Sample records for operational safety performance

  1. Safety and operational performance evaluation of four types of exit ramps on Florida's freeways (final report).

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2010-12-01

    This project mainly focuses on exit ramp performance analysis of safety and operations. In addition, issues of advance guide sign for exit ramp are also mentioned. : Safety analysis evaluates safety performances of different exit ramps used in Florid...

  2. 49 CFR 385.337 - What happens if a new entrant refuses to permit a safety audit to be performed on its operations?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... safety audit to be performed on its operations? 385.337 Section 385.337 Transportation Other Regulations... TRANSPORTATION FEDERAL MOTOR CARRIER SAFETY REGULATIONS SAFETY FITNESS PROCEDURES New Entrant Safety Assurance Program § 385.337 What happens if a new entrant refuses to permit a safety audit to be performed on its...

  3. 43 CFR 3162.5-3 - Safety precautions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 43 Public Lands: Interior 2 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Safety precautions. 3162.5-3 Section 3162... for Operating Rights Owners and Operators § 3162.5-3 Safety precautions. The operator shall perform... necessary to provide adequate protection for the health and safety of life and the protection of property...

  4. Integrated vehicle-based safety systems field operational test final program report.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2011-06-01

    "This document presents results from the light-vehicle and heavy-truck field operational tests performed as part of the Integrated Vehicle-Based Safety Systems (IVBSS) program. The findings are the result of analyses performed by the University of Mi...

  5. Integrated Vehicle-Based Safety Systems Field Operational Test : Final Program Report

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2011-06-01

    This document presents results from the light-vehicle and heavy-truck field operational tests performed as part of the Integrated Vehicle-Based Safety Systems (IVBSS) program. The findings are the result of analyses performed by the University of Mic...

  6. Applying lessons from commercial aviation safety and operations to resuscitation.

    PubMed

    Ornato, Joseph P; Peberdy, Mary Ann

    2014-02-01

    Both commercial aviation and resuscitation are complex activities in which team members must respond to unexpected emergencies in a consistent, high quality manner. Lives are at stake in both activities and the two disciplines have similar leadership structures, standard setting processes, training methods, and operational tools. Commercial aviation crews operate with remarkable consistency and safety, while resuscitation team performance and outcomes are highly variable. This commentary provides the perspective of two physician-pilots showing how commercial aviation training, operations, and safety principles can be adapted to resuscitation team training and performance. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Safety Verification of the Small Aircraft Transportation System Concept of Operations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Carreno, Victor; Munoz, Cesar

    2005-01-01

    A critical factor in the adoption of any new aeronautical technology or concept of operation is safety. Traditionally, safety is accomplished through a rigorous process that involves human factors, low and high fidelity simulations, and flight experiments. As this process is usually performed on final products or functional prototypes, concept modifications resulting from this process are very expensive to implement. This paper describe an approach to system safety that can take place at early stages of a concept design. It is based on a set of mathematical techniques and tools known as formal methods. In contrast to testing and simulation, formal methods provide the capability of exhaustive state exploration analysis. We present the safety analysis and verification performed for the Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) Concept of Operations (ConOps). The concept of operations is modeled using discrete and hybrid mathematical models. These models are then analyzed using formal methods. The objective of the analysis is to show, in a mathematical framework, that the concept of operation complies with a set of safety requirements. It is also shown that the ConOps has some desirable characteristic such as liveness and absence of dead-lock. The analysis and verification is performed in the Prototype Verification System (PVS), which is a computer based specification language and a theorem proving assistant.

  8. 78 FR 54280 - Biweekly Notice; Applications and Amendments to Facility Operating Licenses and Combined Licenses...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-09-03

    ... safety-related batteries would remain operable if all the inter-cell and terminal connections were at the... new acceptance criteria for total battery connection resistance to ensure that the safety-related batteries can perform their specified safety function. Basis for proposed no significant hazards...

  9. Engineering Safety- and Security-Related Requirements for Software-Intensive Systems

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2010-04-27

    Requirements Negative (shall not) Requirements Hardware Requirements equ remen s System / Documentation Requirements eve oper Requirements Operational ...Validation Actual / Proposed Defensibility C li Operational Vulnerability Analysis VulnerabilityVulnerability Safety Vulnerability performs System ...including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington Headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson

  10. Crew Factors in Flight Operations XIV: Alertness Management in Regional Flight Operations Education Module

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rosekind, Mark R.; Co, Elizabeth L.; Neri, David F.; Oyung, Raymond L.; Mallis, Melissa M.

    2002-01-01

    Regional operations encompass a broad range of pilots and equipment. This module is intended to help all those involved in regional aviation, including pilots, schedulers, dispatchers, maintenance technicians, policy makers, and others, to understand the physiological factors underlying fatigue, how flight operations affect fatigue, and what can be done to counteract fatigue and maximize alertness and performance in their operations. The overall purpose of this module is to promote aviation safety, performance, and productivity. It is intended to meet three specific objectives: (1) to explain the current state of knowledge about the physiological mechanisms underlying fatigue; (2) to demonstrate how this knowledge can be applied to improving flight crew sleep, performance, and alertness; and (3) to offer strategies for alertness management. Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) and National Transportation Safety Board (NISH) reports are used throughout this module to demonstrate that fatigue is a safety issue in the regional operations community. The appendices at the end of this module include the ASRS reports used for the examples contained in this publication, brief introductions to sleep disorders and relaxation techniques, summaries of relevant NASA publications, and a list of general readings on sleep, sleep disorders, and circadian rhythms.

  11. Aerospace safety advisory panel

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1983-01-01

    Data acquired on the actual flight experience with the various subsystems are assessed. These subsystems include: flight control and performance, structural integrity, orbiter landing gear, lithium batteries, EVA and prebreathing, and main engines. Improvements for routine operations are recommended. Policy issues for operations and flight safety for aircraft operations are discussed.

  12. Synthesis of safety for traffic operations

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2003-03-01

    Traffic operations practitioners are continually making decisions that impact on the safety performance of the transportation network. In order to make the best possible decisions the practitioner must be aware of the best available evidence on safet...

  13. Criticality Safety Evaluation of Standard Criticality Safety Requirements #1-520 g Operations in PF-4

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Yamanaka, Alan Joseph Jr.

    Guidance has been requested from the Nuclear Criticality Safety Division (NCSD) regarding processes that involve 520 grams of fissionable material or less. This Level-3 evaluation was conducted and documented in accordance with NCS-AP-004 (Ref. 1), formerly NCS-GUIDE-01. This evaluation is being written as a generic evaluation for all operations that will be able to operate using a 520-gram mass limit. Implementation for specific operations will be performed using a Level 1 CSED, which will confirm and document that this CSED can be used for the specific operation as discussed in NCS-MEMO-17-007 (Ref. 2). This Level 3 CSED updates and supersedesmore » the analysis performed in NCS-TECH-14-014 (Ref. 3).« less

  14. The procedure safety system

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Obrien, Maureen E.

    1990-01-01

    Telerobotic operations, whether under autonomous or teleoperated control, require a much more sophisticated safety system than that needed for most industrial applications. Industrial robots generally perform very repetitive tasks in a controlled, static environment. The safety system in that case can be as simple as shutting down the robot if a human enters the work area, or even simply building a cage around the work space. Telerobotic operations, however, will take place in a dynamic, sometimes unpredictable environment, and will involve complicated and perhaps unrehearsed manipulations. This creates a much greater potential for damage to the robot or objects in its vicinity. The Procedural Safety System (PSS) collects data from external sensors and the robot, then processes it through an expert system shell to determine whether an unsafe condition or potential unsafe condition exists. Unsafe conditions could include exceeding velocity, acceleration, torque, or joint limits, imminent collision, exceeding temperature limits, and robot or sensor component failure. If a threat to safety exists, the operator is warned. If the threat is serious enough, the robot is halted. The PSS, therefore, uses expert system technology to enhance safety thus reducing operator work load, allowing him/her to focus on performing the task at hand without the distraction of worrying about violating safety criteria.

  15. Safety assessment for EPS electron-proton spectrometer

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Gleeson, P.

    1971-01-01

    A safety analysis was conducted to identify the efforts required to assure relatively hazard free operation of the EPS and to meet the safety requirements of the program. Safety engineering criteria, principles, and techniques in applicable disciplines are stressed in the performance of the system and subsystem studies; in test planning; in the design, development, test, evaluation, and checkout of the equipment; and the operating procedures for the EPS program.

  16. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Hagen, E.W.

    This report reviews and evaluates the performance of the compressed-air and pressurized-nitrogen gas systems in commercial nuclear power units. The information was collected from readily available operating experiences, licensee event reports, system designs in safety analysis reports, and regulatory documents. The results are collated and analyzed for significance and impact on power plant safety performance. Under certain circumstances, the fail-safe philosophy for a piece of equipment or subsystem of the compressed-air systems initiated a series of actions culminating in reactor transient or unit scram. However, based on this study of prevailing operating experiences, reclassifying the compressed-gas systems to a highermore » safety level will neither prevent (nor mitigate) the reoccurrences of such happenings nor alleviate nuclear power plant problems caused by inadequate maintenance, operating procedures, and/or practices. Conversely, because most of the problems were derived from the sources listed previously, upgrading of both maintenance and operating procedures will not only result in substantial improvement in the performance and availability of the compressed-air (and backup nitrogen) systems but in improved overall plant performance.« less

  17. Bus operator safety : critical issues examination and model practices.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2014-01-01

    In this study, researchers at the National Center for Transit Research performed a multi-topic comprehensive : examination of bus operator-related critical safety and personal security issues. The goals of this research : effort were to: : 1. Identif...

  18. Crew Factors in Flight Operations XV: Alertness Management in General Aviation Education Module

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rosekind, Mark R.; Co, Elizabeth L.; Neri, David F.; Oyung, Raymond L.; Mallis, Melissa M.; Cannon, Mary M. (Technical Monitor)

    2002-01-01

    Regional operations encompass a broad range of pilots and equipment. This module is intended to help all those involved in regional aviation, including pilots, schedulers, dispatchers, maintenance technicians, policy makers, and others, to understand the physiological factors underlying fatigue, how flight operations affect fatigue, and what can be done to counteract fatigue and maximize alertness and performance in their operations. The overall purpose of this module is to promote aviation safety, performance, and productivity. It is intended to meet three specific objectives: (1) to explain the current state of knowledge about the physiological mechanisms underlying fatigue; (2) to demonstrate how this knowledge can be applied to improving flight crew sleep, performance, and alertness; and (3) to offer strategies for alertness management. Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) and National Transportation Safety Board (NISH) reports are used throughout this module to demonstrate that fatigue is a safety issue in the regional operations community. The appendices at the end of this module include the ASRS reports used for the examples contained in this publication, brief introductions to sleep disorders and relaxation techniques, summaries of relevant NASA publications, and a list of general readings on sleep, sleep disorders, and circadian rhythms.

  19. Predictors of Payer Mix and Financial Performance Among Safety Net Hospitals Prior to the Affordable Care Act.

    PubMed

    Sommers, Benjamin D; Stone, Juliana; Kane, Nancy

    2016-01-01

    The objective of this study was to use audited hospital financial statements to identify predictors of payer mix and financial performance in safety net hospitals prior to the Affordable Care Act. We analyzed the 2010 financial statements of 98 large, urban safety net hospital systems in 34 states, supplemented with data on population demographics, hospital features, and state policies. We used multivariate regression to identify independent predictors of three outcomes: 1) Medicaid-reliant payer mix (hospitals for which at least 25% of hospital days are paid for by Medicaid); 2) safety net revenue-to-cost ratio (Medicaid and Medicare Disproportionate Share Hospital payments and local government transfers, divided by charity care costs and Medicaid payment shortfall); and 3) operating margin. Medicaid-reliant payer mix was positively associated with more inclusive state Medicaid eligibility criteria and more minority patients. More inclusive Medicaid eligibility and higher Medicaid reimbursement rates positively predicted safety net revenue-to-cost ratio. University governance was the strongest positive predictor of operating margin. Safety net hospital financial performance varied considerably. Academic hospitals had higher operating margins, while more generous Medicaid eligibility and reimbursement policies improved hospitals' ability to recoup costs. Institutional and state policies may outweigh patient demographics in the financial health of safety net hospitals. © The Author(s) 2015.

  20. Integrated vehicle-based safety systems (IVBSS) : light vehicle platform field operational test data analysis plan.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2009-12-22

    This document presents the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institutes plan to : perform analysis of data collected from the light vehicle platform field operational test of the : Integrated Vehicle-Based Safety Systems (IVBSS) progr...

  1. Integrated vehicle-based safety systems (IVBSS) : heavy truck platform field operational test data analysis plan.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2009-11-23

    This document presents the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institutes plan to perform : analysis of data collected from the heavy truck platform field operational test of the Integrated Vehicle- : Based Safety Systems (IVBSS) progra...

  2. Behavior-based safety on construction sites: a case study.

    PubMed

    Choudhry, Rafiq M

    2014-09-01

    This work presents the results of a case study and describes an important area within the field of construction safety management, namely behavior-based safety (BBS). This paper adopts and develops a management approach for safety improvements in construction site environments. A rigorous behavioral safety system and its intervention program was implemented and deployed on target construction sites. After taking a few weeks of safety behavior measurements, the project management team implemented the designed intervention and measurements were taken. Goal-setting sessions were arranged on-site with workers' participation to set realistic and attainable targets of performance. Safety performance measurements continued and the levels of performance and the targets were presented on feedback charts. Supervisors were asked to give workers recognition and praise when they acted safely or improved critical behaviors. Observers were requested to have discussions with workers, visit the site, distribute training materials to workers, and provide feedback to crews and display charts. They were required to talk to operatives in the presence of line managers. It was necessary to develop awareness and understanding of what was being measured. In the process, operatives learned how to act safely when conducting site tasks using the designed checklists. Current weekly scores were discussed in the weekly safety meetings and other operational site meetings with emphasis on how to achieve set targets. The reliability of the safety performance measures taken by the company's observers was monitored. A clear increase in safety performance level was achieved across all categories: personal protective equipment; housekeeping; access to heights; plant and equipment, and scaffolding. The research reveals that scores of safety performance at one project improved from 86% (at the end of 3rd week) to 92.9% during the 9th week. The results of intervention demonstrated large decreases in unsafe behaviors and significant increases in safe behaviors. The results of this case study showed that an approach based on goal setting, feedback, and an effective measure of safety behavior if properly applied by committed management, can improve safety performance significantly in construction site environments. The results proved that the BBS management technique can be applied to any country's culture, showing that it would be a good approach for improving the safety of front-line workers and that it has industry wide application for ongoing construction projects. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. High-Explosives Applications Facility (HEAF)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Morse, J. L.; Weingart, R. C.

    1989-03-01

    This Safety Analysis Report (SAR) reviews the safety and environmental aspects of the High Explosives Applications Facility (HEAF). Topics covered include the site selected for the HEAF, safety design criteria, operations planned within the facility, and the safety and environmental analyses performed on this project to date. Provided in the Summary section is a review of hazards and the analyses, conclusions, and operating limits developed in this SAR. Appendices provide supporting documents relating to this SAR. This SAR is required by the LLNL Health and Safety Manual and DOE Order 5481.1B(2) to document the safety analysis efforts. The SAR was assembled by the Hazards Control Department, B-Division, and HEAF project personnel. This document was reviewed by B Division, the Chemistry Department, the Hazards Control Department, the Laboratory Associate Director for Administration and Operations, and the Associate Directors ultimately responsible for HEAF operations.

  4. Integrated vehicle-based safety systems : heavy-truck field operational test key findings report.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2010-08-01

    This document presents key findings from the heavy-truck field operational test conducted as : part of the Integrated Vehicle-Based Safety Systems program. These findings are the result of : analyses performed by the University of Michigan Transporta...

  5. Integrated vehicle-based safety systems light-vehicle field operational test key findings report.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2011-01-01

    This document presents key findings from the light-vehicle field operational test conducted as part of the Integrated Vehicle-Based Safety Systems program. These findings are the result of analyses performed by the University of Michigan Transportati...

  6. Integrated vehicle-based safety systems light-vehicle field operational test key findings report.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2011-01-01

    "This document presents key findings from the light-vehicle field operational test conducted as part of the Integrated Vehicle-Based Safety Systems program. These findings are the result of analyses performed by the University of Michigan Transportat...

  7. 78 FR 20423 - Oil and Gas and Sulphur Operations in the Outer Continental Shelf-Revisions to Safety and...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-04-05

    ... to reduce human error and organizational failure. On September 14, 2011, the Bureau of Ocean Energy... system based on API RP 75, owners and operators would be required to formulate policy and objectives... safety and environmental records, encourage the use of performance-based operating practices, and...

  8. New Safety and Technical Challenges and Operational Experience on the JET First Trace Tritium Experiment

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Pearce, R.J.H.; Bell, A.C.; Brennan, D.

    'Trace Tritium Experiments' (TTE) were successfully performed on JET in 2003. The Campaign marked the first use of tritium in JET plasmas since the Deuterium-Tritium Experiment (DTE1) Campaign in 1997, and was the first use of tritium in experiments under the EFDA organisation with the UKAEA as JET Operator. The safety and regulatory preparations for the experiment were extensive. Since JET has been operated by the UKAEA the operations have followed the model of a licensed nuclear site. The safe operation of the JET torus is demonstrated in a safety case. Key Safety Management Requirement (KSMR) and Key Safety Relatedmore » Equipment (KSRE) are identified in the Safety Case for DT operation. The safe operation of the torus is within the bounds of, and under the control of, an Authority to Operate (ATO). New technical challenges were presented by the need to inject and account for small quantities of tritium in very short pulses ({approx}80ms), with an accurate time stamp. The safety and operational management of the campaign are described. Valuable lessons were learned which would help in running future experiments. It is concluded that JET is in a strong position to run future trace tritium and full DT discharges.« less

  9. Integrated vehicle-based safety systems heavy truck field operational test, methodology and results report.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2010-12-01

    "This document presents the methodology and results from the heavy-truck field operational test conducted as part of the Integrated Vehicle-Based Safety Systems program. These findings are the result of analyses performed by the University of Michiga...

  10. Integrated vehicle-based safety systems light-vehicle field operational test, methodology and results report.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2010-12-01

    "This document presents the methodology and results from the light-vehicle field operational test conducted as part of the Integrated Vehicle-Based Safety Systems program. These findings are the result of analyses performed by the University of Michi...

  11. Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1984-01-01

    An assessment of NASA's safety performance for 1983 affirms that NASA Headquarters and Center management teams continue to hold the safety of manned flight to be their prime concern, and that essential effort and resources are allocated for maintaining safety in all of the development and operational programs. Those conclusions most worthy of NASA management concentration are given along with recommendations for action concerning; product quality and utility; space shuttle main engine; landing gear; logistics and management; orbiter structural loads, landing speed, and pitch control; the shuttle processing contractor; and the safety of flight operations. It appears that much needs to be done before the Space Transportation System can achieve the reliability necessary for safe, high rate, low cost operations.

  12. Analysis of safety reports involving area navigation and required navigation performance procedures.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2010-11-03

    In order to achieve potential operational and safety benefits enabled by Area Navigation (RNAV) and Required Navigation Performance (RNP) procedures it is important to monitor emerging issues in their initial implementation. Reports from the Aviation...

  13. Safety and Performance Analysis of the Non-Radar Oceanic/Remote Airspace In-Trail Procedure

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Carreno, Victor A.; Munoz, Cesar A.

    2007-01-01

    This document presents a safety and performance analysis of the nominal case for the In-Trail Procedure (ITP) in a non-radar oceanic/remote airspace. The analysis estimates the risk of collision between the aircraft performing the ITP and a reference aircraft. The risk of collision is only estimated for the ITP maneuver and it is based on nominal operating conditions. The analysis does not consider human error, communication error conditions, or the normal risk of flight present in current operations. The hazards associated with human error and communication errors are evaluated in an Operational Hazards Analysis presented elsewhere.

  14. 30 CFR 250.107 - What must I do to protect health, safety, property, and the environment?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ..., property, and the environment? 250.107 Section 250.107 Mineral Resources MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE... Performance Standards § 250.107 What must I do to protect health, safety, property, and the environment? (a) You must protect health, safety, property, and the environment by: (1) Performing all operations in a...

  15. Evaluation Of The Vehicle Radar Safety Systems Rashid Radar Safety Brake Collision Warning System, Final Report

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1988-02-01

    THIS EVALUATION OF THE VEHICLE RADAR SAFETY SYSTEMS? ANTI-COLLISION DEVICE (HEREAFTER VRSS) WAS UNDERTAKEN BY THE OPERATOR PERFORMANCE AND SAFETY ANALYSIS DIVISION OF THE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS CENTER AT THE REQUEST OF THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SA...

  16. Analysis of new entrant motor carrier safety performance and compliance using SafeStat

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2000-03-01

    This report documents the findings of a special study undertaken to update, confirm and expand upon previous studies on the comparative (to experienced carriers) safety performance and compliance of large commercial motor vehicle operators (motor car...

  17. Compressed Natural Gas Safety in Transit Operations

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1995-09-14

    This report examines the safety issues relating to the use of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) in transit service. The safety issues were determined by on-site surveys performed by Battelle of Columbus, Ohio and Science Applications International Corpora...

  18. TeamSTEPPS Improves Operating Room Efficiency and Patient Safety.

    PubMed

    Weld, Lancaster R; Stringer, Matthew T; Ebertowski, James S; Baumgartner, Timothy S; Kasprenski, Matthew C; Kelley, Jeremy C; Cho, Doug S; Tieva, Erwin A; Novak, Thomas E

    2016-09-01

    The objective was to evaluate the effect of TeamSTEPPS on operating room efficiency and patient safety. TeamSTEPPS consisted of briefings attended by all health care personnel assigned to the specific operating room to discuss issues unique to each case scheduled for that day. The operative times, on-time start rates, and turnover times of all cases performed by the urology service during the initial year with TeamSTEPPS were compared to the prior year. Patient safety issues identified during postoperative briefings were analyzed. The mean case time was 12.7 minutes less with TeamSTEPPS (P < .001). The on-time first-start rate improved by 21% with TeamSTEPPS (P < .001). The mean room turnover time did not change. Patient safety issues declined from an initial rate of 16% to 6% at midyear and remained stable (P < 0.001). TeamSTEPPS was associated with improved operating room efficiency and diminished patient safety issues in the operating room. © The Author(s) 2015.

  19. 10 CFR 63.112 - Requirements for preclosure safety analysis of the geologic repository operations area.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... emergency power to instruments, utility service systems, and operating systems important to safety if there... include: (a) A general description of the structures, systems, components, equipment, and process... of the performance of the structures, systems, and components to identify those that are important to...

  20. 10 CFR 63.112 - Requirements for preclosure safety analysis of the geologic repository operations area.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... emergency power to instruments, utility service systems, and operating systems important to safety if there... include: (a) A general description of the structures, systems, components, equipment, and process... of the performance of the structures, systems, and components to identify those that are important to...

  1. 10 CFR 63.112 - Requirements for preclosure safety analysis of the geologic repository operations area.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... emergency power to instruments, utility service systems, and operating systems important to safety if there... include: (a) A general description of the structures, systems, components, equipment, and process... of the performance of the structures, systems, and components to identify those that are important to...

  2. 10 CFR 63.112 - Requirements for preclosure safety analysis of the geologic repository operations area.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... emergency power to instruments, utility service systems, and operating systems important to safety if there... include: (a) A general description of the structures, systems, components, equipment, and process... of the performance of the structures, systems, and components to identify those that are important to...

  3. 48 CFR 970.5203-2 - Performance improvement and collaboration.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... ENERGY AGENCY SUPPLEMENTARY REGULATIONS DOE MANAGEMENT AND OPERATING CONTRACTS Solicitation Provisions and Contract Clauses for Management and Operating Contracts 970.5203-2 Performance improvement and... practices, where appropriate, that will improve performance in the areas of environmental and health, safety...

  4. FMCSA’s advanced system testing utilizing a data acquisition system on the highways (FAST DASH) safety technology evaluation project #2 : technology brief.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2016-11-01

    The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) established the FAST DASH program to perform efficient independent evaluations of promising safety technologies aimed at commercial vehicle operations. In this second FAST DASH safety technology...

  5. Sounding rocket and balloon flight safety philosophy and methodologies

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Beyma, R. J.

    1986-01-01

    NASA's sounding rocket and balloon goal is to successfully and safely perform scientific research. This is reflected in the design, planning, and conduct of sounding rocket and balloon operations. The purpose of this paper is to acquaint the sounding rocket and balloon scientific community with flight safety philosophy and methodologies, and how range safety affects their programs. This paper presents the flight safety philosophy for protecting the public against the risk created by the conduct of sounding rocket and balloon operations. The flight safety criteria used to implement this philosophy are defined and the methodologies used to calculate mission risk are described.

  6. FMCSA’s advanced system testing utilizing a data acquisition system on the highways (FAST DASH) safety technology evaluation project #3 : novel convex mirrors : technology brief.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2016-11-01

    The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) established the FAST DASH program to perform efficient independent evaluations of promising safety technologies aimed at commercial vehicle operations. In this third FAST DASH safety technology ...

  7. The Problems of Ensure of Safe Labor Conditions on Workplaces for Adhesive Bonding

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ciecińska, Barbara; Homik, Wojciech

    2016-06-01

    In the performance a variety of technological operations a human may come into contact with a variety of factors causing deterioration of safety at work. As an example of which is described in article, adhesive bonding operations are requiring use of specific chemicals, which are adhesives. They are produced on the basis of a variety of compounds, often hazardous to human health. Furthermore, adhesive bonding requires a series of preparatory operations such as degreasing or surface preparation with a specific structure and roughness and auxiliary operations such as measurement of the wettability of surface. In this paper are described examples of risks occurring during adhesive bonding, it is a simple way to estimate the risks associated with the performance of operations. The examples of the determination by the producers of chemicals are described which are used in adhesive bonding and fragment of international chemical safety card (ICSC), as a source of information important to the workplace organization and ensuring safety during adhesive bonding.

  8. Clean air program : liquefied natural gas safety in transit operations

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1996-03-31

    The report examines the safety issues relating to the use of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in transit service. The safety issues were determined by on-site surveys performed by Battelle of Columbus, Ohio, and Science Applications International Corp. (S...

  9. 75 FR 14493 - Safety Zone; Dive Platform, Pago Pago Harbor, American Samoa

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-03-26

    ... vessels for the planned diving operations in and around the CHEHALIS wreck. Background and Purpose On... performing operations in and around the CHEHALIS wreck. The safety zone is necessary to protect other vessels... CHEHALIS wreck to determine the wreck's potential pollution threat to the environment. In December 2009...

  10. Real Time Maintenance Approval and Required IMMT Coordination

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Burchell, S.

    2016-01-01

    Payloads are assessed for nominal operations. Payload Developers have the option of performing a maintenance hazard assessment (MHA) for potential maintenance activities. When POIC (Payload Operations and Integration Center) Safety reviews an OCR calling for a maintenance procedure, we cannot approve it without a MHA. If no MHA exists, we contact MER (Mission Evaluation Room) Safety. Depending on the nature of the problem, MER Safety has the option to: Analyze and grant approval themselves; Direct the payload back to the ISRP (Integrated Safety Review Panel); Direct the payload to the IMMT (Increment Mission Management Team).

  11. Occupational Safety Review of High Technology Facilities

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Lee Cadwallader

    2005-01-31

    This report contains reviews of operating experiences, selected accident events, and industrial safety performance indicators that document the performance of the major US DOE magnetic fusion experiments and particle accelerators. These data are useful to form a basis for the occupational safety level at matured research facilities with known sets of safety rules and regulations. Some of the issues discussed are radiation safety, electromagnetic energy exposure events, and some of the more widespread issues of working at height, equipment fires, confined space work, electrical work, and other industrial hazards. Nuclear power plant industrial safety data are also included for comparison.

  12. Safety validation test equipment operation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kurosaki, Tadaaki; Watanabe, Takashi

    1992-08-01

    An overview of the activities conducted on safety validation test equipment operation for materials used for NASA manned missions is presented. Safety validation tests, such as flammability, odor, offgassing, and so forth were conducted in accordance with NASA-NHB-8060.1C using test subjects common with those used by NASA, and the equipment used were qualified for their functions and performances in accordance with NASDA-CR-99124 'Safety Validation Test Qualification Procedures.' Test procedure systems were established by preparing 'Common Procedures for Safety Validation Test' as well as test procedures for flammability, offgassing, and odor tests. The test operation organization chaired by the General Manager of the Parts and Material Laboratory of NASDA (National Space Development Agency of Japan) was established, and the test leaders and operators in the organization were qualified in accordance with the specified procedures. One-hundred-one tests had been conducted so far by the Parts and Material Laboratory according to the request submitted by the manufacturers through the Space Station Group and the Safety and Product Assurance for Manned Systems Office.

  13. VVER Reactor Safety in Eastern Europe and Former Soviet Union

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Papadopoulou, Demetra

    2012-02-01

    VVER Soviet-designed reactors that operate in Eastern Europe and former Soviet republics have heightened international concern for years due to major safety deficiencies. The governments of countries with VVER reactors have invested millions of dollars toward improving the safety of their nuclear power plants. Most of these reactors will continue to operate for the foreseeable future since they provide urgently-needed electrical power. Given this situation, this paper assesses the radiological consequences of a major nuclear accident in Eastern Europe. The paper also chronicles the efforts launched by the international nuclear community to improve the safety of the reactors and notes the progress made so far through extensive collaborative efforts in Armenia, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Russia, Slovakia, and Ukraine to reduce the risks of nuclear accidents. Western scientific and technical staff collaborated with these countries to improve the safety of their reactor operations by strengthening the ability of the regulator to perform its oversight function, installing safety equipment and technologies, investing time in safety training, and working diligently to establish an enduring safety culture. Still, continued safety improvement efforts are necessary to ensure safe operating practices and achieve timely phase-out of older plants.

  14. 77 FR 45282 - NRC Position on the Relationship Between General Design Criteria and Technical Specification...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-07-31

    ..., are described in the final safety analysis report (FSAR). The staff safety evaluation documents the acceptability of these analyses, and it is the combination of the FSAR analyses and the staff safety evaluation... analysis, maintain their capability to perform their safety functions. Technical Specification Operability...

  15. Safety Issues at the DOE Test and Research Reactors. A Report to the U.S. Department of Energy.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    National Academy of Sciences - National Research Council, Washington, DC. Commission on Physical Sciences, Mathematics, and Resources.

    This report provides an assessment of safety issues at the Department of Energy (DOE) test and research reactors. Part A identifies six safety issues of the reactors. These issues include the safety design philosophy, the conduct of safety reviews, the performance of probabilistic risk assessments, the reliance on reactor operators, the fragmented…

  16. Impact of Pilot Delay and Non-Responsiveness on the Safety Performance of Airborne Separation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Consiglio, Maria; Hoadley, Sherwood; Wing, David; Baxley, Brian; Allen, Bonnie Danette

    2008-01-01

    Assessing the safety effects of prediction errors and uncertainty on automationsupported functions in the Next Generation Air Transportation System concept of operations is of foremost importance, particularly safety critical functions such as separation that involve human decision-making. Both ground-based and airborne, the automation of separation functions must be designed to account for, and mitigate the impact of, information uncertainty and varying human response. This paper describes an experiment that addresses the potential impact of operator delay when interacting with separation support systems. In this study, we evaluated an airborne separation capability operated by a simulated pilot. The experimental runs are part of the Safety Performance of Airborne Separation (SPAS) experiment suite that examines the safety implications of prediction errors and system uncertainties on airborne separation assistance systems. Pilot actions required by the airborne separation automation to resolve traffic conflicts were delayed within a wide range, varying from five to 240 seconds while a percentage of randomly selected pilots were programmed to completely miss the conflict alerts and therefore take no action. Results indicate that the strategicAirborne Separation Assistance System (ASAS) functions exercised in the experiment can sustain pilot response delays of up to 90 seconds and more, depending on the traffic density. However, when pilots or operators fail to respond to conflict alerts the safety effects are substantial, particularly at higher traffic densities.

