using
various lifting and hoisting technologies.
– Where manual lifting is necessary, train workers in proper
lifting techniques.
– Provide sufficient room around all objects to allow lifting
without twisting.
– Supply the appropriate personal protection equipment
such as sure-grip shoes and gloves.
– Keep floors around materials to be lifted clean & dry.
– Do not allow manual carrying of heavy objects upstairs.

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 February 22

ERGONOMIC PROBLEM-SOLVING
STRATEGIES
• Work with hands above chest height can be done
in either a standing or sitting position, and may or may
not involve material handling.
– Physical stress associated with this type of work includes
neck, upper body, and heart strain.
• Prolonged work with arms above shoulder level requires
the heart to work harder to pump blood to elevated areas.
• Ergonomic strategies for improving work conditions:
– Eliminate manual lifting to the extent possible by raising
the work floor using lifts and various other technologies.
– Extension arms/poles when the work floor can’t be raised.
– Machines controls should be easily accessible below the
horizontal plane of a worker’s shoulders.

ERGONOMIC PROBLEM-SOLVING
STRATEGIES
• Hand tools introduce a variety of potential hazards
indigenous to their use.
– Most commonly carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), and
muscle strains of the lower arm, hands, and wrist.
• Ergonomic strategies for improving work conditions:
– Tools designed to keep hands in the rest position.
– Select tools with thick, rather than thin, handles, enhanced
gripping surfaces, such as knurling, filing, etc.
– Eliminate twisting by selecting tools designed so the direction
of movement or function is the same as the direction in which
force is applied or by using technology.
– Select tools with handles made of hard, nonpermeable
materials that will not absorb toxic liquids harmful to skin.

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 February 22

ERGONOMIC PROBLEM-SOLVING
STRATEGIES
Using ergonomics to design a work-space
will make Visual Display Terminal Supervisor VDTs
easier, safer, more comfortable & efficient
to use.

ECONOMICS OF ERGONOMICS
• A number of factors inhibit hard research into the
economics of ergonomics.
– Record-keeping systems in industry are not sufficient
to support such studies.
– Industry does not track injuries and illnesses in ways
that provide the controls necessary for true hard research.
– There are no control groups against which to compare
groups of injured workers.
– It is difficult & often impossible to determine
improvements attributed directly to specific strategies, and
those attributed to other factors.
– Hard research studies requires time and money.

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 February 22

CUMULATIVE TRAUMA DISORDERS

(CTDS)
• Frequent and, for some, constant computer use
has led to an explosion of injuries that until now
were seen mostly in the meatpacking industry.
– Collectively, these injuries are known as CTDs.
• CTD is an umbrella term covering injuries caused
by forceful or awkward movements, repeated
frequently over time.
– CTDs occur to the muscles, nerves, and tendons of the
hands, arms, shoulders, and neck.

CUMULATIVE TRAUMA DISORDERS

(CTDS)
• Overworking a tendon can cause
small tears in it, which inflame
and cause intense pain.
– Known as tendinitis.

Other forms of CTDs are

shown at right.

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 February 22

CUMULATIVE TRAUMA DISORDERS

(CTDS)
• The best way to prevent CTDs is proper work
design, which also helps make employees
aware
of the hazards that can cause it.
– Poor posture at the workstation.
– Inappropriate positioning of the hands & arms
– Heavy hand on a keyboard or mouse.

CUMULATIVE TRAUMA DISORDERS

(CTDS)
• Preventive strategies that can be applied:
– Teach employees the warning signs.
– Teach employees how to stretch.
– Teach employees to start slowly.
– Teach employees to limber up, then begin slowly and
increase their pace gradually.
– Teach employees to position their hands properly
without using wrist splints.
– Exercise regularly.
– Select tools wisely.

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 February 22

CUMULATIVE TRAUMA DISORDERS

(CTDS)

Good job design & proper tool

selection together are the best
strategy.

PARTICIPATORY ERGONOMICS
• Participatory ergonomic (PE) is the involvement of
people at work in planning for and controlling the
ergonomic aspects of their work environment.
– They must first be equipped with prerequisite knowledge.
• Participatory ergonomics combines the best of two
worlds: outside expertise and inside experience.
– The most common approach is to form a PE team.
• The goal of the PE team is to design ergonomic
interventions that are tailored specifically to the
workplace in question.

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 February 22

PARTICIPATORY ERGONOMICS
• The Institute for Work & Health found several
factors that serve to make PE interventions
effective:
– Acceptance of the PE team members by other
employees and unions (where applicable).
– Acceptance of the PE team members by management.
– Availability of an ergonomics expert to lead the team
and provide the prerequisite training.
– Sufficient support from management in the form
of resources.

WORKPLACE STRESS HAZARDS

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 February 22

WORKPLACE STRESS DEFINED

• Emotions are affected in the workplace by
social, occupational, environmental, and
psychological factors we perceive as threats.
– Stress is the reaction of the human body to these
stimuli.
• The amount of stress felt depends as much on
the individual’s ability to deal with the
external stimuli
as the relative intensity of the stimuli.

WORKPLACE STRESS DEFINED

• Managers tend to view stress as an individual
problem tied to the personality and emotional
makeup of the employee.
• Employees often view stress as a problem
induced by poor supervision, unrealistic
expectations, and other management
shortcomings.
• Both personality & emotional makeup of
employees are factors in how they respond to
stress stimuli.
– Management shortcomings are also factors.

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 February 22

WORKPLACE STRESS DEFINED

• Workplace stress involves the emotional state
resulting from a perceived difference between
the level of occupational demand and a
person’s ability to cope with this demand.
– Considered a subjective state.
• The relation between job demands and the
worker’s ability to meet those demands
further influence workplace stress.

SOURCES OF WORKPLACE STRESS

• Sources of on-the-job stress may involve:
– Physical working conditions; Work overload.
– Role ambiguity or conflict; Lack of feedback.
– Personality, personal & family problems.
– A job perceived as being too complex.
– Repetitive and monotonous.
– Control of employees over their job responsibilities.
– Being responsible for work without being in control of
it.

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 February 22

SOURCES OF WORKPLACE STRESS

• Being responsible for the welfare of a family may cause
a worker to feel employment risks are limited.
– A worker may perceive that he/she is “trapped in the job.”
• The feeling of being responsible for the safety of
the public has also been shown to be a stressor.
– Air traffic controllers experience intense stress.
• Managers failing to communicate frequently and
effectively with employees are creating high-stress
environments for workers.
• Job security involves the risk of unemployment.
– A worker who believes that his or her job is in jeopardy
will experience anxiety and stress.

SOURCES OF WORKPLACE STRESS

• Unpredictable, never-changing work and ever-changing
schedules can induce stress.
– Employees have lives outside of their jobs.
• Home/family problems create added worker stress.
• Work relationships can lead to on-the-job stress.
– When employees do not get along with their fellow
workers, stress levels increase.
• Human resource management (HRM) issues can
be a source of workplace stress.
• Workload demands can stimulate stress when they are
perceived as being overwhelming.
• Feeling that one is in danger can be a stressor.

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 February 22

SOURCES OF WORKPLACE STRESS

• Workload demands can stimulate stress when
they are perceived as being overwhelming.
– Time & cognitive constraints, or workload
demands
may be physically overwhelming.
• Feeling that one is in danger can be a stressor.
– Workers need to feel safe from environmental
hazards.

HUMAN REACTIONS TO WORKPLACE

STRESS
• Some human reactions to workplace stress:
– Subjective or emotional (anxiety, aggression, guilt).
– Behavioral (accident proneness, trembling).
– Cognitive (inability to concentrate or make decisions)
– Physiological (increased heart rate and blood pressure)
– Organizational (absenteeism and poor productivity).
• Initially problems may be psychosomatic, but with
continued stress, appear as organic dysfunction.
– The most common forms of stress-related diseases are
gastrointestinal, particularly gastric or duodenal ulcers.
– Research has linked some autoimmune diseases with
increased long-term workplace stress.

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 February 22

HUMAN REACTIONS TO WORKPLACE

STRESS
• There are three stages of human stress response:
– Alarm - Characterized by pallor, sweating, and an
increased heart rate, which prepares the body for
whatever action is necessary.
– Resistance - Alarm symptoms dissipate, and the
body develops a limit adaptation to the stress.
– Exhaustion - Failure to adapt to continued stress can
be seen, as psychosomatic diseases such as gastric
ulcers, colitis, rashes, and autoimmune disorders may
begin.

HUMAN REACTIONS TO WORKPLACE

STRESS
• From an evolutionary viewpoint, adverse
effects
of stress on health may be considered a
maladaptation.
– The first step in learning to adapt to stress is
under-standing the amount of stress to which we
are subjected.

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 February 22

MEASUREMENT OF WORKPLACE
STRESS
• One method to determine psychological response uses
a measurement of mental workload.
– With subjective ratings, the workers are asked to rate
their perceived level of workload.
• Viewed as a direct reflection of workplace stress.
– Behavioral time-sharing techniques use simultaneous
performance of two tasks, one the primary, or most
important; the other of secondary importance.
• Workplace stress is thought to increase as behavioral
time sharing increases.
– Psychophysiological techniques require simultaneous
measurement of heart rate and brain waves.
• Interpreted as indexes of mental workload & workplace stress.

SHIFT WORK, STRESS, AND SAFETY

• Basic physiological functions are scheduled by
the biological clock called the circadian rhythm.
– Blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature, and
urine production are measurably slower at night.
– Behavioral patterns also follow the circadian pattern.
– Alertness has been determined to be decreased at night.
• Rotating shifts over several weeks can result in
desensitization to the circadian rhythms.
– With this comes a measurable loss in productivity,
increased accidents & reported subjective discomfort.
– After returning to a predictable shift, workers regained
their biological clock and circadian rhythm.

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 February 22

SHIFT WORK, STRESS, AND SAFETY

• To reduce stress associated with shift work:
– Encourage shift workers to exercise regularly.
– Encourage shift workers to avoid caffeine, alcohol,
or other drugs that can inhibit their ability to
sleep.
– If shift workers cannot sleep without some type of
sleep aid, the food supplement melatonin or other
natural sleep inducers should be recommended.

IMPROVING SAFETY BY REDUCING

STRESS
• Training can help people recognize and deal with stress
effectively.
• Employees need to know what is expected of them,
and to receive recognition when it is deserved.
• Managers can reduce role ambiguity and stress
by providing frequent feedback, helping employees
match career goals with company goals, and giving
them more control over their jobs.
• Physical stress can be reduced by improving the work
environment and establishing a sound safety
& health program.

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 February 22

IMPROVING SAFETY BY REDUCING

STRESS
• Organizational approaches to coping with
work stress include avoiding a monotonous,
mechanically controlled pace, standardized
motion patterns, and constant repetition of
short-cycle operations.
– Also avoiding jobs that do not make use of a
worker’s knowledge and initiative, that lack
human contact &
have authoritarian-type supervision.

IMPROVING SAFETY BY REDUCING

STRESS
• Keeping a positive mental attitude can help
defuse some otherwise stressful situations.
• Individuals can effectively respond to a
stressful workload by delegating responsibility
instead of carrying the entire load.
• Common relaxation methods—meditation,
music, biofeedback, exercise—can reduce
stress effects.

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 February 22

IMPROVING SAFETY BY REDUCING

STRESS
• Some strategies for reducing workplace stress:
– Management recognizes workplace stress and takes
steps regularly to reduce this stress.
– Mental health benefits are provided.
– The employer has a formal employee communications
program—management and employees talk openly.
– Employees are given information on coping with stress.
– Workers have current, accurate & clear job descriptions.
– Employees are recognized and rewarded with nonmonetary
prizes for their contributions.
– Work rules are published, and are the same for everyone.
– Employees can work flexible hours.
– Workers have the training & technology access they need.

STRESS IN SAFETY MANAGERS

• Specific stressors for safety managers include:
– Overload; Ever-changing safety regulations.
– Communication problems with employees,
managers,
and supervisors.
– Competing loyalties.
• When economic forces focus an organization’s attention
on other matters, it can be more difficult than usual to
get the safety/health message across.
This increased difficulty can lead to increased stress.

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 February 22

STRESS IN SAFETY MANAGERS

• Safety & health managers can cope with common
triggers of stress by applying these strategies:
– Prioritize activities by focusing on those that
present the most risk to the organization.
– Work closely with the organization’s legal staff and
subscribe to an online CD-ROM updating service.
– Formalize communication & hold regular, scheduled
safety & health meetings for all employees.
– Focus on the risks to the organization and
refuse to take sides.

HAZARD ASSESSMENT,
PREVENTION AND CONTROL

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Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 189

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 February 22

MECHANICAL HAZARDS & MACHINE GUARDING

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 February 22

MECHANICAL HAZARDS & MACHINE GUARDING

• Mechanical hazards are those associated with
power-driven machines, whether automated or
manually operated.
– Concerns about such hazards date back to the
Industrial Revolution and the earliest days of
mechanization.
• Failure to provide proper machine guards and enforce
their use can be costly for companies
– Mechanical hazards that are not properly guarded are
implicated in thousands of workplace injuries every year.
– Small gains in productivity obtained by willfully
bypassing mechanical safeguards on machines
can cost companies huge fines & medical bills.

COMMON MECHANICAL INJURIES

In industrial settings, people
interact with machines designed
to drill, cut, shear, punch, chip,
staple, stitch, abrade, shape,
stamp, and slit.

If workers fail to follow

safety precautions, these
procedures can happen
to humans, instead of
workpieces.

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 February 22

Strains/Sprains, Cuts, Shearing Injuries

• A strain results when muscles are overstretched or
torn, a sprain results from torn ligaments in a joint.
– Strains and sprains can cause swelling and intense pain.
• A cut occurs when a body part comes in contact
with a sharp edge.
– Seriousness of cutting or tearing depends on damage done
to skin, veins, arteries, muscles, and even bones.
• Power-driven shears for severing paper, metal, plastic,
elastomers & composites are widely used.
– Such machines often amputated fingers & hands when
operators reached under the shearing blade, and activated
the blade before fully removing their hand.

Crushing Injuries
• Crushing injuries occur when a part of the body is
caught between hard surfaces that progressively
move together—crushing anything between them.
• Two categories: squeeze-point types & run-in points.
– Squeeze-point hazards exist when two hard surfaces, at least
one of them moving, push close enough together to crush
objects between them.
– Run-in point hazards exist where two objects, at least one of
which is rotating, come progressively closer together.

• Body parts can also be crushed in other ways.

– A heavy object falling on a foot; A hammer hitting a finger.

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 February 22

Crushing Injuries
Meshing gears and belt
pulleys are examples of
run-in point hazards.

Breaking
• Machines used to deform engineering materials in
a variety of ways can also fracture—break—bones.
– A simple fracture is a break that does not pierce the
skin.
– A compound fracture is a break that has broken through
the surrounding tissue and skin.
– A complete fracture divides the affected bone into two
or more separate pieces.
– An incomplete fracture leaves the affected bone in one
piece but cracked.
– A transverse fracture is a break straight across the bone.
– An oblique fracture is diagonal.
– A comminuted fracture exists when the bone is broken
into a number of small pieces at the point of fracture.

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 February 22

Puncturing
• Puncturing results when an object penetrates
straight into the body and pulls straight out.
– Creating a wound in the shape of the penetrating
object.
• The greatest hazard is potential for damage to internal
organs.

SAFEGUARDING DEFINED
• The National Safety Council (NSC) defines
safeguarding as…
– Machine safeguarding is to minimize the risk of
accidents
of machine-operator contact.
• Safeguards can be broadly categorized as
point-of-operation guards, point-of-operation
devices, and feeding/ejection methods.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 207

 February 22

OSHA REQUIREMENTS FOR MACHINE GUARDING

• OSHA requirements overview—29 CFR 1910.212.