  17. 2012 NASA Range Safety Annual Report

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Dumont, Alan G.

    2012-01-01

    This report provides a NASA Range Safety (NRS) overview for current and potential range users. This report contains articles which cover a variety of subject areas, summaries of various NASA Range Safety Program (RSP) activities performed during the past year, links to past reports, and information on several projects that may have a profound impact on the way business will be conducted in the future. Specific topics discussed in the 2012 NASA Range Safety Annual Report include a program overview and 2012 highlights; Range Safety Training; Independent Assessments; Support to Program Operations at all ranges conducting NASA launch/flight operations; a continuing overview of emerging range safety-related technologies; and status reports from all of the NASA Centers that have Range Safety responsibilities.

  18. Combining Systems and Teamwork Approaches to Enhance the Effectiveness of Safety Improvement Interventions in Surgery: The Safer Delivery of Surgical Services (S3) Program.

    PubMed

    McCulloch, Peter; Morgan, Lauren; New, Steve; Catchpole, Ken; Roberston, Eleanor; Hadi, Mohammed; Pickering, Sharon; Collins, Gary; Griffin, Damian

    2017-01-01

    Patient safety improvement interventions usually address either work systems or team culture. We do not know which is more effective, or whether combining approaches is beneficial. To compare improvement in surgical team performance after interventions addressing teamwork culture, work systems, or both. Suite of 5 identical controlled before-after intervention studies, with preplanned analysis of pooled data for indirect comparisons of strategies. Operating theatres in 5 UK hospitals performing elective orthopedic, plastic, or vascular surgery PARTICIPANTS:: All operating theatres staff, including surgeons, nurses, anaesthetists, and others INTERVENTIONS:: 4-month safety improvement interventions, using teamwork training (TT), systems redesign and standardization (SOP), Lean quality improvement, SOP + TT combination, or Lean + TT combination. Team technical and nontechnical performance and World Health Organization (WHO) checklist compliance, measured for 3 months before and after intervention using validated scales. Pooled data analysis of before-after change in active and control groups, comparing combined versus single and systems versus teamwork interventions, using 2-way ANOVA. We studied 453 operations, (255 intervention, 198 control). TT improved nontechnical skills and WHO compliance (P < 0.001), but not technical performance; systems interventions (Lean & SOP, 2 & 3) improved nontechnical skills and technical performance (P < 0.001) but improved WHO compliance less. Combined interventions (4 & 5) improved all performance measures except WHO time-out attempts, whereas single approaches (1 & 2 & 3) improved WHO compliance less (P < 0.001) and failed to improve technical performance. Safety interventions combining teamwork training and systems rationalization are more effective than those adopting either approach alone. This has important implications for safety improvement strategies in hospitals.

  19. Operator performance-enhancing technologies to improve safety. A US DOT safety initiative for meeting the human-centered systems challenge.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-11-01

    The program implements DOT Human Factors Coordinating Committee (HFCC) recommendations for a coordinated Departmental Human Factors Research Program to advance the human-centered systems approach for enhancing transportation safety. Human error is a ...

  20. Owner-operator versus company-driver safety performance analysis : tech transfer summaries.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2016-01-01

    The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) reported : that, in 2013, more than 3,800 fatal crashes and 385,000 non-fatal : crashes across the US involved at least one large truck or bus. While : the FMCSA has implemented safety practices...

  1. Owner-operator versus company-driver safety performance analysis : [tech transfer summary].

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2016-01-01

    The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) reported : that, in 2013, more than 3,800 fatal crashes and 385,000 non-fatal : crashes across the US involved at least one large truck or bus. While : the FMCSA has implemented safety practices...

  2. The relationships between OHS prevention costs, safety performance, employee satisfaction and accident costs.

    PubMed

    Bayram, Metin; Ünğan, Mustafa C; Ardıç, Kadir

    2017-06-01

    Little is known about the costs of safety. A literature review conducted for this study indicates there is a lack of survey-based research dealing with the effects of occupational health and safety (OHS) prevention costs. To close this gap in the literature, this study investigates the interwoven relationships between OHS prevention costs, employee satisfaction, OHS performance and accident costs. Data were collected from 159 OHS management system 18001-certified firms operating in Turkey and analyzed through structural equation modeling. The findings indicate that OHS prevention costs have a significant positive effect on safety performance, employee satisfaction and accident costs savings; employee satisfaction has a significant positive effect on accident costs savings; and occupational safety performance has a significant positive effect on employee satisfaction and accident costs savings. Also, the results indicate that safety performance and employee satisfaction leverage the relationship between prevention costs and accident costs.

  3. Nuclear Data Activities in Support of the DOE Nuclear Criticality Safety Program

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Westfall, R. M.; McKnight, R. D.

    2005-05-01

    The DOE Nuclear Criticality Safety Program (NCSP) provides the technical infrastructure maintenance for those technologies applied in the evaluation and performance of safe fissionable-material operations in the DOE complex. These technologies include an Analytical Methods element for neutron transport as well as the development of sensitivity/uncertainty methods, the performance of Critical Experiments, evaluation and qualification of experiments as Benchmarks, and a comprehensive Nuclear Data program coordinated by the NCSP Nuclear Data Advisory Group (NDAG). The NDAG gathers and evaluates differential and integral nuclear data, identifies deficiencies, and recommends priorities on meeting DOE criticality safety needs to the NCSP Criticality Safety Support Group (CSSG). Then the NDAG identifies the required resources and unique capabilities for meeting these needs, not only for performing measurements but also for data evaluation with nuclear model codes as well as for data processing for criticality safety applications. The NDAG coordinates effort with the leadership of the National Nuclear Data Center, the Cross Section Evaluation Working Group (CSEWG), and the Working Party on International Evaluation Cooperation (WPEC) of the OECD/NEA Nuclear Science Committee. The overall objective is to expedite the issuance of new data and methods to the DOE criticality safety user. This paper describes these activities in detail, with examples based upon special studies being performed in support of criticality safety for a variety of DOE operations.

  4. Human reliability and plant operating efficiency: Are 12-hour work schedules cause for concern

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Baker, T.L.

    1992-01-01

    Since the introduction of 12-h shifts to the US nuclear power industry only 8 yr ago, compressed workweek schedules have proliferated among operations departments at a phenomenal rate. Many plants that continue to use 8-h shifts during normal operations routinely change to scheduled 12-h shifts during refueling or maintenance outages. The most critical issue in the use of extended work shifts is whether alertness, physical stamina, or mental performance are compromised to the point of reducing safety or efficiency of nuclear power plant operation. Laboratory and field research sponsored by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health suggests thatmore » alertness, measured by self-ratings, and mental performance, measured by computer-based performance tests, are impaired on 12-h shifts compared with 8-h shifts. In contrast to these findings, plant operating efficiency and operator performance have been rated as improved in two field studies conducted in operating nuclear power plants (Fast Flux Test Facility, Washington and Ontario Hydro, Canada). A recent Electric Power Research Institute review of nuclear industry experience with 12-h shifts also suggests an overwhelmingly positive rating of 12-h schedules from both control room operators and management.« less

  5. Highway Performance Monitoring System reassessment

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2012-05-01

    This document describes the concept of operations for three connected vehicle V2I safety applications related to intersection safety and speed management. Specifically, these applications include: Red-Light Violation Warning (RLVW) Stop Sign ...

  6. Performance Comparison Between a Head-Worn Display System and a Head-Up Display for Low Visibility Commercial Operations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Arthur, Jarvis J., III; Prinzel, Lawrence J., III; Barnes, James R.; Williams, Steven P.; Jones, Denise R.; Harrison, Stephanie J.; Bailey, Randall E.

    2014-01-01

    Research, development, test, and evaluation of flight deck interface technologies is being conducted by NASA to proactively identify, develop, and mature tools, methods, and technologies for improving overall aircraft safety of new and legacy vehicles operating in Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). Under the Vehicle Systems Safety Technologies (VSST) project in the Aviation Safety Program, one specific area of research is the use of small Head-Worn Displays (HWDs) as an equivalent display to a Head-Up Display (HUD). Title 14 of the US Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 91.175 describes a possible operational credit which can be obtained with airplane equipage of a HUD or an "equivalent" display combined with Enhanced Vision (EV). If successful, a HWD may provide the same safety and operational benefits as current HUD-equipped aircraft but for significantly more aircraft in which HUD installation is neither practical nor possible. A simulation experiment was conducted to evaluate if the HWD, coupled with a head-tracker, can provide an equivalent display to a HUD. Comparative testing was performed in the Research Flight Deck (RFD) Cockpit Motion Facility (CMF) full mission, motion-based simulator at NASA Langley. Twelve airline crews conducted approach and landing, taxi, and departure operations during low visibility operations (1000' Runway Visual Range (RVR), 300' RVR) at Memphis International Airport (Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) identifier: KMEM). The results showed that there were no statistical differences in the crews performance in terms of touchdown and takeoff. Further, there were no statistical differences between the HUD and HWD in pilots' responses to questionnaires.

  7. 14 CFR 417.405 - Ground safety analysis.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... qualified to perform the ground safety analysis through training, education, and experience. (c) A launch... unfenced boundary of an entire industrial complex or multi-user launch site. A launch location hazard may.... (j) A launch operator must verify all information in a ground safety analysis, including design...

  8. 14 CFR 417.405 - Ground safety analysis.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... qualified to perform the ground safety analysis through training, education, and experience. (c) A launch... unfenced boundary of an entire industrial complex or multi-user launch site. A launch location hazard may.... (j) A launch operator must verify all information in a ground safety analysis, including design...

  9. 14 CFR 417.405 - Ground safety analysis.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... qualified to perform the ground safety analysis through training, education, and experience. (c) A launch... unfenced boundary of an entire industrial complex or multi-user launch site. A launch location hazard may.... (j) A launch operator must verify all information in a ground safety analysis, including design...

  10. Advanced uncertainty modelling for container port risk analysis.

    PubMed

    Alyami, Hani; Yang, Zaili; Riahi, Ramin; Bonsall, Stephen; Wang, Jin

    2016-08-13

    Globalization has led to a rapid increase of container movements in seaports. Risks in seaports need to be appropriately addressed to ensure economic wealth, operational efficiency, and personnel safety. As a result, the safety performance of a Container Terminal Operational System (CTOS) plays a growing role in improving the efficiency of international trade. This paper proposes a novel method to facilitate the application of Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) in assessing the safety performance of CTOS. The new approach is developed through incorporating a Fuzzy Rule-Based Bayesian Network (FRBN) with Evidential Reasoning (ER) in a complementary manner. The former provides a realistic and flexible method to describe input failure information for risk estimates of individual hazardous events (HEs) at the bottom level of a risk analysis hierarchy. The latter is used to aggregate HEs safety estimates collectively, allowing dynamic risk-based decision support in CTOS from a systematic perspective. The novel feature of the proposed method, compared to those in traditional port risk analysis lies in a dynamic model capable of dealing with continually changing operational conditions in ports. More importantly, a new sensitivity analysis method is developed and carried out to rank the HEs by taking into account their specific risk estimations (locally) and their Risk Influence (RI) to a port's safety system (globally). Due to its generality, the new approach can be tailored for a wide range of applications in different safety and reliability engineering and management systems, particularly when real time risk ranking is required to measure, predict, and improve the associated system safety performance. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Using game technologies to improve the safety of construction plant operations.

    PubMed

    Guo, Hongling; Li, Heng; Chan, Greg; Skitmore, Martin

    2012-09-01

    Many accidents occur world-wide in the use of construction plant and equipment, and safety training is considered by many to be one of the best approaches to their prevention. However, current safety training methods/tools are unable to provide trainees with the hands-on practice needed. Game technology-based safety training platforms have the potential to overcome this problem in a virtual environment. One such platform is described in this paper - its characteristics are analysed and its possible contribution to safety training identified. This is developed and tested by means of a case study involving three major pieces of construction plant, which successfully demonstrates that the platform can improve the process and performance of the safety training involved in their operation. This research not only presents a new and useful solution to the safety training of construction operations, but illustrates the potential use of advanced technologies in solving construction industry problems in general. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Safety Assurance in NextGen

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    HarrisonFleming, Cody; Spencer, Melissa; Leveson, Nancy; Wilkinson, Chris

    2012-01-01

    The generation of minimum operational, safety, performance, and interoperability requirements is an important aspect of safely integrating new NextGen components into the Communication Navigation Surveillance and Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) system. These requirements are used as part of the implementation and approval processes. In addition, they provide guidance to determine the levels of design assurance and performance that are needed for each element of the new NextGen procedures, including aircraft, operator, and Air Navigation and Service Provider. Using the enhanced Airborne Traffic Situational Awareness for InTrail Procedure (ATSA-ITP) as an example, this report describes some limitations of the current process used for generating safety requirements and levels of required design assurance. An alternative process is described, as well as the argument for why the alternative can generate more comprehensive requirements and greater safety assurance than the current approach.

  13. 48 CFR 970.1504-1-2 - Fee policy.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... to other performance requirements specified in the contract, DOE management and operating contractors... approved Integrated Safety Management System (ISMS), or similar document. As applicable, performance... REGULATIONS DOE MANAGEMENT AND OPERATING CONTRACTS Contracting by Negotiation 970.1504-1-2 Fee policy. (a) DOE...

  14. 77 FR 72905 - Pipeline Safety: Random Drug Testing Rate; Contractor MIS Reporting; and Obtaining DAMIS Sign-In...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-12-06

    ... Drug and Alcohol Management Information System (DAMIS) to operators, but will make the user name and... DAMIS Sign-In Information AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), DOT... testing information must be submitted for contractors performing or ready to perform covered functions...

  15. 76 FR 25576 - Pipeline Safety: Applying Safety Regulations to All Rural Onshore Hazardous Liquid Low-Stress Lines

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-05-05

    ... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration 49 CFR Part... to All Rural Onshore Hazardous Liquid Low-Stress Lines AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials... burdensome to require operators of these pipelines to perform a complete ``could affect'' analysis to...

  16. Review of performance, medical, and operational data on pilot aging issues

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Stoklosa, J. H.

    1992-01-01

    An extensive review of the literature and studies relating to performance, medical, operational, and legal data regarding pilot aging issues was performed in order to determine what evidence there is, if any, to support mandatory pilot retirement. Popular misconceptions about aging, including the failure to distinguish between the normal aging process and disease processes that occur more frequently in older individuals, continue to contribute to much of the misunderstanding and controversy that surround this issue. Results: Review of medical data related to the pilot aging issue indicate that recent improvement in medical diagnostics and treatment technology have made it possible to identify to a high degree individuals who are at risk for developing sudden incapacitating illness and for treating those with disqualifying medical conditions. Performance studies revealed that after controlling for the presence of disease states, older pilots are able to perform as well as younger pilots on many performance tasks. Review of accident data showed that older, healthy pilots do not have higher accident rates than younger pilots, and indeeed, evidence suggests that older pilots have an advantage in the cockpit due to higher experience levels. The Man-Machine-Mission-Environment interface of factors can be managed through structured, supervised, and enhanced operations, maintenance, flight reviews, and safety procedures in order to ensure safe and productive operations by reducing the margin of error and by increasing the margin of safety. Conclusions: There is no evidence indicating any specific age as an arbitrary cut-off point for pilots to perform their fight duties. A combination of regular medical screening, performance evaluation, enhanced operational maintenance, and safety procedures can most effectively ensure a safe pilot population than can a mandatory retirement policy based on arbitrary age restrictions.

  17. ATV Engineering Support Team Safety Console Preparation for the Johannes Kepler Mission

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chase, R.; Oliefka, L.

    2010-09-01

    This paper describes the improvements to be implemented in the Safety console position of the Engineering Support Team(EST) at the Automated Transfer Vehicle(ATV) Control Centre(ATV-CC) for the upcoming ATV Johannes Kepler mission. The ATV missions to the International Space Station are monitored and controlled from the ATV-CC in Toulouse, France. The commanding of ATV is performed by the Vehicle Engineering Team(VET) in the main control room under authority of the Flight Director. The EST performs a monitoring function in a room beside the main control room. One of the EST positions is the Safety console, which is staffed by safety engineers from ESA and the industrial prime contractor, Astrium. The function of the Safety console is to check whether the hazard controls are available throughout the mission as required by the Hazard Reports approved by the ISS Safety Review Panel. Safety console preparation activities were limited prior to the first ATV mission due to schedule constraints, and the safety engineers involved have been working to improve the readiness for ATV 2. The following steps have been taken or are in process, and will be described in this paper: • review of the implementation of Operations Control Agreement Documents(OCADs) that record the way operational hazard controls are performed to meet the needs of the Hazard Reports(typically in Flight Rules and Crew Procedures), • crosscheck of operational control needs and implementations with respect to ATV's first flight observations and post flight evaluations, with a view to identifying additional, obsolete or revised operational hazard controls, • participation in the Flight Rule review and update process carried out between missions, • participation in the assessment of anomalies observed during the first ATV mission, to ensure that any impacts are addressed in the ATV 2 safety documentation, • preparation of a Safety console handbook to provide lists of important safety aspects to be monitored at various stages of the mission, including links to relevant Hazard Reports, Flight Rules, and supporting documentation, • participation to training courses conducted in the frame of the ATV Training Academy(ATAC), and provision of courses related to safety for the other members of the VET and EST, • participation to simulations conducted at ATV-CC, including off-nominal cases. The result of these activities will be an improved level of readiness for the ATV 2 mission.

  18. Operating force information on-line acquisition of a novel slave manipulator for vascular interventional surgery.

    PubMed

    Zhao, Yan; Guo, Shuxiang; Xiao, Nan; Wang, Yuxin; Li, Youxiang; Jiang, Yuhua

    2018-04-02

    Vascular interventional surgery has its advantages compared to traditional operation. Master-slave robotic technology can further improve the operation accuracy, efficiency and safety of this complicated and high risk surgery. However, on-line acquisition of operating force information of catheter and guidewire remains to be a significant obstacle on the path to enhancing robotic surgery safety. Thus, a novel slave manipulator is proposed in this paper to realize on-line sensing of guidewire torsional operating torque and axial operation force during robotic assisted operations. A strain sensor is specially designed to detect the small scale torsional operation torque with low rotational frequency. Additionally, the axial operating force is detected via a load cell, which is incorporated into a sliding mechanism to eliminate the influence of friction. For validation, calibration and performance evaluation experiments are conducted. The results indicate that the proposed operation torque and force detection device is effective. Thus, it can provide the foundation for enabling accurate haptic feedback to the surgeon to improve surgical safety.

  19. Association of Individual Characteristics with Teleoperation Performance.

    PubMed

    Pan, Dan; Zhang, Yijing; Li, Zhizhong; Tian, Zhiqiang

    2016-09-01

    A number of space activities (e.g., extravehicular astronaut rescue, cooperation in satellite services, space station supplies, and assembly) are implemented directly or assisted by remote robotic arms. Our study aimed to reveal those individual characteristics which could positively influence or even predict teleoperation performance of such a space robotic arm. There were 64 male volunteers without robot operation experience recruited for the study. Their individual characteristics were assessed, including spatial cognitive ability, cognitive style, and personality traits. The experimental tasks were three abstracted teleoperation tasks of a simulated space robotic arm: point aiming, line alignment, and obstacle avoidance. Teleoperation performance was measured from two aspects: task performance (completion time, extra distance moved, operation slips) and safety performance (collisions, joint limitations reached). The Pearson coefficients between individual characteristics and teleoperation performance were examined along with performance prediction models. It was found that the subjects with relatively high mental rotation ability or low neuroticism had both better task and safety performance (|r| = 0.212 ∼ 0.381). Subjects with relatively high perspective taking ability or high agreeableness had better task performance (r = -0.253; r = -0.249). Imagery subjects performed better than verbal subjects regarding both task and safety performance (|r| = 0.236 ∼ 0.290). Compared with analytic subjects, wholist subjects had better safety performance (r = 0.300). Additionally, extraverted subjects had better task performance (r = -0.259), but worse safety performance (r = 0.230). Those with high spatial cognitive ability, imagery and wholist cognitive style, low neuroticism, and high agreeableness were seen to have more advantages in working with the remote robotic arm. These results could be helpful to astronaut selection and training for space station missions. Pan D, Zhang Y, Li Z, Tian Z. Association of individual characteristics with teleoperation performance. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2016; 87(9):772-780.

  20. An Assessment of Civil Tiltrotor Concept of Operations in the Next Generation Air Transportation System

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Chung, William W.; Salvano, Dan; Rinehart, David; Young, Ray; Cheng, Victor; Lindsey, James

    2012-01-01

    Based on a previous Civil Tiltrotor (CTR) National Airspace System (NAS) performance analysis study, CTR operations were evaluated over selected routes and terminal airspace configurations assuming noninterference operations (NIO) and runway-independent operations (RIO). This assessment aims to further identify issues associated with these concepts of operations (ConOps), and their dependency on the airspace configuration and interaction with conventional fixed-wing traffic. Safety analysis following a traditional Safety Management System (SMS) methodology was applied to CTR-unique departure and arrival failures in the selected airspace to identify any operational and certification issues. Additional CTR operational cases were then developed to get a broader understanding of issues and gaps that will need to be addressed in future CTR operational studies. Finally, needed enhancements to National Airspace System performance analysis tools were reviewed, and recommendations were made on improvements in these tools that are likely to be required to support future progress toward CTR fleet operations in the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen).

  1. Operational Performance Risk Assessment in Support of A Supervisory Control System

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Denning, Richard S.; Muhlheim, Michael David; Cetiner, Sacit M.

    Supervisory control system (SCS) is developed for multi-unit advanced small modular reactors to minimize human interventions in both normal and abnormal operations. In SCS, control action decisions made based on probabilistic risk assessment approach via Event Trees/Fault Trees. Although traditional PRA tools are implemented, their scope is extended to normal operations and application is reversed; success of non-safety related system instead failure of safety systems this extended PRA approach called as operational performance risk assessment (OPRA). OPRA helps to identify success paths, combination of control actions for transients and to quantify these success paths to provide possible actions without activatingmore » plant protection system. In this paper, a case study of the OPRA in supervisory control system is demonstrated within the context of the ALMR PRISM design, specifically power conversion system. The scenario investigated involved a condition that the feed water control valve is observed to be drifting to the closed position. Alternative plant configurations were identified via OPRA that would allow the plant to continue to operate at full or reduced power. Dynamic analyses were performed with a thermal-hydraulic model of the ALMR PRISM system using Modelica to evaluate remained safety margins. Successful recovery paths for the selected scenario are identified and quantified via SCS.« less

  2. Benchmarking Global Food Safety Performances: The Era of Risk Intelligence.

    PubMed

    Valleé, Jean-Charles Le; Charlebois, Sylvain

    2015-10-01

    Food safety data segmentation and limitations hamper the world's ability to select, build up, monitor, and evaluate food safety performance. Currently, there is no metric that captures the entire food safety system, and performance data are not collected strategically on a global scale. Therefore, food safety benchmarking is essential not only to help monitor ongoing performance but also to inform continued food safety system design, adoption, and implementation toward more efficient and effective food safety preparedness, responsiveness, and accountability. This comparative study identifies and evaluates common elements among global food safety systems. It provides an overall world ranking of food safety performance for 17 Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) countries, illustrated by 10 indicators organized across three food safety risk governance domains: risk assessment (chemical risks, microbial risks, and national reporting on food consumption), risk management (national food safety capacities, food recalls, food traceability, and radionuclides standards), and risk communication (allergenic risks, labeling, and public trust). Results show all countries have very high food safety standards, but Canada and Ireland, followed by France, earned excellent grades relative to their peers. However, any subsequent global ranking study should consider the development of survey instruments to gather adequate and comparable national evidence on food safety.

  3. 14 CFR 153.1 - Applicability.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIRPORTS AIRPORT OPERATIONS Aviation Safety Inspector Access § 153.1 Applicability. This subpart prescribes requirements governing Aviation Safety Inspector access to public-use airports and facilities to perform...

  4. Safety performance for freeway weaving segments.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2014-09-01

    The intensive lane change maneuvers at weaving sections often result in safety and operational problems. : Various factors, including the design of ramp roadways, use of auxiliary lanes, and continuity of lanes will have : significant effects on the ...

  5. 14 CFR 153.1 - Applicability.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIRPORTS AIRPORT OPERATIONS Aviation Safety Inspector Access § 153.1 Applicability. This subpart prescribes requirements governing Aviation Safety Inspector access to public-use airports and facilities to perform...

  6. 14 CFR 153.1 - Applicability.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIRPORTS AIRPORT OPERATIONS Aviation Safety Inspector Access § 153.1 Applicability. This subpart prescribes requirements governing Aviation Safety Inspector access to public-use airports and facilities to perform...

  7. Observation of behavioural markers of non-technical skills in the operating room and their relationship to intra-operative incidents.

    PubMed

    Siu, Joey; Maran, Nikki; Paterson-Brown, Simon

    2016-06-01

    The importance of non-technical skills in improving surgical safety and performance is now well recognised. Better understanding is needed of the impact that non-technical skills of the multi-disciplinary theatre team have on intra-operative incidents in the operating room (OR) using structured theatre-based assessment. The interaction of non-technical skills that influence surgical safety of the OR team will be explored and made more transparent. Between May-August 2013, a range of procedures in general and vascular surgery in the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh were performed. Non-technical skills behavioural markers and associated intra-operative incidents were recorded using established behavioural marking systems (NOTSS, ANTS and SPLINTS). Adherence to the surgical safety checklist was also observed. A total of 51 procedures were observed, with 90 recorded incidents - 57 of which were considered avoidable. Poor situational awareness was a common area for surgeons and anaesthetists leading to most intra-operative incidents. Poor communication and teamwork across the whole OR team had a generally large impact on intra-operative incidents. Leadership was shown to be an essential set of skills for the surgeons as demonstrated by the high correlation of poor leadership with intra-operative incidents. Team-working and management skills appeared to be especially important for anaesthetists in the recovery from an intra-operative incident. A significant number of avoidable incidents occur during operative procedures. These can all be linked to failures in non-technical skills. Better training of both individual and team in non-technical skills is needed in order to improve patient safety in the operating room. Copyright © 2014 Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (Scottish charity number SC005317) and Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Performance assessment of an onboard monitoring system for commercial motor vehicle drivers : a field operational test.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2016-11-01

    The onboard monitoring system (OBMS) field operational test (FOT) was conducted to determine whether onboard monitoring systems that provide real-time performance feedback to commercial truck and motorcoach drivers could reduce the number of safety-c...

  9. Tiger Team Assessment of the Los Alamos National Laboratory

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Not Available

    1991-11-01

    The purpose of the safety and health assessment was to determine the effectiveness of representative safety and health programs at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). Within the safety and health programs at LANL, performance was assessed in the following technical areas: Organization and Administration, Quality Verification, Operations, Maintenance, Training and Certification, Auxiliary Systems, Emergency Preparedness, Technical Support, Packaging and Transportation, Nuclear Criticality Safety, Security/Safety Interface, Experimental Activities, Site/Facility Safety Review, Radiological Protection, Personnel Protection, Worker Safety and Health (OSHA) Compliance, Fire Protection, Aviation Safety, Explosives Safety, Natural Phenomena, and Medical Services.

  10. Measuring mining safety with injury statistics: lost workdays as indicators of risk.

    PubMed

    Coleman, Patrick J; Kerkering, John C

    2007-01-01

    Mining in the United States remains one of the most hazardous industries, despite significant reductions in fatal injury rates over the last century. Coal mine fatality rates, for example, have dropped almost a thousand-fold since their peak in 1908. While incidence rates are very important indicators, lost worktime measures offer an alternative metric for evaluating job safety and health performance. The first objective of this study examined the distributions and summary statistics of all injuries reported to the Mine Safety and Health Administration from 1983 through 2004. Over the period studied (1983-2004), there were 31,515,368 lost workdays associated with mining injuries, for an equivalent of 5,700 person-years lost annually. The second objective addressed the problem of comparing safety program performance in mines for situations where denominator data were lacking. By examining the consequences of injuries, comparisons can be made between disparate operations without the need for denominators. Total risk in the form of lost workday sums can help to distinguish between lower- and higher-risk operations or time periods. Our method was to use a beta distribution to model the losses and to compare underground coal mining to underground metal/nonmetal mining from 2000 to 2004. Our results showed the probability of an injury having 10 or more lost workdays was 0.52 for coal mine cases versus 0.35 for metal/nonmetal mine cases. In addition, a comparison of injuries involving continuous mining machines over 2001-2002 versus 2003-2004 showed that the ratio of average losses in the later period to those in the earlier period was approximately 1.08, suggesting increasing risks for such operations. This denominator-free safety measure will help the mining industry more effectively identify higher-risk operations and more realistically evaluate their safety improvement programs. Attention to a variety of metrics concerning the performance of a job safety and health program will enhance industry's ability to manage these programs and reduce risk.

  11. ACOEM practice guidelines: opioids and safety-sensitive work.

    PubMed

    Hegmann, Kurt T; Weiss, Michael S; Bowden, Kirk; Branco, Fernando; DuBrueler, Kimberly; Els, Charl; Mandel, Steven; McKinney, David W; Miguel, Rafael; Mueller, Kathryn L; Nadig, Robert J; Schaffer, Michael I; Studt, Larry; Talmage, James B; Travis, Russell L; Winters, Thomas; Thiese, Matthew S; Harris, Jeffrey S

    2014-07-01

    ACOEM has updated the treatment guidelines concerning opioids. This report highlights the safety-sensitive work recommendation that has been developed. Comprehensive literature reviews were accomplished with article abstraction, critiquing, grading, evidence table compilation, and guideline finalization by a multidisciplinary expert panel to develop evidence-based guidance. A total of 12 moderate-quality studies were identified to address motor vehicle crash risk, and none regarding other work among opioid-using patients. Acute or chronic opioid use is not recommended for patients who perform safety-sensitive jobs. These jobs include operating motor vehicles, other modes of transportation, forklift driving, overhead crane operation, heavy equipment operation and tasks involving high levels of cognitive function and judgment. Quality evidence consistently demonstrates increased risk of vehicle crashes and is recommended as the surrogate for other safety-sensitive work tasks.

  12. 10 CFR 55.33 - Disposition of an initial application.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... performance of assigned operator job duties or cause operational errors endangering public health and safety... and tests determine whether the applicant for an operator's license has learned to operate a facility competently and safely, and additionally, in the case of a senior operator, whether the applicant has learned...

  13. Green Propellant Landing Demonstration at U.S. Range

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mulkey, Henry W.; Miller, Joseph T.; Bacha, Caitlin E.

    2016-01-01

    The Green Propellant Loading Demonstration (GPLD) was conducted December 2015 at Wallops Flight Facility (WFF), leveraging work performed over recent years to bring lower toxicity hydrazine replacement green propellants to flight missions. The objective of this collaboration between NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), WFF, the Swedish National Space Board (SNSB), and Ecological Advanced Propulsion Systems (ECAPS) was to successfully accept LMP-103S propellant at a U.S. Range, store the propellant, and perform a simulated flight vehicle propellant loading. NASA GSFC Propulsion (Code 597) managed all aspects of the operation, handling logistics, preparing the procedures, and implementing the demonstration. In addition to the partnership described above, Moog Inc. developed an LMP-103S propellant-compatible titanium rolling diaphragm flight development tank and loaned it to GSFC to act as the GPLD flight vessel. The flight development tank offered the GPLD an additional level of flight-like propellant handling process and procedures. Moog Inc. also provided a compatible latching isolation valve for remote propellant expulsion. The GPLD operation, in concert with Moog Inc. executed a flight development tank expulsion efficiency performance test using LMP-103S propellant. As part of the demonstration work, GSFC and WFF documented Range safety analyses and practices including all elements of shipping, storage, handling, operations, decontamination, and disposal. LMP-103S has not been previously handled at a U.S. Launch Range. Requisite for this activity was an LMP-103S Risk Analysis Report and Ground Safety Plan. GSFC and WFF safety offices jointly developed safety documentation for application into the GPLD operation. The GPLD along with the GSFC Propulsion historical hydrazine loading experiences offer direct comparison between handling green propellant versus safety intensive, highly toxic hydrazine propellant. These described motives initiated the GPLD operation in order to investigate the handling and process safety variances in project resources between LMP-103S and typical in-space propellants. The GPLD risk reduction operation proved successful for many reasons including handling the green propellant at a U.S. Range, loading and pressurizing a flight-like tank, expelling the propellant, measuring the tank expulsion efficiency, and most significantly, GSFC propulsion personnel's new insight into the LMP-103S propellant handling details.

  14. Green Propellant Loading Demonstration at U.S. Range

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mulkey, Henry W.; Miller, Joseph T.; Bacha, Caitlin E.

    2016-01-01

    The Green Propellant Loading Demonstration (GPLD) was conducted December 2015 at Wallops Flight Facility (WFF), leveraging work performed over recent years to bring lower toxicity hydrazine replacement green propellants to flight missions. The objective of this collaboration between NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), WFF, the Swedish National Space Board (SNSB), and Ecological Advanced Propulsion Systems (ECAPS) was to successfully accept LMP-103S propellant at a U.S. Range, store the propellant, and perform a simulated flight vehicle propellant loading. NASA GSFC Propulsion (Code 597) managed all aspects of the operation, handling logistics, preparing the procedures, and implementing the demonstration. In addition to the partnership described above, Moog Inc. developed an LMP-103S propellant-compatible titanium rolling diaphragm flight development tank and loaned it to GSFC to act as the GPLD flight vessel. The flight development tank offered the GPLD an additional level of flight-like propellant handling process and procedures. Moog Inc. also provided a compatible latching isolation valve for remote propellant expulsion. The GPLD operation, in concert with Moog Inc. executed a flight development tank expulsion efficiency performance test using LMP-103S propellant. As part of the demonstration work, GSFC and WFF documented Range safety analyses and practices including all elements of shipping, storage, handling, operations, decontamination, and disposal. LMP-103S has not been previously handled at a U.S. Launch Range. Requisite for this activity was an LMP-103S Risk Analysis Report and Ground Safety Plan. GSFC and WFF safety offices jointly developed safety documentation for application into the GPLD operation. The GPLD along with the GSFC Propulsion historical hydrazine loading experiences offer direct comparison between handling green propellant versus safety intensive, highly toxic hydrazine propellant. These described motives initiated the GPLD operation in order to investigate the handling and process safety variances in project resources between LMP-103S and typical in-space propellants. The GPLD risk reduction operation proved successful for many reasons including handling the green propellant at a U.S. Range, loading and pressurizing a flight-like tank, expelling the propellant, measuring the tank expulsion efficiency, and most significantly, GSFC propulsion personnel's new insight into the LMP-103S propellant handling details.

  15. 76 FR 5408 - Entergy Operations, Inc., Waterford Steam Electric Station, Unit 3, Environmental Assessment and...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-01-31

    ... components (SSCs) that a risk-informed evaluation process has shown to be significant to public health and safety; (2) performing health physics or chemistry duties required as a member of the onsite emergency... has shown to be significant to public health and safety; and (5) performing security duties as an...

  16. Safety performance of drivers with medical exemptions : how safe are drivers in a medical exemption program compared to those who are not? : analysis brief.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2016-11-01

    For commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers, safety performance depends not only on the condition of the vehicle being driven but also on the drivers ability to operate it. Because factors such as stopping time and distance, blind spots, and limite...

  17. High speed curving performance of rail vehicles

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2015-03-23

    On March 13, 2013, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) published a final rule titled Vehicle/Track Interaction Safety Standards; High-Speed and High Cant Deficiency Operations which amended the Track Safety Standards (49 CFR Part213) and ...

  18. State Safety Oversight Program : annual report for 2003

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2004-10-01

    The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) State Safety Oversight Rule (49 CFR Part 659) requires oversight of all rail transit agencies in revenue operation after January 1, 1997. This report summarizes activities performed to implement the State Safe...

  19. State safety oversight program : annual report for 1999

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2000-09-01

    The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) State Safety Oversight Rule (49 CFR Part 659) requires oversight for all rail transit agencies in revenue operation after January 1, 1997. This report summarizes activities performed to implement the State Saf...

  20. 76 FR 12137 - Entergy Operations, Inc. Waterford Steam Electric Station, Unit 3 Exemption

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-03-04

    ... of the plant and personnel safety, would maintain protection of health and safety of the public...-informed evaluation process has shown to be significant to public health and safety; (2) performing health physics or chemistry duties required as a member of the onsite emergency response organization's minimum...

  1. The Triangle of the Space Launch System Operations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fayolle, Eric

    2010-09-01

    Firemen know it as “fire triangle”, mathematicians know it as “golden triangle”, sailormen know it as “Bermuda triangle”, politicians know it as “Weimar triangle”… This article aims to present a new aspect of that shape geometry in the space launch system world: “the triangle of the space launch system operations”. This triangle is composed of these three following topics, which have to be taken into account for any space launch system operation processing: design, safety and operational use. Design performance is of course taking into account since the early preliminary phase of a system development. This design performance is matured all along the development phases, thanks to consecutives iterations in order to respect the financial and timing constraints imposed to the development of the system. This process leads to a detailed and precise design to assess the required performance. Then, the operational use phase brings its batch of constraints during the use of the system. This phase is conducted by specific procedures for each operation. Each procedure has sequences for each sub-system, which have to be conducted in a very precise chronological way. These procedures can be processed by automatic way or manual way, with the necessity or not of the implication of operators, and in a determined environment. Safeguard aims to verify the respect of the specific constraints imposed to guarantee the safety of persons and property, the protection of public health and the environment. Safeguard has to be taken into account above the operational constraints of any space operation, without forgetting the highest safety level for the operators of the space operation, and of course without damaging the facilities or without disturbing the external environment. All space operations are the result of a “win-win” compromise between these three topics. Contrary to the fire triangle where one of the topics has to be suppressed in order to avoid the combustion, no topics at all should be suppressed in the triangle of the space launch system operations. Indeed, if safeguard is not considered since the beginning of the development phase, this development will not take into account safeguard constraints. Then, the operational phase will become very difficult because unavailable, to respect safety rules required for the operational use phase of the system. Taking into account safeguard constraints in late project phases will conduct to very high operational constraints, sometimes quite disturbing for the operator, even blocking to be able to consider the operational use phase as mature and optimized. On the contrary, if design performance is not taken into account in order to favor safeguard aspect in the operational use phase, system design will not be optimized, what will lead to high planning and timing impacts. The examples detailed in this article show the compromise for what each designer should confront with during the development of any system dealing with the safety of persons and property, the protection of public health and the environment.

  2. Safety in out-of-hours operating in trauma and orthopaedics at a district general hospital.

    PubMed

    Gulamhussein, M A; Chaudhry, S; Noor, S; Chaudhry, T; Guha, A; Knebel, R

    2017-05-01

    INTRODUCTION According to the National Confidential Enquiry into Perioperative Deaths (NCEPOD), out-of-hours operating in trauma and orthopaedics should be reserved for life or limb threatening cases only. The aim of our study was to determine the nature of non-emergency work carried out in our trust at night in 2015. The overall efficacy and clinical safety of the services provided was evaluated. METHODS Surgical activity undertaken after 9pm was reviewed along with patient ASA (American Society of Anesthesiologists) grade, grade of operating surgeon and any complications that occurred following the procedure. Furthermore, the clinical urgency and safety of cases was assessed based on whether there was any record of life or limb threatening indications at the time of admission. RESULTS Overall, 131 procedures were performed after 9pm, with 102 performed between 9pm and midnight, and 29 after midnight. Consultants performed 16 cases and the remaining 115 cases were operated on by middle grades or specialty trainees. A fifth (20%) of the cases were genuinely life or limb threatening. A total of 123 procedures were classed as having good outcomes. The complication rate was 8%. CONCLUSIONS In our study, 80% of the procedures performed after 9pm could not be categorised as life or limb threatening. Appropriate NCEPOD classification would ensure that only life or limb threatening cases were listed for theatre after 9pm. Alternative methods of operating within working hours should be considered.

  3. Safety in out-of-hours operating in trauma and orthopaedics at a district general hospital

    PubMed Central

    Chaudhry, S; Noor, S; Chaudhry, T; Guha, A; Knebel, R

    2017-01-01

    INTRODUCTION According to the National Confidential Enquiry into Perioperative Deaths (NCEPOD), out-of-hours operating in trauma and orthopaedics should be reserved for life or limb threatening cases only. The aim of our study was to determine the nature of non-emergency work carried out in our trust at night in 2015. The overall efficacy and clinical safety of the services provided was evaluated. METHODS Surgical activity undertaken after 9pm was reviewed along with patient ASA (American Society of Anesthesiologists) grade, grade of operating surgeon and any complications that occurred following the procedure. Furthermore, the clinical urgency and safety of cases was assessed based on whether there was any record of life or limb threatening indications at the time of admission. RESULTS Overall, 131 procedures were performed after 9pm, with 102 performed between 9pm and midnight, and 29 after midnight. Consultants performed 16 cases and the remaining 115 cases were operated on by middle grades or specialty trainees. A fifth (20%) of the cases were genuinely life or limb threatening. A total of 123 procedures were classed as having good outcomes. The complication rate was 8%. CONCLUSIONS In our study, 80% of the procedures performed after 9pm could not be categorised as life or limb threatening. Appropriate CEPOD classification would ensure that only life or limb threatening cases were listed for theatre after 9pm. Alternative methods of operating within working hours should be considered. PMID:27917666

  4. Motor carrier industry profile study : financial and operating performance profiles by industry segment, 2001-2002.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2004-09-01

    This report profiles the motor carrier industry and its significant operating segments. It is one of a series of reports analyzing various aspects of the motor carrier industry. Other reports in the series focus on the safety performance of the indus...

  5. Los Angeles congestion reduction demonstration (Metro ExpressLanes) program. National evaluation : safety data test plan.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-07-01

    This document presents human factors guidelines for designers, owners operators, and planners involved in the development and operation of traffic management centers. Dimensions of the work environment affecting operator and system performance are ad...

  6. 47 CFR 87.91 - Operation of transmitter controls.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 47 Telecommunication 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Operation of transmitter controls. 87.91 Section 87.91 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) SAFETY AND SPECIAL RADIO.... These operators must not perform any internal adjustment of transmitter frequency determining elements...

  7. 29 CFR 1960.59 - Training of employees and employee representatives.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... specialized job safety and health training appropriate to the work performed by the employee, for example: Clerical; printing; welding; crane operation; chemical analysis, and computer operations. Such training...

  8. Principles and Guidelines for Duty and Rest Scheduling in Commercial Aviation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Dinges, David F.; Graeber, R. Curtis; Rosekind, Mark R.; Samel, Alexander

    1996-01-01

    The aviation industry requires 24-hour activities to meet operational demands. Growth in global long-haul, regional, overnight cargo, and short-haul domestic operations will continue to increase these round-the-clock requirements. Flight crews must be available to support 24-hour-a-day operations to meet these industry demands. Both domestic and international aviation can also require crossing multiple time zones. Therefore, shift work, night work, irregular work schedules, unpredictable work schedules, and dm zone changes will continue to be commonplace components of the aviation industry. These factors pose known challenges to human physiology, and because they result in performance-impairing fatigue, they pose a risk to safety. It is critical to acknowledge and, whenever possible, incorporate scientific information on fatigue, human sleep, and circadian physiology into 24-hour aviation operations. Utilization of such scientific information can help promote crew performance and alertness during flight operations and thereby maintain and improve the safety margin.

  9. Investigation of criticality safety control infraction data at a nuclear facility

    DOE PAGES

    Cournoyer, Michael E.; Merhege, James F.; Costa, David A.; ...

    2014-10-27

    Chemical and metallurgical operations involving plutonium and other nuclear materials account for most activities performed at the LANL's Plutonium Facility (PF-4). The presence of large quantities of fissile materials in numerous forms at PF-4 makes it necessary to maintain an active criticality safety program. The LANL Nuclear Criticality Safety (NCS) Program provides guidance to enable efficient operations while ensuring prevention of criticality accidents in the handling, storing, processing and transportation of fissionable material at PF-4. In order to achieve and sustain lower criticality safety control infraction (CSCI) rates, PF-4 operations are continuously improved, through the use of Lean Manufacturing andmore » Six Sigma (LSS) business practices. Employing LSS, statistically significant variations (trends) can be identified in PF-4 CSCI reports. In this study, trends have been identified in the NCS Program using the NCS Database. An output metric has been developed that measures ADPSM Management progress toward meeting its NCS objectives and goals. Using a Pareto Chart, the primary CSCI attributes have been determined in order of those requiring the most management support. Data generated from analysis of CSCI data help identify and reduce number of corresponding attributes. In-field monitoring of CSCI's contribute to an organization's scientific and technological excellence by providing information that can be used to improve criticality safety operation safety. This increases technical knowledge and augments operational safety.« less

  10. KERENA safety concept in the context of the Fukushima accident

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Zacharias, T.; Novotny, C.; Bielor, E.

    Within the last three years AREVA NP and E.On KK finalized the basic design of KERENA which is a medium sized innovative boiling water reactor, based on the operational experience of German BWR nuclear power plants (NPPs). It is a generation III reactor design with a net electrical output of about 1250 MW. It combines active safety equipment of service-proven designs with new passive safety components, both safety classified. The passive systems utilize basic laws of physics, such as gravity and natural convection, enabling them to function without electric power. Even actuation of these systems is performed thanks to basicmore » physic laws. The degree of diversity in component and system design, achieved by combining active and passive equipment, results in a very low core damage frequency. The Fukushima accident enhanced the world wide discussion about the safety of operating nuclear power plants. World wide stress tests for operating nuclear power plants are being performed embracing both natural and man made hazards. Beside the assessment of existing power plants, also new designs are analyzed regarding the system response to beyond design base accidents. KERENA's optimal combination of diversified cooling systems (active and passive) allows passing efficiently such tests, with a high level of confidence. This paper describes the passive safety components and the KERENA reactor behavior after a Fukushima like accident. (authors)« less

  11. 78 FR 47703 - Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act of 1997: Modifications to the List of Recognized...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-08-06

    ... safety and essential performance of X-ray equipment for radiography and radioscopy. 12-54......... 12-254... X-ray equipment operating in the range 10 kV to 1 MV. 12-127........ 12-201 IEC 60601-2-54 Newer... requirements for the basic safety and essential performance of X-ray equipment for radiography and radioscopy...

  12. Effects on Task Performance and Psychophysiological Measures of Performance During Normobaric Hypoxia Exposure

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Stephens, Chad; Kennedy, Kellie; Napoli, Nicholas; Demas, Matthew; Barnes, Laura; Crook, Brenda; Williams, Ralph; Last, Mary Carolyn; Schutte, Paul

    2017-01-01

    Human-autonomous systems have the potential to mitigate pilot cognitive impairment and improve aviation safety. A research team at NASA Langley conducted an experiment to study the impact of mild normobaric hypoxia induction on aircraft pilot performance and psychophysiological state. A within-subjects design involved non-hypoxic and hypoxic exposures while performing three 10-minute tasks. Results indicated the effect of 15,000 feet simulated altitude did not induce significant performance decrement but did produce increase in perceived workload. Analyses of psychophysiological responses evince the potential of biomarkers for hypoxia onset. This study represents on-going work at NASA intending to add to the current knowledge of psychophysiologically-based input to automation to increase aviation safety. Analyses involving coupling across physiological systems and wavelet transforms of cortical activity revealed patterns that can discern between the simulated altitude conditions. Specifically, multivariate entropy of ECG/Respiration components were found to be significant predictors (p< 0.02) of hypoxia. Furthermore, in EEG, there was a significant decrease in mid-level beta (15.19-18.37Hz) during the hypoxic condition in thirteen of sixteen sites across the scalp. Task performance was not appreciably impacted by the effect of 15,000 feet simulated altitude. Analyses of psychophysiological responses evince the potential of biomarkers for mild hypoxia onset.The potential for identifying shifts in underlying cortical and physiological systems could serve as a means to identify the onset of deteriorated cognitive state. Enabling such assessment in future flightdecks could permit increasingly autonomous systems-supported operations. Augmenting human operator through assessment of cognitive impairment has the potential to further improve operator performance and mitigate human error in safety critical contexts. This study represents ongoing work at NASA intending to add to the current knowledge of psychophysiologically-based input to automation to increase aviation safety.

  13. Report on the oversight assessment of the operational readiness review of the Replacement Tritium Facility at Savannah River Site

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Lee, B.T.

    1993-03-01

    This report presents the results of an oversight assessment (OA) conducted by the US Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Environment, Safety and Health (EH) of operational readiness review (ORR) activities for the Replacement Tritium Facility (RTF) located at Savannah River Site (SRS). The EH OA of this facility took place concurrently with an ORR conducted by the DOE Office of Defense Programs (DP). The DP ORR was conducted from January 19 through February 5, 1993. The EH OA was performed in accordance with the protocol and procedures specified in EH Program for Oversight Assessment of Operational Readiness Evaluations formore » Startups and Restarts,'' dated September 15, 1992. The EH OA Team evaluated the DP ORR to determine whether it was thorough and demonstrated sufficient inquisitiveness to verify that the implementation of programs and procedures adequately ensures the protection of worker safety and health. The EH OA Team performed its evaluation of the DP ORR in the following technical areas: occupational safety, industrial hygiene, and respiratory protection; fire protection; and chemical safety. In the areas of fire protection and chemical safety, the EH OA Team conducted independent vertical-slice reviews to confirm DP ORR results. Within each technical area, the EH OA Team reviewed the DP ORR Plan, including the Criteria Review and Approach Documents (CRADs); the qualifications of individual DP ORR team members; the performance of planned DP ORR activities; and the results of the DP ORR.« less

  14. Report on the oversight assessment of the operational readiness review of the Replacement Tritium Facility at Savannah River Site

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Lee, B.T.

    1993-03-01

    This report presents the results of an oversight assessment (OA) conducted by the US Department of Energy`s (DOE) Office of Environment, Safety and Health (EH) of operational readiness review (ORR) activities for the Replacement Tritium Facility (RTF) located at Savannah River Site (SRS). The EH OA of this facility took place concurrently with an ORR conducted by the DOE Office of Defense Programs (DP). The DP ORR was conducted from January 19 through February 5, 1993. The EH OA was performed in accordance with the protocol and procedures specified in ``EH Program for Oversight Assessment of Operational Readiness Evaluations formore » Startups and Restarts,`` dated September 15, 1992. The EH OA Team evaluated the DP ORR to determine whether it was thorough and demonstrated sufficient inquisitiveness to verify that the implementation of programs and procedures adequately ensures the protection of worker safety and health. The EH OA Team performed its evaluation of the DP ORR in the following technical areas: occupational safety, industrial hygiene, and respiratory protection; fire protection; and chemical safety. In the areas of fire protection and chemical safety, the EH OA Team conducted independent vertical-slice reviews to confirm DP ORR results. Within each technical area, the EH OA Team reviewed the DP ORR Plan, including the Criteria Review and Approach Documents (CRADs); the qualifications of individual DP ORR team members; the performance of planned DP ORR activities; and the results of the DP ORR.« less

  15. 14 CFR Appendix A to Part 417 - Flight Safety Analysis Methodologies and Products for a Launch Vehicle Flown With a Flight Safety...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... approach provides an equivalent level of safety. If a Federal launch range performs the launch operator's... FAA will measure any proposed alternative analysis approach. This appendix also identifies the... control systems; (ix) Steering misalignment; and (x) Winds. (2) Each three-sigma trajectory must account...

  16. 14 CFR Appendix A to Part 417 - Flight Safety Analysis Methodologies and Products for a Launch Vehicle Flown With a Flight Safety...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... approach provides an equivalent level of safety. If a Federal launch range performs the launch operator's... FAA will measure any proposed alternative analysis approach. This appendix also identifies the... control systems; (ix) Steering misalignment; and (x) Winds. (2) Each three-sigma trajectory must account...

  17. 14 CFR Appendix A to Part 417 - Flight Safety Analysis Methodologies and Products for a Launch Vehicle Flown With a Flight Safety...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... approach provides an equivalent level of safety. If a Federal launch range performs the launch operator's... FAA will measure any proposed alternative analysis approach. This appendix also identifies the... control systems; (ix) Steering misalignment; and (x) Winds. (2) Each three-sigma trajectory must account...

  18. 14 CFR Appendix A to Part 417 - Flight Safety Analysis Methodologies and Products for a Launch Vehicle Flown With a Flight Safety...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... approach provides an equivalent level of safety. If a Federal launch range performs the launch operator's... FAA will measure any proposed alternative analysis approach. This appendix also identifies the... control systems; (ix) Steering misalignment; and (x) Winds. (2) Each three-sigma trajectory must account...

  19. Technical Letter Report: Evaluation and Analysis of a Few International Periodic Safety Review Summary Reports

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Chopra, Omesh K.; Diercks, Dwight R.; Ma, David Chia-Chiun

    At the request of the United States (U.S.) government, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) assembled a team of 20 senior safety experts to review the regulatory framework for the safety of operating nuclear power plants in the United States. This review focused on the effectiveness of the regulatory functions implemented by the NRC and on its commitment to nuclear safety and continuous improvement. One suggestion resulting from that review was that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) incorporate lessons learned from periodic safety reviews (PSRs) performed in other countries as an input to the NRC’s assessment processes. In themore » U.S., commercial nuclear power plants (NPPs) are granted an initial 40-year operating license, which may be renewed for additional 20-year periods, subject to complying with regulatory requirements. The NRC has established a framework through its inspection, and operational experience processes to ensure the safe operation of licensed nuclear facilities on an ongoing basis. In contrast, most other countries do not impose a specific time limit on the operating licenses for NPPs, they instead require that the utility operating the plant perform PSRs, typically at approximately 10-year intervals, to assure continued safe operation until the next assessment. The staff contracted with Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne) to perform a pilot review of selected translated PSR assessment reports and related documentation from foreign nuclear regulatory authorities to identify any potential new regulatory insights regarding license renewal-related topics and NPP operating experience (OpE). A total of 14 PSR assessment documents from 9 countries were reviewed. For all of the countries except France, individual reports were provided for each of the plants reviewed. In the case of France, three reports were provided that reviewed the performance assessment of thirty-four 900-MWe reactors of similar design commissioned between 1978 and 1988. All of the reports reviewed were the regulator’s assessment of the PSR findings rather than the original PSR report, and all but one were English translations from the original language. In these reviews, it was found that most of the countries base their regulatory guidance to some extent (and often to a large extent) on U.S. design codes and standards, NRC regulatory guidance, and U.S. industry guidance. In addition, many of the observed operational technical issues and OpE events reported for U.S. reactors are also cited in the PSR reports. The PSR reports also identified a number of potential technical material/component performance issues and OpE events that are not commonly reported for U.S. plants.« less

  20. An Assessment of Reduced Crew and Single Pilot Operations in Commercial Transport Aircraft Operations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bailey, Randall E.; Kramer, Lynda J.; Kennedy, Kellie D.; Stephens, Chad L.; Etherington, Timothy J.

    2017-01-01

    Future reduced crew operations or even single pilot operations for commercial airline and on-demand mobility applications are an active area of research. These changes would reduce the human element and thus, threaten the precept that "a well-trained and well-qualified pilot is the critical center point of aircraft systems safety and an integral safety component of the entire commercial aviation system." NASA recently completed a pilot-in-the-loop high fidelity motion simulation study in partnership with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) attempting to quantify the pilot's contribution to flight safety during normal flight and in response to aircraft system failures. Crew complement was used as the experiment independent variable in a between-subjects design. These data show significant increases in workload for single pilot operations, compared to two-crew, with subjective assessments of safety and performance being significantly degraded as well. Nonetheless, in all cases, the pilots were able to overcome the failure mode effects in all crew configurations. These data reflect current-day flight deck equipage and help identify the technologies that may improve two-crew operations and/or possibly enable future reduced crew and/or single pilot operations.

  1. Performance analysis of Virginia's safety service patrol programs : a case study approach.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2006-01-01

    Many state departments of transportation (DOTs) operate safety service patrols (SSPs) as part of their incident management programs. The primary objectives of SSPs are to minimize the duration of freeway incidents, restore full capacity of the freewa...

  2. 29 CFR 505.2 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... for Occupational Safety and Health, U.S. Department of Labor, or authorized representative, to whom is assigned the performance of functions of the Secretary pertaining to safety and health under the National..., scenery designers, technicians, electricians and moving picture machine operators, as distinguished from...

  3. 29 CFR 505.2 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... for Occupational Safety and Health, U.S. Department of Labor, or authorized representative, to whom is assigned the performance of functions of the Secretary pertaining to safety and health under the National..., scenery designers, technicians, electricians and moving picture machine operators, as distinguished from...

  4. Laboratory evaluation of alcohol safety interlock systems. Volume 3 : instrument performance at high BAL

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1974-01-01

    This report contains the results of an experimental and analytical evaluation of instruments and techniques designed to prevent an intoxicated driver from operating his automobile. The prototype 'Alcohol Safety Interlock Systems' tested were develope...

  5. Deriving and Validating a Road Safety Performance Indicator for Vehicle Fleet Passive Safety

    PubMed Central

    Page, Marianne; Rackliff, Lucy

    2006-01-01

    Road safety performance indicators (RSPI) are policy tools which describe the extent of insecure operational safety conditions within traffic systems. This study describes the production of an RSPI which represents the presence within a country’s vehicle fleet, of vehicles that may not effectively protect an occupant in a collision. This work is highly original, as it uses the entire vehicle database of European Union Member States in order to estimate the average level of passive safety offered by the entire fleet in each country. The EuroNCAP safety ratings and vehicle age of each vehicle in each fleet have been obtained to calculate the RSPI. The methodology used could be adopted as an international standard. PMID:16968645

  6. Safety performance functions incorporating design consistency variables.

    PubMed

    Montella, Alfonso; Imbriani, Lella Liana

    2015-01-01

    Highway design which ensures that successive elements are coordinated in such a way as to produce harmonious and homogeneous driver performances along the road is considered consistent and safe. On the other hand, an alignment which requires drivers to handle high speed gradients and does not meet drivers' expectancy is considered inconsistent and produces higher crash frequency. To increase the usefulness and the reliability of existing safety performance functions and contribute to solve inconsistencies of existing highways as well as inconsistencies arising in the design phase, we developed safety performance functions for rural motorways that incorporate design consistency measures. Since the design consistency variables were used only for curves, two different sets of models were fitted for tangents and curves. Models for the following crash characteristics were fitted: total, single-vehicle run-off-the-road, other single vehicle, multi vehicle, daytime, nighttime, non-rainy weather, rainy weather, dry pavement, wet pavement, property damage only, slight injury, and severe injury (including fatal). The design consistency parameters in this study are based on operating speed models developed through an instrumented vehicle equipped with a GPS continuous speed tracking from a field experiment conducted on the same motorway where the safety performance functions were fitted (motorway A16 in Italy). Study results show that geometric design consistency has a significant effect on safety of rural motorways. Previous studies on the relationship between geometric design consistency and crash frequency focused on two-lane rural highways since these highways have the higher crash rates and are generally characterized by considerable inconsistencies. Our study clearly highlights that the achievement of proper geometric design consistency is a key design element also on motorways because of the safety consequences of design inconsistencies. The design consistency measures which are significant explanatory variables of the safety performance functions developed in this study are: (1) consistency in driving dynamics, i.e., difference between side friction assumed with respect to the design speed and side friction demanded at the 85th percentile speed; (2) operating speed consistency, i.e., absolute value of the 85th percentile speed reduction through successive elements of the road; (3) inertial speed consistency, i.e., difference between the operating speed in the curve and the average operating speed along the 5 km preceding the beginning of the curve; and (4) length of tangent preceding the curve (only for run-off-the-road crashes). Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Improving safety in pavement field testing.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2017-09-15

    The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) collects pavement condition and performance data each year, using both site-specific equipment that requires temporary traffic control (TTC) operations (either moving or closed operations) and full-size...

  8. Psychology in nuclear power plants: an integrative approach to safety - general statement

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Shikiar, R.

    Since the accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant on March 28, 1979, the commercial nuclear industry in the United States has paid increasing attention to the role of humans in overall plant safety. As the regulatory body with primary responsibility for ensuring public health and safety involving nuclear operations, the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has also become increasingly involved with the ''human'' side of nuclear operations. The purpose of this symposium is to describe a major program of research and technical assistance that the Pacific Northwest Laboratory is performing for the NRC that deals withmore » the issues of safety at nuclear power plants (NPPs). This program addresses safety from several different levels of analysis, which are all important within the context of an integrative approach to system safety.« less

  9. Ideal MHD stability and performance of ITER steady-state scenarios with ITBs

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Poli, F. M.; Kessel, C. E.; Chance, M. S.; Jardin, S. C.; Manickam, J.

    2012-06-01

    Non-inductive steady-state scenarios on ITER will need to operate with internal transport barriers (ITBs) in order to reach adequate fusion gain at typical currents of 9 MA. The large pressure gradients at the location of the internal barrier are conducive to the development of ideal MHD instabilities that may limit the plasma performance and may lead to plasma disruptions. Fully non-inductive scenario simulations with five combinations of heating and current drive sources are presented in this work, with plasma currents in the range 7-10 MA. For each configuration the linear, ideal MHD stability is analysed for variations of the Greenwald fraction and of the pressure peaking factor around the operating point, aiming at defining an operational space for stable, steady-state operations at optimized performance. It is shown that plasmas with lower hybrid heating and current drive maintain the minimum safety factor above 1.5, which is desirable in steady-state operations to avoid neoclassical tearing modes. Operating with moderate ITBs at 2/3 of the minor radius, these plasmas have a minimum safety factor above 2, are ideal MHD stable and reach Q ≳ 5 operating above the ideal no-wall limit.

  10. Threats to safety during sedation outside of the operating room and the death of Michael Jackson.

    PubMed

    Webster, Craig S; Mason, Keira P; Shafer, Steven L

    2016-03-01

    From an understanding of human psychology and the reliability of high-technology systems, this review considers critical threats to the safety of patients undergoing sedation outside of the operating room, and will stratify these threats along what we define as the 'Patient Risk Continuum'. We then consider interventions suitable for addressing identified risks. The technology, organization and delivery of healthcare continue to become more complex, highlighting the importance of maintaining the safety of patients. Sedation outside of the operating room is known to be associated with higher rates of adverse events. However, a number of recent safety initiatives have shown benefit in improving patient safety. The following threats to patients undergoing sedation, in increasing order of risk, are discussed: equipment and environmental factors, known patient risks, poor team performance, combinatorial problems and egregious violations. To address these threats, we discuss a number of approaches consistent with the systems approach to safety, namely: encouraging functions, forcing functions, cognitive safety nets, information sharing, recovery strategies and regulatory change. Demonstrating improvement with any safety initiative relies critically on quality data collected on the problem area in question.