– Types of guarding - One or more methods of machine
guarding must be provided to protect people from such
point of operation hazards.
– General requirements - Where possible, guards should be
affixed to the machine in question, or in the most feasible
location and method away from the machine.
• Affixed in such a way that they do not create a hazard.
– Guarding point of operation - Any point of operation
that might expose a person to injury must be guarded.
• Guarding devices must comply with all applicable standards.
• In absence of standards, designed, constructed, and installed
in such a way as to prevent danger to the machine operator.

OSHA REQUIREMENTS FOR MACHINE GUARDING

• OSHA requirements overview—29 CFR
1910.212.
– Machines requiring point of operation guards.
• Guillotine cutters, shears, power presses, milling machines.
• Power saws, jointers, portable power tools, forming rolls.
– Exposure of blades - Fans must be guarded when the periphery
of the fan blades is less than seven feet above the floor or
working level—no openings that exceed 1/2”.
– Anchoring fixed machinery - Machines designed to
be fixed in one location must be securely anchored
to prevent movement.

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 February 22

RISK ASSESSMENT IN MACHINE

OPERATION
• Risk assessment should structured,
systematic,
and answer four specific questions:
– How severe are potential injuries?
– How frequently are employees exposed to
the potential hazards?
– What is the possibility of avoiding the hazard
if it does occur?
– What is the likelihood of an injury should a safety
control system fail?

RISK ASSESSMENT IN MACHINE

OPERATION
• The most widely used risk-assessment technique is
the decision tree, coupled with codes representing
these four questions and defined levels of risk.

S=Severity F=Frequency P=Possibility L=Likelihood RL=Risk Level

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 February 22

REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL SAFEGUARDS

• Machine motions present in modern industry
involve mechanisms that rotate, reciprocate,
or do both.
– Tools, bits, chucks, blades, spokes, screws, gears,
shafts, belts, and a variety of different types of
stock.
• Safeguards can be devised to protect workers
while allowing work to progress at a
productive rate.

REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL SAFEGUARDS

• NSC requirements for safeguards:
– Prevent contact - Safeguards should prevent human
contact with any potentially harmful machine part.
– Be secure and durable - Workers cannot render them
ineffective by tampering with or disabling them.
• Durable enough to withstand the rigors of the workplace.
– Protect against falling objects - Shield moving parts
from falling objects, which can hurled out, creating a
projectile.
– Create no new hazard - Safeguards should overcome
the hazards in question without creating new ones.
• Sharp edges, unfinished surfaces, or protruding bolts.

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REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL SAFEGUARDS

• NSC requirements for safeguards:
– Create no interference - Safeguards that interfere with progress
of work are likely to be disregarded or disabled by workers
feeling the pressure of production deadlines.
– Allow safe maintenance - More frequently performed
maintenance tasks (lubrication, etc.) accomplished
without the removal of guards.

POINT-OF-OPERATION GUARDS
• Single-purpose safeguards are typically
permanently fixed and nonadjustable.
– Because they guard against only one hazard.
• Multiple-purpose safeguards are typically
adjustable.
– They guard against more than one hazard.

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 February 22

POINT-OF-OPERATION GUARDS
• Fixed guards are suitable for
many specific applications,
can be constructed in-plant,
require little maintenance &
suitable for high-production,
repetitive operations.
Disadvantages can include
limited visibility, limitation
to specific operations &
inhibiting normal cleaning
and maintenance.

POINT-OF-OPERATION GUARDS
• Interlocked guards shut down the
machine if not securely in place,
or if they are disengaged.
– Allows safe access to remove
jams or to conduct routine
maintenance without
taking off the guard.
These guards require careful
adjustment and
maintenance and, in some
cases, can be easily
disengaged.

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 February 22

POINT-OF-OPERATION GUARDS
• Adjustable guards provide a barrier
against a variety of hazards that
are associated with different
production operations.
– Advantage is flexibility.

They do not provide as

dependable a barrier
as other guards do,
and require frequent
maintenance & careful
adjustment.

POINT-OF-OPERATION GUARDS

Series 12 PRO-TECH-TOR
GATE GUARD used on an
open-back power press.
Courtesy PROTECH SYSTEMS.

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 February 22

POINT-OF-OPERATION GUARDS

Series 17 CHECKMATE RIVET

GUARD used on a foot-operated
riveting machine. More modern
models have light beam protection.
Courtesy PROTECH SYSTEMS.

POINT-OF-OPERATION GUARDS

When the doors are opened, the

milling tool stops automatically.

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 February 22

POINT-OF-OPERATION GUARDS

In order for this shearing machine to

cut, both foot pedal and hand button
must be engaged.

POINT-OF-OPERATION GUARDS

This door protects the operator in the event

of an exploding or shattering grinding wheel.

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 February 22

POINT-OF-OPERATION GUARDS

The safety door on this machine must

be closed or the drill will not operate.

POINT-OF-OPERATION DEVICES
• Photoelectric devices are optical devices that shut down
the machine whenever the light field is broken.
• Limitations include:
– They do not protect against mechanical failure.
– They require frequent calibration.
– They can be used only with machines that can be stopped.
– They do not protect workers from parts that might fly out
of the point-of-operation area.
• Radio-frequency devices are capacitance devices
that brake the machine if the capacitance field is
interrupted by a worker’s body or another object.
– With the same limitations as photoelectric devices.

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 February 22

POINT-OF-OPERATION GUARDS

Series 25 EAGLE EYE

INFRA-RED LIGHT BARRIER.
A point-of-operation guarding
system on a roller press machine.
Courtesy of PROTECH SYSTEMS.

POINT-OF-OPERATION DEVICES
• Electromechanical devices are contact bars allowing
only specified movement between worker & hazard.
– If the worker moves the contact bar beyond the
specified point, the machine will not cycle.
• Requiring frequent maintenance and careful adjustment.
• Pullback devices pull the operator’s hands out of
the danger zone when the machine starts to cycle.
– They limit operator movement, must be adjusted for
each individual operator & require close supervision.
• Restraint devices hold the operator back from the
danger zone—with little risk of mechanical failure.
– They also limit the operator movement, must be
adjusted for each individual operator, and require close
supervision.

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 February 22

POINT-OF-OPERATION DEVICES
• Safety trip devices include trip wires, trip rods,
and body bars, which stop the machine when
tripped.
– While simple, all controls must be activated
manually.

POINT-OF-OPERATION DEVICES
Two-hand controls require the operator to use both hands
concurrently to activate the machine.
– Ensures that hands cannot stray into the danger zone.
• Some can be tampered & made operable using only one hand.

• Gates provide a barrier between the danger zone and

workers.
– They can obscure the work, making it difficult for the operator
to see.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 218

 February 22

MACHINE GUARDING SELF-

ASSESSMENT
• Questions for machine guarding self-assessments:
– Are all machines that might expose people to rotating
parts, nip points, flying chips, sparks, flying particles,
or other similar hazards properly guarded?
– Are all mechanical power transmission belts and the
nip points they create properly guarded?
– Are all exposed power shafts located less than seven
feet above the working level properly guarded?
– Are hand tools regularly inspected on a systematic basis
for burred ends, cracked handles, and other potentially
hazardous conditions?
– Are power saws & similar equipment properly guarded?
– Are the tool rests within 1/8” or less of grinding wheels?

MACHINE GUARDING SELF-ASSESSMENT

• Questions for machine guarding self-assessments:
– Do all employees who handle and store gas cylinders and valves
know how to do so without causing damage?
– Are all compressed gas cylinders inspected regularly and
systematically for obvious signs of defects, deep rusting, or
leakage?
– Are all air receivers periodically and systematically inspected,
including safety valves?
– Are all safety valves tested regularly, systematically,
and frequently?
– Is compressed air used to clean tools, machines, equipment,
and parts reduced to less than 30
pounds per square inch (psi)?

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 February 22

FEEDING AND EJECTION SYSTEMS

• Automatic feed systems feed stock to the machine from rolls,
eliminating need for operators to enter
the danger zone.
– Limited in the types & variations of stock they can feed.
• Typically require an auxiliary barrier & frequent maintenance.
• Semiautomatic feed include chutes, moveable dies, dial feeds,
plungers, and sliding bolsters.
– Same advantages/limitations as automatic feed systems.

FEEDING AND EJECTION SYSTEMS

• Automatic ejection systems eject work
pneumatically or mechanically—operators
don’t reach into the danger zone.
– Restricted to use with relatively small stock.
• Potential hazards include blown chips or debris and
noise.
• Semiautomatic ejection systems eject work
using mechanisms activated by the operator.
– Require auxiliary barriers and can be used with a
limited variety of stock.

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 February 22

ROBOT SAFEGUARDS
• Hazards associated with robots are:
– Entrapment of a worker between a robot & a solid
surface.
– Impact with a moving robot arm.
– Impact with objects ejected or dropped by the robot.
• The best guard is a physical barrier around the entire
perimeter of a robot’s work envelope.
– Various types of shutdown guards can also be used.
• Robots can be deceptive—a non-moving robot
may simply be at a stage between cycles.
– It might make sudden, rapid movements without warning that
could endanger any person inside the work envelope.

CONTROL OF HAZARDOUS ENERGY

• OSHA 29 CFR 1910.147 is often
referred to as the “lockout/tagout”
standard.
– To protect people from hazardous
energy while performing
service/maintenance on machines,
tools, and equipment.
• Before service or maintenance are
performed, the machines or
equipment in question must be
disconnected from their energy
source.
– The energy source must be either
locked or tagged out,
to prevent accidental or inadvertent
activation.

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 February 22

CONTROL OF HAZARDOUS ENERGY

Lockout/Tagout Language
– Affected employee - Employees who perform their
jobs in areas in which the procedure in question is
implemented and service/maintenance operations
are performed.
• Do not implement energy control procedures unless
authorized.
– Authorized employee - Employees who do machine
service/maintenance & use lockout/tagout
procedures.
– Capable of being locked out - A device is capable of
being locked out if it…
…has a hasp to which a lock can be attached
…has another appropriate integral part through which a
lock can be attached
…It has a built-in locking mechanism
…It can be locked without permanently dismantling,
rebuilding, or replacing the energy-isolating device.

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Lockout/Tagout Language
– Energized - Machines, equipment & tools are energized
if they are connected to an energy source, or contain
stored or residual energy even after being disconnected.
– Energy-isolating device - Any mechanical device that
physically prevents release or transmission of energy.
– Energy source - Any source of power that can activate
a machine or piece of equipment.
• Electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, chemical, thermal.
– Energy control procedure - Written document containing
all information needed to properly control hazardous
energy when shutting down a machine or equipment.
– Energy control program - Program to prevent accidental or
inadvertent energizing of machines during service.
• Sometimes called the organization’s lockout/tagout program

Lockout/Tagout Language
– Lockout - Placing a lockout
device on an energy-isolating
device to prevent accidental
or inadvertent energizing of
a machine during servicing.
– Lockout device - Any device
that uses a positive means to
keep an energy-isolation device
in the safe position to prevent
accidental/inadvertent energizing.

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 February 22

Lockout/Tagout Language
– Tagout - Placing a tag on
an energy-isolation device
to warn people so that they do
not accidentally or inadvertently
energize a
piece of equipment.
– Tagout device - Any prominent
warning device
that can be affixed to an energy-
isolation device to prevent the
accidental energizing of a
machine.

Provisions of the Standard

– Energy control program - Organizations must establish energy
control programs with documented procedures, provide
employee training & ensure periodic inspections.
– Energy control procedure - Procedures must contain at least the
following elements:
• A statement on how the procedure will be used.
• Procedural steps to shut down/isolate/block/secure equipment.
• Steps designating safe placement/removal/transfer of lockout/tagout
devices and who has responsibility for them
• Specific requirements for testing machines or equipment to verify the
effectiveness of energy control measures.
– Energy-isolating devices - Organizations must have appropriate
energy-isolating devices for preventing the accidental or
inadvertent release of energy.
• The preferred type of device is one that can be locked out.

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 February 22

Provisions of the Standard

– Requirements for lockout/tagout devices - Must be:
• Durable enough to withstand environment to which exposed.
• Standardized in terms of color or size and print and format.
• Substantial enough to avoid accidental/unauthorized removal
• Identifiable in terms of the employee who affixed them and the
warning message.
– Employee training - Organizations must provide initial
training & retraining as necessary and certify training has
been given to all employees covered in the standard.
– Periodic inspections - Inspections must be performed
at least annually to ensure the energy control program
is up-to-date and being properly implemented.
– Application of controls & lockout/tagout devices - All such
devices must be applied properly.

Provisions of the Standard

– Removal of locks or tags - Before removal:
• Inspect work area to ensure nonessential items are
removed & the machine is capable of operating properly.
• Notify affected employees immediately after removing the energy
control devices and before energizing the machine.
• Ensure that energy control devices are removed by the individual
who affixed them.
– Additional safety requirements - OSHA allows for special
circumstances as set forth in this subsection.
• Organizations must ensure outside personnel are fully
informed about energy control procedures.
• In group lockout/tagout situations, each employee must be
protected by his/her own personal energy control device.
• Organizations must have specific procedures for ensuring
continuity in spite of personnel and shift changes.

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 February 22

Evaluating Lockout/Tagout Programs

• Lockout/tagout violations are frequently cited by OSHA
during on-site inspections.
• Some questions used to evaluate programs:
– Is machinery/equipment capable of movement required to
be de-energized/disengaged & blocked/locked out during
cleaning, servicing, adjusting, or setting up operations?
– Where electrical circuits are not able to be disconnected,
are appropriate electrical enclosures identified?
– If the power disconnect for equipment does not
disconnect the electrical control circuit, is means provided
to ensure the control circuit can be disconnected and
locked out?

GENERAL PRECAUTIONS
– All operators should be trained in the safe operation
and maintenance of their machines.
– All machine operators should be trained in emergency
procedures to take when accidents occur.
– All employees should know how to activate emergency
shutdown controls.
• Knowing where the controls are and how to activate them.
– Inspection, maintenance, adjustment, repair & calibration
of safeguards should be carried out regularly.
– Supervisors should ensure that safeguards are properly
in place when machines are in use.
– Employees who disable or remove safeguards should
be disciplined appropriately.

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 February 22

GENERAL PRECAUTIONS
– Operator teams of the same system should be trained in
coordination techniques, and proper use of devices that
prevent premature activation by a team member.
– Operators should be trained/supervised to dress properly.
• No long hair, loose clothing, neckties, rings, watches, etc.
– Shortcuts that violate safety principles & practices should
be avoided.
– Pressures of deadlines should never be the cause of
unsafe work practices.
– Employees who work around machines—but do not
operate them—should be made aware of emergency
procedures to take when an accident occurs.

BASIC PROGRAM CONTENT

• Machine safeguarding should be organized,
systematic, and comprehensive.
– Safeguarding policy that is part of a broader
company-wide safety and health policy.
– Machine hazard analysis.
– Lockout/tagout (materials and procedures).
– Employee training.
– Comprehensive documentation.
– Periodic safeguarding audits (at least annually) .

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 227

 February 22

TAKING CORRECTIVE ACTION

• What should be done when a mechanical
hazard is observed?
– The only acceptable answer is immediate corrective
action, and specific action depends on the problem.

ELECTRICAL HAZARDS

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 February 22

ELECTRICAL HAZARDS DEFINED

• Electricity is the flow of negatively charged particles
(electrons) through electrically conductive material.
– Electrons orbit the nucleus of an atom, located
approximately in the atom’s center.

The negative charge of electrons is

neutralized by particles called
neutrons, acting as temporary
energy repositories for the
interactions between positively
charged particles called protons and
electrons.

ELECTRICAL HAZARDS DEFINED

• Basic characteristics of a material are determined
by the number of electron rings and the number
of electrons in the outer rings of its atoms.