  11. RPP-PRT-58489, Revision 1, One Systems Consistent Safety Analysis Methodologies Report. 24590-WTP-RPT-MGT-15-014

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Gupta, Mukesh; Niemi, Belinda; Paik, Ingle

    2015-09-02

    In 2012, One System Nuclear Safety performed a comparison of the safety bases for the Tank Farms Operations Contractor (TOC) and Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) (RPP-RPT-53222 / 24590-WTP-RPT-MGT-12-018, “One System Report of Comparative Evaluation of Safety Bases for Hanford Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant Project and Tank Operations Contract”), and identified 25 recommendations that required further evaluation for consensus disposition. This report documents ten NSSC approved consistent methodologies and guides and the results of the additional evaluation process using a new set of evaluation criteria developed for the evaluation of the new methodologies.

  12. Aircraft Engine-Monitoring System And Display

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Abbott, Terence S.; Person, Lee H., Jr.

    1992-01-01

    Proposed Engine Health Monitoring System and Display (EHMSD) provides enhanced means for pilot to control and monitor performances of engines. Processes raw sensor data into information meaningful to pilot. Provides graphical information about performance capabilities, current performance, and operational conditions in components or subsystems of engines. Provides means to control engine thrust directly and innovative means to monitor performance of engine system rapidly and reliably. Features reduce pilot workload and increase operational safety.

  13. The Effect of Product Safety Courses on the Adoption and Outcomes of LESS Surgery

    PubMed Central

    Toomey, Paul G.; Ross, Sharona B.; Choung, Edward; Donn, Natalie; Vice, Michelle; Luberice, Kenneth; Albrink, Michael

    2015-01-01

    Background and Objectives: As technology in surgery evolves, the medical instrument industry is inevitability involved in promoting the use and appropriate (ie, effective and safe) application of its products. This study was undertaken to evaluate industry-supported product safety courses in laparoendoscopic single-site (LESS) surgery, by using the metrics of surgeons' adoption of the technique, safety of the procedure, and surgeons' perception of the surgery. Methods: LESS surgery courses that involved didactic lectures, operative videos, operation observation, collaborative learning, and simulation, were attended by 226 surgeons. With Florida Hospital Tampa Institutional Review Board approval, the surgeons were queried before and immediately after the course, to assess their attitudes toward LESS surgery. Then, well after the course, the surgeons were contacted, repeatedly if necessary, to complete questionnaires. Results: Before the course, 82% of the surgeons undertook more than 10 laparoscopic operations per month. Immediately after the course, 86% were confident that they were prepared to perform LESS surgery. Months after the course, 77% of the respondents had adopted LESS surgery, primarily cholecystectomy; 59% had added 1 or more trocars in 0–20% of their procedures; and 73% held the opinion that operating room observation was the most helpful learning experience. Complications with LESS surgery were noted 12% of the time. Advantages of the technique were better cosmesis (58%) and patient satisfaction (38%). Disadvantages included risk of complications (37%) and higher technical demand (25%). Seventy-eight percent viewed LESS surgery as an advancement in surgical technique. Conclusion: In multifaceted product safety courses, operating room observation is thought to provide the most helpful instruction for those wanting to undertake LESS surgery. The procedure has been safely adopted by surgeons who frequently perform laparoscopies. The tradeoff is in performing a more difficult technique to obtain better cosmesis for the patient. We must continue to conduct critical evaluations of product safety courses for the introduction of new technology in surgery. PMID:26045652

  14. The Effect of Product Safety Courses on the Adoption and Outcomes of LESS Surgery.

    PubMed

    Toomey, Paul G; Ross, Sharona B; Choung, Edward; Donn, Natalie; Vice, Michelle; Luberice, Kenneth; Albrink, Michael; Rosemurgy, Alexander S

    2015-01-01

    As technology in surgery evolves, the medical instrument industry is inevitability involved in promoting the use and appropriate (ie, effective and safe) application of its products. This study was undertaken to evaluate industry-supported product safety courses in laparoendoscopic single-site (LESS) surgery, by using the metrics of surgeons' adoption of the technique, safety of the procedure, and surgeons' perception of the surgery. LESS surgery courses that involved didactic lectures, operative videos, operation observation, collaborative learning, and simulation, were attended by 226 surgeons. With Florida Hospital Tampa Institutional Review Board approval, the surgeons were queried before and immediately after the course, to assess their attitudes toward LESS surgery. Then, well after the course, the surgeons were contacted, repeatedly if necessary, to complete questionnaires. Before the course, 82% of the surgeons undertook more than 10 laparoscopic operations per month. Immediately after the course, 86% were confident that they were prepared to perform LESS surgery. Months after the course, 77% of the respondents had adopted LESS surgery, primarily cholecystectomy; 59% had added 1 or more trocars in 0-20% of their procedures; and 73% held the opinion that operating room observation was the most helpful learning experience. Complications with LESS surgery were noted 12% of the time. Advantages of the technique were better cosmesis (58%) and patient satisfaction (38%). Disadvantages included risk of complications (37%) and higher technical demand (25%). Seventy-eight percent viewed LESS surgery as an advancement in surgical technique. In multifaceted product safety courses, operating room observation is thought to provide the most helpful instruction for those wanting to undertake LESS surgery. The procedure has been safely adopted by surgeons who frequently perform laparoscopies. The tradeoff is in performing a more difficult technique to obtain better cosmesis for the patient. We must continue to conduct critical evaluations of product safety courses for the introduction of new technology in surgery.

  15. Toward a Safety Risk-Based Classification of Unmanned Aircraft

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Torres-Pomales, Wilfredo

    2016-01-01

    There is a trend of growing interest and demand for greater access of unmanned aircraft (UA) to the National Airspace System (NAS) as the ongoing development of UA technology has created the potential for significant economic benefits. However, the lack of a comprehensive and efficient UA regulatory framework has constrained the number and kinds of UA operations that can be performed. This report presents initial results of a study aimed at defining a safety-risk-based UA classification as a plausible basis for a regulatory framework for UA operating in the NAS. Much of the study up to this point has been at a conceptual high level. The report includes a survey of contextual topics, analysis of safety risk considerations, and initial recommendations for a risk-based approach to safe UA operations in the NAS. The next phase of the study will develop and leverage deeper clarity and insight into practical engineering and regulatory considerations for ensuring that UA operations have an acceptable level of safety.

  16. NASA Low Visibility Landing and Surface Operations (LVLASO) Atlanta Demonstration: Surveillance Systems Performance Analysis

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Cassell, Rick; Evers, Carl; Hicok, Dan; Lee, Derrick

    1999-01-01

    NASA conducted a series of flight experiments at Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport as part of the Low Visibility Landing and Surface Operations (LVLASO) Program. LVLASO is one of the subelements of the NASA Terminal Area Productivity (TAP) Program, which is focused on providing technology and operating procedures for achieving clear-weather airport capacity in instrument-weather conditions, while also improving safety. LVLASO is investigating various technologies to be applied to airport surface operations, including advanced flight deck displays and surveillance systems. The purpose of this report is to document the performance of the surveillance systems tested as part of the LVLASO flight experiment. There were three surveillance sensors tested: primary radar using Airport Surface Detection Equipment (ASDE-3) and the Airport Movement Area Safety System (AMASS), Multilateration using the Airport Surface Target Identification System (ATIDS), and Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast (ADS-B) operating at 1090 MHz. The performance was compared to the draft requirements of the ICAO Advanced Surface Movement Guidance and Control System (A-SMGCS). Performance parameters evaluated included coverage, position accuracy, and update rate. Each of the sensors was evaluated as a stand alone surveillance system.

  17. An assessment of the safety performance of farm vehicles subject to exemptions under MAP-21.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2016-05-01

    This report presents the methodology and findings from an analysis conducted by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrations (FMCSAs) Office of Analysis, Research, and Technology, with support from the Office of Field Operations, in respons...

  18. Butanol/Gasoline Test Plan

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2012-03-01

    Differences between gasoline fuel and biobutanol fuel including the effects of temperature  Safety-related and health issues including safety...where engine-operating parameters such as fuel consumption , performance, and emissions are monitored under controlled conditions, with the addition...7 3.3 Power and Fuel Consumption

  19. 75 FR 63893 - Safety Advisory 2010-03

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-10-18

    ... Advisory; staying alert and situational awareness. SUMMARY: FRA is issuing Safety Advisory 2010-03 to... alert whenever the job that is being performed changes, particularly in main track territory. This.... Additionally, the briefing addressed several existing BNSF operating rules mandating that employees be alert...

  20. Preliminary data summary : airport deicing operations (revised)

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2000-08-01

    The deicing and anti-icing of aircraft and airfield surfaces is required by the Federal : Aviation Administration (FAA) to ensure the safety of passengers; however, when performed : without discharge controls in place, airport deicing operations can ...

  1. Performance measures for arterial traffic signal systems.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2009-05-01

    This project was conducted to investigate new concepts, new tools and emerging technologies directed at enhancing traffic operations and safety on signalized urban arterials that operate under saturated conditions. McFarland Boulevard, a six-lane urb...

  2. Performance and safety aspects of the XV-15 tilt rotor research aircraft

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wernicke, K. G.

    1977-01-01

    Aircraft performance is presented illustrating the flexibility and capability of the XV-15 to conduct its planned proof-of-concept flight research in the areas of dynamics, stability and control, and aerodynamics. Additionally, the aircraft will demonstrate mission-type performance typical of future operational aircraft. The aircraft design is described and discussed with emphasis on the safety and fail-operate features of the aircraft and its systems. Two or more levels of redundancy are provided in the dc and ac electrical systems, hydraulics, conversion, flaps, landing gear extension, SCAS, and force-feel. RPM is maintained by a hydro-electrical blade pitch governor that consists of a primary and standby governor with a cockpit wheel control for manual backup. The two engines are interconnected for operation on a single engine. In the event of total loss of power, the aircraft can enter autorotation starting from the airplane as well as the helicopter mode of flight.

  3. The Difficult Gallbladder: A Safe Approach to a Dangerous Problem.

    PubMed

    Santos, B Fernando; Brunt, L Michael; Pucci, Michael J

    2017-06-01

    Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is a common surgical procedure, and remains the gold standard for the management of benign gallbladder and biliary disease. While this procedure can be technically straightforward, it can also represent one of the most challenging operations facing surgeons. This dichotomy of a routine operation performed so commonly that poses such a hidden risk of severe complications, such as bile duct injury, must keep surgeons steadfast in the pursuit of safety. The "difficult gallbladder" requires strict adherence to the Culture of Safety in Cholecystectomy, which promotes safety first and assists surgeons in managing or avoiding difficult operative situations. This review will discuss the management of the difficult gallbladder and propose the use of subtotal fenestrating cholecystectomy as a definitive option during this dangerous situation.

  4. Evaluating the effect of distractions in the operating room on clinical decision-making and patient safety.

    PubMed

    Murji, Ally; Luketic, Lea; Sobel, Mara L; Kulasegaram, Kulamakan Mahan; Leyland, Nicholas; Posner, Glenn

    2016-10-01

    Answering telephone calls and pagers is common distraction in the operating room. We sought to evaluate the impact of distractions on patient care by (1) assessing the accuracy and safety of responses to clinical questions posed to a surgeon while operating and (2) determining whether pager distractions affect simulation-based surgical performance. We conducted a randomized crossover study of obstetrics and gynecology residents. After studying a patient sign-out list, subjects performed a virtual salpingectomy. They were randomized to a distraction phase followed by quiet phase or vice versa. In the distraction phase, a pager beeped and subjects were asked questions based on the sign-out list. Accuracy of responses and the number of unsafe responses were recorded. In the quiet phase, trainees performed the task uninterrupted. Measures of surgical performance were successful task completion, time to task completion and operative blood loss. The mean score for correct responses to clinical questions during the distracted phase was 80 % (SD ±14 %). Nineteen residents (63 %) made at least 1 unsafe clinical decision while operating on the simulator (range 0-3). Subjects were more likely to successfully complete the surgical task in the allotted time under the quiet compared to distraction condition (OR 11.3, p = 0.03). There was no difference between the conditions in paired analysis for mean time (seconds) to task completion [426 (SD 133) vs. 440 (SD 186), p = 0.61] and mean operative blood loss (mL) [73.14 (SD 106) vs. 112.70 (SD 358), p = 0.47]. Distractions in the operating room may have a profound impact on patient safety on the wards. While multitasking in a simulated setting, the majority of residents made at least one unsafe clinical decision. Pager distractions also hindered surgical residents' ability to complete a simulated laparoscopic task in the allotted time without affecting other variables of surgical performance.

  5. MSFC Skylab airlock module, volume 2. [systems design and performance, systems support activity, and reliability and safety programs

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1974-01-01

    System design and performance of the Skylab Airlock Module and Payload Shroud are presented for the communication and caution and warning systems. Crew station and storage, crew trainers, experiments, ground support equipment, and system support activities are also reviewed. Other areas documented include the reliability and safety programs, test philosophy, engineering project management, and mission operations support.

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

    PubMed

    Bennett, Simon A

    2017-01-01

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

  7. 14 CFR Appendix A to Part 417 - Flight Safety Analysis Methodologies and Products for a Launch Vehicle Flown With a Flight Safety...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... time duration of the turn and must show increments not to exceed one second. The series of tumble turns... FAA will measure any proposed alternative analysis approach. This appendix also identifies the... approach provides an equivalent level of safety. If a Federal launch range performs the launch operator's...

  8. Data driven performance measures for effective management of complex transportation networks.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2014-02-01

    This research aims to explore performance measures quantified based on different transportation data sources. It examined the major : performance measures that can help describe both traffic operations and safety conditions. The available data source...

  9. Joint road safety operations in tunnels and open roads

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Adesiyun, Adewole; Avenoso, Antonio; Dionelis, Kallistratos; Cela, Liljana; Nicodème, Christophe; Goger, Thierry; Polidori, Carlo

    2017-09-01

    The objective of the ECOROADS project is to overcome the barrier established by the formal interpretation of the two Directives 2008/96/EC and 2004/54/EC, which in practice do not allow the same Road Safety Audits/Inspections to be performed inside tunnels. The projects aims at the establishment of a common enhanced approach to road infrastructure and tunnel safety management by using the concepts and criteria of the Directive 2008/96/CE on road infrastructure safety management and the results of related European Commission (EC) funded projects. ECOROADS has already implemented an analysis of national practices regarding Road Safety Inspections (RSI), two Workshops with the stakeholders, and an exchange of best practices between European tunnel experts and road safety professionals, which led to the definition of common agreed safety procedures. In the second phase of the project, different groups of experts and observers applied the above common procedures by inspecting five European road sections featuring both open roads and tunnels in Belgium, Albania, Germany, Serbia and Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. This paper shows the feedback of the 5 joint safety operations and how they are being used for a set of - recommendations and guidelines for the application of the RSA and RSI concepts within the tunnel safety operations.

  10. Facing the Recession: How Did Safety-Net Hospitals Fare Financially Compared with Their Peers?

    PubMed Central

    Reiter, Kristin L; Jiang, H Joanna; Wang, Jia

    2014-01-01

    Objective To examine the effect of the recession on the financial performance of safety-net versus non-safety-net hospitals. Data Sources/Study Setting Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Hospital Cost and Utilization Project State Inpatient Databases, Medicare Cost Reports, American Hospital Association Annual Survey, InterStudy, and Area Health Resource File. Study Design Retrospective, longitudinal panel of hospitals, 2007–2011. Safety-net hospitals were identified using percentage of patients who were Medicaid or uninsured. Generalized estimating equations were used to estimate average effects of the recession on hospital operating and total margins, revenues and expenses in each year, 2008–2011, comparing safety-net with non-safety-net hospitals. Data Collection/Extraction Methods 1,453 urban, nonfederal, general acute hospitals in 32 states with complete data. Principal Findings Safety-net hospitals, as identified in 2007, had lower operating and total margins. The gap in operating margin between safety-net and non-safety-net hospitals was sustained throughout the recession; however, total margin was more negatively affected for non-safety-net hospitals in 2008. Higher percentages of Medicaid and uninsured patients were associated with lower revenue in private hospitals in all years, and lower revenue and expenses in public hospitals in 2011. Conclusions Safety-net hospitals may not be disproportionately vulnerable to macro-economic fluctuations, but their significantly lower margins leave less financial cushion to weather sustained financial pressure. PMID:25220012

  11. Scaled centrifugal compressor, collector and running gear program

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kenehan, J. G.

    1983-01-01

    The Scaled Centrifugal Compressor, Collector and Running gear Program was conducted in support of an overall NASA strategy to improve small-compressor performance, durability, and reliability while reducing initial and life-cycle costs. Accordingly, Garrett designed and provided a test rig, gearbox coupling, and facility collector for a new NASA facility, and provided a scaled model of an existing, high-performance impeller for evaluation scaling effects on aerodynamic performance and for obtaining other performance data. Test-rig shafting was designed to operate smoothly throughout a speed range up to 60,000 rpm. Pressurized components were designed to operate at pressures up to 300 psia and at temperatures to 1000 F. Nonrotating components were designed to provide a margin-of-safety of 0.05 or greater; rotating components, for a margin-of-safety based on allowable yield and ultimate strengths. Design activities were supported by complete design analysis, and the finished hardware was subjected to check-runs to confirm proper operation. The test rig will support a wide range of compressor tests and evaluations.

  12. The second “time-out”: a surgical safety checklist for lengthy robotic surgeries

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Robotic surgeries of long duration are associated with both increased risks to patients as well as distinct challenges for care providers. We propose a surgical checklist, to be completed during a second “time-out”, aimed at reducing peri-operative complications and addressing obstacles presented by lengthy robotic surgeries. A review of the literature was performed to identify the most common complications of robotic surgeries with extended operative times. A surgical checklist was developed with the goal of addressing these issues and maximizing patient safety. Extended operative times during robotic surgery increase patient risk for position-related complications and other adverse events. These cases also raise concerns for surgical, anesthesia, and nursing staff which are less common in shorter, non-robotic operations. Key elements of the checklist were designed to coordinate operative staff in verifying patient safety while addressing the unique concerns within each specialty. As robotic surgery is increasingly utilized, operations with long surgical times may become more common due to increased case complexity and surgeons overcoming the learning curve. A standardized surgical checklist, conducted three to four hours after the start of surgery, may enhance perioperative patient safety and quality of care. PMID:23731776

  13. French Regulatory practice and experience feedback on steam generator tube integrity

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Sandon, G.

    1997-02-01

    This paper summarizes the way the French Safety Authority applies regulatory rules and practices to the problem of steam generator tube cracking in French PWR reactors. There are 54 reactors providing 80% of French electrical consumption. The Safety Authority closely monitors the performance of tubes in steam generators, and requires application of a program which deals with problems prior to the actual development of leakage. The actual rules regarding such performance are flexible, responding to the overall performance of operating steam generators. In addition there is an inservice inspection service to examine tubes during shutdown, and to monitor steam generatorsmore » for leakage during operation, with guidelines for when generators must be pulled off line.« less

  14. A Tool for Verification and Validation of Neural Network Based Adaptive Controllers for High Assurance Systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Gupta, Pramod; Schumann, Johann

    2004-01-01

    High reliability of mission- and safety-critical software systems has been identified by NASA as a high-priority technology challenge. We present an approach for the performance analysis of a neural network (NN) in an advanced adaptive control system. This problem is important in the context of safety-critical applications that require certification, such as flight software in aircraft. We have developed a tool to measure the performance of the NN during operation by calculating a confidence interval (error bar) around the NN's output. Our tool can be used during pre-deployment verification as well as monitoring the network performance during operation. The tool has been implemented in Simulink and simulation results on a F-15 aircraft are presented.

  15. The Development of Dynamic Human Reliability Analysis Simulations for Inclusion in Risk Informed Safety Margin Characterization Frameworks

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Jeffrey C. Joe; Diego Mandelli; Ronald L. Boring

    2015-07-01

    The United States Department of Energy is sponsoring the Light Water Reactor Sustainability program, which has the overall objective of supporting the near-term and the extended operation of commercial nuclear power plants. One key research and development (R&D) area in this program is the Risk-Informed Safety Margin Characterization pathway, which combines probabilistic risk simulation with thermohydraulic simulation codes to define and manage safety margins. The R&D efforts to date, however, have not included robust simulations of human operators, and how the reliability of human performance or lack thereof (i.e., human errors) can affect risk-margins and plant performance. This paper describesmore » current and planned research efforts to address the absence of robust human reliability simulations and thereby increase the fidelity of simulated accident scenarios.« less

  16. Human performance cognitive-behavioral modeling: a benefit for occupational safety.

    PubMed

    Gore, Brian F

    2002-01-01

    Human Performance Modeling (HPM) is a computer-aided job analysis software methodology used to generate predictions of complex human-automation integration and system flow patterns with the goal of improving operator and system safety. The use of HPM tools has recently been increasing due to reductions in computational cost, augmentations in the tools' fidelity, and usefulness in the generated output. An examination of an Air Man-machine Integration Design and Analysis System (Air MIDAS) model evaluating complex human-automation integration currently underway at NASA Ames Research Center will highlight the importance to occupational safety of considering both cognitive and physical aspects of performance when researching human error.

  17. Human performance cognitive-behavioral modeling: a benefit for occupational safety

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Gore, Brian F.

    2002-01-01

    Human Performance Modeling (HPM) is a computer-aided job analysis software methodology used to generate predictions of complex human-automation integration and system flow patterns with the goal of improving operator and system safety. The use of HPM tools has recently been increasing due to reductions in computational cost, augmentations in the tools' fidelity, and usefulness in the generated output. An examination of an Air Man-machine Integration Design and Analysis System (Air MIDAS) model evaluating complex human-automation integration currently underway at NASA Ames Research Center will highlight the importance to occupational safety of considering both cognitive and physical aspects of performance when researching human error.

  18. A review of inherent safety characteristics of metal alloy sodium-cooled fast reactor fuel against postulated accidents

    DOE PAGES

    Sofu, Tanju

    2015-04-01

    The thermal, mechanical, and neutronic performance of the metal alloy fast reactor fuel design complements the safety advantages of the liquid metal cooling and the pool-type primary system. Together, these features provide large safety margins in both normal operating modes and for a wide range of postulated accidents. In particular, they maximize the measures of safety associated with inherent reactor response to unprotected, double-fault accidents, and to minimize risk to the public and plant investment. High thermal conductivity and high gap conductance play the most significant role in safety advantages of the metallic fuel, resulting in a flatter radial temperaturemore » profile within the pin and much lower normal operation and transient temperatures in comparison to oxide fuel. Despite the big difference in melting point, both oxide and metal fuels have a relatively similar margin to melting during postulated accidents. When the metal fuel cladding fails, it typically occurs below the coolant boiling point and the damaged fuel pins remain coolable. Metal fuel is compatible with sodium coolant, eliminating the potential of energetic fuel--coolant reactions and flow blockages. All these, and the low retained heat leading to a longer grace period for operator action, are significant contributing factors to the inherently benign response of metallic fuel to postulated accidents. This paper summarizes the past analytical and experimental results obtained in past sodium-cooled fast reactor safety programs in the United States, and presents an overview of fuel safety performance as observed in laboratory and in-pile tests.« less

  19. A review of inherent safety characteristics of metal alloy sodium-cooled fast reactor fuel against postulated accidents

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Sofu, Tanju

    2015-04-01

    The thermal, mechanical, and neutronic performance of the metal alloy fast reactor fuel design complements the safety advantages of the liquid metal cooling and the pool-type primary system. Together, these features provide large safety margins in both normal operating modes and for a wide range of postulated accidents. In particular, they maximize the measures of safety associated with inherent reactor response to unprotected, double-fault accidents, and to minimize risk to the public and plant investment. High thermal conductivity and high gap conductance play the most significant role in safety advantages of the metallic fuel, resulting in a flatter radial temperaturemore » profile within the pin and much lower normal operation and transient temperatures in comparison to oxide fuel. Despite the big difference in melting point, both oxide and metal fuels have a relatively similar margin to melting during postulated accidents. When the metal fuel cladding fails, it typically occurs below the coolant boiling point and the damaged fuel pins remain cool-able. Metal fuel is compatible with sodium coolant, eliminating the potential of energetic fuel coolant reactions and flow blockages. All these, and the low retained heat leading to a longer grace period for operator action, are significant contributing factors to the inherently benign response of metallic fuel to postulated accidents. This paper summarizes the past analytical and experimental results obtained in past sodium-cooled fast reactor safety programs in the United States, and presents an overview of fuel safety performance as observed in laboratory and in-pile tests.« less

  20. Effects of operating practices on commercial driver alertness

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    This report summarizes the results of a one-year effort to establish the interaction between operating practices in the trucking industry and driver performance, particularly with respect to safety and fatigue. Principal topics were: Loading and unlo...

  1. Development of a Field-Deployable Psychomotor Vigilance Test to Monitor Helicopter Pilot Performance.

    PubMed

    McMahon, Terry W; Newman, David G

    2016-04-01

    Flying a helicopter is a complex psychomotor skill. Fatigue is a serious threat to operational safety, particularly for sustained helicopter operations involving high levels of cognitive information processing and sustained time on task. As part of ongoing research into this issue, the object of this study was to develop a field-deployable helicopter-specific psychomotor vigilance test (PVT) for the purpose of daily performance monitoring of pilots. The PVT consists of a laptop computer, a hand-operated joystick, and a set of rudder pedals. Screen-based compensatory tracking task software includes a tracking ball (operated by the joystick) which moves randomly in all directions, and a second tracking ball which moves horizontally (operated by the rudder pedals). The 5-min test requires the pilot to keep both tracking balls centered. This helicopter-specific PVT's portability and integrated data acquisition and storage system enables daily field monitoring of the performance of individual helicopter pilots. The inclusion of a simultaneous foot-operated tracking task ensures divided attention for helicopter pilots as the movement of both tracking balls requires simultaneous inputs. This PVT is quick, economical, easy to use, and specific to the operational flying task. It can be used for performance monitoring purposes, and as a general research tool for investigating the psychomotor demands of helicopter operations. While reliability and validity testing is warranted, data acquired from this test could help further our understanding of the effect of various factors (such as fatigue) on helicopter pilot performance, with the potential of contributing to helicopter operational safety.

  2. Site Safety and Health Plan (Phase 3) for the treatability study for in situ vitrification at Seepage Pit 1 in Waste Area Grouping 7, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Spalding, B.P.; Naney, M.T.

    1995-06-01

    This plan is to be implemented for Phase III ISV operations and post operations sampling. Two previous project phases involving site characterization have been completed and required their own site specific health and safety plans. Project activities will take place at Seepage Pit 1 in Waste Area Grouping 7 at ORNL, Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Purpose of this document is to establish standard health and safety procedures for ORNL project personnel and contractor employees in performance of this work. Site activities shall be performed in accordance with Energy Systems safety and health policies and procedures, DOE orders, Occupational Safety and Healthmore » Administration Standards 29 CFR Part 1910 and 1926; applicable United States Environmental Protection Agency requirements; and consensus standards. Where the word ``shall`` is used, the provisions of this plan are mandatory. Specific requirements of regulations and orders have been incorporated into this plan in accordance with applicability. Included from 29 CFR are 1910.120 Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response; 1910.146, Permit Required - Confined Space; 1910.1200, Hazard Communication; DOE Orders requirements of 5480.4, Environmental Protection, Safety and Health Protection Standards; 5480.11, Radiation Protection; and N5480.6, Radiological Control Manual. In addition, guidance and policy will be followed as described in the Environmental Restoration Program Health and Safety Plan. The levels of personal protection and the procedures specified in this plan are based on the best information available from reference documents and site characterization data. Therefore, these recommendations represent the minimum health and safety requirements to be observed by all personnel engaged in this project.« less

  3. HFE safety reviews of advanced nuclear power plant control rooms

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ohara, John

    1994-01-01

    Advanced control rooms (ACR's) will utilize human-system interface (HSI) technologies that may have significant implications for plant safety in that they will affect the operator's overall role and means of interacting with the system. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) reviews the human factors engineering (HFE) aspects of HSI's to ensure that they are designed to good HFE principles and support performance and reliability in order to protect public health and safety. However, the only available NRC guidance was developed more than ten years ago, and does not adequately address the human performance issues and technology changes associated with ACR's. Accordingly, a new approach to ACR safety reviews was developed based upon the concept of 'convergent validity'. This approach to ACR safety reviews is described.

  4. Global harmonization of safety regulations for the use of industrial robots-permission of collaborative operation and a related study by JNIOSH.

    PubMed

    Saito, Tsuyoshi; Hoshi, Toshiro; Ikeda, Hiroyasu; Okabe, Kohei

    2015-01-01

    In December 2013, the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) partially amended the safety regulations for use of industrial robots so that "collaborative operation" could be performed at Japanese worksites as allowed in the ISO standard for industrial robots. In order to show global harmonization of Japanese legislation on machinery safety and problems with applying ISO safety standards to Japanese worksites, this paper reports the progress of a research study which have been conducted in National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Japan from 2011 to the present at the request of MHLW to examine the necessity and effect of the amendment. In the first phase of this study, a questionnaire survey was conducted among domestic robot manufacturers and users. The obtained results revealed their potential demand for the collaborative operation and problems concerning their risk assessment and rule-based risk reduction. To solve the problems, we propose a method based on an investigation result of the regulatory framework for safety of machinery in the European Union. Furthermore, a model of robot system capable of demonstrating the collaborative operation and risk reduction measures which is being developed to support appropriate implementation of the amendment is also described.

  5. Review of Issues Associated with Safe Operation and Management of the Space Shuttle Program

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Johnstone, Paul M.; Blomberg, Richard D.; Gleghorn, George J.; Krone, Norris J.; Voltz, Richard A.; Dunn, Robert F.; Donlan, Charles J.; Kauderer, Bernard M.; Brill, Yvonne C.; Englar, Kenneth G.; hide

    1996-01-01

    At the request of the President of the United States through the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), the NASA Administrator tasked the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel with the responsibility to identify and review issues associated with the safe operation and management of the Space Shuttle program arising from ongoing efforts to improve and streamline operations. These efforts include the consolidation of operations under a single Space Flight Operations Contract (SFOC), downsizing the Space Shuttle workforce and reducing costs of operations and management. The Panel formed five teams to address the potentially significant safety impacts of the seven specific topic areas listed in the study Terms of Reference. These areas were (in the order in which they are presented in this report): Maintenance of independent safety oversight; implementation plan for the transition of Shuttle program management to the Lead Center; communications among NASA Centers and Headquarters; transition plan for downsizing to anticipated workforce levels; implementation of a phased transition to a prime contractor for operations; Shuttle flight rate for Space Station assembly; and planned safety and performance upgrades for Space Station assembly. The study teams collected information through briefings, interviews, telephone conversations and from reviewing applicable documentation. These inputs were distilled by each team into observations and recommendations which were then reviewed by the entire Panel.

  6. 10 CFR 70.62 - Safety program and integrated safety analysis.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ...) Radiological hazards related to possessing or processing licensed material at its facility; (ii) Chemical hazards of licensed material and hazardous chemicals produced from licensed material; (iii) Facility... performed by a team with expertise in engineering and process operations. The team shall include at least...

  7. The Influence of Individual and Team Cognitive Ability on Operators’ Task and Safety Performance: A Multilevel Field Study in Nuclear Power Plants

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Jingyu; Li, Yongjuan; Wu, Changxu

    2013-01-01

    While much research has investigated the predictors of operators’ performance such as personality, attitudes and motivation in high-risk industries, its cognitive antecedents and boundary conditions have not been fully investigated. Based on a multilevel investigation of 312 nuclear power plant main control room operators from 50 shift teams, the present study investigated how general mental ability (GMA) at both individual and team level can influence task and safety performance. At the individual level, operators’ GMA was predictive of their task and safety performance and this trend became more significant as they accumulated more experience. At the team level, we found team GMA had positive influences on all three performance criteria. However, we also found a “big-fish-little-pond” effect insofar as team GMA had a relatively smaller effect and inhibited the contribution of individual GMA to workers’ extra-role behaviors (safety participation) compared to its clear beneficial influence on in-role behaviors (task performance and safety compliance). The possible mechanisms related to learning and social comparison processes are discussed. PMID:24391964

  8. Cost comparison and safety of emergency department conscious sedation for the removal of ear foreign bodies.

    PubMed

    Olson, Michael D; Saw, Jessica; Visscher, Sue L; Balakrishnan, Karthik

    2018-07-01

    The purpose of this study is to investigate the relative cost and safety of ear foreign body (FB) removal via conscious sedation in the emergency department. A retrospective review of patients presenting from 2000 to 2015 to the emergency department at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota was performed. 63 patients requiring sedation for ear foreign body removal were identified. Descriptive data, safety data, and costs were obtained for the study. There were no appreciable differences in patient safety outcomes and otologic outcomes in patients who received sedation in the emergency department or anesthesia in the operating room for FB removal. Cost analysis demonstrated increased cost associated with operating room utilization verses conscious sedation in the emergency department, with the greatest cost increase being in patients evaluated first in the emergency department and then sent to the operating room. Ear foreign body removal in the emergency department is shows a similar safety profile to removal in the operating room, but at a markedly lower cost. Emergency department conscious sedation should be considered a viable option in appropriately selected patients with this common problem given these results. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  9. Thermal performance evaluation of the infrared telescope dewar subsystem

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Urban, E. W.

    1986-01-01

    Thermal performance evaluations (TPE) were conducted with the superfluid helium dewar of the Infrared Telescope (IRT) experiment from November 1981 to August 1982. Test included measuring key operating parameters, simulating operations with an attached instrument cryostat and validating servicing, operating and safety procedures. Test activities and results are summarized. All objectives are satisfied except for those involving transfer of low pressure liquid helium (LHe) from a supply dewar into the dewar subsystem.

  10. Joint Ordnance Test Procedure (JOTP)-010 Safety and Suitability for Service Assessment Testing for Shoulder Launched Munitions

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-05-09

    electromagnetic environment for which they are designed to be used. These tests are performed on a powered weapon during simulated normal operation and are...010B SAFETY AND SUITABILITY FOR SERVICE ASSESSMENT TESTING FOR SHOULDER LAUNCHED MUNITIONS Joint Services Munition Safety Test Working Group JOTP...12 6.8 Test Sample Quantities .......................................................... 13 7. PRE- AND POST - TEST INSPECTIONS

  11. Diverging diamond interchange performance evaluation (I-44 and Route 13)

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2011-02-01

    Performance evaluation was conducted on the first diverging diamond interchange (DDI) or double : crossover interchange (DCD) constructed in the United States. This evaluation assessed traffic operations, safety and : public perceptions t...

  12. The experience in operation and improving the Orlan-type space suits.

    PubMed

    Abramov, I P

    1995-07-01

    Nowadays significant experience has been gained in Russia concerning extravehicular activity (EVA) with cosmonauts wearing a semi-rigid space suit of the "Orlan" type. The conditions for the cosmonauts' vital activities, the operational and ergonomic features of the space suit and its reliability are the most critical factors defining the efficiency of the scheduled operation to be performed by the astronaut and his safety. As the missions performed by the cosmonauts during EVA become more and more elaborate, the requirements for EVA space suits and their systems become more and more demanding, resulting in their consistent advancement. This paper provides certain results of the space suit's operation and analysis of its major problems as applied to the Salyut and MIR orbiting stations. The modification steps of the space suit in the course of operation (Orlan-D, Orlan-DM, Orlan-DMA) and its specific features are presented. The concept of the suited cosmonauts' safety is described as well as trends for future space suit improvements.

  13. Agricultural Leaders' Influence on the Safety Culture of Workers.

    PubMed

    Gasperini, Frank A

    2017-01-01

    Most US farmers are small, independent owner-operators, many of whom are exempt from safety regulation and enforcement, as well as age restrictions relative to family members performing hazardous tasks. These smaller farms account for a disproportionate share of the total fatality and injury statistics from farming incidents, contributing to an agriculture-industry death rate that is seven times greater than all occupations combined. In contrast, large agricultural enterprises that employ larger numbers of non-family workers are more regulated and more highly incentivized by economic, supply chain, and societal factors to implement cultures of safety, and are more readily influenced by agricultural opinion leaders, agribusinesses, farm organizations, and agricultural media. These agricultural influencer institutions must find ways to play more significant roles in changing the culture on operations that use only family labor. They will find willing partners in safety organizations such as the Agricultural Safety and Health Council of America (ASHCA), Agricultural Extension, and other health and safety advocates, including the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)-funded agricultural research centers. The overall workplace injury statistics for agriculture remain alarming; however, with leadership from the larger farm operations, and help from ASHCA, academia, the healthcare community, and others, the current culture of workplace safety and health in agriculture can be impacted in positive ways.

  14. A summary and integration of research concerning single pilot IFR operational problems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Chapman, G. C.

    1983-01-01

    A review of seven research studies pertaining to Single Pilot IFR (SPIFR) operations was performed. Two studies were based on questionnaire surveys; two based on National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reports; two were based on Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) incident reports, and one report used event analysis and statistics to forecast problems. The results obtained in each study were extracted and integrated. Results were synthesized and key issues pertaining to SPIFR operations problems were identified. The research that was recommended by the studies and that addressed the key issues is catalogued for each key issue.

  15. Cooperative Vehicle–Highway Automation (CVHA) Technology : Simulation of Benefits and Operational Issues

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2017-03-01

    The past few years have witnessed a rapidly growing market in assistive driving technologies, designed to improve safety and operations by supporting driver performance. Often referred to as cooperative vehiclehighway automation (CVHA) systems, th...

  16. A Preliminary Review of English Proficiency and Safe Commercial Motor Vehicle Operation.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2008-07-01

    Under sponsorship from the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Office of Bus and Truck Standards and Operations, the John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center performed a preliminary research stud...

  17. Preliminary Results Obtained in Integrated Safety Analysis of NASA Aviation Safety Program Technologies

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Reveley, Mary S.

    2003-01-01

    The goal of the NASA Aviation Safety Program (AvSP) is to develop and demonstrate technologies that contribute to a reduction in the aviation fatal accident rate by a factor of 5 by the year 2007 and by a factor of 10 by the year 2022. Integrated safety analysis of day-to-day operations and risks within those operations will provide an understanding of the Aviation Safety Program portfolio. Safety benefits analyses are currently being conducted. Preliminary results for the Synthetic Vision Systems (SVS) and Weather Accident Prevention (WxAP) projects of the AvSP have been completed by the Logistics Management Institute under a contract with the NASA Glenn Research Center. These analyses include both a reliability analysis and a computer simulation model. The integrated safety analysis method comprises two principal components: a reliability model and a simulation model. In the reliability model, the results indicate how different technologies and systems will perform in normal, degraded, and failed modes of operation. In the simulation, an operational scenario is modeled. The primary purpose of the SVS project is to improve safety by providing visual-flightlike situation awareness during instrument conditions. The current analyses are an estimate of the benefits of SVS in avoiding controlled flight into terrain. The scenario modeled has an aircraft flying directly toward a terrain feature. When the flight crew determines that the aircraft is headed toward an obstruction, the aircraft executes a level turn at speed. The simulation is ended when the aircraft completes the turn.

  18. Phenomenological Studies on Sodium for CSP Applications: A Safety Review

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Armijo, Kenneth Miguel; Andraka, Charles E.

    Sodium as a heat transfer fluid (HTF) can achieve temperatures above 700°C to improve power cycle performance for reducing large infrastructure costs of high-temperature systems. Current concentrating solar power (CSP) sensible HTF’s (e.g. air, salts) have poor thermal conductivity, and thus low heat transfer capabilities, requiring a large receiver. The high thermal conductivity of sodium has demonstrated high heat transfer rates on dish and towers systems, which allow a reduction in receiver area by a factor of two to four, reducing re-radiation and convection losses and cost by a similar factor. Sodium produces saturated vapor at pressures suitable for transportmore » starting at 600°C and reaches one atmosphere at 870°C, providing a wide range of suitable latent operating conditions that match proposed high temperature, isothermal input power cycles. This advantage could increase the receiver and system efficiency while lowering the cost of CSP tower systems. Although there are a number of desirable thermal performance advantages associated with sodium, its propensity to rapidly oxidize presents safety challenges. This investigation presents a literature review that captures historical operations/handling lessons for advanced sodium systems, and the current state-of-knowledge related to sodium combustion behavior. Technical and operational solutions addressing sodium safety and applications in CSP will be discussed, including unique safety hazards and advantages using latent sodium. Operation and maintenance experience from the nuclear industry with sensible and latent systems will also be discussed in the context of safety challenges and risk mitigation solutions.« less

  19. Evaluation of airfield pavement evenness

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pietruszewski, Paweł; Poświata, Adam; Wesołowski, Mariusz

    2018-05-01

    The evenness of airfield pavements is one of the basic operating parameters, which characterize them. The evenness determines not only comfort of traffic along an airfield pavement, but also influences the size of dynamic effect on the pavement, hence, the safety of air operations. In addition, the evenness condition changing as a result of dynamic loads, adverse weather conditions or inappropriate airfield pavement construction technology, lead to deviations from the desired condition in the form of longitudinal and transverse unevenness. As a result, systematic and correct performance of tests is a very significant and required factor impacting the improvement of traffic safety on airfield pavements. If the data obtained through the measurements are not sufficiently reliable, they may consequently lead to making incorrect decisions, which can ultimately impact the safety of air operations.

  20. Space station crew safety: Human factors interaction model

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Cohen, M. M.; Junge, M. K.

    1985-01-01

    A model of the various human factors issues and interactions that might affect crew safety is developed. The first step addressed systematically the central question: How is this space station different from all other spacecraft? A wide range of possible issue was identified and researched. Five major topics of human factors issues that interacted with crew safety resulted: Protocols, Critical Habitability, Work Related Issues, Crew Incapacitation and Personal Choice. Second, an interaction model was developed that would show some degree of cause and effect between objective environmental or operational conditions and the creation of potential safety hazards. The intermediary steps between these two extremes of causality were the effects on human performance and the results of degraded performance. The model contains three milestones: stressor, human performance (degraded) and safety hazard threshold. Between these milestones are two countermeasure intervention points. The first opportunity for intervention is the countermeasure against stress. If this countermeasure fails, performance degrades. The second opportunity for intervention is the countermeasure against error. If this second countermeasure fails, the threshold of a potential safety hazard may be crossed.

  1. Effect of commercial and military performance requirements for transport category aircraft on space shuttle booster design and operation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bithell, R. A.; Pence, W. A., Jr.

    1972-01-01

    The effect of two sets of performance requirements, commercial and military, on the design and operation of the space shuttle booster is evaluated. Critical thrust levels are established according to both sets of operating rules for the takeoff, cruise, and go-around flight modes, and the effect on engine requirements determined. Both flyback and ferry operations are considered. The impact of landing rules on potential shuttle flyback and ferry bases is evaluated. Factors affecting reserves are discussed, including winds, temperature, and nonstandard flight operations. Finally, a recommended set of operating rules is proposed for both flyback and ferry operations that allows adequate performance capability and safety margins without compromising design requirements for either flight phase.

  2. Flight Deck Technologies to Enable NextGen Low Visibility Surface Operations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Prinzel, Lawrence (Lance) J., III; Arthur, Jarvis (Trey) J.; Kramer, Lynda J.; Norman, Robert M.; Bailey, Randall E.; Jones, Denise R.; Karwac, Jerry R., Jr.; Shelton, Kevin J.; Ellis, Kyle K. E.

    2013-01-01

    Many key capabilities are being identified to enable Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen), including the concept of Equivalent Visual Operations (EVO) . replicating the capacity and safety of today.s visual flight rules (VFR) in all-weather conditions. NASA is striving to develop the technologies and knowledge to enable EVO and to extend EVO towards a Better-Than-Visual operational concept. This operational concept envisions an .equivalent visual. paradigm where an electronic means provides sufficient visual references of the external world and other required flight references on flight deck displays that enable Visual Flight Rules (VFR)-like operational tempos while maintaining and improving safety of VFR while using VFR-like procedures in all-weather conditions. The Langley Research Center (LaRC) has recently completed preliminary research on flight deck technologies for low visibility surface operations. The work assessed the potential of enhanced vision and airport moving map displays to achieve equivalent levels of safety and performance to existing low visibility operational requirements. The work has the potential to better enable NextGen by perhaps providing an operational credit for conducting safe low visibility surface operations by use of the flight deck technologies.

  3. Changes in safety climate and teamwork in the operating room after implementation of a revised WHO checklist: a prospective interventional study.

    PubMed

    Erestam, Sofia; Haglind, Eva; Bock, David; Andersson, Annette Erichsen; Angenete, Eva

    2017-01-01

    Inter-professional teamwork in the operating room is important for patient safety. The World Health Organization (WHO) checklist was introduced to improve intraoperative teamwork. The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety climate in a Swedish operating room setting before and after an intervention, using a revised version of the WHO checklist to improve teamwork. This study is a single center prospective interventional study. Participants were personnel working in operating room teams including surgeons, anesthesiologists, scrub nurses, nurse anaesthetists and nurse assistants. The study started with pre-interventional observations of the WHO checklist use followed by education on safety climate, the WHO checklist, and non-technical skills in the operating room. Thereafter a revised version of the WHO checklist was introduced. Post-interventional observations regarding the performance of the WHO checklist were carried out. The Safety Attitude Questionnaire was used to assess safety climate at baseline and post-intervention. At baseline we discovered a need for improved teamwork and communication. The participants considered teamwork to be important for patient safety, but had different perceptions of good teamwork between professions. The intervention, a revised version of the WHO checklist, did not affect teamwork climate. Adherence to the revision of the checklist was insufficient, dominated by a lack of structure. There was no significant change in teamwork climate by use of the revised WHO checklist, which may be due to insufficient implementation, as a lack of adherence to the WHO checklist was detected. We found deficiencies in teamwork and communication. Further studies exploring how to improve safety climate are needed. NCT02329691.

  4. Aircraft Flight Envelope Determination using Upset Detection and Physical Modeling Methods

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Keller, Jeffrey D.; McKillip, Robert M. Jr.; Kim, Singwan

    2009-01-01

    The development of flight control systems to enhance aircraft safety during periods of vehicle impairment or degraded operations has been the focus of extensive work in recent years. Conditions adversely affecting aircraft flight operations and safety may result from a number of causes, including environmental disturbances, degraded flight operations, and aerodynamic upsets. To enhance the effectiveness of adaptive and envelope limiting controls systems, it is desirable to examine methods for identifying the occurrence of anomalous conditions and for assessing the impact of these conditions on the aircraft operational limits. This paper describes initial work performed toward this end, examining the use of fault detection methods applied to the aircraft for aerodynamic performance degradation identification and model-based methods for envelope prediction. Results are presented in which a model-based fault detection filter is applied to the identification of aircraft control surface and stall departure failures/upsets. This application is supported by a distributed loading aerodynamics formulation for the flight dynamics system reference model. Extensions for estimating the flight envelope due to generalized aerodynamic performance degradation are also described.

  5. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Jose Reyes

    In recent years it has been recognized that the application of passive safety systems (i.e., those whose operation takes advantage of natural forces such as convection and gravity), can contribute to simplification and potentially to improved economics of new nuclear power plant designs. In 1991 the IAEA Conference on ''The Safety of Nuclear Power: Strategy for the Future'' noted that for new plants the use of passive safety features is a desirable method of achieving simplification and increasing the reliability of the performance of essential safety functions, and should be used wherever appropriate''.

  6. Tokamak Operation with Safety Factor q 95 < 2 via Control of MHD Stability

    DOE PAGES

    Piovesan, Paolo; Hanson, Jeremy M.; Martin, Piero; ...

    2014-07-24

    Magnetic feedback control of the resistive-wall mode has enabled DIII-D to access stable operation at safety factor q95 = 1:9 in divertor plasmas for 150 instability growth times. Magnetohydrodynamic stability sets a hard, disruptive limit on the minimum edge safety factor achievable in a tokamak, or on the maximum plasma current at given toroidal magnetic eld. In tokamaks with a divertor, the limit occurs at q95 = 2, as con rmed in DIII-D. Since the energy con cement time scales linearly with current, this also bounds the performance of a fusion reactor. DIII-D has overcome this limit, opening a wholemore » new high-current regime not accessible before. This result brings signi cant possible bene ts in terms of fusion performance, but it also extends resistive wall mode physics and its control to conditions never explored before. In present experiments, q95 < 2 operation is eventually halted by voltage limits reached in the feedback power supplies, not by intrinsic physics issues. Improvements to power supplies and to control algorithms have the potential to further extend this regime.« less

  7. The advancement of a new human factors report--'The Unique Report'--facilitating flight crew auditing of performance/operations as part of an airline's safety management system.

    PubMed

    Leva, M C; Cahill, J; Kay, A M; Losa, G; McDonald, N

    2010-02-01

    This paper presents the findings of research relating to the specification of a new human factors report, conducted as part of the work requirements for the Human Integration into the Lifecycle of Aviation Systems project, sponsored by the European Commission. Specifically, it describes the proposed concept for a unique report, which will form the basis for all operational and safety reports completed by flight crew. This includes all mandatory and optional reports. Critically, this form is central to the advancement of improved processes and technology tools, supporting airline performance management, safety management, organisational learning and knowledge integration/information-sharing activities. Specifically, this paper describes the background to the development of this reporting form, the logic and contents of this form and how reporting data will be made use of by airline personnel. This includes a description of the proposed intelligent planning process and the associated intelligent flight plan concept, which makes use of airline operational and safety analyses information. Primarily, this new reporting form has been developed in collaboration with a major Spanish airline. In addition, it has involved research with five other airlines. Overall, this has involved extensive field research, collaborative prototyping and evaluation of new reports/flight plan concepts and a number of evaluation activities. Participants have included both operational and management personnel, across different airline flight operations processes. Statement of Relevance: This paper presents the development of a reporting concept outlined through field research and collaborative prototyping within an airline. The resulting reporting function, embedded in the journey log compiled at the end of each flight, aims at enabling employees to audit the operations of the company they work for.

  8. Automatic reactor control system for transient operation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lipinski, Walter C.; Bhattacharyya, Samit K.; Hanan, Nelson A.

    Various programmatic considerations have delayed the upgrading of the TREAT reactor and the performance of the control system is not yet experimentally verified. The current schedule calls for the upgrading activities to occur last in the calendar year 1987. Detailed simulation results, coupled with earlier validation of individual components of the control strategy in TREAT, verify the performance of the algorithms. The control system operates within the safety envelope provided by a protection system designed to ensure reactor safety under conditions of spurious reactivity additions. The approach should be directly applicable to MMW systems, with appropriate accounting of temperature rate limitations of key components and of the inertia of the secondary system components.

  9. Visual Advantage of Enhanced Flight Vision System During NextGen Flight Test Evaluation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kramer, Lynda J.; Harrison, Stephanie J.; Bailey, Randall E.; Shelton, Kevin J.; Ellis, Kyle K.

    2014-01-01

    Synthetic Vision Systems and Enhanced Flight Vision System (SVS/EFVS) technologies have the potential to provide additional margins of safety for aircrew performance and enable operational improvements for low visibility operations in the terminal area environment. Simulation and flight tests were jointly sponsored by NASA's Aviation Safety Program, Vehicle Systems Safety Technology project and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to evaluate potential safety and operational benefits of SVS/EFVS technologies in low visibility Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) operations. The flight tests were conducted by a team of Honeywell, Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation and NASA personnel with the goal of obtaining pilot-in-the-loop test data for flight validation, verification, and demonstration of selected SVS/EFVS operational and system-level performance capabilities. Nine test flights were flown in Gulfstream's G450 flight test aircraft outfitted with the SVS/EFVS technologies under low visibility instrument meteorological conditions. Evaluation pilots flew 108 approaches in low visibility weather conditions (600 feet to 3600 feet reported visibility) under different obscurants (mist, fog, drizzle fog, frozen fog) and sky cover (broken, overcast). Flight test videos were evaluated at three different altitudes (decision altitude, 100 feet radar altitude, and touchdown) to determine the visual advantage afforded to the pilot using the EFVS/Forward-Looking InfraRed (FLIR) imagery compared to natural vision. Results indicate the EFVS provided a visual advantage of two to three times over that of the out-the-window (OTW) view. The EFVS allowed pilots to view the runway environment, specifically runway lights, before they would be able to OTW with natural vision.

  10. Safety on Earth From MARSS

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2002-01-01

    ENSCO, Inc., developed the Meteorological and Atmospheric Real-time Safety Support (MARSS) system for real-time assessment of meteorological data displays and toxic material spills. MARSS also provides mock scenarios to guide preparations for emergencies involving meteorological hazards and toxic substances. Developed under a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract with Kennedy Space Center, MARSS was designed to measure how safe NASA and Air Force range safety personnel are while performing weather sensitive operations around launch pads. The system augments a ground operations safety plan that limits certain work operations to very specific weather conditions. It also provides toxic hazard prediction models to assist safety managers in planning for and reacting to releases of hazardous materials. MARSS can be used in agricultural, industrial, and scientific applications that require weather forecasts and predictions of toxic smoke movement. MARSS is also designed to protect urban areas, seaports, rail facilities, and airports from airborne releases of hazardous chemical substances. The system can integrate with local facility protection units and provide instant threat detection and assessment data that is reportable for local and national distribution.

  11. Surgeon Training in Telerobotic Surgery via a Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulator

    PubMed Central

    Alemzadeh, Homa; Chen, Daniel; Kalbarczyk, Zbigniew; Iyer, Ravishankar K.; Kesavadas, Thenkurussi

    2017-01-01

    This work presents a software and hardware framework for a telerobotic surgery safety and motor skill training simulator. The aims are at providing trainees a comprehensive simulator for acquiring essential skills to perform telerobotic surgery. Existing commercial robotic surgery simulators lack features for safety training and optimal motion planning, which are critical factors in ensuring patient safety and efficiency in operation. In this work, we propose a hardware-in-the-loop simulator directly introducing these two features. The proposed simulator is built upon the Raven-II™ open source surgical robot, integrated with a physics engine and a safety hazard injection engine. Also, a Fast Marching Tree-based motion planning algorithm is used to help trainee learn the optimal instrument motion patterns. The main contributions of this work are (1) reproducing safety hazards events, related to da Vinci™ system, reported to the FDA MAUDE database, with a novel haptic feedback strategy to provide feedback to the operator when the underlying dynamics differ from the real robot's states so that the operator will be aware and can mitigate the negative impact of the safety-critical events, and (2) using motion planner to generate semioptimal path in an interactive robotic surgery training environment. PMID:29065635

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

    PubMed Central

    Bennett, Simon A

    2017-01-01

    Background A National Health Service (NHS) contingent liability for medical error claims of over £26 billion. Objectives To evaluate the safety management and educational benefits of adapting aviation’s Normal Operations Safety Audit (NOSA) to health care. Methods In vivo research, a NOSA was performed by medical students at an English NHS Trust. After receiving training from the author, the students spent 6 days gathering data under his supervision. Results The data revealed a threat-rich environment, where errors – some consequential – were made (359 threats and 86 errors were recorded over 2 weeks). The students claimed that the exercise improved their observational, investigative, communication, teamworking and other nontechnical skills. Conclusion NOSA is potentially an effective safety management and educational tool for health care. It is suggested that 1) the UK General Medical Council mandates that all medical students perform a NOSA in fulfillment of their degree; 2) the participating NHS Trusts be encouraged to act on students’ findings; and 3) the UK Department of Health adopts NOSA as a cornerstone risk assessment and management tool. PMID:28860881

  13. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Napper, P.R.; Carpenter, W.R.; Garner, R.W.

    By DOE-ID Order 5481.1A, a five year currency review is required of the Safety Analysis Reports of all ID or ID contractor operations having hazards of a type and magnitude not routinely encountered and/or accepted by the public. In keeping with this order, a currency review has been performed of the Advanced Test Reactor Critical Facility (ADTRC) Safety Analysis Report (SAR), Issue 003, 1990. The objectives of this currency review were to: evaluate the content, completeness, clarity of presentation and compliance with NRC Regulatory Guides and DOE Orders, etc., and evaluate the technical content of the SAR, particularly the Technicalmore » Specifications, and to evaluate the safety of continued operation of the ATRC. The reviewers concluded that although improvements may be needed in the overall content, clarity, and demonstration of compliance with current orders and regulations, the safety of the ATRC is in no way compromised and no unreviewed safety questions were identified. 6 figs., 3 tabs.« less

  14. Toward an understanding of the impact of production pressure on safety performance in construction operations.

    PubMed

    Han, Sanguk; Saba, Farzaneh; Lee, Sanghyun; Mohamed, Yasser; Peña-Mora, Feniosky

    2014-07-01

    It is not unusual to observe that actual schedule and quality performances are different from planned performances (e.g., schedule delay and rework) during a construction project. Such differences often result in production pressure (e.g., being pressed to work faster). Previous studies demonstrated that such production pressure negatively affects safety performance. However, the process by which production pressure influences safety performance, and to what extent, has not been fully investigated. As a result, the impact of production pressure has not been incorporated much into safety management in practice. In an effort to address this issue, this paper examines how production pressure relates to safety performance over time by identifying their feedback processes. A conceptual causal loop diagram is created to identify the relationship between schedule and quality performances (e.g., schedule delays and rework) and the components related to a safety program (e.g., workers' perceptions of safety, safety training, safety supervision, and crew size). A case study is then experimentally undertaken to investigate this relationship with accident occurrence with the use of data collected from a construction site; the case study is used to build a System Dynamics (SD) model. The SD model, then, is validated through inequality statistics analysis. Sensitivity analysis and statistical screening techniques further permit an evaluation of the impact of the managerial components on accident occurrence. The results of the case study indicate that schedule delays and rework are the critical factors affecting accident occurrence for the monitored project. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Laser safety programs in general surgery.

    PubMed

    Lanzafame, R J

    1994-06-01

    General surgery represents a speciality where, while any procedure can be performed with lasers, there are no procedures for which the laser is the sine quo non. The general surgeon may perform a variety of procedures with a multitude of laser wavelengths and technologies. Laser safety in general surgery requires a multidisciplinary approach. Effective laser safety requires the oversight of the hospital's "laser usage committee" and "laser safety officer" while providing a workable framework for daily laser use in a variety of clinical scenarios simultaneously. This framework must be user-friendly rather than oppressive. This presentation will describe laser safety at the Rochester General Hospital, a tertiary care, community-based teaching hospital. The safety program incorporates the following components: input to physician credentialing and training, education and in-servicing of nursing and technical personnel, equipment purchase and maintenance, quality assurance, and safety monitoring. The University of Rochester general surgery residency training program mandates laser training during the PGY-2 year. This program stresses the safe use of lasers and provides the basis for graded hands-on experience during the surgical residency. The greatest challenge for laser safety in general surgery centers on the burgeoning field of minimally invasive surgery. Safety assurance must be balanced so as to maintain a safe operating-room environment while ensuring patient safety and the ability to permit the surgery to proceed efficiently. Safety measures for laparoscopic procedures must be sensitive to the needs of the surgical team while not providing confusing signals for the "gallery" observers. This task is critical for the safe operation of lasers in general surgery. Effective laser safety in general surgery requires constant vigilance tempered with sensitivity to the needs of the surgeon and the patient as laser technology and its applications continue to evolve.

  16. National Intelligent Transportation Infrastructure Initiative

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1992-10-01

    This report presents data which can be used in the evaluation of the highway safety performance of the States. The data were submitted by the States through the Highway Performance Monitoring System operated by the Federal Highway Administration. The...

  17. 10 CFR 34.20 - Performance requirements for industrial radiography equipment.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 1 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Performance requirements for industrial radiography equipment. 34.20 Section 34.20 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION LICENSES FOR INDUSTRIAL RADIOGRAPHY AND RADIATION SAFETY REQUIREMENTS FOR INDUSTRIAL RADIOGRAPHIC OPERATIONS Equipment § 34.20 Performance...

  18. 10 CFR 34.20 - Performance requirements for industrial radiography equipment.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 1 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Performance requirements for industrial radiography equipment. 34.20 Section 34.20 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION LICENSES FOR INDUSTRIAL RADIOGRAPHY AND RADIATION SAFETY REQUIREMENTS FOR INDUSTRIAL RADIOGRAPHIC OPERATIONS Equipment § 34.20 Performance...

  19. 10 CFR 34.20 - Performance requirements for industrial radiography equipment.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Performance requirements for industrial radiography equipment. 34.20 Section 34.20 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION LICENSES FOR INDUSTRIAL RADIOGRAPHY AND RADIATION SAFETY REQUIREMENTS FOR INDUSTRIAL RADIOGRAPHIC OPERATIONS Equipment § 34.20 Performance...

  20. 10 CFR 34.20 - Performance requirements for industrial radiography equipment.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 1 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Performance requirements for industrial radiography equipment. 34.20 Section 34.20 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION LICENSES FOR INDUSTRIAL RADIOGRAPHY AND RADIATION SAFETY REQUIREMENTS FOR INDUSTRIAL RADIOGRAPHIC OPERATIONS Equipment § 34.20 Performance...

  1. 10 CFR 34.20 - Performance requirements for industrial radiography equipment.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 1 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Performance requirements for industrial radiography equipment. 34.20 Section 34.20 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION LICENSES FOR INDUSTRIAL RADIOGRAPHY AND RADIATION SAFETY REQUIREMENTS FOR INDUSTRIAL RADIOGRAPHIC OPERATIONS Equipment § 34.20 Performance...

  2. Preparedness of fire safety in underground train station: Comparison between train operators in Malaysia with other operators from the developed countries

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tajedi, Noor Aqilah A.; Sukor, Nur Sabahiah A.; Ismail, Mohd Ashraf M.; Shamsudin, Shahrul A.

    2017-10-01

    The purpose of this paper is to compare the fire evacuation plan and preparation at the underground train stations in the different countries. The methodology for this study was using the extended questionnaire survey to investigate the Rapid Rail Sdn Bhd, Malaysia's fire safety plan and preparation at the underground train stations. There were four sections in the questionnaire which included (i) background of the respondents, (ii) the details on the train stations, safety instruction and fire evacuation exercises (iii) technical systems, installation and equipment at the underground stations and (iv) procedures and technical changes related to fire safety that had been applied by the operators. Previously, the respondents from the different train operator services in the developed countries had completed the questionnaires. This paper extends the response from the Rapid Rail Sdn Bhd to compare the emergency procedures and preparation for fire event with the developed countries. As a result, this study found that the equipment and facilities that provided at the underground train stations that operated by Rapid Rail are relevant for fire safety procedures and needs. The main advantage for Rapid Rail is the underground stations were designed with two or more entrances/exits that may perform better evacuation compare to one main entrance/exit train stations in the other developed countries.