Each ring of electrons contains

a particular quantity of negative
charges.

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 February 22

ELECTRICAL HAZARDS DEFINED

• A positive charge is present when an atom (or group of
atoms) has too many electrons in its outer shell.
– In all other cases, the atom or material carries a negative
charge.

Electrons freed from an atom

& directed by external forces
to travel in a specific direction
produce electrical current, also
called electricity.

ELECTRICAL HAZARDS DEFINED

• Conductors are materials with many free
electrons at room temperature, and can pass
electricity.
• Insulators do not have a large number of free
electrons at room temperature.
– And do not conduct electricity.
• Substances that are neither conductors nor
insulators can be called semiconductors.

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 February 22

ELECTRICAL HAZARDS DEFINED

• Electrical current passing through the human
body causes a shock.
– The quantity and path of this current determines
the
level of damage to the body.
• The path of this flow of electrons is from a
negative source to a positive point.
– Because opposite charges attract one another.

ELECTRICAL HAZARDS DEFINED

• When a surplus or deficiency of electrons on
the surface of a material exists, static
electricity is produced.
– So-called because there is no positive material
nearby
to attract the electrons and cause them to move.
• When two surfaces of opposite static charges
are brought to close range, a discharge (spark)
occurs.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 231

 February 22

ELECTRICAL HAZARDS DEFINED

• The potential difference between two points in
a circuit is measured by voltage.
– The higher the voltage, the more likely that
electricity
will flow between negative & positive points.
• The higher the resistance—measured in ohms—the lower
the flow of electrons.
– Pure conductors offer little resistance to electron flow.
– Insulators have very high resistance to electricity.
– Semiconductors have a medium-range resistance.

ELECTRICAL HAZARDS DEFINED

• The unit of measurement for electrical current is
amperes (amps)—usually designated by the letter I.

One amp is a current flow of

6.28 x 1018 electrons per second.

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 February 22

ELECTRICAL HAZARDS DEFINED

• One ohm is the resistance of a conductor that
has
a current of one amp under the potential of one
volt.
– Ohm’s law describes the relationship among volts,
ohms, and amps, stated as:.

ELECTRICAL HAZARDS DEFINED

• Power is measured in wattage (watts), and can be
determined from Ohm’s law:

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 233

 February 22

ELECTRICAL HAZARDS DEFINED

• Most industrial and domestic use of electricity is
supplied by alternating current (AC).
– In the U.S., standard AC circuits cycle 60 times per
second, called the frequency, measured in hertz.
• Because voltage cycles, effective current for AC
is slightly less than peak current during a cycle.
– A direct current (DC current) has been found to
generate as much heat as a peak AC current 41.4%
percent higher.

Effective voltages are computed using

the same ratios as effective current.

ELECTRICAL HAZARDS DEFINED

• The path of electrical current must make a complete
loop for the current to flow.
– This loop includes the source of electrical power,
a conductor to act as the path, a device to use the
current (called a load), and a path to the ground.
• The earth is considered to have zero potential
because of its massive size—an electrical conductor
pushed into the earth is said to have zero potential.
• Electrocution occurs when a person makes contact
with a conductor carrying a current &
simultaneously contacts the ground, or another
object that includes
a conductive path to the ground.

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 February 22

ELECTRICAL HAZARDS DEFINED

• Typical 110-volt circuit wiring has a hot wire carrying
current, a neutral wire, and a ground wire.
– The neutral wire may be called a grounded conductor,
with the ground wire being called a grounding conductor.

ELECTRICAL HAZARDS DEFINED

• The hot wire carries effective voltage of 110 volts, the
neutral wire carries nearly zero voltage.
– If the hot wire makes contact with an unintended conductor,
the current can bypass the load & go directly to the ground.

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 February 22

ELECTRICAL HAZARDS DEFINED

• A short circuit is a circuit in which the load has
been removed or bypassed.
– The ground wire in a standard three-wire circuit
provides
a direct path to the ground, bypassing the load.
• Short circuits can be an electrical hazard if a human is
the conductor to the ground, thereby bypassing the load.

SOURCES OF ELECTRICAL HAZARDS

• The major causes of electrical shock are
– Contact with a bare wire carrying current.
– Working with electrical equipment that lacks the UL
label for safety inspection.
– Electrical equipment not been properly grounded.
– Working with electrical equipment on damp floors or
other sources of wetness.
– Static electricity discharge.
– Using metal ladders to work on electrical equipment.
– Working on electrical equipment without ensuring that
the power has been shut off.
– Lightning strikes.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 236

 February 22

SOURCES OF ELECTRICAL HAZARDS

Electrostatic Hazards
• Shocks from static electricity may result from a single
discharge or multiple discharges of static.
• Sources of electrostatic discharge include:
– Briskly rubbing a nonconductive material over a
stationary surface.
– Multilayered clothing may also cause static sparks.
– Moving large sheets of plastic, which may discharge
sparks.
– Static buildup in farm grain silos and mine shafts.
– Conveyor belts may cause static sparks.
– Vehicle tires rolling across a road surface.
– Friction between a flowing liquid and a solid surface.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 237

 February 22

Arcs and Sparks Hazards

• With close proximity, or contact of conductors
to complete a circuit, an electric arc can jump
the air gap between the conductors, and
ignite combustible gases or dusts.
– A spark or arc may involve relatively little or a
great deal
of power and is usually discharged into a small
space.

Combustible and Explosive Materials

• High currents through contaminated liquids may
cause contaminants to expand rapidly and
explode.
– Particularly dangerous with contaminated oil-filled
circuit breakers or transformers.
• A poor match between current or polarity and
capacitors can cause an explosion.
• Overheating from high currents can also lead to
short circuits, which may generate
fires/explosions.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 238

 February 22

Lightning Hazards
• Lightning is static charges from clouds
following the path of least resistance to the
earth, involving very high voltage and current.
– If this path to the earth involves humans, serious
disability may result, including electrocution.
• Lightning tends to strike the tallest object on
the earth below the clouds.
– A tree is a common natural path for lightning.

Improper Wiring
• Improper wiring permits equipment to operate
normally but can result in hazardous conditions.
• One common mistake is to “jump” the ground wire
to the neutral wire.
– The ground wire is actually connected to the neutral wire.
• If the neutral circuit becomes corroded or loose, the
ground wire voltage increases to a dangerous level.
• When the ground is connected improperly, the
situation is referred to as open ground.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 239

 February 22

Improper Wiring
• With reversed polarity, the hot and neutral wires
have been reversed.
– A worker unaware that the black (hot) & white (neutral)
leads have been reversed could be injured.
– If a short between the on/off switch and the load
occurs, equipment may run indefinitely, despite switch
position.
– In a reversed polarity light bulb socket, the screw
threads become conductors.
• Flexible wiring should rarely be substituted for fixed
wiring in permanent buildings.
– A loose knot should be tied in a flexible cord when the plug is
installed or replaced to prevent a pull on the cord from being
transmitted to electrical connections.

Insulation Failure
• Causes of insulation failure:
– Direct sunlight or other sources of ultraviolet light.
– Sparks or arcs from discharging static electricity, which can
result in burned-through holes in insulation.
– Repeated exposure to elevated temperatures, producing
slow but progressive degradation of insulation material.
– Abrasive surfaces can result in erosion of the insulation.
– Substance incompatibility with the atmosphere around
the insulation, which can induce chemical reactions.
– Animals such as rodents or insects chewing or eating the
insulation material, leading to exposure of the circuit.
• Insects can pack an enclosed area tightly that a short occurs.
– Moisture & humidity absorbed by the insulation material.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 240

 February 22

Equipment Failure
• Common types of equipment failure:
– Wet insulation can become a conductor and cause
an electrical shock.
– Portable tool defects can result in the device’s
housing carrying an electric current.
– Broken power lines carry great amperage &
voltage and can cause severe disability.

Hazardous Locations for Electrical

Equipment
NEC hazardous locations for electrical equipment.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 241

 February 22

ELECTRICAL HAZARDS TO HUMANS

• The greatest danger to humans suffering
electrical shock results from current flow.
– Some levels of current “freeze” a person to the
conductor; the person cannot voluntarily release
his or her grasp.
• Let-go current is the highest current level at
which a person in contact with the conductor
can release the grasp of the conductor.

ELECTRICAL HAZARDS TO HUMANS

Severity of injury depends on
the dosage of current, and the
path taken through the body
by the current.
The path is influenced by
resistance of various body parts
at the time of contact.
Skin is the major form of
resistance to current flow.
Current paths through the heart,
brain, or trunk are generally
much more
injurious than paths
through extremities.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 242

 February 22

DETECTION OF ELECTRICAL HAZARDS

• A circuit tester is an inexpensive piece of
equipment with two wire leads capped by
probes, connected to a small bulb—most test
at least 110- to 220-volts.
– The tester can ensure power has been turned off
and determine whether housings & other
equipment parts
are carrying a current.

DETECTION OF ELECTRICAL HAZARDS

• A receptacle wiring tester is a device with two
standard plug probes for insertion into an ordinary
110-volt outlet and a probe for the ground.
– Indicator lights show an improperly wired receptacle
(outlet).

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 243

 February 22

DETECTION OF ELECTRICAL HAZARDS

• A continuity tester may be used to determine
whether a conductor is properly grounded or
has a break in the circuit.
– Continuity is checked on circuits that are
disconnected from a power source.
• One terminal of the tester can be connected to the
equipment housing; the other terminal is connected to a
known ground.
– If the bulb does not light, the equipment is shown to be
improperly grounded.
– With a circuit, the bulb lights when a current is capable
of passing through the complete circuit.
– An unlit bulb of indicates a break in the circuit.

REDUCTION OF ELECTRICAL HAZARDS

• The purpose of grounding is to safeguard people
from electrical shocks, reduce the probability of a
fire, and protect equipment from damage.
– Grounding ensures a path to the earth for the flow of
excess current.
– Grounding also eliminates the possibility of a person
being shocked by contact with a charged capacitor.
– Power surges and voltage changes are attenuated
and usually eliminated with proper system grounding.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 244

 February 22

REDUCTION OF ELECTRICAL HAZARDS

• Bonding—used to connect two pieces of equipment by
a conductor—can reduce potential differences between
the equipment & reduce sparking.
– Bonding and grounding together are used for entire
electrical systems.
• Separate equipment grounding involves connecting all
metal frames of the equipment in a permanent and
continuous manner.
– If an insulation failure occurs, the current should return
to the system ground at the power supply for the circuit.
• The equipment ground wiring will be the path for the circuit
current, enabling circuit breakers and fuses to operate properly.

REDUCTION OF ELECTRICAL HAZARDS

The exposed metal parts of the equipment
shown must be grounded or double insulated

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 245

 February 22

REDUCTION OF ELECTRICAL HAZARDS

• A ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) can
detect the flow of current to ground & open the
circuit, thereby interrupting the flow of current.
– When the current flow in the hot wire is greater than
the current in the neutral wire, a ground fault has
occurred.
• The GFI cannot interrupt current passing between
two circuits or between the hot and neutral wires
of a three-wire circuit.
• A GFI should be replaced periodically based on
the manufacturer’s recommendations.

REDUCTION OF ELECTRICAL HAZARDS

• The primary hazard of static electricity is the transfer of
charges to surfaces with lower potential.
– Bonding and grounding are two means of controlling static.
• Humidification above 65% is a mechanism for reducing static.
• Antistatic materials reduce electrical static hazards.
– Increasing surface conductivity, reducing resistance.
• Ionizers & electrostatic neutralizers ionize air around a
charged surface, to provide a conductive path for flow
of charges.
• Radioactive neutralizers include a emit positive
particles to neutralize collected negative electrical
charges.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 246

 February 22

REDUCTION OF ELECTRICAL HAZARDS

• Fuses consist of a metal strip or wire that melts if a
current above a specific value passes through it.
– This causes the circuit to open, stopping current flow.
• Magnetic circuit breakers use a solenoid to surround a
metal strip connected to a tripping device.
– When allowable current is exceeded, the magnetic force
of the solenoid retracts the metal strip, opening the circuit.
• Thermal circuit breakers rely on excess current to
produce heat and bending in a sensitive metal strip.
– Once bent, the metal strip opens the circuit.
• Circuit breakers are usually easier to reset than fuses &
often provide a lower time lag or none at all.

REDUCTION OF ELECTRICAL HAZARDS

There are numerous methods of reducing
the risk of electrocution by lightning.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 247

 February 22

REDUCTION OF ELECTRICAL HAZARDS

Some of the
many methods
of reducing
electrical
hazards

OSHA’S ELECTRICAL STANDARDS

• OSHA standards relating to electricity are found in
29 CFR 1910 (Subpart S), extracted from the NEC.
– The NEC code should be referred to when more detail
is needed than appears in OSHA’s excerpts.
• Subpart S is divided into two categories of standards:
– Design of Electrical Systems.
– Safety-Related Work Practices.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 248

 February 22

ELECTRICAL SAFETY PROGRAM

• Some NIOSH strategies for establishing an electrical
safety program:
– Develop & implement a comprehensive safety program,
revise when necessary & comply with OSHA regulations.
– Provide all workers with training in identification & control
of hazards associated with electricity in their workplace.
• Provide periodic retraining as necessary
– Provide additional specialized training to those working
with or around exposed electric circuit component.
• Basic electrical theory, safe work procedures, hazard awareness &
identification, proper use of PPE, lockout/tagout, first aid including
CPR, and proper rescue procedures.
– Conduct safety meetings, and scheduled & unscheduled
safety inspections at work sites

ELECTRICAL SAFETY PROGRAM

• Some NIOSH strategies for establishing an electrical
safety program:
– Develop/implement procedures to control hazardous electrical
energy that include lockout/tagout procedures.
• Ensure that workers follow these procedures.
– Provide testing/detection equipment for those who work
directly with electrical energy that ensure their safety.
– Ensure that proper PPE is available and worn by workers where
required (including fall protection equipment).
– Conduct job hazard analyses of all tasks and implement
measures to insulate/isolate workers from electricity.
– Identify potential hazards &appropriate safety interventions
during the planning phase of construction or maintenance.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 249

 February 22

ELECTRICAL HAZARDS SELF-

ASSESSMENT
• To help prevent accidents & injuries from
electrical hazards, safety personnel should
consider check-lists supervisors can use for
assessments in their areas of responsibility.
– Are all electricians in your company up-to-date with
the latest requirements of the NEC?
– Does your company specify compliance with the NEC
as part of its contracts for electrical work with outside
personnel?
– Do all electrical installations located in the presence
of hazardous dust or vapors meet NEC requirements
for hazardous locations?

ELECTRICAL HAZARDS SELF-

•
ASSESSMENT
Check-list items for supervisors:
– Are all electrical cords properly strung, unfrayed, and free of
grease, oil, chemicals & other damaging materials?
– Are all portable electric tools & appliances grounded or
double insulated?
– Is all conduit, BX cable, etc., properly attached to
supports and tightly connected to junction boxes and
outlet boxes?
• Are metallic cables & conduit systems properly grounded?
• Are all ground connections clean and tightly made?
– Are all fuses & circuit breakers the proper size/type for
the load on each circuit, and free of “jumping”
– Are all electrical switches properly marked to show their
purpose, properly mounted in clean, tightly closed metal
boxes, and free of evidence of overheating?

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 250

 February 22

ELECTRICAL HAZARDS SELF-

ASSESSMENT
• Check-list items for supervisors:
– Are all electric motors kept clean and free of excessive grease,
oil, or potentially damaging materials?
– Are all electric motors properly maintained and provided
with the necessary level of overcurrent protection?
• Are bearings in all electrical motors in good condition?
– Are all portable lights equipped with the proper guards?
• Are all lamps kept free of any potentially combustible
materials?
– Is the organization’s overall electrical system periodically
checked by a person competent in the application of the
NEC?