  3. Crew factors in flight operations. Part 3: The operational significance of exposure to short-haul air transport operations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Foushee, H. C.; Lauber, J. K.; Baetge, M. M.; Acomb, D. B.

    1986-01-01

    Excessive flightcrew fatigue has potentially serious safety consequences. Laboratory studies have implicated fatigue as a causal factor associated with varying levels of performance deterioration depending on the amount of fatigue and the type of measure utilized in assessing performance. These studies have been of limited utility because of the difficulty of relating laboratory task performance to the demands associated with the operation of a complex aircraft. The performance of 20 volunteer twin-jet transport crews is examined in a full-mission simulator scenario that included most aspects of an actual line operation. The scenario included both routine flight operations and an unexpected mechanical abnormality which resulted in a high level of crew workload. Half of the crews flew the simulation within two to three hours after completing a three-day, high-density, short-haul duty cycle (Post-Duty condition). The other half flew the scenario after a minimum of three days off duty (Pre-Duty) condition). The results revealed that, not surprisingly, Post-Duty crews were significantly more fatigued than Pre-Duty crews. However, a somewhat counter-intuitive pattern of results emerged on the crew performancemeasures. In general, the performance of Post-Duty crews was significantly better than that of Pre-Duty crews, as rated by an expert observer on a number of dimensions relevant to flight safety. Analyses of the flightcrew communication patterns revealed that Post-Duty crews communicated significantly more overall, suggesting, as has previous research, that communication is a good predictor of overall crew performance.

  4. Systematic review of published studies on safety and efficacy of thoracoscopic and robot-assisted lobectomy for lung cancer.

    PubMed

    Nakamura, Hiroshige

    2014-01-01

    The safety and efficacy of thoracoscopic and robot-assisted lobectomies for primary lung cancer were reviewed in the literature. Thoracoscopic surgery is less invasive compared to thoracotomy, and it has been reported to be superior with regard to the outcome. In addition, the operability of a surgical robot (da Vinci) is favorable and supplements the disadvantages of conventional endoscopic surgery. Robot-assisted lobectomy has been reported to be comparable to thoracoscopic surgery with regard to the safety and efficacy based on analysis of perioperative results and superior with regard to the operability and length of the learning curve. However, a high cost and a long operative time are of concern. Since robot-assisted surgery has been performed only in early cases, the continuation of a comparative investigation may be necessary.

  5. Human Performance Models of Pilot Behavior

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Foyle, David C.; Hooey, Becky L.; Byrne, Michael D.; Deutsch, Stephen; Lebiere, Christian; Leiden, Ken; Wickens, Christopher D.; Corker, Kevin M.

    2005-01-01

    Five modeling teams from industry and academia were chosen by the NASA Aviation Safety and Security Program to develop human performance models (HPM) of pilots performing taxi operations and runway instrument approaches with and without advanced displays. One representative from each team will serve as a panelist to discuss their team s model architecture, augmentations and advancements to HPMs, and aviation-safety related lessons learned. Panelists will discuss how modeling results are influenced by a model s architecture and structure, the role of the external environment, specific modeling advances and future directions and challenges for human performance modeling in aviation.

  6. Critical Characteristics of Radiation Detection System Components to be Dedicated for use in Safety Class and Safety Significant System

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    DAVIS, S.J.

    2000-05-25

    This document identifies critical characteristics of components to be dedicated for use in Safety Class (SC) or Safety Significant (SS) Systems, Structures, or Components (SSCs). This document identifies the requirements for the components of the common radiation area monitor alarm in the WESF pool cell. These are procured as Commercial Grade Items (CGI), with the qualification testing and formal dedication to be performed at the Waste Encapsulation Storage Facility (WESF), in safety class, safety significant systems. System modifications are to be performed in accordance with the instructions provided on ECN 658230. Components for this change are commercially available and interchangeablemore » with the existing alarm configuration This document focuses on the operational requirements for alarm, declaration of the safety classification, identification of critical characteristics, and interpretation of requirements for procurement. Critical characteristics are identified herein and must be verified, followed by formal dedication, prior to the components being used in safety related applications.« less

  7. Structural Deterministic Safety Factors Selection Criteria and Verification

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Verderaime, V.

    1992-01-01

    Though current deterministic safety factors are arbitrarily and unaccountably specified, its ratio is rooted in resistive and applied stress probability distributions. This study approached the deterministic method from a probabilistic concept leading to a more systematic and coherent philosophy and criterion for designing more uniform and reliable high-performance structures. The deterministic method was noted to consist of three safety factors: a standard deviation multiplier of the applied stress distribution; a K-factor for the A- or B-basis material ultimate stress; and the conventional safety factor to ensure that the applied stress does not operate in the inelastic zone of metallic materials. The conventional safety factor is specifically defined as the ratio of ultimate-to-yield stresses. A deterministic safety index of the combined safety factors was derived from which the corresponding reliability proved the deterministic method is not reliability sensitive. The bases for selecting safety factors are presented and verification requirements are discussed. The suggested deterministic approach is applicable to all NASA, DOD, and commercial high-performance structures under static stresses.

  8. 30 CFR 250.1926 - What qualifications must an independent third party or my designated and qualified personnel meet?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... OF OCEAN ENERGY MANAGEMENT, REGULATION, AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS AND SULPHUR OPERATIONS IN THE OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF Safety and Environmental Management Systems... management systems may impact health and safety performance in the workplace. (b) You must have procedures to...

  9. 75 FR 63345 - Oil and Gas and Sulphur Operations in the Outer Continental Shelf-Increased Safety Measures for...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-10-14

    ... with a wide range of experts in state and Federal governments, academic institutions, and industry and... measures and performance-based standards recommended in the Safety Measures Report will be analyzed for... government, academic institutions, and industry and advocacy organizations. In addition, draft...

  10. 49 CFR 563.11 - Information in owner's manual.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... hitting a road obstacle, data that will assist in understanding how a vehicle's systems performed. The EDR is designed to record data related to vehicle dynamics and safety systems for a short period of time... systems in your vehicle were operating; • Whether or not the driver and passenger safety belts were...

  11. 78 FR 11688 - Biweekly Notice, Applications and Amendments to Facility Operating Licenses and Combined Licenses...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-02-19

    ... controverted. In addition, the requestor/petitioner shall provide a brief explanation of the bases for the... safety-related function of preserving containment integrity by isolation of the PSS lines penetrating... maintaining the ability of the PSS to perform its safety-related containment isolation function. The...

  12. [Nursing professionals and health care assistants' perception of patient safety culture in the operating room].

    PubMed

    Bernalte-Martí, Vicente; Orts-Cortés, María Isabel; Maciá-Soler, Loreto

    2015-01-01

    To assess nursing professionals and health care assistants' perceptions, opinions and behaviours on patient safety culture in the operating room of a public hospital of the Spanish National Health Service. To describe strengths and weaknesses or opportunities for improvement according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality criteria, as well as to determine the number of events reported. A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted using the Spanish version of the questionnaire Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture. The sample consisted of nursing professionals, who agreed to participate voluntarily in this study and met the selection criteria. A descriptive and inferential analysis was performed depending on the nature of the variables and the application conditions of statistical tests. Significance if p < .05. In total, 74 nursing professionals responded (63.2%). No strengths were found in the operating theatre, and improvements are needed concerning staffing (64.0%), and hospital management support for patient safety (52.9%). A total of 52.3% (n = 65) gave patient safety a score from 7 to 8.99 (on a 10 point scale); 79.7% (n = 72) reported no events last year. The total variance explained by the regression model was 0.56 for "Frequency of incident reporting" and 0.26 for "Overall perception of safety". There was a more positive perception of patient safety culture at unit level. Weaknesses have been identified, and they can be used to design specific intervention activities to improve patient safety culture in other nearby operating theatres. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  13. Pre-irradiation testing and analysis to support the LWRS Hybrid SiC-CMC-Zircaloy-04 unfueled rodlet irradiation

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Isabella J van Rooyen

    2012-09-01

    Nuclear fuel performance is a significant driver of nuclear power plant operational performance, safety, economics and waste disposal requirements. The Advanced Light Water Reactor (LWR) Nuclear Fuel Development Pathway focuses on improving the scientific knowledge basis to enable the development of high-performance, high burn-up fuels with improved safety and cladding integrity and improved nuclear fuel cycle economics. To achieve significant improvements, fundamental changes are required in the areas of nuclear fuel composition, cladding integrity, and fuel/cladding interaction.

  14. Pre-irradiation testing and analysis to support the LWRS Hybrid SiC-CMC-Zircaloy-04 unfueled rodlet irradiation

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Isabella J van Rooyen

    2013-01-01

    Nuclear fuel performance is a significant driver of nuclear power plant operational performance, safety, economics and waste disposal requirements. The Advanced Light Water Reactor (LWR) Nuclear Fuel Development Pathway focuses on improving the scientific knowledge basis to enable the development of high-performance, high burn-up fuels with improved safety and cladding integrity and improved nuclear fuel cycle economics. To achieve significant improvements, fundamental changes are required in the areas of nuclear fuel composition, cladding integrity, and fuel/cladding interaction.

  15. Phenomenological studies on sodium for CSP applications: A safety review

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Armijo, Kenneth M.; Andraka, Charles E.

    2016-05-01

    Sodium Heat transfer fluids (HTF) such as sodium, can achieve temperatures above 700°C to obtain power cycle performance improvements for reducing large infrastructure costs of high-temperature systems. Current concentrating solar power (CSP) sensible HTF's (e.g. air, salts) have poor thermal conductivity, and thus low heat transfer capabilities, requiring a large receiver. The high thermal conductivity of sodium has demonstrated high heat transfer rates on dish and towers systems, which allow a reduction in receiver area by a factor of two to four, reducing re-radiation and convection losses and cost by a similar factor. Sodium produces saturated vapor at pressures suitable for transport starting at 600°C and reaches one atmosphere at 870°C, providing a wide range of suitable operating conditions that match proposed high temperature, isothermal power cycles. This advantage could increase the efficiency while lowering the cost of CSP tower systems. Although there are a number of desirable thermal performance advantages associated with sensible sodium, its propensity to rapidly oxidize presents safety challenges. This investigation presents a literature review that captures historical operations/handling lessons for advanced sodium receiver designs, and the current state-of-knowledge related to sodium combustion behavior. Technical and operational solutions addressing sodium safety and applications in CSP will be discussed, including unique safety hazards and advantages using latent sodium. Lessons obtained from the nuclear industry with sensible and latent systems will also be discussed in the context of safety challenges and risk mitigation solutions.

  16. Simulation-Based Testing of Pager Interruptions During Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy.

    PubMed

    Sujka, Joseph A; Safcsak, Karen; Bhullar, Indermeet S; Havron, William S

    2018-01-30

    To determine if pager interruptions affect operative time, safety, or complications and management of pager issues during a simulated laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Twelve surgery resident volunteers were tested on a Simbionix Lap Mentor II simulator. Each resident performed 6 randomized simulated laparoscopic cholecystectomies; 3 with pager interruptions (INT) and 3 without pager interruptions (NO-INT). The pager interruptions were sent in the form of standardized patient vignettes and timed to distract the resident during dissection of the critical view of safety and clipping of the cystic duct. The residents were graded on a pass/fail scale for eliciting appropriate patient history and management of the pager issue. Data was extracted from the simulator for the following endpoints: operative time, safety metrics, and incidence of operative complications. The Mann-Whitney U test and contingency table analysis were used to compare the 2 groups (INT vs. NO-INT). Level I trauma center; Simulation laboratory. Twelve general surgery residents. There was no significant difference between the 2 groups in any of the operative endpoints as measured by the simulator. However, in the INT group, only 25% of the time did the surgery residents both adequately address the issue and provide effective patient management in response to the pager interruption. Pager interruptions did not affect operative time, safety, or complications during the simulated procedure. However, there were significant failures in the appropriate evaluations and management of pager issues. Consideration for diversion of patient care issues to fellow residents not operating to improve quality and safety of patient care outside the operating room requires further study. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  17. Flight Test of a Head-Worn Display as an Equivalent-HUD for Terminal Operations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Shelton, K. J.; Arthur, J. J., III; Prinzel, L. J., III; Nicholas, S. N.; Williams, S. P.; Bailey, R. E.

    2015-01-01

    Research, development, test, and evaluation of flight deck interface technologies is being conducted by NASA to proactively identify, develop, and mature tools, methods, and technologies for improving overall aircraft safety of new and legacy vehicles operating in the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). Under NASA's Aviation Safety Program, one specific area of research is the use of small Head-Worn Displays (HWDs) as a potential equivalent display to a Head-up Display (HUD). Title 14 of the US CFR 91.175 describes a possible operational credit which can be obtained with airplane equipage of a HUD or an "equivalent"' display combined with Enhanced Vision (EV). A successful HWD implementation may provide the same safety and operational benefits as current HUD-equipped aircraft but for significantly more aircraft in which HUD installation is neither practical nor possible. A flight test was conducted to evaluate if the HWD, coupled with a head-tracker, can provide an equivalent display to a HUD. Approach and taxi testing was performed on-board NASA's experimental King Air aircraft in various visual conditions. Preliminary quantitative results indicate the HWD tested provided equivalent HUD performance, however operational issues were uncovered. The HWD showed significant potential as all of the pilots liked the increased situation awareness attributable to the HWD's unique capability of unlimited field-of-regard.

  18. Flight test of a head-worn display as an equivalent-HUD for terminal operations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shelton, K. J.; Arthur, J. J.; Prinzel, L. J.; Nicholas, S. N.; Williams, S. P.; Bailey, R. E.

    2015-05-01

    Research, development, test, and evaluation of flight deck interface technologies is being conducted by NASA to proactively identify, develop, and mature tools, methods, and technologies for improving overall aircraft safety of new and legacy vehicles operating in the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). Under NASA's Aviation Safety Program, one specific area of research is the use of small Head-Worn Displays (HWDs) as a potential equivalent display to a Head-up Display (HUD). Title 14 of the US CFR 91.175 describes a possible operational credit which can be obtained with airplane equipage of a HUD or an "equivalent"' display combined with Enhanced Vision (EV). A successful HWD implementation may provide the same safety and operational benefits as current HUD-equipped aircraft but for significantly more aircraft in which HUD installation is neither practical nor possible. A flight test was conducted to evaluate if the HWD, coupled with a head-tracker, can provide an equivalent display to a HUD. Approach and taxi testing was performed on-board NASA's experimental King Air aircraft in various visual conditions. Preliminary quantitative results indicate the HWD tested provided equivalent HUD performance, however operational issues were uncovered. The HWD showed significant potential as all of the pilots liked the increased situation awareness attributable to the HWD's unique capability of unlimited field-of-regard.

  19. The National Shipbuilding Research Program. Ship Breaking: Environmental Health and Safety Regulatory Overview

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1999-09-27

    facility in Alang , India, where ship scrapping typically is performed on beach front property, allowing toxins, oils, PCBs, asbestos, and chromates...in Alang are operated in a manner that endanger the health and safety of their laborers and that government enforcement of...Id. According to the Baltimore Sun, none of the men who work at the Alang facility wear hard hats, safety harnesses, or respirators even though each

  20. A synthesis of the "state-of-the-practice for advancing planning and operations integration opportunities within transportation agencies" : [summary].

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2014-12-01

    Federal law requires that metropolitan transportation plans include operations and : management strategies to improve the performance of existing roads, relieve congestion, : and maximize the safety and mobility of people and cargo. Transportation op...

  1. An overview of safety assessment, regulation, and control of hazardous material use at NREL

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nelson, B. P.; Crandall, R. S.; Moskowitz, P. D.; Fthenakis, V. M.

    1992-12-01

    This paper summarizes the methodology we use to ensure the safe use of hazardous materials at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). First, we analyze the processes and the materials used in those processes to identify the hazards presented. Then we study federal, state, and local regulations and apply the relevant requirements to our operations. When necessary, we generate internal safety documents to consolidate this information. We design research operations and support systems to conform to these requirements. Before we construct the systems, we perform a semiquantitative risk analysis on likely accident scenarios. All scenarios presenting an unacceptable risk require system or procedural modifications to reduce the risk. Following these modifications, we repeat the risk analysis to ensure that the respective accident scenarios present an acceptable risk. Once all risks are acceptable, we conduct an operational readiness review (ORR). A management-appointed panel performs the ORR ensuring compliance with all relevant requirements. After successful completion of the ORR, operations can begin.

  2. 9 CFR 592.96 - Schedule of operation of official plants.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Schedule of operation of official plants. 592.96 Section 592.96 Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE EGG PRODUCTS INSPECTION VOLUNTARY INSPECTION OF EGG PRODUCTS Performance of Services § 592.96 Schedule of operation of official plant...

  3. 9 CFR 592.96 - Schedule of operation of official plants.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Schedule of operation of official plants. 592.96 Section 592.96 Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE EGG PRODUCTS INSPECTION VOLUNTARY INSPECTION OF EGG PRODUCTS Performance of Services § 592.96 Schedule of operation of official plant...

  4. 9 CFR 592.96 - Schedule of operation of official plants.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Schedule of operation of official plants. 592.96 Section 592.96 Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE EGG PRODUCTS INSPECTION VOLUNTARY INSPECTION OF EGG PRODUCTS Performance of Services § 592.96 Schedule of operation of official plant...

  5. 9 CFR 592.96 - Schedule of operation of official plants.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Schedule of operation of official plants. 592.96 Section 592.96 Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE EGG PRODUCTS INSPECTION VOLUNTARY INSPECTION OF EGG PRODUCTS Performance of Services § 592.96 Schedule of operation of official plant...

  6. The Differential Effect of Sustained Operations on Psychomotor Skills of Helicopter Pilots.

    PubMed

    McMahon, Terry W; Newman, David G

    2018-06-01

    Flying a helicopter is a complex psychomotor skill requiring constant control inputs from pilots. A deterioration in psychomotor performance of a helicopter pilot may be detrimental to operational safety. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that psychomotor performance deteriorates over time during sustained operations and that the effect is more pronounced in the feet than the hands. The subjects were helicopter pilots conducting sustained multicrew offshore flight operations in a demanding environment. The remote flight operations involved constant workload in hot environmental conditions with complex operational tasking. Over a period of 6 d 10 helicopter pilots were tested. At the completion of daily flying duties, a helicopter-specific screen-based compensatory tracking task measuring tracking accuracy (over a 5-min period) tested both hands and feet. Data were compared over time and tested for statistical significance for both deterioration and differential effect. A statistically significant deterioration of psychomotor performance was evident in the pilots over time for both hands and feet. There was also a statistically significant differential effect between the hands and the feet in terms of tracking accuracy. The hands recorded a 22.6% decrease in tracking accuracy, while the feet recorded a 39.9% decrease in tracking accuracy. The differential effect may be due to prioritization of limb movement by the motor cortex due to factors such as workload-induced cognitive fatigue. This may result in a greater reduction in performance in the feet than the hands, posing a significant risk to operational safety.McMahon TW, Newman DG. The differential effect of sustained operations on psychomotor skills of helicopter pilots. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2018; 89(6):496-502.

  7. Evaluation of the food safety training for food handlers in restaurant operations

    PubMed Central

    Park, Sung-Hee; Kwak, Tong-Kyung

    2010-01-01

    This study examined the extent of improvement of food safety knowledge and practices of employee through food safety training. Employee knowledge and practice for food safety were evaluated before and after the food safety training program. The training program and questionnaires for evaluating employee knowledge and practices concerning food safety, and a checklist for determining food safety performance of restaurants were developed. Data were analyzed using the SPSS program. Twelve restaurants participated in this study. We split them into two groups: the intervention group with training, and the control group without food safety training. Employee knowledge of the intervention group also showed a significant improvement in their score, increasing from 49.3 before the training to 66.6 after training. But in terms of employee practices and the sanitation performance, there were no significant increases after the training. From these results, we recommended that the more job-specific and hand-on training materials for restaurant employees should be developed and more continuous implementation of the food safety training and integration of employee appraisal program with the outcome of safety training were needed. PMID:20198210

  8. Driver performance measurement and analysis system (DPMAS). Volume 1, Description and operations manual

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1976-08-01

    A prototype driver performance measurement and analysis system (DPMAS) has been developed for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). This system includes a completely instrumented 1974 Chevrolet Impala capable of digitally record...

  9. Field study evaluation of cepstrum coefficient speech analysis for fatigue in aviation cabin crew.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2013-10-01

    Impaired neurobehavioral performance induced by fatigue may compromise safety in 24-hr operational : environmentssuch as aviation. As such, non-invasive, reliable, and valid methods of objectively detecting : compromised performance capacity in opera...

  10. An Elementary Algorithm for Autonomous Air Terminal Merging and Interval Management

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    White, Allan L.

    2017-01-01

    A central element of air traffic management is the safe merging and spacing of aircraft during the terminal area flight phase. This paper derives and examines an algorithm for the merging and interval managing problem for Standard Terminal Arrival Routes. It describes a factor analysis for performance based on the distribution of arrivals, the operating period of the terminal, and the topology of the arrival routes; then presents results from a performance analysis and from a safety analysis for a realistic topology based on typical routes for a runway at Phoenix International Airport. The heart of the safety analysis is a statistical derivation on how to conduct a safety analysis for a local simulation when the safety requirement is given for the entire airspace.

  11. 30 CFR 250.1600 - Performance standard.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Performance standard. 250.1600 Section 250.1600 Mineral Resources BUREAU OF SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR OFFSHORE OIL... Performance standard. Operations to discover, develop, and produce sulphur in the OCS shall be in accordance...

  12. 30 CFR 250.1600 - Performance standard.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Performance standard. 250.1600 Section 250.1600 Mineral Resources BUREAU OF SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR OFFSHORE OIL... Performance standard. Operations to discover, develop, and produce sulphur in the OCS shall be in accordance...

  13. 30 CFR 250.1600 - Performance standard.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Performance standard. 250.1600 Section 250.1600 Mineral Resources BUREAU OF SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR OFFSHORE OIL... Performance standard. Operations to discover, develop, and produce sulphur in the OCS shall be in accordance...

  14. Career Profile: Flight Operations Engineer (Airborne Science) Robert Rivera

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2015-05-14

    Operations engineers at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center help to advance science, technology, aeronautics, and space exploration by managing operational aspects of a flight research project. They serve as the governing authority on airworthiness related to the modification, operation, or maintenance of specialized research or support aircraft so those aircraft can be flown safely without jeopardizing the pilots, persons on the ground or the flight test project. With extensive aircraft modifications often required to support new research and technology development efforts, operations engineers are key leaders from technical concept to flight to ensure flight safety and mission success. Other responsibilities of an operations engineer include configuration management, performing systems design and integration, system safety analysis, coordinating flight readiness activities, and providing real-time flight support. This video highlights the responsibilities and daily activities of NASA Armstrong operations engineer Robert Rivera during the preparation and execution of the Global Hawk airborne missions under NASA's Science Mission Directorate.

  15. Safety of Microsurgery Under Loupes Versus Microscope: A Head-to-Head Comparison of 2 Surgeons With Similar Experiences.

    PubMed

    Ehanire, Tosan; Singhal, Dhruv; Mast, Bruce; Leyngold, Mark

    2018-01-24

    Microsurgery is performed using either the operating microscope or loupe magnification. Use of the operating microscope is considered the "criterion standard"; however, loupes are emerging as a safe and reliable technique to perform microsurgery. The purpose of this study was to analyze the safety of microsurgery under loupe magnification compared with the microscope. Previous studies discussing the safety of loupe magnification during microsurgery have been published; however, this is the first study to compare free flap outcomes from 2 surgeons at the same institution, each using their respective technique. The outcomes were compared by retrospective chart review of 116 patients, and 148 microvascular free tissue transfers were performed between January 1, 2013, and July 15, 2016, by 2 surgeons (D.S.) and (M.L.). Patients' demographics, free flap failure rate, and other surgical complications were analyzed. Statistical significance was determined by unpaired t test, and χ analysis was used to determine statistical significance in proportions between groups. Thirty-eight percent of flaps were performed under ×3.5 loupe magnification and 62% under the operating microscope. Most free flaps used were deep inferior epigastric perforator or muscle sparing transverse rectus abdominis flaps (52%) for breast reconstruction, remainder of free flaps included ALT, radial forearm, and latissimus dorsi for a variety of reconstructive applications. There was no significant difference between the loupes and microscope groups in intraoperative anastomotic revision rate (27% vs 17%), postoperative arterial or venous thrombosis (4.4% vs 2.6%, 5.4% vs 2.2%), flap loss (3.6% vs 2.2%), or median length of stay (6 days vs 6.5 days). The loupe magnification group had statistically significant shorter setup time (20 minutes, P < 0.01). Consistent with previously reported studies, we found no statistical difference in free flap outcomes and safety under loupe magnification compared with the operating microscope. This is the first study to demonstrate these findings with 2 microsurgeons both in their first 3 years in practice, with similar training and experience, operating at the same institution and given the same resources, each using either microscopes or loupes for microsurgery.

  16. Changing Operating Room Culture: Implementation of a Postoperative Debrief and Improved Safety Culture.

    PubMed

    Magill, Stephen T; Wang, Doris D; Rutledge, W Caleb; Lau, Darryl; Berger, Mitchel S; Sankaran, Sujatha; Lau, Catherine Y; Imershein, Sarah G

    2017-11-01

    Patient safety is foundational to neurosurgical care. Postprocedural "debrief" checklists have been proposed to improve patient safety, but data about their use in neurosurgery are limited. Here, we implemented an initiative to routinely perform postoperative debriefs and evaluated the impact of debriefing on operating room (OR) safety culture. A 10-question safety attitude questionnaire (SAQ) was sent to neurosurgical OR staff at a major academic medical center before and 18 months after the implementation of a postoperative debriefing initiative. Rates of debrief compliance and changes in attitudes before and after the survey were evaluated. The survey used a Likert scale and analyzed with standard statistical methods. After the debrief initiative, the rate of debriefing increased from 51% to 86% of cases for the neurosurgery service. Baseline SAQ responses found that neurosurgeons had a more favorable perception of OR safety than did anesthesiologists and nurses. After implementation of the postoperative debriefing process, perceptions of OR safety significantly improved for neurosurgeons, anesthesiologists, and nurses. Furthermore, the disparity between nurses and surgeons was no longer significant. After debrief implementation, neurosurgical OR staff had improved perceptions of patient safety compared with surgical services that did not commonly perform debriefing. Debriefing identified OR efficiency concerns in 26.9% of cases, and prevention of potential adverse events/near misses was reported in 8% of cases. Postoperative debriefing can be effectively introduced into the OR and improves the safety culture after implementation. Debriefing is an effective tool to identify OR inefficiencies and potential adverse events. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Preparing Safety Cases for Operating Outside Prescriptive Fatigue Risk Management Regulations.

    PubMed

    Gander, Philippa; Mangie, Jim; Wu, Lora; van den Berg, Margo; Signal, Leigh; Phillips, Adrienne

    2017-07-01

    Transport operators seeking to operate outside prescriptive fatigue management regulations are typically required to present a safety case justifying how they will manage the associated risk. This paper details a method for constructing a successful safety case. The method includes four elements: 1) scope (prescriptive rules and operations affected); 2) risk assessment; 3) risk mitigation strategies; and 4) monitoring ongoing risk. A successful safety case illustrates this method. It enables landing pilots in 3-pilot crews to choose the second or third in-flight rest break, rather than the regulatory requirement to take the third break. Scope was defined using a month of scheduled flights that would be covered (N = 4151). These were analyzed in the risk assessment using existing literature on factors affecting fatigue to estimate the maximum time awake at top of descent and sleep opportunities in each break. Additionally, limited data collected before the new regulations showed that pilots flying at landing chose the third break on only 6% of flights. A prospective survey comparing subjective reports (N = 280) of sleep in the second vs. third break and fatigue and sleepiness ratings at top of descent confirmed that the third break is not consistently superior. The safety case also summarized established systems for fatigue monitoring, risk assessment and hazard identification, and multiple fatigue mitigation strategies that are in place. Other successful safety cases have used this method. The evidence required depends on the expected level of risk and should evolve as experience with fatigue risk management systems builds.Gander P, Mangie J, Wu L, van den Berg M, Signal L, Phillips A. Preparing safety cases for operating outside prescriptive fatigue risk management regulations. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2017; 88(7):688-696.

  18. Current Status of Continued Operation for Kori unit 1 beyond Design Life

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Tai-hyun Kim; Pan-sool Kim; Yeon-sang Yu

    2006-07-01

    Since the commercial operation of Kori Nuclear Power Plant unit 1 in April 1978, Korea has achieved rapid growth in its nuclear industry, and now has 20 operating nuclear power plants. As the design life of Kori unit 1 comes to an end, Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co., Ltd.(KHNP) is preparing for the continued operation of the plant for the first time in Korea. The feasibility of continued operation beyond design life has been already proven in many countries. Developed countries, such as the USA, England, Japan and so on, are also proceeding with the continued operation of NPPsmore » whose design life or license is due to expire, as long as the adequate safety and aging management review meet the acceptance criteria. Continued operation is absolutely needed for countries lacking in natural resources, such as Korea, in view of the efficient utilization of energy resources and reduction of greenhouse gases (CO{sub 2}) emission. For the continued operation beyond design life (30 yrs) of Kori unit 1, KHNP has performed Lifetime Management (PLiM) study, Periodic Safety Review (PSR), Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) and Environmental Qualification (EQ), etc. and replaced main equipment, such as Steam Generators, Low Pressure Turbine Rotor, RCP Internals, Main Transformer, Main Generator, and so on. In September 2005, The Regulation of Atomic Energy Act in Korea was revised and published referring to License Renewal Rule of the USA. According to the revised regulations, KHNP is performing Life Assessment for Main Systems, Structures and Components (SSCs) and Radiological Impacts on the Environment with PSR for continued operation. (authors)« less

  19. Parametric Modeling of the Safety Effects of NextGen Terminal Maneuvering Area Conflict Scenarios

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rogers, William H.; Waldron, Timothy P.; Stroiney, Steven R.

    2011-01-01

    The goal of this work was to analytically identify and quantify the issues, challenges, technical hurdles, and pilot-vehicle interface issues associated with conflict detection and resolution (CD&R)in emerging operational concepts for a NextGen terminal aneuvering area, including surface operations. To this end, the work entailed analytical and trade studies focused on modeling the achievable safety benefits of different CD&R strategies and concepts in the current and future airport environment. In addition, crew-vehicle interface and pilot performance enhancements and potential issues were analyzed based on review of envisioned NextGen operations, expected equipage advances, and human factors expertise. The results of perturbation analysis, which quantify the high-level performance impact of changes to key parameters such as median response time and surveillance position error, show that the analytical model developed could be useful in making technology investment decisions.

  20. IMPLEMENTATION OF DEFENSE NUCLEAR FACILITY SAFETY BOARD RECOMMENDATION 2000-2 AT WIPP

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Jackson, K.; Wu, C.

    2002-02-26

    The Defense Nuclear Safeties Board (DNFSB) issued Recommendation 2000-2 on March 8, 2000, concerning the degrading conditions of vital safety systems, or systems important to nuclear safety, at DOE sites across the nation. The Board recommended that the DOE take action to assess the condition of its nuclear systems to ensure continued operational readiness of vital safety systems that are important for safely accomplishing the DOE's mission. To verify the readiness of vital safety systems, a two-phased approach was established. Phase I consisted of a qualitative assessment to approved criteria of the defined vital safety systems by operating contractor personnel,more » overseen by Federal field office personnel. Based on Phase I Assessment results, vital safety systems with significant deficiencies would be further assessed in Phase II, a more extensive quantitative assessment, by a contractor and Federal team, using a second set of criteria. In addition, Defense Nuclear Facility Safety Board Recommendation 2000-2 concluded that the degradation of confinement ventilation systems was of major concern, and issued a separate set of criteria to perform a Phase II Assessment on confinement ventilation systems.« less

  1. Safety features of subcritical fluid fueled systems

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bell, C.R.

    1995-10-01

    Accelerator-driven transmutation technology has been under study at Los Alamos for several years for application to nuclear waste treatment, tritium production, energy generation, and recently, to the disposition of excess weapons plutonium. Studies and evaluations performed to date at Los Alamos have led to a current focus on a fluid-fuel, fission system operating in a neutron source-supported subcritical mode, using molten salt reactor technology and accelerator-driven proton-neutron spallation. In this paper, the safety features and characteristics of such systems are explored from the perspective of the fundamental nuclear safety objectives that any reactor-type system should address. This exploration is qualitativemore » in nature and uses current vintage solid-fueled reactors as a baseline for comparison. Based on the safety perspectives presented, such systems should be capable of meeting the fundamental nuclear safety objectives. In addition, they should be able to provide the safety robustness desired for advanced reactors. However, the manner in which safety objectives and robustness are achieved is very different from that associated with conventional reactors. Also, there are a number of safety design and operational challenges that will have to be addressed for the safety potential of such systems to be credible.« less

  2. Operational problems experienced by single pilots in instrument meteorological conditions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Weislogel, S.

    1981-01-01

    The development and implementation of a search strategy to extract pertinent reports from the Aviation Safety Reporting System-2 (ASRS-2) database are described. For any particular occurence to be pertinent to the study, it must have satisfied the following conditions: the aircraft must be of the type usually flown by a single pilot; operation on an IFR flight plan in instrument meteorological conditions; pilot experienced an operational problem. The occurances consist of reports by the pilot about his own performance, by the pilot about the system performance, or by an air traffic controller about a pilot's performance.

  3. Applying the lessons of high risk industries to health care.

    PubMed

    Hudson, P

    2003-12-01

    High risk industries such as commercial aviation and the oil and gas industry have achieved exemplary safety performance. This paper reviews how they have managed to do that. The primary reasons are the positive attitudes towards safety and the operation of effective formal safety management systems. The safety culture provides an important explanation of why such organisations perform well. An evolutionary model of safety culture is provided in which there is a range of cultures from the pathological through the reactive to the calculative. Later, the proactive culture can evolve towards the generative organisation, an alternative description of the high reliability organisation. The current status of health care is reviewed, arguing that it has a much higher level of accidents and has a reactive culture, lagging behind both high risk industries studied in both attitude and systematic management of patient risks.

  4. Safety and health in the petrochemical industry in Map Ta Phut, Thailand.

    PubMed

    Langkulsen, Uma; Vichit-Vadakan, Nuntavarn; Taptagaporn, Sasitorn

    2011-01-01

    Petrochemical industries are known as sources of many toxic chemicals. Safety and health risks of the petrochemical workers employed at Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate, located in Rayong, Thailand, are potentially high. The research materials consisted of documents emanating from statutory reports on safety in working with toxic chemicals and the results of interviews by questionnaire among 457 petrochemical workers regarding occupational health and safety issues. Most of workers who were working with toxic chemicals had knowledge and awareness of health risks and chemical hazards at work. We found that safe behavior at work through read the safety information among operational workers less than non-operational workers around 10%. Most of workers had perceived occupational health and safety management in their companies. Some companies revealed that they had not been performing biological monitoring of blood or urine for their health examination reports and that workplace exposure monitoring had not correlated well with health examination of workers. Our study suggested that occupational health and safety for petrochemical industries requires standards and guidelines for workers' health surveillance aimed at protection of workers.

  5. Impact of the time-out process on safety attitude in a tertiary neurosurgical department.

    PubMed

    McLaughlin, Nancy; Winograd, Deborah; Chung, Hallie R; Van de Wiele, Barbara; Martin, Neil A

    2014-11-01

    In July 2011, the UCLA Health System released its current time-out process protocol used across the Health System. Numerous interventions were performed to improve checklist completion and time-out process observance. This study assessed the impact of the current protocol for the time-out on healthcare providers' safety attitude and operating room safety climate. All members involved in neurosurgical procedures in the main operating room of the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center were asked to anonymously complete an online survey on their overall perception of the time-out process. The survey was completed by 93 of 128 members of the surgical team. Overall, 98.9% felt that performing a pre-incision time-out improves patient safety. The majority of respondents (97.8%) felt that the team member introductions helped to promote a team spirit during the case. In addition, 93.5% felt that performing a time-out helped to ensure all team members were comfortable to voice safety concerns throughout the case. All respondents felt that the attending surgeon should be present during the time-out and 76.3% felt that he/she should lead the time-out. Unanimously, it was felt that the review of anticipated critical elements by the attending surgeon was helpful to respondents' role during the case. Responses revealed that although the time-out brings the team together physically, it does not necessarily reinforce teamwork. The time-out process favorably impacted team members' safety attitudes and perception as well as overall safety climate in neurosurgical ORs. Survey responses identified leadership training and teamwork training as two avenues for future improvement. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. The Aviation System Monitoring and Modeling (ASMM) Project: A Documentation of its History and Accomplishments: 1999-2005

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Statler, Irving C. (Editor)

    2007-01-01

    The Aviation System Monitoring and Modeling (ASMM) Project was one of the projects within NASA s Aviation Safety Program from 1999 through 2005. The objective of the ASMM Project was to develop the technologies to enable the aviation industry to undertake a proactive approach to the management of its system-wide safety risks. The ASMM Project entailed four interdependent elements: (1) Data Analysis Tools Development - develop tools to convert numerical and textual data into information; (2) Intramural Monitoring - test and evaluate the data analysis tools in operational environments; (3) Extramural Monitoring - gain insight into the aviation system performance by surveying its front-line operators; and (4) Modeling and Simulations - provide reliable predictions of the system-wide hazards, their causal factors, and their operational risks that may result from the introduction of new technologies, new procedures, or new operational concepts. This report is a documentation of the history of this highly successful project and of its many accomplishments and contributions to improved safety of the aviation system.

  7. Australian fly-in, fly-out operations: Impacts on communities, safety, workers and their families.

    PubMed

    Langdon, Rebecca R; Biggs, Herbert C; Rowland, Bevan

    2016-10-17

    Australia's mineral, resource and infrastructure sectors continues to expand as operations in rural and remote locations increasingly rely on fly-in, fly-out or drive-in, drive-out workforces in order to become economically competitive. The issues in effectively managing these workforces are becoming more apparent with reported high amounts of turnover and concerns for safety and performance. The issues presented include a range of physical, mental, psychosocial, safety and community challenges. This review aims to consolidate a range of research conducted to communicate potential challenges for industry in relation to a wide variety of issues when engaging and using FIFO/DIDO workforces which includes compressed working schedule design (work schedules), working hours, fatigue, safety performance, employee wellbeing, turnover, psychosocial relationships and community concerns. A comprehensive literature review was performed using EBSCOhost, PubMed and google scholar, with a focus on FIFO or DIDO workforces engaged within the resources sector. Search terms were kept broad in order to capture all national and international research conducted and included: "fly-in, fly-out" "FIFO" "DIDO" "drive-in, drive-out" "mining". There was no date restriction included in the search. Many of the studies were focused on sleep quality, fatigue and the influence of lowered safety performance while at work, presenting an increased risk for health and safety. These issues may be exacerbated for the FIFO workforce when linked to additional research surrounding the extended periods of absence from families influencing workers personal relationships, psychological wellbeing, job satisfaction and the reported high amounts of turnover within the industry. Taken together, this presents a unique implication for the management and continued use of FIFO workforces when considering balancing safety and performance with economic viability of production and operations. The issues of long working hours, fatigue, turnover and job satisfaction are not new to the management of workers. However, FIFO workforces appear to be at an increased risk physically and mentally due to a culmination of other influences, such as extended and frequent periods of absence from friends and families which contribute to feelings of isolation and lowered psychological wellbeing. FIFO workers and their families, engage in a unique lifestyle, rarely are other workers subjected to long hours and compressed work weeks while separated or isolated from their families for extended periods of time. Recently, FIFO interest has shifted to understanding the influences on employee engagement, satisfaction, retention and safety. Considering the management of FIFO workforces from a holistic perspective incorporating all of the issues impacting on these workers may assist to ensure the challenges associated with FIFO employment are understood, addressed and communicated to workers and their families is crucial for safety and health.

  8. 10 CFR 60.160 - General requirements.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false General requirements. 60.160 Section 60.160 Energy NUCLEAR... be performed only by trained and certified personnel or by personnel under the direct visual... direct operations that are important to safety must also be certified in such operations. ...

  9. An Analysis of the Waste Water Treatment Operator Occupation.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Clark, Anthony B.; And Others

    The occupational analysis contains a brief job description for the waste water treatment occupations of operator and maintenance mechanic and 13 detailed task statements which specify job duties (tools, equipment, materials, objects acted upon, performance knowledge, safety considerations/hazards, decisions, cues, and errors) and learning skills…

  10. 48 CFR 970.1504-1-2 - Fee policy.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... approved Integrated Safety Management System (ISMS), or similar document. As applicable, performance... REGULATIONS DOE MANAGEMENT AND OPERATING CONTRACTS Contracting by Negotiation 970.1504-1-2 Fee policy. (a) DOE management and operating contractors may be paid a fee in accordance with the requirements of this subsection...

  11. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Physical device safety is typically implemented locally using embedded controllers, while operations safety is primarily performed in control centers. Safe operations can be enhanced by correct design of device-level control algorithms, and protocols, procedures and operator training at the control-room level, but all can fail. Moreover, these elements exchange data and issue commands via vulnerable communication layers. In order to secure these gaps and enhance operational safety, we believe monitoring of command sequences must be combined with an awareness of physical device limitations and automata models that capture safety mechanisms. One way of doing this is by leveraging specification-based intrusionmore » detection to monitor for physical constraint violations. The method can also verify that physical infrastructure state is consistent with monitoring information and control commands exchanged between field devices and control centers. This additional security layer enhances protection from both outsider attacks and insider mistakes. We implemented specification-based SCADA command analyzers using physical constraint algorithms directly in the Bro framework and Broccoli APIs for three separate scenarios: a water heater, an automated distribution system, and an over-current protection scheme. To accomplish this, we added low-level analyzers capable of examining control system-specific protocol packets for both Modbus TCP and DNP3, and also higher-level analyzers able to interpret device command and data streams within the context of each device's physical capabilities and present operational state. Thus the software that we are making available includes the Bro/Broccoli scripts for these three scenarios, as well as simulators, written in C, of those scenarios that generate sample traffic that is monitored by the Bro/Broccoli scripts. In addition, we have also implemented systems to directly pull cyber-physical information from the OSIsoft PI historian system. We have included the Python scripts used to perform that monitoring.« less

  12. Advanced Test Reactor Safety Basis Upgrade Lessons Learned Relative to Design Basis Verification and Safety Basis Management

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    G. L. Sharp; R. T. McCracken

    The Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) is a pressurized light-water reactor with a design thermal power of 250 MW. The principal function of the ATR is to provide a high neutron flux for testing reactor fuels and other materials. The reactor also provides other irradiation services such as radioisotope production. The ATR and its support facilities are located at the Test Reactor Area of the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL). An audit conducted by the Department of Energy's Office of Independent Oversight and Performance Assurance (DOE OA) raised concerns that design conditions at the ATR were not adequately analyzedmore » in the safety analysis and that legacy design basis management practices had the potential to further impact safe operation of the facility.1 The concerns identified by the audit team, and issues raised during additional reviews performed by ATR safety analysts, were evaluated through the unreviewed safety question process resulting in shutdown of the ATR for more than three months while these concerns were resolved. Past management of the ATR safety basis, relative to facility design basis management and change control, led to concerns that discrepancies in the safety basis may have developed. Although not required by DOE orders or regulations, not performing design basis verification in conjunction with development of the 10 CFR 830 Subpart B upgraded safety basis allowed these potential weaknesses to be carried forward. Configuration management and a clear definition of the existing facility design basis have a direct relation to developing and maintaining a high quality safety basis which properly identifies and mitigates all hazards and postulated accident conditions. These relations and the impact of past safety basis management practices have been reviewed in order to identify lessons learned from the safety basis upgrade process and appropriate actions to resolve possible concerns with respect to the current ATR safety basis. The need for a design basis reconstitution program for the ATR has been identified along with the use of sound configuration management principles in order to support safe and efficient facility operation.« less

  13. Safety in the operating theatre--part 1: interpersonal relationships and team performance

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Schaefer, H. G.; Helmreich, R. L.; Scheidegger, D.

    1995-01-01

    The authors examine the application of interpersonal human factors training on operating room (OR) personnel. Mortality studies of OR deaths and critical incident studies of anesthesia are examined to determine the role of human error in OR incidents. Theoretical models of system vulnerability to accidents are presented with emphasis on a systems approach to OR performance. Input, process, and outcome factors are discussed in detail.

  14. Hotspots identification and ranking for road safety improvement: an alternative approach.

    PubMed

    Coll, Bronagh; Moutari, Salissou; Marshall, Adele H

    2013-10-01

    During the last decade, the concept of composite performance index, brought from economic and business statistics, has become a popular practice in the field of road safety, namely for the identification and classification of worst performing areas or time slots also known as hotspots. The overall quality of a composite index depends upon the complexity of phenomena of interest as well as the relevance of the methodological approach used to aggregate the various indicators into a single composite index. However, current aggregation methods used to estimate the composite road safety performance index suffer from various deficiencies at both the theoretical and operational level; these include the correlation and compensability between indicators, the weighting of the indicators as well as their high "degree of freedom" which enables one to readily manipulate them to produce desired outcomes (Munda and Nardo, 2003, 2005, 2009). The objective of this study is to contribute to the ongoing research effort on the estimation of road safety composite index for hotspots' identification and ranking. The aggregation method for constructing the composite road safety performance index introduced in this paper, strives to minimize the aforementioned deficiencies of the current approaches. Furthermore, this new method can be viewed as an intelligent decision support system for road safety performance evaluation, in order to prioritize interventions for road safety improvement. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration in the National Airspace System (NAS) Project KDP-C Review

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Grindle, Laurie; Sakahara, Robert; Hackenberg, Davis; Johnson, William

    2017-01-01

    The topics discussed are the UAS-NAS project life-cycle and ARMD thrust flow down, as well as the UAS environments and how we operate in those environments. NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards, CA, is leading a project designed to help integrate unmanned air vehicles into the world around us. The Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration in the National Airspace System project, or UAS in the NAS, will contribute capabilities designed to reduce technical barriers related to safety and operational challenges associated with enabling routine UAS access to the NAS. The project falls under the Integrated Systems Research Program office managed at NASA Headquarters by the agency's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate. NASA's four aeronautics research centers - Armstrong, Ames Research Center, Langley Research Center, and Glenn Research Center - are part of the technology development project. With the use and diversity of unmanned aircraft growing rapidly, new uses for these vehicles are constantly being considered. Unmanned aircraft promise new ways of increasing efficiency, reducing costs, enhancing safety and saving lives 460265main_ED10-0132-16_full.jpg Unmanned aircraft systems such as NASA's Global Hawks (above) and Predator B named Ikhana (below), along with numerous other unmanned aircraft systems large and small, are the prime focus of the UAS in the NAS effort to integrate them into the national airspace. Credits: NASA Photos 710580main_ED07-0243-37_full.jpg The UAS in the NAS project envisions performance-based routine access to all segments of the national airspace for all unmanned aircraft system classes, once all safety-related and technical barriers are overcome. The project will provide critical data to such key stakeholders and customers as the Federal Aviation Administration and RTCA Special Committee 203 (formerly the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics) by conducting integrated, relevant system-level tests to adequately address safety and operational challenges of national airspace access by unmanned aircraft systems, or UAS. In the process, the project will work with other key stakeholders to define necessary deliverables and products to help enable such access. Within the project, NASA is focusing on five sub-projects. These five focus areas include assurance of safe separation of unmanned aircraft from manned aircraft when flying in the national airspace; safety-critical command and control systems and radio frequencies to enable safe operation of UAS; human factors issues for ground control stations; airworthiness certification standards for UAS avionics and integrated tests and evaluation designed to determine the viability of emerging UAS technology. Five Focus Areas of the UAS Integration in the NAS Project Separation Assurance Provide an assessment of how planned Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) separation assurance systems, with different functional allocations, perform for UAS in mixed operations with manned aircraft Assess the applicability to UAS and the performance of NASA NextGen separation assurance systems in flight tests with realistic latencies and uncertain trajectories Assess functional allocations ranging from today's ground-based, controller-provided aircraft separation to fully autonomous airborne self-separation Communications Develop data and rationale to obtain appropriate frequency spectrum allocations to enable safe and efficient operation of UAS in the NAS Develop and validate candidate secure safety-critical command and control system/subsystem test equipment for UAS that complies with UAS international/national frequency regulations, standards and recommended practices and minimum operational and aviation system performance standards for UAS Perform analysis to support recommendations for integration of safety-critical command and control systems and air traffic control communications to ensure safe and efficient operation of UAS in the NAS Human Systems Integration Develop a research test bed and database to provide data and proof of concept for GCS - ground control station - operations in the NAS Coordinate with standards organizations to develop human-factors guidelines for GCS operation in the NAS Certification Define a UAS classification scheme and approach to determining Federal Aviation Regulation airworthiness requirements applicable to all UAS digital avionics Provide hazard and risk-related data to support development of type design criteria and best development practices Integrated Tests and Evaluation Integrate and test mature concepts from technical elements to demonstrate and test viability Evaluate the performance of technology development in a relevant environment (full-mission, human-in-the-loop simulations and flight tests)

  16. Report by the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1981-01-01

    The process of preparation for the first two shuttle flights was observed and information from both flights was gathered in order to confirm the concept and performance of the major elements of the space transportation system. To achieve truly operational operating safety, regularity, and minimum practical cost, the organization of efforts between the R&D community and any transportation service organization should be clearly separated with the latter organization assuming responsibilities for marketing its services; planning and acquiring prime hardware and spares; maintainance; certification of procedures; training; and creation of requirements for future development. A technical audit of the application of redundancy concepts to shuttle systems is suggested. The state of the art of space transportation hardware suggests that a number of concept changes may improve reliability, costs, and operational safety. For the remaining R&D flights, it is suggested that a redline audit be made of limits that should not be exceeded for ready to launch.

  17. An investigation of pre-launch and in-flight STS range safety radio signal degradation and dropout

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mcdonald, Malcolm W.

    1991-01-01

    The range safety system (RSS) transmitters operate at a frequency of 416.500 MHz. The transmitting antennas transmit left circularly polarized waves, and the shuttle range safety system (SRSS) receiving antennas onboard the shuttle vehicle receive left circular polarization. Preliminary explanations are proposed for many of the observed fluctuations in signal levels. It is recommended that experiments and further investigation be performed to test the validity of certain of these explanations.

  18. Innovative Operations Measures and Nutritional Support for Mass Endurance Events.

    PubMed

    Chiampas, George T; Goyal, Anita V

    2015-11-01

    Endurance and sporting events have increased in popularity and participation in recent years worldwide, and with this comes the need for medical directors to apply innovative operational strategies and nutritional support to meet such demands. Mass endurance events include sports such as cycling and running half, full and ultra-marathons with over 1000 participants. Athletes, trainers and health care providers can all agree that both participant outcomes and safety are of the utmost importance for any race or sporting event. While demand has increased, there is relatively less published guidance in this area of sports medicine. This review addresses public safety, operational systems, nutritional support and provision of medical care at endurance events. Significant medical conditions in endurance sports include heat illness, hyponatraemia and cardiac incidents. These conditions can differ from those typically encountered by clinicians or in the setting of low-endurance sports, and best practices in their management are discussed. Hydration and nutrition are critical in preventing these and other race-related morbidities, as they can impact both performance and medical outcomes on race day. Finally, the command and communication structures of an organized endurance event are vital to its safety and success, and such strategies and concepts are reviewed for implementation. The nature of endurance events increasingly relies on medical leaders to balance safety and prevention of morbidity while trying to help optimize athlete performance.

  19. Group interaction and flight crew performance

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Foushee, H. Clayton; Helmreich, Robert L.

    1988-01-01

    The application of human-factors analysis to the performance of aircraft-operation tasks by the crew as a group is discussed in an introductory review and illustrated with anecdotal material. Topics addressed include the function of a group in the operational environment, the classification of group performance factors (input, process, and output parameters), input variables and the flight crew process, and the effect of process variables on performance. Consideration is given to aviation safety issues, techniques for altering group norms, ways of increasing crew effort and coordination, and the optimization of group composition.

  20. Computer support for cooperative tasks in Mission Operations Centers

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Fox, Jeffrey; Moore, Mike

    1994-01-01

    Traditionally, spacecraft management has been performed by fixed teams of operators in Mission Operations Centers. The team cooperatively: (1) ensures that payload(s) on spacecraft perform their work; and (2) maintains the health and safety of the spacecraft through commanding and monitoring the spacecraft's subsystems. In the future, the task demands will increase and overload the operators. This paper describes the traditional spacecraft management environment and describes a new concept in which groupware will be used to create a Virtual Mission Operations Center. Groupware tools will be used to better utilize available resources through increased automation and dynamic sharing of personnel among missions.

  1. Posttest analysis of the FFTF inherent safety tests

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Padilla, A. Jr.; Claybrook, S.W.

    Inherent safety tests were performed during 1986 in the 400-MW (thermal) Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) reactor to demonstrate the effectiveness of an inherent shutdown device called the gas expansion module (GEM). The GEM device provided a strong negative reactivity feedback during loss-of-flow conditions by increasing the neutron leakage as a result of an expanding gas bubble. The best-estimate pretest calculations for these tests were performed using the IANUS plant analysis code (Westinghouse Electric Corporation proprietary code) and the MELT/SIEX3 core analysis code. These two codes were also used to perform the required operational safety analyses for the FFTF reactormore » and plant. Although it was intended to also use the SASSYS systems (core and plant) analysis code, the calibration of the SASSYS code for FFTF core and plant analysis was not completed in time to perform pretest analyses. The purpose of this paper is to present the results of the posttest analysis of the 1986 FFTF inherent safety tests using the SASSYS code.« less

  2. DAG-TM Concept Element 11 CNS Performance Assessment: ADS-B Performance in the TRACON

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Raghavan, Rajesh S.

    2004-01-01

    Distributed Air/Ground (DAG) Traffic Management (TM) is an integrated operational concept in which flight deck crews, air traffic service providers and aeronautical operational control personnel use distributed decision-making to enable user preferences and increase system capacity, while meeting air traffic management (ATM) safety requirements. It is a possible operational mode under the Free Flight concept outlined by the RTCA Task Force 3. The goal of DAG-TM is to enhance user flexibility/efficiency and increase system capacity, without adversely affecting system safety or restricting user accessibility to the National Airspace System (NAS). DAG-TM will be accomplished with a human-centered operational paradigm enabled by procedural and technological innovations. These innovations include automation aids, information sharing and Communication, Navigation, and Surveillance (CNS) / ATM technologies. The DAG-TM concept is intended to eliminate static restrictions to the maximum extent possible. In this paradigm, users may plan and operate according to their preferences - as the rule rather than the exception - with deviations occurring only as necessary. The DAG-TM concept elements aim to mitigate the extent and impact of dynamic NAS constraints, while maximizing the flexibility of airspace operations

  3. Performance Evaluation and Analysis of Rural Drinking Water Safety Project——A Case Study in Jiangsu, China

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Du, Xiaorong

    2017-04-01

    Water is the basic condition for human survival and development. As China is the most populous country, rural drinking water safety problems are most conspicuous. Therefore, the Chinese government keeps increasing investment and has built a large number of rural drinking water safety projects. Scientific evaluation of project performance is of great significance to promote the sustainable operation of the project and the sustainable development of rural economy. Previous studies mainly focus on the economic benefits of the project, while ignoring the fact that the rural drinking water safety project is quasi-public goods, which has economic, social and ecological benefits. This paper establishes a comprehensive evaluation model for rural drinking water safety performance, which adapts the rules of "5E" (economy, efficiency, effectiveness, equity and environment) as the value orientation, and selects a rural drinking water safety project as object in case study at K District, which is in the north of Jiangsu Province, China. The results shows: 1) the comprehensive performance of K project is in good condition; 2) The performance of every part shows that the scores of criteria "efficiency", "environment" and "effect" are higher than the mean performance, while the "economy" is slightly lower than the mean and the "equity" is the lowest. 3) The performance of indicator layer shows that: the planned completion rate of project, the reduction rate of project cost and the penetration rate of water-use population are significantly lower than other indicators. Based on the achievements of previous studies and the characteristics of rural drinking water safety project, this study integrates the evaluation dimensions of equity and environment, which can contribute to a more comprehensive and systematic assessment of project performance and provide empirical data for performance evaluation and management of rural drinking water safety project. Key Words: Rural drinking water safety project; Performance evaluation; 5E rules; Comprehensive evaluation model

  4. A guide to safe field operations

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Yobbi, D.K.; Yorke, T.H.; Mycyk, R.T.

    1996-01-01

    Most functions of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Water Resources Division (WRD) require employees to participate in numerous field activities ranging from routine meetings with cooperators, other federal and public officials, and private citizens to potentially hazardous assignments, such as making flood measurements and scuba diving to service underwater instruments. It is paramount that each employee be aware of safety procedures and operational policies of the WRD to ensure that (1) their activities avoid or minimize personal injury to the employee, coworkers, or anyone in the vicinity of the field activity, and (2) their conduct does not infringe on the personal or property rights of any individual or organization. The purpose of the guide is to familiarize employees with the operational and safety procedures expected to be followed by each employee as a representative of the WRD. It is also intended as a training tool for all new employees and a document to be reviewed by each employee before undertaking a field assignment. It includes general procedures that are standard and applicable to all field operations, such as communication, vehicle operation, and adequate preparation for anticipated weather conditions. It also includes a discussion of specific procedures and safety considerations for most of the routine field assignments undertaken by hydrologists and hydrologic technicians of the WRD. The guide is not intended to be a technical handbook outlining step-by-step procedures for performing specific tasks or a comprehensive discussion of every possible activity that may be undertaken by a USGS employee. Employees are referred to the Techniques for Water-Resources Investigations (TWRI) series for specific technical procedures and to the U.S. Geological Survey Safety and Environmental Health Handbook 445-1-H (USGS, August 1989), USGS Occupational Hazards and Safety Procedures Handbook 445-2-H (December 1993), the WRD notebook on Safety Policy and Guidance Memoranda, and other references for procedures and safety issues related to nonroutine activities, such as operations on large vessels and aircraft.

  5. 30 CFR 56.14213 - Ventilation and shielding for welding.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Ventilation and shielding for welding. 56.14213... Equipment Safety Practices and Operational Procedures § 56.14213 Ventilation and shielding for welding. (a) Welding operations shall be shielded when performed at locations where arc flash could be hazardous to...

  6. Autonomous Control of Space Reactor Systems

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Belle R. Upadhyaya; K. Zhao; S.R.P. Perillo

    2007-11-30

    Autonomous and semi-autonomous control is a key element of space reactor design in order to meet the mission requirements of safety, reliability, survivability, and life expectancy. Interrestrial nuclear power plants, human operators are avilable to perform intelligent control functions that are necessary for both normal and abnormal operational conditions.

  7. 47 CFR 80.1101 - Performance standards.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) SAFETY AND SPECIAL RADIO SERVICES STATIONS IN THE... Beacons Operating Through the Geostationary INMARSAT Satellite System on 1.6 GHz,” with Annex, adopted 23... operating through a low polar-orbiting satellite system in the 406 MHz band,” 2000. (iv) The 406.0-406.1 MHz...

  8. 47 CFR 80.1101 - Performance standards.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) SAFETY AND SPECIAL RADIO SERVICES STATIONS IN THE... Beacons Operating Through the Geostationary INMARSAT Satellite System on 1.6 GHz,” with Annex, adopted 23... operating through a low polar-orbiting satellite system in the 406 MHz band,” 2000. (iv) The 406.0-406.1 MHz...

  9. 47 CFR 80.169 - Operators required to adjust transmitters or radar.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... radar. 80.169 Section 80.169 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) SAFETY AND... Requirements § 80.169 Operators required to adjust transmitters or radar. (a) All adjustments of radio... certificate containing a ship radar endorsement must perform such functions on radar equipment. [51 FR 31213...

  10. 47 CFR 80.169 - Operators required to adjust transmitters or radar.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... radar. 80.169 Section 80.169 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) SAFETY AND... Requirements § 80.169 Operators required to adjust transmitters or radar. (a) All adjustments of radio... certificate containing a ship radar endorsement must perform such functions on radar equipment. [51 FR 31213...

  11. 30 CFR 56.14213 - Ventilation and shielding for welding.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Ventilation and shielding for welding. 56.14213... Equipment Safety Practices and Operational Procedures § 56.14213 Ventilation and shielding for welding. (a) Welding operations shall be shielded when performed at locations where arc flash could be hazardous to...

  12. 30 CFR 56.14213 - Ventilation and shielding for welding.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Ventilation and shielding for welding. 56.14213... Equipment Safety Practices and Operational Procedures § 56.14213 Ventilation and shielding for welding. (a) Welding operations shall be shielded when performed at locations where arc flash could be hazardous to...

  13. 30 CFR 56.14213 - Ventilation and shielding for welding.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Ventilation and shielding for welding. 56.14213... Equipment Safety Practices and Operational Procedures § 56.14213 Ventilation and shielding for welding. (a) Welding operations shall be shielded when performed at locations where arc flash could be hazardous to...

  14. 30 CFR 56.14213 - Ventilation and shielding for welding.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Ventilation and shielding for welding. 56.14213... Equipment Safety Practices and Operational Procedures § 56.14213 Ventilation and shielding for welding. (a) Welding operations shall be shielded when performed at locations where arc flash could be hazardous to...

  15. In-flight simulation of high agility through active control: Taming complexity by design

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Padfield, Gareth D.; Bradley, Roy

    1993-01-01

    The motivation for research into helicopter agility stems from the realization that marked improvements relative to current operational types are possible, yet there is a dearth of useful criteria for flying qualities at high performance levels. Several research laboratories are currently investing resources in developing second generation airborne rotorcraft simulators. The UK's focus has been the exploitation of agility through active control technology (ACT); this paper reviews the results of studies conducted to date. The conflict between safety and performance in flight research is highlighted and the various forms of safety net to protect against system failures are described. The role of the safety pilot, and the use of actuator and flight envelope limiting are discussed. It is argued that the deep complexity of a research ACT system can only be tamed through a requirement specification assembled using design principles and cast in an operational simulation form. Work along these lines conducted at DRA is described, including the use of the Jackson System Development method and associated Ada simulation.