PREVENTION OF ARC FLASH INJURIES

• An arc flash is an electrical short-circuit that travels
through air rather than flowing through conductors,
bus bars, and other types of equipment.
– The uncontrolled energy released by an arc flash
can produce high levels of heat and pressure.
• It can also cause equipment to explode, sending
dangerous shrapnel flying through the air.
• Arc flashes are sometimes produced by equipment
malfunctions, but a more common cause is human
contact with an electrical circuit or conductor.
– Arc flashes can ignite clothing, cause severe burns, and
even damage hearing by the high level of pressure that can
be released by an arc flash.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 251

 February 22

PREVENTION OF ARC FLASH INJURIES

• The best, most obvious way to prevent arc
flash injuries is to de-energize the equipment
and lock
or tag it out before beginning work on it.
• Some maintenance/service functions, such as
troubleshooting require the equipment be
energized.
– When this is the case, consult NFPA’s Handbook
for Electrical Safety in the Workplace (NFPA 70E).

TRAINING REQUIREMENTS FOR

WORKERS
• OSHA training requirements for all workers are
contained in 29 CFR 1910, and include:
– Skills and techniques necessary to distinguish
exposed live parts from other parts of electric
equipment.
– Skills and techniques necessary to determine
the nominal voltage of exposed live parts.
– Clearance distances and corresponding voltages
to which they will be exposed.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 252

 February 22

FIRE HAZARDS

FIRE HAZARDS DEFINED

• Damage and injuries from fire can be both
physically and psychologically damaging—
affecting even those employees who are not
physically injured.
– Safety & health professionals should be familiar
with
fire hazards and their prevention.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 253

 February 22

FIRE HAZARDS DEFINED

• Three elements are required to start and sustain fire:
– Oxygen; Fuel; Heat.
• Fire, or combustion—a chemical reaction—is the
process by which fire converts fuel & oxygen into
energy, usually in the form of heat.
– By-products of combustion include light and smoke.
• A source of ignition, such as a spark or open flame, or
a sufficiently high temperature is needed.
– Ignition temperature or combustion point is the
temperature at which a given fuel can burst into flame.

FIRE HAZARDS DEFINED

The flaming mode results from a chemical chain reaction
involving heat, oxidizing & reducing agents.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 254

 February 22

FIRE HAZARDS DEFINED

• Exothermic chemical reactions create heat.
– Combustion and fire are exothermic reactions,
and can often generate large quantities of heat.
• Endothermic reactions consume more heat than
they generate.
– Cooling is a principal way to control or put out a fire.

FIRE HAZARDS DEFINED

• In the process of combustion, materials are
broken down into basic elements.
– Loose atoms form bonds to create molecules of
substances not originally present.
• When a substance burns released carbon combines with
oxygen to form carbon dioxide/monoxide.
Carbon dioxide is produced when there is more oxygen than the fire needs.
Carbon monoxide—the result of incomplete combustion of a fuel—is produced
when there is insufficient oxygen to burn the fuel present efficiently.
• In general, most fires have insufficient oxygen and produce large
quantities of carbon monoxide.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 255

 February 22

FIRE HAZARDS DEFINED

• Hydrogen, found in most fuels, combines with oxygen
to form water.
• Synthetic polymers, found in plastics & vinyls, often
form deadly fumes when consumed by fire, or if they
melt/disintegrate from being near fire or high heat.
• Liquids & solids (oil & wood) do not burn directly, but
must be converted to a flammable vapor by heat.
– Vapors will burn only at a specific range of mixtures of
oxygen & fuel, determined by the composition of the fuel.
• A fire may be extinguished by removing the fuel
source, starving it of oxygen, or cooling it below
the combustion point.

FIRE HAZARDS DEFINED

In an oxygen-rich, combustible environment,
fire can be avoided by controlling heat and
eliminating sparks and open flames.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 256

 February 22

FIRE HAZARDS DEFINED

• An explosion is a very rapid, contained fire.
– When gases produced exceed the pressure capacity
of the vessel, a rupture or explosion must result.
• The simplest example is a firecracker.
• Heat always flows from a higher temperature to
a lower temperature.
– Excess heat from a fire transfers to surrounding
objects, which may ignite, explode, or decompose.
• Heat transfer is accomplished by three means,
usually simultaneously:
– Conduction; Radiation; Convection.

FIRE HAZARDS DEFINED

• Conduction is direct thermal energy transfer.
– Materials near a source of heat absorb the heat,
raising their kinetic energy.
• Metals are very good conductors of heat.
• Concrete and plastics are poor conductors.
• Radiation is electromagnetic wave transfer of heat, in all
directions from the fire, and may be reflected off a
surface, as well as absorbed by it.
Absorbed heat may raise the temperature beyond a material’s combustion point,
and then a fire erupts.
• Heat may also be conducted through a vessel to its
contents, which will expand and may explode.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 257

 February 22

FIRE HAZARDS DEFINED

• Convection is heat transfer through movement
of hot gases, which may be:
– Direct products of fire.
– Results of a chemical reaction.
– Additional gases brought to the fire by movement of
air.
• Convection determines the general direction of
the spread of a fire, causes fires to rise as heat
rises & move in the direction of the prevailing air
currents.

FIRE HAZARDS DEFINED

All three forms of heat transfer are present at a campfire.

A metal poker left in a fire will conduct

heat up the handle, until
the opposite end of the poker is
too hot to touch.
People around the fire are warmed
principally by radiation, but only on the
side facing the fire.
People farther from the fire will be
warmer on the side facing the fire than
the backs of people closer to the fire.
Marshmallows toasted above the
flames are heated by convection.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 258

 February 22

FIRE HAZARDS DEFINED

• Spontaneous combustion is rare, but can happen.
• Organic compounds, decomposing through natural
processes, release methane gas, a fuel.
– The degradation—a chemical reaction—produces heat.
• In a pile of oil-soaked rags—especially in a closed
container—the fibers of the rags expose a large surface
area of oil to oxidation.
– The porous nature of rags allows additional oxygen to
be absorbed, replacing the oxygen already consumed.
• When the temperature rises sufficiently, the surfaces of the
oil on the rags vaporize.

FIRE HAZARDS DEFINED

• Hypergolic reactions occur when mixing fuels.
– Oxidizers produce just such a rapid heat buildup,
causing immediate combustion at room
temperature with no apparent source of ignition.
• Pyrophor hypergolic fuels self-ignite in
presence of oxygen found at normal
atmospheric concentration.
– White phosphorus, is kept underwater, as if it
starts to
dry out, the phosphorus erupts in flames.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 259

 February 22

SOURCES OF FIRE HAZARDS

• For identification, fires are classified according
to their properties, related to the nature of
the fuel.
– The properties of the fuel directly correspond to
the
best means of combating a fire.

SOURCES OF FIRE HAZARDS

• Almost everything in our environment can be a fuel.
– Fuels occur as solids, liquids, vapors, and gases.
• Solid fuels include wood, building decorations and
furnishings, Styrofoam® molds & panels, shredded or
crumpled papers, bubble wrap, and shrink wrap.
– Few solid fuels are, or can be made, fireproof.
• Mishandling flammable liquids and flammable gases is
a major cause of industrial fires.
– As the temperature of any flammable liquid increases, the
amount of vapor generated on the surface also increases.
• Two often-confused terms applied to flammable liquids
are flash point and fire point.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 260

 February 22

SOURCES OF FIRE HAZARDS

Flash point is the lowest temperature for a fuel at
which sufficient vapor concentrations are produced
to allow flash in the presence of an ignition source.
Fire point is the minimum temperature at which the
vapors continue to burn, given a source of ignition.
Auto-ignition temperature is the lowest point at which
vapors of a liquid or solid self-ignite with no source of ignition.

SOURCES OF FIRE HAZARDS

• The explosive range, or flammable range, defines
concentrations of a vapor/gas in air that can ignite.
• If the flammable liquid is lighter than water, water
cannot be used to put out the fire.
– Applying water floats the fuel & spreads gasoline fires.
• Crude oil fires burn even while floating on fresh or sea water.
• Gases expand to fill the volume of the container in
which they are enclosed & are often lighter than air.
– Gases may stratify in layers of differing concentrations
but often collect near the top of the container.
• Concentrations safe at workbench level may be close to,
or exceed, flammability limits just above head height.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 261

 February 22

SOURCES OF FIRE HAZARDS

• The products of combustion are gases, flame
(light), heat, and smoke.
– Smoke is a combination of gases, air, and
suspended particles—the products of incomplete
combustion.
• Released gases are capable of traveling across
a room & randomly finding a spark, flame, or
adequate heat source, flashing back to the
source of the gas.

SOURCES OF FIRE HAZARDS

The NFPA 704 system for quick identification of hazards
presented when substances burn.

Flammability

Health Reactivity

Special
Information

Ratings within each category are 0 to 4.

0 represents no hazard; 4, the most severe hazard.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 262

 February 22

SOURCES OF FIRE HAZARDS

The NFPA 704 system for quick identification of hazards
presented when substances burn.

SOURCES OF FIRE HAZARDS

• Natural & generated electricity can cause fires.
– Electrical lines & equipment cause fires by a short
that provides a spark, by arcs, or resistance heat.
• Lightning strikes start many fires every year.
• Heat from hot surfaces is another ignition source.
– Irons in textile manufacturing & dry-cleaning, coffee pots
space heaters, hotplates, etc., all create hot surfaces.
• Boilers, steam equipment, radiators, pipes, flues/chimneys.
• Surfaces exposed to direct sunlight become hot surfaces.
• Engines produce heat, especially in exhaust pipes.
– Compressors produce heat through friction, transferred
to their housings.
• Metal cut by a blade heats from friction, as does the blade.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 263

 February 22

FIRE DANGERS TO HUMANS

• Direct contact with flame is very dangerous to humans
—flesh, muscles & internal organs all burn.
– However, burns are not the major cause of death in a fire.
• Most fire fatalities are from breathing toxic gases &
smoke, and suffocation due to oxygen deprivation.
– The #1 killer is carbon monoxide—other gases may be
produced, and further react with other substances often
present at a fire.
• Sulfur dioxide will combine with water to produce sulfuric acid.
• Nitrogen oxides may combine with water to produce nitric acid.

FIRE DANGERS TO HUMANS

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 264

 February 22

DETECTION OF FIRE HAZARDS

• Thermal expansion detectors use a heat-sensitive metal
link that melts at a specified temperature.
– Heat-sensitive insulation also melts at a specific temperature,
initiating a short circuit & activating the alarm.
• Photoelectric sensors detect changes in infrared energy
radiated by smoke, often by the smoke particles obscuring
the photoelectric beam.
• Ionization or radiation sensors use the tendency of a
radioactive substance to ionize when exposed to smoke.
• Ultraviolet or infrared detectors sound an alarm when the
radiation from fire flames is detected.

DETECTION OF FIRE HAZARDS

• OSHA has mandated monthly/annual
inspection of fire extinguishers in industrial
settings.
– Hydrostatic tests to measure the capability of a
fire extinguisher shell to contain internal
pressures, and
the pressure shifts encountered during a fire.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 265

 February 22

REDUCTION OF FIRE HAZARDS

• Strategies for reducing the risk of fires:
– Prohibit smoking near any possible fuels.
• Keep fuels away from areas where there are open flames
– Store fuels away from areas where electrical sparks
from tools, equipment, wiring, or lightning may occur.
– Clean up flammable liquid spills as soon as they occur.
• Properly dispose of the materials used in the cleanup.
– Keep work areas free from extra supplies of flammable
materials—paper, rags, boxes.
– Run electrical cords along walls, rather than across aisles
or in other trafficked areas.
– Turn off the power and completely de-energize equipment
before conducting maintenance procedures.

Fire-Extinguishing Systems
• Standpipe and hose systems provide the hose and
pressurized water for firefighting.
– Hoses for these systems vary from 1” to 2.5” diameter.
• Automatic sprinkler systems are an example of a fixed
extinguishing system, because the sprinklers are fixed
in position.
– Water is the most common fluid released from sprinklers.
• Blocking or shielding the spread of fire can be done
with an inert foam, inert powder, nonflammable gas, or
water with a thickening agent added.
– The fire may suffocate under such a covering.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 266

 February 22

Fire-Extinguishing Systems
Portable fire extinguishers are classified by the types of
fire that they can most effectively reduce.

Fire-Extinguishing Systems
Effective fire
prevention
equipment.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 267

 February 22

OSHA Regulations for Fire Brigades

• OSHA 29 CFR 1910.156 Fire Brigade Regulations:
– Scope - While not required, if an employer does organize a fire
brigade, the requirements of this section apply.
– Prefire planning - Conducted by the local fire dept. or the
workplace fire brigade to become familiar with hazards.
– Organizational statement - A description of the duties brigade
members are expected to perform; line of authority and
number of brigade officers & training instructors.
– Physical capability - A requirement applied to brigade members
who perform interior structural firefighting.
• Employees who cannot meet the requirement may be members of the
fire brigade, but not perform interior structural firefighting.
• “Physically capable” can be defined as being able to perform duties
specified in training requirements of Section 1910.156(c).

OSHA Regulations for Fire Brigades

• OSHA 29 CFR 1910.156 Fire Brigade
Training and education - Commensurate with functions the brigade is expected to
Regulations:
perform.
• At a minimum, hands-on training is required annually.

Firefighting equipment - Fire equipment, except portable fire extinguishers &

respirators, must be inspected at least annually.
• Portable extinguishers & respirators to be inspected monthly.
• Remove & replace damaged/unserviceable equipment.
Protective clothing - Adequate protection for brigade members who may be
exposed to fires in an advanced stage, smoke, toxic gases, and high temperatures.
• Reflecting hazards that may be encountered by the fire brigade.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 268

 February 22

OSHA Regulations for Fire Brigades

• OSHA 29 CFR 1910.156 Fire Brigade
Regulations:
Respiratory protective devices - Required by brigade members working in buildings
or confined spaces where toxic products of combustion or an oxygen deficiency
are likely—also in emergencies involving toxic substances.

Disaster Preparations
• Training employees may be the most
successful lifesaving preparation for a fire
disaster.
– Regular fire drills for all personnel are also
necessary.
• Community disaster relief agencies such as
the police, fire department, Red Cross, and
hospitals should be consulted and informed of
company disaster preparation plans.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 269

 February 22

Preventing Office Fires

• Since offices are also susceptible to fires, the following
strategies are helpful:
– Confine smoking to designated areas equipped with
non-tip ashtrays and fire-resistant furnishings.
– Periodically check electrical circuits and connections.
• Replace frayed or worn cords immediately.
– Make sure that extension cords and other accessories
are Underwriters Laboratories (UL)-approved.
• And used only as recommended.
– Leave plenty of air space left around copy machines
and other office equipment that can overheat.
– Locate heat-producing appliances away from the wall,
or anything else that can ignite.

Preventing Office Fires

• Since offices are also susceptible to fires, the
following strategies are helpful:
Frequently inspect personal appliances such as
hotplates, coffee pots, and cup warmers.

Assign responsibility for turning off such appliances

every day to a specific person.
Keep aisles, stairwells, and exits clear of paper,
boxes, and other combustible materials.

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 February 22

DEVELOPMENT OF FIRE SAFETY

STANDARDS
• Standards are often developed after a major
tragedy in which property is damaged & lives lost.
– Public outcry for action, causes a flurry of political
activity.
• Most codes and standards in the fire protection field are
developed by three organizations:
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).
The American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM).
Underwriters Laboratories (UL).
• Two groups develop building/fire prevention codes:
The International Conference of Building Officials and Code Administration (BOCA).
Southern Building Code Congress International (SBCC).

DEVELOPMENT OF FIRE SAFETY

STANDARDS
• Fire safety standards are trending to performance-
based standards—away from specification-based
approaches.
– A specification-based standard may require concrete,
brick, or steel material be used in a given type of
building.
– A performance-based standard may specify that
materials used have a one-, two-, or four-hour fire
resistance rating.
• Codes & standards in the 21st century may be much
different from those we now have.
Based more on standardized fire tests, models, data,
and related science & engineering, than on consensus judgment.

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 February 22

OSHA FIRE STANDARDS

Fire prevention and suppression strategies.

LIFE SAFETY
• Life safety involves protecting vehicles, vessels,
and lives of people in buildings and structures
from fire.
– The primary reference is NFPA Life Safety Code.
• Applied to new & existing buildings, it addresses
construction, protection, and occupancy features
to minimize hazards of fire, smoke, fumes, and
panic.
– A major part is devoted to minimum requirements for
design of egress, to ensure that occupants can quickly
evacuate a building or structure.

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 February 22

Basic Requirements
• Every structure to be occupied by people must have a
means of egress & fire protection safeguards that:
– Ensure that occupants can promptly evacuate or be adequately
protected without evacuating.
– Provide sufficient backup safeguards to ensure that human life is
not endangered if one system fails.
• Every structure must be constructed, renovated,
maintained & operated in such a way that occupants are
protected…
– From fire, smoke, or fumes, and from fire-related panic.
– Long enough to allow a reasonable amount of time for
evacuation.
– Long enough to defend themselves without evacuating.

Basic Requirements
• Among factors considered in providing structures
with means of egress & fire protection safeguards:
– Character of occupancy.
– Capabilities & number of occupants.
– Available fire protection.
– Height of the structure & type of construction.
• No lock or other device may obstruct egress in any part
of a structure at any time that it is occupied.
Exceptions to this requirement are mental health
detention and correctional facilities.

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 February 22

Basic Requirements
• Other criteria:
– Responsible personnel must be available to act in the case
of fire or a similar emergency.
– Procedures must be in place to ensure that occupants
are evacuated in the event of an emergency.
• Some criteria for exits in structures:
– Clearly visible or marked in such a way that an unimpaired
individual can readily discern the route of escape.
– All routes to a safety must be arranged or clearly marked.
– All appropriate steps must be taken to ensure occupants
do not mistakenly enter a dead-end passageway.

Basic Requirements
• Egress routes & facilities must be included in lighting
design wherever artificial illumination is required.
• Fire alarm systems must be provided in a facility large
enough or so arranged that a fire itself may
not adequately warn occupants of the danger.
– Alert occupants to initiate emergency procedures.
• If a single means of egress may be blocked or
overcrowded in an emergency, at least two means of
egress must be provided.
– Arranged to minimize possibility of both becoming
impassable in the same emergency situation.

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 February 22

Basic Requirements
• Stairs, ramps, and other means of moving
from floor to floor must be enclosed (or
otherwise protected) to afford occupants
protection when used as a means of egress in
an emergency situation.
– Vertical movement should also serve to inhibit the
spread of fire, fumes, and smoke from floor to
floor.

Means of Egress
• Important issues relating to means of egress.
– Doors that serve as exits must be designed, constructed,
and maintained in such a way that the means of egress is
direct and obvious.
• Windows that could be mistaken for doors in an emergency
situation must be made inaccessible to occupants.
– The means of egress must have a capacity sufficient to
accommodate occupant load of the structure calculated in
accordance with the requirements of the Life Safety Code.
– Any component of a structure must have a minimum of
two means of egress (with exceptions as set in the code).
– The minimum number of means of egress from any story
or any part of a story is three for occupancy loads of 500 to
1,000 and four for occupancy loads of more than 1,000.

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 February 22

Means of Egress
• Important issues relating to means of egress.
All exits must be easily accessible at all times in terms
of both location and arrangement.

Travel distance to at least one exit must be measured along a natural path of travel
beginning at the most remote occupied space, ending at the center of the exit.
All exits must terminate at a public way or at yards, courts, or open spaces that lead
to the exterior of the structure.
All means of egress shall be illuminated continuously during times when the
structure is occupied.
Emergency lighting for all means of egress must be provided in accordance with the
code.

Means of Egress
• Important issues relating to means of egress.
Exits must be marked by readily visible, approved signs
in all cases where the means of egress is not obvious.

If an area contains contents that are classified as highly hazardous, occupants must
be able to exit by traveling
no more than 75 feet.

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 February 22

FLAME-RESISTANT CLOTHING
• OSHA’s standards relating to flame-resistant clothing
are found in CFR 1910.269, paragraph 1.
– Employers shall train employees exposed to the hazards or
flames or electric arcs in the hazards involved.
– The employer shall ensure employees do not wear clothing
that could increase extent of injury that would
be sustained by the employee.
• Acetate, nylon, polyester, rayon, is prohibited, unless treated to
withstand conditions that may be encountered or worn in such
a manner as to eliminate the hazard involved.
– When installing/removing fuses with one or both terminals
energized at more than 300 volts, or with exposed parts
energized at more than 50 volts, employers shall ensure
tools or gloves rated for the voltage are used.

Assessment
• Assessment of the workplace for fire hazards
should be continuous and ongoing.
• The safety committee should be trained in fire
hazard assessment, and pass on this
knowledge to employees in their
departments, units, and teams.
– All employees are involved in continually looking
for
fire hazards & communicating concerns to the
safety committee.

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 February 22

Planning
• OSHA requires an emergency fire safety plan to
have at least the following components:
– Emergency escape procedures and routes.
– Critical “shutdown” procedures.
– Employee headcount procedures.
– Rescue and medical procedures.
– Procedures for reporting fires and emergencies.
– Important contact personnel for additional
information.
• Once the plan is in place, it should be reviewed at
least annually, and updated as necessary.

Awareness and Prevention

• All employees should receive awareness training so
they understand their role in the emergency plan.
– Do all employees know the role they play in implementing
the emergency plan?
– How are employees with disabilities provided for?
– Do all employees understand the escape plans &
evacuation procedures?
– Do all new/temporary employees receive training, and are
all employees informed when the plan is revised?
– Is a comprehensive drill undertaken yearly, and are all
employees familiar with the sound of the alarm?
– Is the alarm system checked periodically, and are sufficient
fire-detection devices in place?

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 February 22

Response
• It is very important that employees
understand the emergency plan & periodically
practice responding.
– People do not always think clearly in an
emergency, but will do what they have learned to
do through practice.
• Periodic drills help employees automatically respond
properly.

EXPLOSIVE HAZARDS
• Under certain conditions, many chemical &
toxic substances are flammable or
combustible, and
can explode.
– These hazards require special precautions for
handling, storing, transporting, and use.

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 February 22

FIRE SAFETY PROGRAMS

• A comprehensive fire safety program should have
at least the following components:
– Assessment; Planning; Awareness/prevention;
Response.
• An effective way to develop, implement, and
maintain a comprehensive fire safety program is
to establish a cross-functional fire safety
committee.
– Staffed & chaired by the organization’s highest ranking
safety & health professional.

Explosives-Related Concepts
• A flammable substance is any substance with
a flash point below 100.04 deg F, and a vapor pressure
of less than 40 psi at that temperature.
– These Class I liquids tend to be composed of hydrogen and
carbon, such as crude oil and its by-products.
• A combustible substance has a flash point of 100.04
deg F, or higher—called Class II liquids.
• The oxygen limit is the amount of oxygen required in a
vapor-air mixture for an explosion to occur.
• Volatility is evaporation (vaporization) capability of a
given substance.
– The greater the tendency to vaporize, the more volatile.

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 February 22

Uses of Flammable/Combustible
Substances
• NSC list of common uses of flammable/combustible
substances in industry today & related precautions:
– Dip tanks - Dipping operations involving flammable or
combustible substances be in a large stand-alone, one-
story building constructed of noncombustible materials.
• Well ventilated; marked hazardous; free of ignition sources.
– Japanning & drying ovens - Ovens used to evaporate
varnish, japan enamel & other combustible substances.
• Well ventilated; equipped with an automatic fire protection;
have an automatic shutdown system in event of fire/explosion.

Uses of Flammable/Combustible
Substances
• NSC list of common uses of
flammable/combustible substances in industry
today & related precautions:
Oil burners - Proper fuel selection is the best precaution to prevent accumulation &
potential ignition of soot, and
an automatic system for preventing the discharge of unburned oil into a hot
firebox.
• Class II fuel; hydrocarbon-based; acid- and grit-free.
• Supply tank should be located outside, preferably underground.
• The top of the tank should be lower than all pipes entering it.

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 February 22

Uses of Flammable/Combustible
Substances
• NSC list of common uses of flammable/combustible
substances in industry today & related precautions:
Cleaning solvents - Primary precaution is selecting substances not easily ignited,
good ventilation and a cleaning area free of ignition sources.

Internal combustion engines - Precautions include proper maintenance, good

housekeeping, shutdown of engines & cooling of exhaust pipes before filling fuel
tanks (in a well-ventilated area).
Spray-painting booths - an explosive mixture of paint vapor and air can occur—
making proper ventilation critical.
• Regular cleaning of the booth to remove accumulated spray deposits
is also important.
• Paint booths should be equipped with automatic fire protection.

Other Health Hazards of Explosive

Materials
• Potential for serious injury or death from the force
of a blast or from burns is very high.
• Other hazards associated include skin irritation,
intoxication, and suffocation.
– Skin irritation can range from minor to severe, depending
on substance, concentration, and the duration of contact.
– Intoxication can—occurring when an employee breathes
the vapors—can cause impaired judgment, performance,
and reaction time, and, result in an accident.
– Vapors can accumulate in confined spaces making air both
toxic and explosive, adding hazards of suffocation
to those associated with explosives.

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 February 22

OSHA FIREFIGHTING OPTIONS

• While some companies prefer to have employees
evacuate in the event of a fire, for some the potential
for fire is so much a part of daily operations that they
prefer to equip their employees to fight fires.
– Follow manual firefighting guidelines set forth by OSHA.
• There are three options available, each with its own set
of requirements.
– All employees are involved.
– Only designated employees are involved.
– Only employees who are part of an established fire brigade
are involved.

Option 1: All Employees Fight Fires

• All employees are allowed to fight fires, and are
required to:
– Have & understand an emergency action plan provided
by the company.
– Have & understand a fire prevention plan provided by
the company.
– Complete annual training & refresher training
concerning their duties in fighting fires, and in the
proper use of fire
extinguishers.

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 February 22

Option 2: Designated Employees Fight

Fires
• Only selected employees are allowed to fight
fires, and are required to:
– Have & understand an emergency action plan
provided
by the company.
– Have & understand a fire prevention plan provided by
the company.
– Complete annual training & refresher training
concerning their duties in fighting fires, and in the
proper use of fire
extinguishers.

Option 3: Fire Brigades Fight Fires

• Only those employees who are part of an
established fire brigade are allowed to fight fires.
– Two types of brigades are incipient & interior
structural.
• An incipient fire brigade—to control small fires—
requires no special protective clothing or
equipment.
• An interior structural fire brigade may fight any
type of fire, provided it has been issued
appropriate protective clothing and equipment.

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 February 22

Option 3: Fire Brigades Fight Fires

• Employees who are part of an incipient fire brigade are
required to:
– Have & understand an emergency action plan provided
by the company.
– Have & understand a fire prevention plan provided by
the company.
– Have and understand an organizational statement that
establishes the scope, organizational structure, training,
equipment, and functions of the fire brigade.
– Have and understand standard operating procedures for
the fire brigade to follow during emergencies.
– Complete annual training and refresher training that is
hands-on in nature.

Option 3: Fire Brigades Fight Fires

• Requirements of an interior structural fire brigade
are the same as for an incipient fire brigade, with
additional requirements:
– Satisfactory completion of medical examinations that
verify their fitness to participate.
– Special protective clothing and equipment of the type
used by local fire departments, including self-
contained breathing equipment.
– Quarterly, as opposed to annual, training and
retraining that is hands-on in nature

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 February 22

SELF-ASSESSMENT IN FIRE
PROTECTION
• Elements to include a supervisors & employees fire
protection self-assessment checklist:
– Are employees trained concerning under what conditions
they should help fight fires, and under what conditions
they should evacuate?
– Are portable fire extinguishers properly mounted, readily
accessible, and available in adequate number and type?
• Inspected monthly for both operability & general condition,
recharged regularly with dates noted on their tags.
– Is the fire alarm system tested regularly?
– Are the nearest fire hydrants maintained regularly and
flushed annually
• Interior standpipes and valves inspected regularly.

SELF-ASSESSMENT IN FIRE
PROTECTION
• Elements to include a supervisors & employees
fire protection self-assessment checklist:
Are avenues and ingress/egress clearly marked, and kept
free of clutter and other types of obstructions?

Are fire doors and shutters in good working condition?

• Are fusible links in place and readily accessible.
Is the local fire department familiar with the facility,
and any specific hazards?
Is the automatic sprinkler system in good working order, maintained on a regular
basis, given proper overhead clearance & protected from inadvertent contact
damage?

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 February 22

HOT WORK PROGRAM

• OSHA defines hot work as involving welding,
cutting, chipping & use of tools that cause sparks.
– Brazing, cutting, soldering & thawing pipes; using heat
guns; torch applied roofing; chipping operations.
• A foundational precautionary measure:
– “Flammable, combustible, or ignitable materials
should
be kept a minimum of 20 to 35 feet away from the hot
work, or those materials should be covered with a
flame-retardant covering for protection.”

HOT WORK PROGRAM - Components

• Components include safety equipment, fire watch work
practices, contractor requirements & permits.
– Fire safety equipment in place, operable, properly
maintained, fire retardant tarps or thin sheets of metal for
covering combustible/ignitable materials in the work area.
– An individual should be posted to watch for and respond
immediately to fires.
– Some precautionary work practices:
• 35 ft separation between work & combustibles/ignitables.
• Flammable gas meter to detect gas vapors in the area.
• Prohibiting hot work when the sprinkler system is inoperable.
• Floors kept cleanly swept, and combustible floors dampened
or covered with an appropriate protective material,
• Metal sheeting or damp cloths for work within 3 ft of a sprinkler.

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 February 22

HOT WORK PROGRAM - Components

• Components include safety equipment, fire
watch work practices, contractor requirements
& permits.
Contractors in your facility should have their own hot work program that your
organization approves or they should
be required to follow yours.
An in-house permit should be developed so safety personnel & other stakeholders
can assure themselves that all proper steps in the plan have been taken and
signed off on before hot work begins.

Noise and Vibration hazards

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 February 22

Noise and Vibration

• Noise in the modern workplace poses two
safety- and health-related problems.
– Noise can distract workers and disrupt
concentration, which can lead to accidents.
– Exposure to noise that exceeds prescribed levels
can result in permanent hearing loss.

HEARING LOSS PREVENTION TERMS

• Terms common to hearing loss prevention:
– Attenuation: Real-world baseline audiogram - the
estimated sound protection provided by hearing
protective devices as worn in “real-world”
environments.
– Baseline audiogram - a valid audiogram against which
subsequent audiograms are compared to determine if
hearing thresholds have changed.
– Continuous noise - noise of a constant level measured
over at least one second using the “slow” setting on a
sound level meter.

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 February 22

HEARING LOSS PREVENTION TERMS

• Terms common to hearing loss prevention:
– Decibel (dB) - unit used to express the intensity of sound,
named after Alexander Graham Bell.
• A logarithmic scale in which 0 Db approximates the threshold
of hearing in the midfrequencies for young adults.
• The threshold of discomfort is between 85 and 95 dB.
• The threshold of pain is between120 and 140 dB.
– Dosimeter - the instrument that measures sound levels over a
specified interval, stores the measures, and calculates the
sound as a function of sound level and sound duration.

HEARING LOSS PREVENTION TERMS

• Terms common to hearing loss prevention:
– Exchange rate - relationship between intensity and dose.
• OSHA uses a 5-dB exchange rate—if the intensity of an exposure
increases by 5 dB, the dose doubles, also referred to as the doubling
rate.
• The U.S. Navy uses a 4-dB exchange rate; the U.S. Army
and Air Force use a 3-dB exchange rate.

– Hazardous Noise - any sound for which any combination of

frequency, intensity, or duration is capable of causing
permanent hearing loss in a specified population
– Conductive and sensorineural loss - hearing loss is often
characterized by the area of the auditory system responsible for
the loss.

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 February 22

HEARING LOSS PREVENTION TERMS

• Terms common to hearing loss prevention:
– Hearing threshold level (HTL) - hearing level, above a reference
value, at which a specified sound or tone is heard by an ear in a
specified fraction of the trials.
• Hearing threshold levels have been established so that dB
HTL reflects the best hearing of a group of persons. Hertz (Hz).
– Hertz (Hz) - unit measurement for audio frequencies.
• The frequency range for human hearing lies between 20 Hz
and approximately 20,000 Hz.
– Impulsive noise - impact or impulse noise typified by a sound
that rapidly rises to a sharp peak & quickly fades.
• The sound may or may not have a “ringing” quality (such as striking a
hammer on a metal plate, and may be repetitive, or may be a single
event—like a sonic boom.

HEARING LOSS PREVENTION TERMS

• Terms common to hearing loss prevention:
– Noise - any unwanted sound.
– Noise dose - the noise exposure expressed as a percentage of
the allowable daily exposure.
• OSHA considers a 100% dose equals an eight-hour exposure
to a continuous90-dBA noise.
– Noise-induced hearing loss - sensorineural hearing loss
attributed to noise, for which no other etiology can be
determined.
– Standard threshold shift (STS) - OSHA term to describe change
in hearing threshold relative to the baseline audiogram of an
average of 10 dB or more at 2,000, 3,000, and 4,000 Hz in either
ear.

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 February 22

HEARING LOSS PREVENTION TERMS

• Terms common to hearing loss prevention:
– Time-weighted average (TWA) - a value, expressed in dBA,
computed so that the resulting average is equivalent to an
exposure resulting from a constant noise level over an eight-
hour period.

CHARACTERISTICS OF SOUND
• Sound is any pressure change that can be detected by
the ear—typically a change in air pressure.
– It can also be a change in water pressure or any other
pressure-sensitive medium.
• What we think of as sound, the eardrum senses as
fluctuations in atmospheric pressure.
– The eardrum responds to these fluctuations by vibrating.
• The vibrations are carried to the brain in the form of neural
sensations and interpreted as sound.
• Sound can occur in any medium that has both mass
and elasticity (air, water, etc.).

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 February 22

CHARACTERISTICS OF SOUND
Sound occurs as elastic waves
that cross over (above & below)
a line representing normal
atmospheric pressure.

CHARACTERISTICS OF SOUND
The more frequently the sound waves
cross the atmospheric pressure line, the
shorter the cycle, & the higher the pitch
of the sound.

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 February 22

CHARACTERISTICS OF SOUND
The greater the vertical distance above &
below the atmospheric pressure line
(distance X), the louder or more intense
the sound.

CHARACTERISTICS OF SOUND
One decibel represents the smallest
difference in the level of sound that can
be perceived by the human ear.

The weakest sound that

can be heard by a healthy human
ear in a quiet setting
is known as the threshold
of hearing (1 dBA).

The maximum level that

can be perceived without
experiencing pain is the threshold
of pain (140 dBA).

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 February 22

CHARACTERISTICS OF SOUND
• The three broad types of industrial noise are
described as follows:
– Wide band noise - noise that is distributed over a
wide range of frequencies.
• Most noise from manufacturing machines is wide band
noise.
– Narrow band noise - is confined to a narrow range of
frequencies, such as that produced by power tools.
– Impulse noise - transient pulses that can occur
repetitively or nonrepetitively, such as noise produced
by a jackhammer.

HAZARD LEVELS AND RISKS

• Exposure to excessive noise levels for an
extended period can damage the inner ear.
– Ability to hear high-frequency sound is diminished
or lost.
• Additional exposure can increase damage until even
lower frequency sounds cannot be heard.

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 February 22

HAZARD LEVELS AND RISKS

• Factors hearing loss associated with exposure to
excessive noise:
– Intensity of the noise (sound pressure level).
– Type of noise (wide band, narrow band, or impulse).
– Duration of daily exposure.
– Total duration of exposure (number of years).
– Age of the individual.
– Coexisting hearing disease.
– Nature of environment in which exposure occurs.
– Distance of the individual from the source of the noise.
– Position of the ears relative to the sound waves.

HAZARD LEVELS AND RISKS

The most critical factors
are sound level, frequency, duration,
and distribution
Exposures of less than 80 dBA may be
considered safe for the purpose of
risk assessment.
A TWA (threshold) of 85 dBA
should be the maximum limit
of continuous exposure
over eight-hour days
without protection.

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 February 22

STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS

• OSHA regulations require implementation of
hearing conservation programs under certain
conditions.
– OSHA regulations should be considered minimum
standards.
• ANSI standards provide a way to determine the
effectiveness of hearing conservation programs
such as those required by OSHA.
• NIOSH bases most of its materials on OSHA
regulations, although it makes recommendations
that exceed OSHA regulations in some cases.

ANSI Standard
• ANSI developed the standard used audiometric
database analysis (ADBA) to identify procedures for
measuring variability in hearing threshold levels:
– Percent worse sequential - identifies the percentage of
subjects who show a deterioration of 15 dBA or more in
their ability to hear at least one test frequency in either
ear between two sequential audiograms.
– Percent better or worse sequential - identifies subjects
who show a deterioration or an improvement of 15 dBA or
more in thresholds for at least one test frequency in either
ear between two sequential audiograms.

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 February 22

OSHA Regulations
• OSHA 29 CFR 1910.95 requirements for
hearing conservation programs are as follows:
– Hearing hazards monitoring.
– Engineering and administrative controls.
– Audiometric evaluation.
– Personal hearing-protection devices.
– Education and motivation.
– Record keeping Program evaluation.

Hazards Monitoring
• The most common measurements are area
surveys, dosimetry, and engineering surveys.
– Area survey results are often plotted in the form of
a“noise map,” showing noise level measurements for
the different areas of the workplace.
– Dosimetry involves the use of body-worn instruments
(dosimeters) to monitor exposure over the work shift.
– Engineering surveys typically employ more
sophisticated acoustical equipment inaddition to
sound-level meters.

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 February 22

Engineering and Administrative Controls

• Engineering and administrative controls represent the

first two echelons in the hierarchy of controls:
– Remove the hazard and remove the worker.
• These controls should reduce hazardous exposure to
the point where the risk to hearing is eliminated,
or at least more manageable.
• Engineering controls are technologically feasible for
most noise sources, but their economic feasibility must
be determined on a case-by-case basis.

Engineering and Administrative Controls

• Assessing the applicability of engineering controls

is a sophisticated process.
– The noise problem must be thoroughly defined, and
an assessment of the effect of the controls on overall
noise levels should be made.
• Once identified and analyzed, the choice of
controls can be considered—influenced, to some
extent, by the cost of purchasing, operating,
servicing, and maintaining the control.
– An acoustical consultant may be hired to assist in the
design, implementation, installation, and evaluation.

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 February 22

Engineering and Administrative Controls

• Administrative controls are changes in the work

schedules or operations that reduce noise exposure.
– Generally of limited use in industry because employee
contracts seldom permit shifting from one job to another.
– The practice of rotating employees between quiet and
noisy jobs may reduce the risk of substantial hearing loss in
a few workers, but actually increase the risk of small
hearing losses in many workers.
• A more practical administrative control is to provide for
quiet areas where employees can gain relief
from workplace noise.

Audiometric Evaluation
• Audiometric evaluation is the only way to determine
whether hearing loss is being prevented.
– Occupational hearing loss occurs gradually & is not
accompanied by pain, so an affected employee may not
notice the change until a large threshold shift accumulates.
– OSHA uses the term standard threshold shift to describe
an average change in hearing from the baseline levels of
10 dB or more for the frequencies of 2,000, 3,000, and
4,000 Hz.
– NIOSH uses the term significant threshold shift to describe
a change of 15 dB or more at any frequency of 500 - 6,000
Hz from baseline levels, present on an immediate retest in
the same ear and at the same frequency.

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 February 22

Audiometric Evaluation
• Audiograms should be performed on the following
occasions:
– Preemployment/prior to initial assignment in a hearing
hazardous work area.
– Annually while the employee is assigned to a noisy job.
– At time of reassignment out of a hearing hazardous job.,
– At the termination of employment.
• Employees who are not exposed should be given
periodic audiograms as part of the organization’s
health care program.

Personal Hearing Protection Devices

• A personal hearing protection device (or “hearing
protector”) is anything that can be worn to reduce
the level of sound entering the ear.
– Earmuffs, ear canal caps & earplugs are the 3 main
types.
• Regardless of the kind of ear protection device used, it is
important to remember the four Cs:
– Comfort, convenience.
– Communication (the device should not interfere with the
worker’s ability to communicate).
– Caring (workers must care enough about protecting their
hearing to wear the devices).

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 February 22

Personal Hearing Protection Devices

• There are several different types of earmuffs:
– Passive earmuffs consist of ear cups lined with foam and
block noise using nothing but the foam-lined cups.
• They tend to block out not just unwanted noise, but also certain
advantageous sounds, such as voices trying to warn of danger.
– Uniform attenuation earmuffs block noise, and also
attenuate the noise more uniformly within several key
octave bands (250 Hz to 4 KHz).
• This allows employees to hear certain important sounds such as
spoken instructions or warnings.
– Electronic earmuffs use electronic technology to both
block and modulate sound.
• Some can receive AM/FM radio signals or have a wireless
connection to a CD or MP3 player.

Education and Motivation

• To obtain sincere, energetic management support
and active employee participation, it is necessary
to educate and motivate both groups.
• Employees & managers who appreciate the sense
of hearing and understand the reasons for, and
the mechanics of, the hearing loss prevention
program will be more likely to participate.
– Rather than viewing the program as an imposition.

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 February 22

Record Keeping
• Audiometric comparisons, reports of hearing protector
use, and analysis of hazardous exposure measurements
all involve the keeping of records.
– Records are often kept poorly because there is no
organized system, and those responsible for maintaining
the records do not understand their value.
• Many companies have found that their record-keeping
system is inadequate only when they discover that they
need accurate information.
– Sometimes during processing of compensation claims.
• Problems can be avoided by implementing an effective
record-keeping system.

Program Evaluation
• A thorough evaluation of the effectiveness of
all the program’s components is necessary to
determine the extent to which the hearing
loss prevention program is really working.
– Assess the completeness and quality of the
program’s components and evaluate the
audiometric data

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 303

 February 22

WORKERS’ COMPENSATION & NOISE HAZARDS

• Some states have written hearing loss into their

workers’ compensation law, and others cover claims
whether hearing loss is in the law or not.
• Medical professionals have established a procedure for
determining if there is a causal relationship between
workplace noise and hearing loss.
• Because about 15% of all working people are exposed
to noise levels exceeding 90 dBA, hearing loss may be
as significant in workers’ compensation costs in the
future as back injuries, carpal tunnel syndrome, and
stress are now significant.

IDENTIFYING/ASSESSING HAZARDOUS
NOISE
• Identifying and assessing hazardous noise
conditions in the workplace involve.
– Conducting periodic noise surveys.
– Conducting periodic audiometric tests.
– Record keeping.
– Follow-up action.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 304

 February 22

NOISE CONTROL STRATEGIES

The three components of a noise hazard.

Noise can be reduced by engineering and administrative controls

applied to one or more of these components.

NOISE CONTROL STRATEGIES

• The most desirable noise controls are those
that reduce noise at the source.
• The second priority is to reduce noise along its
path.
• The last resort is noise reduction at the
receiver using personal protective devices.
– The latter approach should never be substituted
for the two former approaches.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 305

 February 22

VIBRATION HAZARDS
• Vibration hazards are closely associated with
noise hazards because tools that produce
vibration
typically also produce excessive levels of noise.
• Vibration-related problems are serious &
widespread.
– Up to 8 million workers are exposed to some type of
vibration hazard, and of these, it is estimated that
more than half will show some signs of injury.
• Types of injuries associated with vibration depend on its
source.

VIBRATION HAZARDS
• The most common vibration-related problem is
known as hand-arm vibration syndrome(HAV).
– HAV is a form of Reynaud’s Syndrome, striking workers
who use vibrating power tools daily as part of their jobs.
• Environmental conditions and worker habits can
exacerbate the problems associated with vibration.
– Working with vibrating tools in a cold environment is more
dangerous than the same work in a warm environment.
– Gripping a vibrating tool tightly will lead to problems
sooner than using a loose grip.
– Smoking and excessive noise also increase potential
for HAV and other vibration-related injuries.

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 February 22

VIBRATION HAZARDS
• Prevention is especially important with HAV
because the disease is thought to be irreversible.
– Treatments developed to date only reduce the
symptoms.
• Prevention strategies that can be used in any company
regardless of its size:
– Purchase low-vibration tools.
– Limit employee exposure.
– Change employee work habits.

OTHER EFFECTS OF NOISE HAZARDS

• Noise can cause communication problems,
isolation, and productivity problems.
• Noise can also be detrimental to productivity
by interfering with an employee’s ability to
think, reason, and solve problems.

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 February 22

CORPORATE POLICY
• Organizations with the most successful hearing loss
prevention programs address the following areas:
– The organizational environment should promote a safety
culture where employees are empowered to protect their
own health and that of coworkers.
– Policies should be based on effective practices rather than
on minimum compliance with government regulations.
– The hearing prevention program must be a functional part
of the overall company safety & health program.
• Not a stand-alone, separate-budget operation.
– A key individual (or program implementor) should have
ultimate responsibility for the program.
– Employee & administrative compliance with the program.

EVALUATING PREVENTION PROGRAMS

• Hearing loss prevention programs should be
evaluated periodically to ensure their
effectiveness.
– Training and education.
– Supervisor involvement.
– Noise measurement.
– Engineering and administrative controls.
– Monitoring and record keeping,
– Referrals.
– Hearing protection devices.
– Administration.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 308

 February 22

PRESSURE HAZARDS

PRESSURE HAZARDS DEFINED

• Pressure is defined as the force exerted against an
opposing fluid or thrust distributed over a surface.
– Expressed in force or weight per unit of area.
• Such as pounds per square inch (psi).
• Critical injury and damage can occur with relatively
little pressure.
• We perceive pressure in relation to the earth’s
atmosphere—at sea level, an average of 14.7 psi.
– As altitude above sea level increases, atmospheric
pressure decreases, in a nonlinear fashion.
• In human physiology studies, the typical unit of
measure is millimeters of mercury (mm Hg).

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 February 22

PRESSURE HAZARDS DEFINED

• Boyle’s law states that the product of a given
pressure and volume is constant with a constant
temperature:
P1V1 = P2V2 — when T is constant

• Air moves in & out of the lungs due to a pressure

gradient or difference in pressure.
– When atmospheric pressure is greater than pressure within the
lungs, air flows from the outside into the lungs.
– When pressure in the lungs is greater than atmospheric
pressure, air moves from the lungs to the outside.

PRESSURE HAZARDS DEFINED

• Gas exchange occurs between air in the lung
alveoli and gas in solution in blood.
– The pressure gradients causing this gas exchange are
called partial pressures.
• Dalton’s law of partial pressures states that in a mixture
of theoretically ideal gases, the pressure exerted by the
mixture is the sum of the pressures exerted by each
component gas of the mixture:

PA = PO + PN + Pelse

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 February 22

PRESSURE HAZARDS DEFINED

• Air entering the lungs is immediately saturated with
water vapor, which, although a gas, does not conform
to Dalton’s law.
– Partial pressure of water vapor in a mixture of gases is not
dependent on its fractional concentration in that mixture.
• It is dependent on temperature.
• There are many sources of pressure hazards, which
result from air trapped or expanded in body cavities.
– When sinus passages are blocked, expansion of the air
in these sinuses can lead to problems.
• The same complications can occur with air trapped in the
eustachian tube of the middle ear.

SOURCES OF PRESSURE HAZARDS

• In rapid ascent from underwater diving or from high-
altitude decompression, lungs can rupture.
• Nitrogen absorption into body tissues can become
excessive during underwater diving & breathing of
nitrogen-enriched air.
– If the nitrogen is permeating tissues faster than the person
can breathe it out, bubbles of gas may form in the tissues.
• Decompression sickness can result from the
decompression that accompanies a rapid rise from sea
level to at least 18,000 feet.
– Or a rapid ascent from around 132 to 66 feet underwater.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 311

 February 22

SOURCES OF PRESSURE HAZARDS

• Factors influencing onset of decompression sickness:
– A history of previous decompression sickness, which
increases the probability of another attack.
– Being over 30 increases the chances of an attack.
– People in better condition have reduced chances.
– Exercise during the exposure to decompression increases
the likelihood and brings on an earlier onset of symptoms.
– Low temperature increases the probability of the sickness.
– Speed of decompression influences the sickness..
– Length of exposure of the person to the pressure is
proportionately related to the intensity of symptoms.

SOURCES OF PRESSURE HAZARDS

• A reduction in partial pressure can result from reduced
available oxygen and cause hypoxia.
• Too much oxygen or oxygen, breathed under pressure
that is too high, is called hyperoxia.
• The partial pressure hazard, nitrogen narcosis results
from a higher-than-normal nitrogen pressure.
– When breathed under pressure, nitrogen causes a
reduction of cerebral and neural activity.
– At depths greater than 100 feet, nitrogen narcosis can
occur when breathing normal air.
– Effects may become pathogenic at depths over 200 feet,
with motor skills threatened at depths over 300 feet.
– Cognitive processes deteriorate quickly after 325 feet.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 312

 February 22

BOILERS AND PRESSURE HAZARDS

• Potential safety hazards associated with boilers
and other pressurized vessels include:
– Design, construction, or installation errors.
– Poor or insufficient training of operators; Human
error.
– Mechanical breakdown or failure.
– Failure or blockage of control or safety devices.
– Insufficient or improper inspections, or preventive
maintenance
– Improper application of equipment

BOILERS AND PRESSURE HAZARDS

• OSHA recommended accident prevention measures:
– Daily check - of water to ensure it is at the proper level.
• Vent the furnace thoroughly before starting the fire.
• Warm up the boiler using a small fire.
– Weekly check - of low-water automatic shutdown control,
recording results of the test on a tag that is clearly visible.
– Monthly check - of the safety valve, recording results of
the test on a tag that is clearly visible.
– Yearly check - low-level automatic shutdown control
mechanism should be replaced or completely overhauled.
• Have the vendor or a third-party expert test all combustion
safeguards, including fuel pressure switches, limit switches, motor
starter interlocks, and shutoff valves.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 313

 February 22

HIGH-TEMPERATURE WATER HAZARDS

• High-temperature water (HTW) is heated to very high
temperature—but not enough to produce steam.
– Human contact with HTW can result in extremely serious
burns, and even death.
• The two most prominent sources of hazards with HTW
are operator error and improper design.
• Mechanical forces such as water hammer, thermal
expansion, thermal shock, or faulty materials cause
system failures, more than thermodynamic forces.

HAZARDS OF UNFIRED PRESSURE VESSELS

• Unfired pressure vessels include compressed air

tanks, steam-jacketed kettles, digesters and
vulcanizers, and others that create heat
internally.
– By various means rather than by external fire.
• Various means of creating internal heat include:
– Chemical action within the vessel.
– Application of some heating medium (electricity,
steam, hot oil, and so on) to the contents of the
vessel.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 314

 February 22

HAZARDS OF UNFIRED PRESSURE VESSELS

• Potential hazards with unfired pressure:
– Hazardous interaction between the material of the
vessel and materials that will be processed in it.
– Inability of the filled vessel to carry the weight of its
contents and the corresponding internal pressure.
– Inability of the vessel to withstand the pressure introduced
into it plus pressure caused by chemical reactions that
occur during processing.
– Inability of the vessel to withstand any vacuum that may
be created accidentally or intentionally.

The most effective preventive measure for

overcoming these potential hazards is proper design.

HAZARDS OF UNFIRED PRESSURE VESSELS

• Specs for design/construction of unfired pressure
vessels include:
– Working pressure & temperature range.
– Type of materials to be processed.
– Stress relief, welding or joining measures & radiography.

• Beyond proper design precautions for fired pressure

vessels can be used for unfired pressure vessels.
– Continual inspection, proper housekeeping, periodic testing,
visual observation, use of appropriate safety devices.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 315

 February 22

HAZARDS OF HIGH-PRESSURE SYSTEMS

• Common hazards of high-pressure systems;

– Leaks, pulsation, vibration.
– Release of high-pressure gases.
– Whiplash from broken high-pressure pipe, tubing, or
hose.
• Strategies for reducing these hazards include:
– Limiting vibration by use of vibration dampening.
– Decreasing leak potential by limiting the number of
joints in the system.
– Use of pressure gauges & shields/barricades.
– Remote control/monitoring; Restricted access.

CRACKING HAZARDS IN PRESSURE VESSELS

• A most serious hazards in pressure vessels is the

potential for cracking, which can lead to leaks, or to
complete rupture, consequences of which include
– Blast effects due to sudden expansion of vessel contents.
– Possible injuries/damage from fragmentation.
• Consequences of a leak include:
– Suffocation or poisoning of employees depending on
the contents of the vessel.
– Explosion and fire.
– Chemical/thermal burns from contact with the contents
of the vessel.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 316

 February 22

CRACKING HAZARDS IN PRESSURE VESSELS

• Pressure vessels are used in many applications to
contain many different types of substances. ranging
from water to extremely toxic chemicals.
– Leakage or rupture may occur in welded seams, bolted joints,
or at nozzles.

Deaerator Vessels
• Deaeration is removing non-condensable gases,
primarily oxygen, from steam generation water.
– Deaerator vessels are used in power generation, pulp,
paper & chemical processing, and petroleum refining.
• The most common failures in deaerator vessels are:
– Cracks caused by water hammer at welded joints that were not
postweld heat treated.
– Cracks caused by corrosion fatigue.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 317

 February 22

Amine Vessels
• The amine process removes hydrogen sulfide
from petroleum gases, such as propane and
butane.
– Also used for removing carbon dioxide in some
processes.
• Amine vessels are used in petroleum refineries,
gas treatment facilities, and chemical plants.
– The most common failures associated with amine
vessels are cracks in stressed or unrelieved welds.

Wet Hydrogen Sulfide Vessels

• Fluid that contains water & hydrogen sulfide is
considered wet hydrogen sulfide, and many
vessels used to contain it are made of steel.
– Hydrogen is generated when steel is exposed to such
a mixture.
• Dissolved hydrogen can cause cracking, blistering,
& embrittlement, particularly in high-strength
steels.
– Low-strength steels are recommended for wet
hydrogen sulfide vessels.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 318

 February 22

Ammonia Vessels
• Vessels for the containment of ammonia are
widely used in commercial refrigeration
systems and chemical processes.
– Such vessels are typically spheres of carbon steel.
• Water & oxygen content in ammonia can
cause carbon steel to crack, particularly near
welds.

Pulp Digester Vessels

• Pulp digestion in the manufacture of paper
involves use of a weak water solution of
sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide in a
range of 230 - 284 deg F.
– The most common failure in pulp digester vessels
is cracking along welded seams primarily due to
caustic stress corrosion.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 319

 February 22

NONDESTRUCTIVE PRESSURE VESSEL TESTS

• Five widely used nondestructive test methods:
– Visual examination.
– Liquid penetration test.
– Magnetic particle test.
– X-ray radiography.
– Ultrasonic test.
• Visual, liquid penetration & magnetic particle tests can detect
only defects on, or near the surface.
– They are referred to as surface tests.
• Radiographic/ultrasonic tests can detect problems within the
material.
– They are called volumetric tests.

Visual Examination
• A visual examination consists of a thorough
look at the vessel to detect signs of corrosion,
erosion, or hydrogen blistering.
– It is necessary to have a clean surface and good
lighting

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 320

 February 22

Liquid Penetration Test

• A specially formulated liquid penetrant is
placed over an area, and allowed to seep in.
– When the penetrant is removed from the surface,
some remains entrapped in the area of
discontinuity.
• A developing agent draws out entrapped
penetrant and magnifies the discontinuity.
– The process can be enhanced by fluorescent
chemicals
to aid in the detection of problems.

Magnetic Particle Test

• Discontinuities in/near the surface of a pressure
vessel disturb magnetic flux lines induced in a
ferromagnetic material.
– Disturbances are detected by applying fine particles
of ferromagnetic material to the surface of the vessel.
• Corners and surface irregularities in the vessel material
can produce the same disturbances as defects.
• As this test works only with ferromagnetic
material, use is limited to vessels of carbon &
low-alloy steels.

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 February 22

X-Ray Radiography
• An X-ray negative is made of a given portion of
the vessel, in the same way as those by
physicians and dentists.
– Irregularities such as holes, voids, or
discontinuities produce a greater exposure (darker
area) on the X-ray negative.

Ultrasonic Test
• Similar to radar &other
electromagnetic/acoustic waves for detecting
foreign objects.
– Short signals are induced into the material, and
waves reflected from discontinuities are detected
by one or more transducers.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 322

 February 22

PRESSURE DANGERS TO HUMANS

• Anoxia refers to the total lack of oxygen.
• Hypoxia, when available oxygen is reduced, can
occur while ascending to a high altitude, or when
oxygen in air has been replaced with another gas.
– Which may happen in some industrial situations.
• Altitude sickness is a form of hypoxia.
• Hyperoxia, an increased concentration of oxygen
in air, is not common.
– Hyperbaric chambers or improperly calibrated scuba
equipment can lead to convulsions if pure oxygen is
breathed for greater than three hours.

PRESSURE DANGERS TO HUMANS

• Continued exposure to high pressures will result
in confusion, convulsion, and eventual death.
– Changes in total pressure can induce trapped gas
effects.
• On a decrease in pressure, trapped gases will
increase in volume—according to Boyle’s law.
– Including air pockets in ears, sinuses & chest.
• Very rapid altitude ascent/descent can lead to lung
rupture, caused by a swift return to the surface
from diving or decompression during high-altitude
flight.
– This event is rare and happens only if the person is
holding his/her breath during the decompression.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 323

 February 22

PRESSURE DANGERS TO HUMANS

• Evolved gas effects are associated with
absorption of nitrogen into body tissues.
• When ascending in altitude, nitrogen must be
exhaled at a rate equal to or exceeding
absorption.
– If nitrogen is absorbed faster than it is exhaled, gas
bubbles of gas may form in blood & tissue.
– This can cause decompression sickness—the
bends—painful, sometimes fatal.

PRESSURE DANGERS TO HUMANS

• Formation of gas bubbles due to rapid ambient
pressure reduction is called dysbarism.
– Cause by release of gas from the blood and attempted
expansion of trapped gas in body tissues.
• It may occur with decompression associated with
rapidly moving from sea level (considered zero) to
approximately 20,000 feet above sea level.
• Dysbarism manifests itself in a variety of symptoms.
– The creeps are caused by bubble formation in the skin.
– Bubbles in the respiratory system cause the chokes.
– Bubbles in the brain may cause tingling/numbing, severe
headaches, muscle spasticity, blindness and paralysis.

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 February 22

PRESSURE DANGERS TO HUMANS

• Aseptic necrosis of bone is a delayed effect of
decompression sickness.
– Blood in capillaries supplying bone marrow may
become blocked, which can cause platelets & blood
cells to build up in a bone cavity.
• Marrow generation of blood cells can be damaged,
as well as the maintenance of healthy bone cells.

DECOMPRESSION PROCEDURES
• Employees working under pressure must undergo
decompression to return to normal atmosphere.
– Based on the amount of pressure to which the employee
is subjected and for how long.

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 February 22

MEASUREMENT OF PRESSURE HAZARDS

• Several methods of detecting pressure hazards:
– Sounds can be used to signal a pressurized gas leak.
• Gas discharge may be indicated by a whistling noise.
– Workers should not use fingers to probe for gas leaks.
• Cloth streamers may be tied to the gas vessel to indicate leaks.
– Soap solutions may be smeared over the vessel surface so that
bubbles are formed when gas escapes.
• A stream of bubbles indicates gas release.
– Scents may be added to gases that do not naturally have an odor—
such as natural gas.
– Leak detectors that measure pressure, current flow, or radioactivity
may be useful for some types of gases.
– Corrosion may be the long-term effect of escaping gases.

MEASUREMENT OF PRESSURE HAZARDS

• Common causes of gas leaks:
– Contamination by dirt can prevent the proper closing
of gas valves, threads, gaskets, and other closures.
– Over pressurization can overstress the gas vessel.
– The container closure may distort and separate from gaskets, leading
to cracking.
– Excessive temperatures applied to dissimilar metals
that are joined may cause unequal thermal expansion, loosening the
metal-to-metal joint.
– Materials may crack because of excessive cold.
– Operator errors may lead to hazardous gas release.

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 February 22

MEASUREMENT OF PRESSURE HAZARDS

• Nondestructive testing methods do not harm the material
being tested.
– They may include mixing dye penetrants and magnetic or radioactive
particles with the gas & measuring the flow.
– Ultrasonic and X-ray waves are often used to characterize materials
and detect cracks or other leakage points.
• Destructive testing destroys material being tested.
– Proof pressures generate stresses to the gas container, typically 1.5 to
1.667 times the maximum expected operating pressure for that
container.
– Strain measurements may also be collected to indicate permanent
weakening changes to the container material that remain after the
pressure is released.

REDUCTION OF PRESSURE HAZARDS

• Pressurized vessels should be stored in locations away from
cold or heat sources, including the sun.
– Cryogenic compounds may boil and burst the container when not kept
at the proper temperatures.
• Hoses should be firmly clamped at the ends when
pressurized—whipping action of pressurized flexible hoses can
be dangerous.
• Gas compression can occur in sealed containers exposed to
heat.
– Aerosol cans may explode violently when exposed to heat.
• Pressure should be released before working on equipment—
check gauges before any work begins.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 327

 February 22

REDUCTION OF PRESSURE HAZARDS

• Water hammer is a shock effect caused by liquid flow suddenly
stopping & produces loud noises.
– The momentum of the liquid is conducted back upstream in a shock
wave, and may damage pipe fittings & valves.
• Reduction of this hazard involves using air chambers in
the system and avoiding the use of quick-closing valves.

• Negative pressures or vacuums are caused by pressures below

atmospheric level.
– Negative pressures may result from hurricanes and tornadoes.
– Vacuums may cause collapse of closed containers.

REDUCTION OF PRESSURE HAZARDS

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 328

 February 22

Radiation Hazards

Radiation Hazards
• Radiation hazards in the workplace fall into
one of two categories: ionizing or nonionizing.

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 February 22

IONIZING RADIATION: TERMS AND CONCEPTS

• An ion is an electrically charged atom (or group of atoms) that
becomes charged when a neutral atom (or group of atoms) loses
or gains one or more electrons as a result of a chemical reaction.
– If an electron is lost during this process—a positively charged ion is
produced.
– If an electron is gained—a negatively charged ion is produced.

• To ionize is to become electrically charged or to change into

ions.
– Ionizing radiation is radiation that becomes electrically charged or
changed into ions.

IONIZING RADIATION: TERMS AND CONCEPTS

TYPES OF IONIZING
RADIATION

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 330

 February 22

IONIZING RADIATION: TERMS AND CONCEPTS

• OSHA CFR 1910.1096 - Basic terms and concepts:

– Radiation - energetic nuclear particles.
• Alpha, beta, gamma rays & X-rays.
• Neutrons, high-speed electrons, and high-speed protons.
– Radioactive material - material that emits corpuscular or
electromagnetic emanations.
• As the result of spontaneous nuclear disintegration.
– Restricted area - any area to which access is restricted
in an attempt to protect employees from exposure to
radiation or radioactive materials.
• An unrestricted area is any area to which access is not controlled
because there is no radioactivity hazard present.

IONIZING RADIATION: TERMS AND CONCEPTS

• OSHA CFR 1910.1096 - Basic terms and concepts:
– A dose is the amount of ionizing radiation absorbed per unit of mass by
part of the body or the whole body.

– Rad - measure of the dose of ionizing radiation absorbed by body tissues

stated in terms of the amount of energy absorbed per unit of mass of
tissue.
• One rad equals the absorption of 100 ergs per gram of tissue.
– Rem - measure of the dose of ionizing radiation to body tissue stated in
terms of its estimated biological effect relative to a dose of 1 roentgen (r)
of X-rays.
– Air dose - means that an instrument measures the air at or near the
surface of the body where the highest dosage occurs to determine the
level of the dose.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 331

 February 22

IONIZING RADIATION: TERMS AND CONCEPTS

• OSHA CFR 1910.1096 - Basic terms and concepts:
– Personal monitoring devices are devices worn or carried by an individual
to measure radiation doses received.
• Widely used devices include film badges, pocket chambers, pocket
dosimeters, and film rings.

– A radiation area - any accessible area in which radiation hazards exist

that could deliver doses as follows:
• Within one hour, a major portion of the body could receive
more than 5 millirems.
• Within five consecutive days, a major portion of the body
could receive more than 100 millirems.
– A high-radiation area - any accessible area, in which radiation hazards
exist, that could deliver a dose in
excess of 100 millirems within one hour.

EXPOSURE OF EMPLOYEES TO RADIATION

Maximum doses for individuals
in one calendar quarter.

Employers are responsible for ensuring

that these dosages are not exceeded.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 332

 February 22

EXPOSURE OF EMPLOYEES TO RADIATION

• Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
regulations specify total internal & external dose
for employees may not exceed 5 rems per year.
– This same revision established a total exposure limit
of
0.6 rem over the entire course of a pregnancy for
female employees.
• According to the NRC, the average radiation exposure of
nuclear plant workers is less than 400 millirems annually.

PRECAUTIONS AND PERSONAL

MONITORING
• OSHA requires personal monitoring
precautions for employees of companies that
produce, use, release, dispose of, or store
sources of ionizing radiation.
– Employers must conduct comprehensive surveys
to identify/evaluate radiation hazards in the
workplace.
– Employers must provide personal monitoring
devices such as film badges, pocket
chambers/dosimeters & film rings.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 333

 February 22

PRECAUTIONS AND PERSONAL

MONITORING
• Employers must require the use of appropriate
personal monitoring devices by the following:
– Any employee who enters a restricted area where
he/she is likely to receive a dose greater than 25% of
the total limit of exposure specified for a calendar
quarter.
– Any employee 18 years of age or less who enters a
restricted area where he/she is likely to receive a dose
greater than 5% of the total limit of exposure
specified
for a calendar quarter.
– Any employee who enters a high-radiation area.

CAUTION SIGNS AND LABELS

The universal color

scheme for caution
signs/labels warning
of radiation hazards
is purple or magenta
superimposed on a
yellow background.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 334

 February 22

CAUTION SIGNS AND LABELS

OSHA & NRC require caution

signs in radiation areas, high-
radiation areas, airborne
radiation areas, areas which
contain radioactive materials,
and containers in which
radioactive materials are
stored or transported.

CAUTION SIGNS AND LABELS

On containers, the label

should also include the
quantity of radioactive
material, kinds of radio-active
materials & date
on which the contents
were measured.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 335

 February 22

EVACUATION WARNING SIGNAL

• Companies that produce, use, store, or
transport radioactive materials are required to
have a signal-system that can warn of the
need for evacuation.

EVACUATION WARNING SIGNAL

• OSHA describes the signal system as:
– …a mid-frequency complex sound wave amplitude modulated at a
subsonic frequency.”
– …not be less than 75 decibels at every location where
an individual may be present whose immediate, rapid,
and complete evacuation is essential.
– …a sufficient number of signal generators must be installed to cover all
personnel…
– …unique, unduplicated, and instantly recognizable…
– …long enough in duration to ensure that all potentially affected
employees are able to hear it.
– …the signal generator must respond automatically without the need
for human activation ….fitted with backup power.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 336

 February 22

INSTRUCTING AND INFORMING

PERSONNEL
• OSHA has established specific requirements for
companies to keep employees informed concerning
radiation hazards & precautions for minimizing them.
– All employees must be informed of existing radiation
hazards and where they exist.
• The extent of the hazards, and how to protect themselves.
– All employees must be advised of any reports of radiation
exposure requested by other employees.
– All employees must have ready access to 29 CFR
1910.1096 and related company operating procedures.

STORAGE/DISPOSAL OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL

• To preclude handling & transport, intentional or

inadvertent, of radioactive materials by persons
not qualified to move them safely, radioactive
materials stored in unrestricted areas…
– “…shall be secured against unauthorized removal from
the place of storage.”
• A danger inherent in storing radioactive materials
is that an employee, may unwittingly attempt to
move the container and damage it in the process.
– This could release doses that exceed prescribed
acceptable limits.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 337

 February 22

STORAGE/DISPOSAL OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL

• There are only three acceptable ways to

dispose
of radioactive waste:
– Transfer to an authorized recipient
– Transfer in a manner approved by the Atomic
Energy Commission.
– Transfer in a manner approved by any state that
has an agreement with the Atomic Energy
Commission pursuant to Section 27(b) 42 U.S.C.

NOTIFICATION OF INCIDENTS
• An incident is defined by OSHA as follows
– Exposure of the whole body of any individual to 25 rems
or more of radiation.
– Exposure of the skin of the whole body of any individual
to 150 rems or more of radiation;
• Or exposure of feet/ankles/hands/forearms to 375 rems or more.
– Release of radioactive material in concentrations which,
if averaged over a period of 24 hours, would exceed
5,000 times the limit specified.
– If an incident meeting one of these criteria occurs, the
employer must notify the proper authorities immediately.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 338

 February 22

NOTIFICATION OF INCIDENTS
• Companies regulated by the AEC are to notify the
commission—all other companies are to notify the U.S.
assistant secretary of labor.
– Telephone or telegraph notifications are sufficient to
satisfy the immediacy requirement.
• Notification requirements are eased to 24 hours…
– Where whole-body exposure is between 5 and 24 rems.
– Exposure of the skin of the whole body is between 30
and 149 rems.
– Exposure of feet/ankles/hands/forearms is between 75
and 374 rems.
• Employers are required to follow up with a written report within
30 days.

REPORTS AND RECORDS OF OVEREXPOSURE

• When a report is filed concerning overexposure of an
employee, it should be given to the employee.
– Records should contain cumulative doses for each monitored
employee.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 339

 February 22

NOTICE TO EMPLOYEES
• The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
publishes NRC Form 3 to inform employees of the
standards for protection against radiation.
– What is the Nuclear Regulatory Commission?
• An independent federal regulatory agency responsible for
licensing and inspecting nuclear power plants and other
commercial uses of radioactive materials.
– What does the NRC do?
• NRC’s primary responsibility is to ensure that workers and
the public are protected from unnecessary or excessive
exposure to radiation and that nuclear facilities,are
constructed to high-quality standards & operated in a safe
manner.

NOTICE TO EMPLOYEES
• The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
publishes NRC Form 3 to inform employees of the
standards for protection against radiation.
– What responsibility does my employer have?
• Any company that conducts activities licensed by the
NRC must comply with the NRC’s requirements.
– What is my responsibility?
• For your protection & that of your coworkers, you should know how
NRC requirements relate to your work, and obey them.
– What if I cause a violation?
• If you engage in misconduct that may cause a violation of NRC
requirements or would have caused a violation if not detected, or
provided inaccurate/incomplete information to the NRC or your
employer, you may be subject to enforcement action.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 340

 February 22

NOTICE TO EMPLOYEES
• The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
publishes NRC Form 3 to inform employees of the
standards for protection against radiation.
– How do I report violations and safety concerns?
• If you believe that violations of NRC rules or the terms of the license
have occurred, or if you have a safety concern, you should report
them immediately to your supervisor.
• You may report violations/safety concerns directly to the NRC.
– What if I work with radioactive material or in the vicinity
of a radioactive source?
• If you work with radioactive materials or near a radiation
source, the amount of radiation exposure that you are
permitted to receive may be limited by NRC regulations.

NOTICE TO EMPLOYEES
• The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
publishes NRC Form 3 to inform employees of the
standards for protection against radiation.
– May I get a record of my radiation exposure?
• Yes. Your employer is required to advise you of your dose annually if
you are exposed to radiation for which monitoring was required by
NRC.
– How are violations of NRC requirements identified?
• NRC conducts regular inspections at licensed facilities to assure
compliance with NRC requirements.
– May I talk with an NRC inspector?
• Yes. NRC inspectors want to talk to you if you are worried about
radiation safety or have other safety concerns about licensed
activities.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 341

 February 22

NOTICE TO EMPLOYEES
• The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
publishes NRC Form 3 to inform employees of the
standards for protection against radiation.
– May I request an inspection?
• Yes. If you believe that your employer has not corrected violations involving
radiological working conditions, you
may request an inspection.

– How do I contact the NRC?

• Talk to an NRC inspector on-site, or call or write to the
nearest NRC Regional Office in your geographical area.
– Can I be fired for raising a safety concern?
• Federal law prohibits an employer from firing or otherwise discriminating
against you for bringing safety concerns to the attention of your employer or
the NRC.

NONIONIZING RADIATION
• Nonionizing radiation has a frequency (hertz,
cycles per second) of 1015 or less, and a
wavelength in meters of 3 Hz 10-7 or less.
– Visible, ultraviolet, infrared, microwave, radio & AC
power.
• Radiation at these frequency levels does not have
sufficient energy to shatter atoms and ionize
them.
– However, such radiation can cause blisters and
blindness.
• There is mounting evidence of a link between nonionizing
radiation and cancer.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 342

 February 22

NONIONIZING RADIATION
The warning symbol for radio frequency radiation.

NONIONIZING RADIATION
• Visible radiation comes from light sources that create
distortion, a hazard to employees whose
jobs require color perception.
– 8% of the male population is red color-blind and cannot properly
perceive red warning signs..
• The most common source of ultraviolet radiation is the sun—
potential problems include sunburn, skin cancer, and
cataracts.
– Precautionary measures include special sunglasses treated to block
ultraviolet rays, and protective clothing.
• Other sources of ultraviolet radiation include lasers, welding arcs, and
ultraviolet lamps.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 343

 February 22

NONIONIZING RADIATION
• Infrared radiation creates heat—problems
involve heat stress and dry skin and eyes.
– Primary sources of infrared radiation are high-
temperature processes such as the production of
glass and steel.

NONIONIZING RADIATION
• Radio frequency (RF) & microwave (MW) radiation are
electromagnetic radiation in the frequency range of 3
kilohertz (kHz) to 300 gigahertz (GHz)
– Microwaves occupy the spectral region between 300 GHz
and 300 MHz & RF or radio waves are 300 MHz to 3 kHz.
• RF and MW radiation are nonionizing in that there is insufficient
energy to ionize biologically important atoms.
– Primary health effects of RF and MW energy are
considered to be thermal.
– Absorption of RF and MW energy varies with frequency.
• Microwave frequencies produce a skin effect—you can literally
sense your skin starting to feel warm.
• RF may penetrate the body & be absorbed in deep body organs
without the skin effect that can warn an individual of danger.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 344

 February 22

NONIONIZING RADIATION
• Use of RF and MW radiation includes:
– Aeronautical/citizen’s (CB) radios, cellular phones,
radar.
– Processing/cooking of foods, heat sealers.
– Vinyl welders, high-frequency welders, induction
heaters, flow solder machines.
– Ion implant equipment, microwave drying
equipment, sputtering equipment, glue curing,
and power amplifiers.

NONIONIZING RADIATION
• Extremely low frequency (ELF) radiation includes
alternating current (AC) fields & nonionizing radiation
from 1 Hz to 300 Hz.
– As ELF frequencies are low (on the order of 1,000 km
wavelengths), static electromagnetic fields are created.
• ELF fields are considered as separate, independent,
nonradiating electric and magnetic fields.
– Electric and magnetic fields (EMFs) at 60 Hz are produced
by power lines, electrical wiring, and electrical equipment.
• Electric fields are produced by voltage and increase in
strength as the voltage increases.
– Measured in units of volts per meter (V/m).

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 345

 February 22

NONIONIZING RADIATION
• Magnetic fields are from the flow of current through
wires or electrical devices and increase in strength as
the current increases.
– Magnetic fields are measured in gauss (G) or tesla (T).
• Electrical equipment usually must be turned on for
a magnetic field to be produced.
– Electric fields are present even when equipment is
turned off, as long as it is plugged in.
• Exposure to EMFs depends on the strength of the
magnetic field sources, the distance from those
sources, and the time spent in the magnetic field.

NONIONIZING RADIATION
• Hazards of lasers consist of a thermal threat to
the eyes and of electrocution from power
sources.
– Smoke created by lasers in some processes can be
toxic.
• Video display terminals (VDTs) emit various kinds
of nonionizing radiation—typically, levels are well
below established standards.
– Concerns persist about the long-term effects of
prolonged and continual exposure to VDT-based
radiation.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 346

 February 22

ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS IN THE WORKPLACE

• Studies of potential effects on worker health of

occupational exposure to electric & magnetic
fields reported a variety of subjective complaints,
including problems with their cardiovascular,
digestive, and central nervous systems.
– While much of the research has been inconclusive, the
case for a clear link between EMFs and a variety of
health problems is strong.
• The health problems most frequently associated
with EMF exposure are brain cancer, acute
myeloid leukemia, leukemia, and lymphatic
leukemia

ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS IN THE WORKPLACE

• Occupations with a higher-than-normal

incidence of leukemia and brain cancer:
– Telephone operators; Electrical manufacturing
workers.
– Power plant workers; Electrical engineers & line
workers.
– Power station operators; Electricians & cable
splicers.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 347

 February 22

Cancellation Approach
• Cancellation is an attenuation technique in which
the magnetic fields produced by sources of
electricity are, in effect, canceled out.
– Phase currents flowing through a given conductor are
canceled out or drastically reduced by phase currents
flowing in the opposite conductors.
• In many cases, a principal source of magnetic
fields is found to be the conductor systems
leading to tools or power apparatus.
– These fields could be canceled via compaction of the
conductor systems.

Shielding Approach
• Shielding, another approach to decrease exposure to
EMFs, requires the magnetic fields to be diverted
around the volume considered to be sensitive to the
magnetic fields, or to be contained within the device
that produces the fields.
– Effectively accomplishing shielding at either the source
or the subject requires extreme care in choosing the
shielding material.
• Both cancellation and shielding are highly technical
approaches requiring specialized knowledge.
– It may be necessary to consult with EMF experts before
attempting to implement either approach.

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 348

 February 22

Workshop for Hazard Identification

and
Assessment Plan

Presented by: Dr. Mohamed G. Kafafy ©2022 349