  16. Effects of digital countdown timer on intersection safety and efficiency: A systematic review.

    PubMed

    Fu, Chuanyun; Zhang, Yaping; Qi, Weiwei; Cheng, Shaowu

    2016-01-01

    To investigate the available evidence referring to the effectiveness of digital countdown timers (DCTs) in improving the safety and operational efficiency of signalized intersection. A systematic review was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statement guidelines. Relevant literature was searched from electronic databases using key terms. Based on study selection and methodological quality assessment, 14 studies were included in the review. Findings of the studies were synthesized in a narrative analysis. Three types of DCT had different effects on intersection safety and operational efficiency. Green signal countdown timers (GSCTs) reduced red light violations, type I dilemma zone distributions, and rear-end collision likelihood but increased crossing after yellow onset and had mixed impacts on type II dilemma zone distributions and intersection capacity. In contrast, red signal countdown timers (RSCTs) increased intersection capacity, although their effectiveness in reducing red light violations dissipated over time. Likewise, continuous countdown timers (CCTs) significantly enhanced intersection capacity but had mixed influences on red light violations and crossing after yellow onset. Due to the limited and inconsistent evidence regarding DCTs' effects on intersection safety and efficiency, it is not sufficient to recommend any type of DCT to be installed at signalized intersections to improve safety and operational efficiency. Nevertheless, it is apparent that both RSCTs and CCTs enhance intersection capacity, though their impacts on intersection safety are unclear. Future studies need to further verify those anticipated safe and operational benefits of DCTs with enriched field observation data.

  17. Upgrading the fuel-handling machine of the Novovoronezh nuclear power plant unit no. 5

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Terekhov, D. V.; Dunaev, V. I.

    2014-02-01

    The calculation of safety parameters was carried out in the process of upgrading the fuel-handling machine (FHM) of the Novovoronezh nuclear power plant (NPP) unit no. 5 based on the results of quantitative safety analysis of nuclear fuel transfer operations using a dynamic logical-and-probabilistic model of the processing procedure. Specific engineering and design concepts that made it possible to reduce the probability of damaging the fuel assemblies (FAs) when performing various technological operations by an order of magnitude and introduce more flexible algorithms into the modernized FHM control system were developed. The results of pilot operation during two refueling campaigns prove that the total reactor shutdown time is lowered.

  18. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Sprik, Samuel; Kurtz, Jennifer M; Ainscough, Christopher D

    In this presentation, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory presented aggregated analysis results on the performance of existing hydrogen stations, including performance, operation, utilization, maintenance, safety, hydrogen quality, and cost. The U.S. Department of Energy funds technology validation work at NREL through its National Fuel Cell Technology Evaluation Center (NFCTEC).

  19. Predicting performance and safety based on driver fatigue.

    PubMed

    Mollicone, Daniel; Kan, Kevin; Mott, Chris; Bartels, Rachel; Bruneau, Steve; van Wollen, Matthew; Sparrow, Amy R; Van Dongen, Hans P A

    2018-04-02

    Fatigue causes decrements in vigilant attention and reaction time and is a major safety hazard in the trucking industry. There is a need to quantify the relationship between driver fatigue and safety in terms of operationally relevant measures. Hard-braking events are a suitable measure for this purpose as they are relatively easily observed and are correlated with collisions and near-crashes. We developed an analytic approach that predicts driver fatigue based on a biomathematical model and then estimates hard-braking events as a function of predicted fatigue, controlling for time of day to account for systematic variations in exposure (traffic density). The analysis used de-identified data from a previously published, naturalistic field study of 106 U.S. commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers. Data analyzed included drivers' official duty logs, sleep patterns measured around the clock using wrist actigraphy, and continuous recording of vehicle data to capture hard-braking events. The curve relating predicted fatigue to hard-braking events showed that the frequency of hard-braking events increased as predicted fatigue levels worsened. For each increment on the fatigue scale, the frequency of hard-braking events increased by 7.8%. The results provide proof of concept for a novel approach that predicts fatigue based on drivers' sleep patterns and estimates driving performance in terms of an operational metric related to safety. The approach can be translated to practice by CMV operators to achieve a fatigue risk profile specific to their own settings, in order to support data-driven decisions about fatigue countermeasures that cost-effectively deliver quantifiable operational benefits. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Identifying specific beliefs to target to improve restaurant employees' intentions for performing three important food safety behaviors.

    PubMed

    Pilling, Valerie K; Brannon, Laura A; Shanklin, Carol W; Howells, Amber D; Roberts, Kevin R

    2008-06-01

    Current national food safety training programs appear ineffective at improving food safety practices in foodservice operations, given the substantial number of Americans affected by foodborne illnesses after eating in restaurants each year. The Theory of Planned Behavior (TpB) was used to identify important beliefs that may be targeted to improve foodservice employees' intentions for three food safety behaviors that have the most substantial affect on public health: hand washing, using thermometers, and proper handling of food contact surfaces. In a cross-sectional design, foodservice employees (n=190) across three midwestern states completed a survey assessing TpB components and knowledge for the three food safety behaviors. Multiple regression analyses were performed on the TpB components for each behavior. Independent-samples t tests identified TpB beliefs that discriminated between participants who absolutely intend to perform the behaviors and those with lower intention. Employees' attitudes were the one consistent predictor of intentions for performing all three behaviors. However, a unique combination of important predictors existed for each separate behavior. Interventions for improving employees' behavioral intentions for food safety should focus on TpB components that predict intentions for each behavior and should bring all employees' beliefs in line with those of the employees who already intend to perform the food safety behaviors. Registered dietitians; dietetic technicians, registered; and foodservice managers can use these results to enhance training sessions and motivational programs to improve employees' food safety behaviors. Results also assist these professionals in recognizing their responsibility for enforcing and providing adequate resources for proper food safety behaviors.

  1. How to develop a Standard Operating Procedure for sorting unfixed cells

    PubMed Central

    Schmid, Ingrid

    2012-01-01

    Written Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are an important tool to assure that recurring tasks in a laboratory are performed in a consistent manner. When the procedure covered in the SOP involves a high-risk activity such as sorting unfixed cells using a jet-in-air sorter, safety elements are critical components of the document. The details on sort sample handling, sorter set-up, validation, operation, troubleshooting, and maintenance, personal protective equipment (PPE), and operator training, outlined in the SOP are to be based on careful risk assessment of the procedure. This review provides background information on the hazards associated with sorting of unfixed cells and the process used to arrive at the appropriate combination of facility design, instrument placement, safety equipment, and practices to be followed. PMID:22381383

  2. 76 FR 59596 - Anchorage Regulations; Newport, RI

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-09-27

    ... up to three cruise ships simultaneously in anchorage ``D''. For the convenience and safety of... standards (e.g., specifications of materials, performance, design, or operation; test methods; sampling...

  3. Applying the lessons of high risk industries to health care

    PubMed Central

    Hudson, P

    2003-01-01

    High risk industries such as commercial aviation and the oil and gas industry have achieved exemplary safety performance. This paper reviews how they have managed to do that. The primary reasons are the positive attitudes towards safety and the operation of effective formal safety management systems. The safety culture provides an important explanation of why such organisations perform well. An evolutionary model of safety culture is provided in which there is a range of cultures from the pathological through the reactive to the calculative. Later, the proactive culture can evolve towards the generative organisation, an alternative description of the high reliability organisation. The current status of health care is reviewed, arguing that it has a much higher level of accidents and has a reactive culture, lagging behind both high risk industries studied in both attitude and systematic management of patient risks. PMID:14645741

  4. Application of modified extended method in CREAM for safety inspector in coal mines

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Jinhe; Zhang, Xiaohong; Zeng, Jianchao

    2018-01-01

    Safety inspector often performs duties in circumstances contributes to the oc currence of human failures. Therefore, the paper aims at quantifying human failure pro bability (HFP) of safety inspector during the coal mine operation with cognitive reliabi lity and error analysis method (CREAM). Whereas, some shortcomings of this approa ch that lacking considering the applicability of the common performance condition (C PC), and the subjective of evaluating CPC level which weaken the accuracy of the qua ntitative prediction results. A modified extended method in CREAM which is able to a ddress these difficulties with a CPC framework table is proposed, and the proposed me thodology is demonstrated by the virtue of a coal-mine accident example. The results a re expected to be useful in predicting HFP of safety inspector and contribute to the enh ancement of coal mine safety.

  5. [Risk management in anesthesia and critical care medicine].

    PubMed

    Eisold, C; Heller, A R

    2017-03-01

    Throughout its history, anesthesia and critical care medicine has experienced vast improvements to increase patient safety. Consequently, anesthesia has never been performed on such a high level as it is being performed today. As a result, we do not always fully perceive the risks involved in our daily activity. A survey performed in Swiss hospitals identified a total of 169 hot spots which endanger patient safety. It turned out that there is a complex variety of possible errors that can only be tackled through consistent implementation of a safety culture. The key elements to reduce complications are continuing staff education, algorithms and standard operating procedures (SOP), working according to the principles of crisis resource management (CRM) and last but not least the continuous work-up of mistakes identified by critical incident reporting systems.

  6. Multiscale modeling and characterization for performance and safety of lithium-ion batteries

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Pannala, Sreekanth; Turner, John A.; Allu, Srikanth

    Lithium-ion batteries are highly complex electrochemical systems whose performance and safety are governed by coupled nonlinear electrochemical-electrical-thermal-mechanical processes over a range of spatiotemporal scales. In this paper we describe a new, open source computational framework for Lithium-ion battery simulations that is designed to support a variety of model types and formulations. This framework has been used to create three-dimensional cell and battery pack models that explicitly simulate all the battery components (current collectors, electrodes, and separator). The models are used to predict battery performance under normal operations and to study thermal and mechanical safety aspects under adverse conditions. The modelmore » development and validation are supported by experimental methods such as IR-imaging, X-ray tomography and micro-Raman mapping.« less

  7. Multiscale modeling and characterization for performance and safety of lithium-ion batteries

    DOE PAGES

    Pannala, Sreekanth; Turner, John A.; Allu, Srikanth; ...

    2015-08-19

    Lithium-ion batteries are highly complex electrochemical systems whose performance and safety are governed by coupled nonlinear electrochemical-electrical-thermal-mechanical processes over a range of spatiotemporal scales. In this paper we describe a new, open source computational framework for Lithium-ion battery simulations that is designed to support a variety of model types and formulations. This framework has been used to create three-dimensional cell and battery pack models that explicitly simulate all the battery components (current collectors, electrodes, and separator). The models are used to predict battery performance under normal operations and to study thermal and mechanical safety aspects under adverse conditions. The modelmore » development and validation are supported by experimental methods such as IR-imaging, X-ray tomography and micro-Raman mapping.« less

  8. Safety and compliance-related hazards in the medical practice: Part one.

    PubMed

    Calway, R C

    2001-01-01

    Safety and risk management hazards are a fact of life for the medical practice, and the costs of these incidents can place the group at significant risk of liability. Good compliance and risk management programs help minimize these incidents, improve staff morale, increase a practice's visibility in the community, and positively affect the practice's financial and operational bottom line performance. Medical practices that implement effective safety and risk management programs can realize savings in staffing costs, operational efficiency, morale, insurance premiums, and improved third-party relationships while at the same time avoiding embarrassing risks, fines, and liability. This article outlines some of the most common safety and risk management-related deficiencies seen in medical practices today. The author explains how to remedy these deficiencies and provides a self-test tool to enable the reader to assess areas within his or her own practice in need of attention.

  9. Verification and Implementation of Operations Safety Controls for Flight Missions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Jones, Cheryl L.; Smalls, James R.; Carrier, Alicia S.

    2010-01-01

    Approximately eleven years ago, the International Space Station launched the first module from Russia, the Functional Cargo Block (FGB). Safety and Mission Assurance (S&MA) Operations (Ops) Engineers played an integral part in that endeavor by executing strict flight product verification as well as continued staffing of S&MA's console in the Mission Evaluation Room (MER) for that flight mission. How were these engineers able to conduct such a complicated task? They conducted it based on product verification that consisted of ensuring that safety requirements were adequately contained in all flight products that affected crew safety. S&MA Ops engineers apply both systems engineering and project management principles in order to gain a appropriate level of technical knowledge necessary to perform thorough reviews which cover the subsystem(s) affected. They also ensured that mission priorities were carried out with a great detail and success.

  10. [Prevention of medical device-related adverse events in hospitals: Specifying the recommendations of the German Coalition for Patient Safety (APS) for users and operators of anaesthesia equipment].

    PubMed

    Bohnet-Joschko, Sabine; Zippel, Claus; Siebert, Hartmut

    2015-01-01

    The use and organisation of medical technology has an important role to play for patient and user safety in anaesthesia. Specification of the recommendations of the German Coalition for Patient Safety (APS) for users and operators of anaesthesia equipment, explore opportunities and challenges for the safe use and organisation of anaesthesia devices. We conducted a literature search in Medline/PubMed for studies dealing with the APS recommendations for the prevention of medical device-related risks in the context of anaesthesia. In addition, we performed an internet search for reports and recommendations focusing on the use and organisation of medical devices in anaesthesia. Identified studies were grouped and assigned to the recommendations. The division into users and operators was maintained. Instruction and training in anaesthesia machines is sometimes of minor importance. Failure to perform functional testing seems to be a common cause of critical incidents in anaesthesia. There is a potential for reporting to the federal authority. Starting points for the safe operation of anaesthetic devices can be identified, in particular, at the interface of staff, organisation, and (anaesthesia) technology. The APS recommendations provide valuable information on promoting the safe use of medical devices and organisation in anaesthesia. The focus will be on risks relating to the application as well as on principles and materials for the safe operation of anaesthesia equipment. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

  11. Impact of Residency Training Level on the Surgical Quality Following General Surgery Procedures.

    PubMed

    Loiero, Dominik; Slankamenac, Maja; Clavien, Pierre-Alain; Slankamenac, Ksenija

    2017-11-01

    To investigate the safety of surgical performance by residents of different training level performing common general surgical procedures. Data were consecutively collected from all patients undergoing general surgical procedures such as laparoscopic cholecystectomy, laparoscopic appendectomy, inguinal, femoral and umbilical hernia repair from 2005 to 2011 at the Department of Surgery of the University Hospital of Zurich, Switzerland. The operating surgeons were grouped into junior residents, senior residents and consultants. The comprehensive complication index (CCI) representing the overall number and severity of all postoperative complications served as primary safety endpoint. A multivariable linear regression analysis was used to analyze differences between groups. Additionally, we focused on the impact of senior residents assisting junior residents on postoperative outcome comparing to consultants. During the observed time, 2715 patients underwent a general surgical procedure. In 1114 times, a senior resident operated and in 669 procedures junior residents performed the surgery. The overall postoperative morbidity quantified by the CCI was for consultants 5.0 (SD 10.7), for senior residents 3.5 (8.2) and for junior residents 3.6 (8.3). After adjusting for possible confounders, no difference between groups concerning the postoperative complications was detected. There is also no difference in postoperative complications detectable if junior residents were assisted by consultants then if assisted by senior residents. Patient safety is ensured in general surgery when performed by surgical junior residents. Senior residents are able to adopt the role of the teaching surgeon in charge without compromising patients' safety.

  12. Image-Directed Fine-needle Aspiration Biopsy of the Thyroid with Safety-engineered Devices

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Sibbitt, Randy R., E-mail: THESIBB2@aol.com; Palmer, Dennis J., E-mail: lyonscreek@aol.com; Sibbitt, Wilmer L., E-mail: wsibbitt@salud.unm.edu

    2011-10-15

    Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to integrate safety-engineered devices into outpatient fine-needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy of the thyroid in an interventional radiology practice. Materials and Methods: The practice center is a tertiary referral center for image-directed FNA thyroid biopsies in difficult patients referred by the primary care physician, endocrinologist, or otolaryngologist. As a departmental quality of care and safety improvement program, we instituted integration of safety devices into our thyroid biopsy procedures and determined the effect on outcome (procedural pain, diagnostic biopsies, inadequate samples, complications, needlesticks to operator, and physician satisfaction) before institution of safety devices (54more » patients) and after institution of safety device implementation (56 patients). Safety devices included a patient safety technology-the mechanical aspirating syringe (reciprocating procedure device), and a health care worker safety technology (antineedlestick safety needle). Results: FNA of thyroid could be readily performed with the safety devices. Safety-engineered devices resulted in a 49% reduction in procedural pain scores (P < 0.0001), a 56% reduction in significant pain (P < 0.002), a 21% increase in operator satisfaction (P < 0.0001), and a 5% increase in diagnostic specimens (P = 0.5). No needlesticks to health care workers or patient injuries occurred during the study. Conclusions: Safety-engineered devices to improve both patient and health care worker safety can be successfully integrated into diagnostic FNA of the thyroid while maintaining outcomes and improving safety.« less

  13. Dual Liquid Flyback Booster for the Space Shuttle

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Blum, C.; Jones, P.; Meinders, B.

    1998-01-01

    Liquid Flyback Boosters provide an opportunity to improve shuttle safety, increase performance, and reduce operating costs. The objective of the LFBB study is to establish the viability of a LFBB configuration to integrate into the shuffle vehicle and meet the goals of the Space Shuttle upgrades program. The design of a technically viable LFBB must integrate into the shuffle vehicle with acceptable impacts to the vehicle elements, i.e. orbiter and external tank and the shuttle operations infrastructure. The LFBB must also be capable of autonomous return to the launch site. The smooth integration of the LFBB into the space shuttle vehicle and the ability of the LFBB to fly back to the launch site are not mutually compatible capabilities. LFBB wing configurations optimized for ascent must also provide flight quality during the powered return back to the launch site. This paper will focus on the core booster design and ascent performance. A companion paper 'Conceptual Design for a Space Shuttle Liquid Flyback Booster' will focus on the flyback system design and performance. The LFBB study developed design and aerodynamic data to demonstrate the viability of a dual booster configuration to meet the shuttle upgrade goals, i.e. enhanced safety, improved performance and reduced operations costs.

  14. Dual Liquid Flyback Booster for the Space Shuttle

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Blum, C.; Jones, Patti; Meinders, B.

    1998-01-01

    Liquid Flyback Boosters provide an opportunity to improve shuttle safety, increase performance, and reduce operating costs. The objective of the LFBB study is to establish the viability of a LFBB configuration to integrate into the shuttle vehicle and meet the goals of the Space Shuttle upgrades program. The design of a technically viable LFBB must integrate into the shuttle vehicle with acceptable impacts to the vehicle elements, i.e. orbiter and external tank and the shuttle operations infrastructure. The LFBB must also be capable of autonomous return to the launch site. The smooth integration of the LFBB into the space shuttle vehicle and the ability of the LFBB to fly back to the launch site are not mutually compatible capabilities. LFBB wing configurations optimized for ascent must also provide flight quality during the powered return back to the launch site. This paper will focus on the core booster design and ascent performance. A companion paper, "Conceptual Design for a Space Shuttle Liquid Flyback Booster" will focus on the flyback system design and performance. The LFBB study developed design and aerodynamic data to demonstrate the viability of a dual booster configuration to meet the shuttle upgrade goals, i.e. enhanced safety, improved performance and reduced operations costs.

  15. Syringe size: does it matter in physician-performed procedures?

    PubMed

    Michael, Adrian A; Moorjani, Gautam R; Peisajovich, Andres; Park, Kye S; Sibbitt, Wilmer L; Bankhurst, Arthur D

    2009-03-01

    We hypothesized that the size of syringe influenced needle control in physician-performed procedures. Operators were tested for their ability to control a 1-, 3-, 5-, 10-, and 20-mL syringe and equivalent sizes of the new safety device, the reciprocating procedure device (RPD), using the quantitative needle-based displacement method. Three hundred twenty clinical syringe procedures were then randomized to either a 3- or 10-mL conventional syringe or to a 3- or 10-mL RPD. Patient pain was measured with the Visual Analog Pain Scale (VAPS). Increasing syringe size was associated with the undesirable characteristic of unintended forward penetration (loss of control of the needle in the forward direction) (r(2) = 0.97, slope = 2.14, 95% CI: 1.54-2.76, P < 0.002), and unintended retraction (loss of control of the needle in the reverse direction) (r(2) = 0.97, slope 2.15, 95% CI: 1.54-2.76, P < 0.002). In addition, 2-handed operation of a syringe resulted in greater control than 1-handed operation of a syringe (P < 0.001). When 1-handed operation was required, the RPD control syringe reduced unintended penetration by 52.3% (P >or= 0.001), unintended retraction by 56.8% (P >or= 0.001), and patient pain by 54.7% (P >or= 0.001) at each device size. For greater safety and control when operating the conventional syringe, smaller syringe sizes and 2 hands instead of 1 hand should be used whenever possible. If 1-handed operation of a syringe is necessary, a safety technology like the RPD control syringe should be used.

  16. Modeling and Evaluating Pilot Performance in NextGen: Review of and Recommendations Regarding Pilot Modeling Efforts, Architectures, and Validation Studies

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wickens, Christopher; Sebok, Angelia; Keller, John; Peters, Steve; Small, Ronald; Hutchins, Shaun; Algarin, Liana; Gore, Brian Francis; Hooey, Becky Lee; Foyle, David C.

    2013-01-01

    NextGen operations are associated with a variety of changes to the national airspace system (NAS) including changes to the allocation of roles and responsibilities among operators and automation, the use of new technologies and automation, additional information presented on the flight deck, and the entire concept of operations (ConOps). In the transition to NextGen airspace, aviation and air operations designers need to consider the implications of design or system changes on human performance and the potential for error. To ensure continued safety of the NAS, it will be necessary for researchers to evaluate design concepts and potential NextGen scenarios well before implementation. One approach for such evaluations is through human performance modeling. Human performance models (HPMs) provide effective tools for predicting and evaluating operator performance in systems. HPMs offer significant advantages over empirical, human-in-the-loop testing in that (1) they allow detailed analyses of systems that have not yet been built, (2) they offer great flexibility for extensive data collection, (3) they do not require experimental participants, and thus can offer cost and time savings. HPMs differ in their ability to predict performance and safety with NextGen procedures, equipment and ConOps. Models also vary in terms of how they approach human performance (e.g., some focus on cognitive processing, others focus on discrete tasks performed by a human, while others consider perceptual processes), and in terms of their associated validation efforts. The objectives of this research effort were to support the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in identifying HPMs that are appropriate for predicting pilot performance in NextGen operations, to provide guidance on how to evaluate the quality of different models, and to identify gaps in pilot performance modeling research, that could guide future research opportunities. This research effort is intended to help the FAA evaluate pilot modeling efforts and select the appropriate tools for future modeling efforts to predict pilot performance in NextGen operations.

  17. Nuclear safety

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Buden, D.

    1991-01-01

    Topics dealing with nuclear safety are addressed which include the following: general safety requirements; safety design requirements; terrestrial safety; SP-100 Flight System key safety requirements; potential mission accidents and hazards; key safety features; ground operations; launch operations; flight operations; disposal; safety concerns; licensing; the nuclear engine for rocket vehicle application (NERVA) design philosophy; the NERVA flight safety program; and the NERVA safety plan.

  18. Managing Safety and Operations: The Effect of Joint Management System Practices on Safety and Operational Outcomes.

    PubMed

    Tompa, Emile; Robson, Lynda; Sarnocinska-Hart, Anna; Klassen, Robert; Shevchenko, Anton; Sharma, Sharvani; Hogg-Johnson, Sheilah; Amick, Benjamin C; Johnston, David A; Veltri, Anthony; Pagell, Mark

    2016-03-01

    The aim of this study was to determine whether management system practices directed at both occupational health and safety (OHS) and operations (joint management system [JMS] practices) result in better outcomes in both areas than in alternative practices. Separate regressions were estimated for OHS and operational outcomes using data from a survey along with administrative records on injuries and illnesses. Organizations with JMS practices had better operational and safety outcomes than organizations without these practices. They had similar OHS outcomes as those with operations-weak practices, and in some cases, better outcomes than organizations with safety-weak practices. They had similar operational outcomes as those with safety-weak practices, and better outcomes than those with operations-weak practices. Safety and operations appear complementary in organizations with JMS practices in that there is no penalty for either safety or operational outcomes.

  19. Performance assessment of an onboard monitoring system for CMV drivers : a field operational test : research brief.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2016-11-01

    The primary goal of an onboard monitoring system (OBMS) is to enhance driver performance and safety. OBMSs are employed with the expectation that feedback provided concurrently (via flashing feedback lights in the vehicle) and cumulatively (via coach...

  20. Idaho National Laboratory Integrated Safety Management System FY 2016 Effectiveness Review and Declaration Report

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Hunt, Farren J.

    Idaho National Laboratory’s (INL’s) Integrated Safety Management System (ISMS) effectiveness review of fiscal year (FY) 2016 shows that INL has integrated management programs and safety elements throughout the oversight and operational activities performed at INL. The significant maturity of Contractor Assurance System (CAS) processes, as demonstrated across INL’s management systems and periodic reporting through the Management Review Meeting process, over the past two years has provided INL with current real-time understanding and knowledge pertaining to the health of the institution. INL’s sustained excellence of the Integrated Safety and effective implementation of the Worker Safety and Health Program is also evidencedmore » by other external validations and key indicators. In particular, external validations include VPP, ISO 14001, DOELAP accreditation, and key Laboratory level indicators such as ORPS (number, event frequency and severity); injury/illness indicators such as Days Away, Restricted and Transfer (DART) case rate, back & shoulder metric and open reporting indicators, demonstrate a continuous positive trend and therefore improved operational performance over the last few years. These indicators are also reflective of the Laboratory’s overall organizational and safety culture improvement. Notably, there has also been a step change in ESH&Q Leadership actions that have been recognized both locally and complex-wide. Notwithstanding, Laboratory management continues to monitor and take action on lower level negative trends in numerous areas including: Conduct of Operations, Work Control, Work Site Analysis, Risk Assessment, LO/TO, Fire Protection, and Life Safety Systems, to mention a few. While the number of severe injury cases has decreased, as evidenced by the reduction in the DART case rate, the two hand injuries and the fire truck/ambulance accident were of particular concern. Aggressive actions continue in order to understand the causes and define actions needed to prevent similar injuries and accidents in the future. While our injury rate is not where we want it to be, it is not the only indicator that defines our ISMS program, safety culture, and efforts to be a continuous learning organization. When reviewing the entire year’s performance, and all areas that integrate ISMS principles and core functions, INL has an “effective” ISMS program that is continually improving.« less

  1. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Lower, Mark D; Christopher, Timothy W; Oland, C Barry

    The Facilities and Operations (F&O) Directorate is sponsoring a continuous process improvement (CPI) program. Its purpose is to stimulate, promote, and sustain a culture of improvement throughout all levels of the organization. The CPI program ensures that a scientific and repeatable process exists for improving the delivery of F&O products and services in support of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Management Systems. Strategic objectives of the CPI program include achieving excellence in laboratory operations in the areas of safety, health, and the environment. Identifying and promoting opportunities for achieving the following critical outcomes are important business goals of the CPImore » program: improved safety performance; process focused on consumer needs; modern and secure campus; flexibility to respond to changing laboratory needs; bench strength for the future; and elimination of legacy issues. The Steam Pressure-Reducing Station (SPRS) Safety and Energy Efficiency Improvement Project, which is under the CPI program, focuses on maintaining and upgrading SPRSs that are part of the ORNL steam distribution network. This steam pipe network transports steam produced at the ORNL steam plant to many buildings in the main campus site. The SPRS Safety and Energy Efficiency Improvement Project promotes excellence in laboratory operations by (1) improving personnel safety, (2) decreasing fuel consumption through improved steam system energy efficiency, and (3) achieving compliance with applicable worker health and safety requirements. The SPRS Safety and Energy Efficiency Improvement Project being performed by F&O is helping ORNL improve both energy efficiency and worker safety by modifying, maintaining, and repairing SPRSs. Since work began in 2006, numerous energy-wasting steam leaks have been eliminated, heat losses from uninsulated steam pipe surfaces have been reduced, and deficient pressure retaining components have been replaced. These improvements helped ORNL reduce its overall utility costs by decreasing the amount of fuel used to generate steam. Reduced fuel consumption also decreased air emissions. These improvements also helped lower the risk of burn injuries to workers and helped prevent shrapnel injuries resulting from missiles produced by pressurized component failures. In most cases, the economic benefit and cost effectiveness of the SPRS Safety and Energy Efficiency Improvement Project is reflected in payback periods of 1 year or less.« less

  2. Performance assessment for continuing and future operations at Solid Waste Storage Area 6

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Not Available

    1994-02-01

    This radiological performance assessment for the continued disposal operations at Solid Waste Storage Area 6 (SWSA 6) on the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) has been prepared to demonstrate compliance with the requirements of the US DOE. The analysis of SWSA 6 required the use of assumptions to supplement the available site data when the available data were incomplete for the purpose of analysis. Results indicate that SWSA 6 does not presently meet the performance objectives of DOE Order 5820.2A. Changes in operations and continued work on the performance assessment are expected to demonstrate compliance with the performance objectives for continuingmore » operations at the Interim Waste Management Facility (IWMF). All other disposal operations in SWSA 6 are to be discontinued as of January 1, 1994. The disposal units at which disposal operations are discontinued will be subject to CERCLA remediation, which will result in acceptable protection of the public health and safety.« less

  3. Does correcting astigmatism with toric lenses improve driving performance?

    PubMed

    Cox, Daniel J; Banton, Thomas; Record, Steven; Grabman, Jesse H; Hawkins, Ronald J

    2015-04-01

    Driving is a vision-based activity of daily living that impacts safety. Because visual disruption can compromise driving safety, contact lens wearers with astigmatism may pose a driving safety risk if they experience residual blur from spherical lenses that do not correct their astigmatism or if they experience blur from toric lenses that rotate excessively. Given that toric lens stabilization systems are continually improving, this preliminary study tested the hypothesis that astigmats wearing toric contact lenses, compared with spherical lenses, would exhibit better overall driving performance and driving-specific visual abilities. A within-subject, single-blind, crossover, randomized design was used to evaluate driving performance in 11 young adults with astigmatism (-0.75 to -1.75 diopters cylinder). Each participant drove a highly immersive, virtual reality driving simulator (210 degrees field of view) with (1) no correction, (2) spherical contact lens correction (ACUVUE MOIST), and (3) toric contact lens correction (ACUVUE MOIST for Astigmatism). Tactical driving skills such as steering, speed management, and braking, as well as operational driving abilities such as visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, and foot and arm reaction time, were quantified. There was a main effect for type of correction on driving performance (p = 0.05). Correction with toric lenses resulted in significantly safer tactical driving performance than no correction (p < 0.05), whereas correction with spherical lenses did not differ in driving safety from no correction (p = 0.118). Operational tests differentiated corrected from uncorrected performance for both spherical (p = 0.008) and toric (p = 0.011) lenses, but they were not sensitive enough to differentiate toric from spherical lens conditions. Given previous research showing that deficits in these tactical skills are predictive of future real-world collisions, these preliminary data suggest that correcting low to moderate astigmatism with toric lenses may be important to driving safety. Their merits relative to spherical lens correction require further investigation.

  4. Space Station Initial Operational Concept (IOC) operations and safety view - Automation and robotics for Space Station

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bates, William V., Jr.

    1989-01-01

    The automation and robotics requirements for the Space Station Initial Operational Concept (IOC) are discussed. The amount of tasks to be performed by an eight-person crew, the need for an automated or directed fault analysis capability, and ground support requirements are considered. Issues important in determining the role of automation for the IOC are listed.

  5. STS safety approval process for small self-contained payloads

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Gum, Mary A.

    1988-01-01

    The safety approval process established by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for Get Away Special (GAS) payloads is described. Although the designing organization is ultimately responsible for the safe operation of its payload, the Get Away Special team at the Goddard Space Flight Center will act as advisors while iterative safety analyses are performed and the Safety Data Package inputs are submitted. This four phase communications process will ultimately give NASA confidence that the GAS payload is safe, and successful completion of the Phase 3 package and review will clear the way for flight aboard the Space Transportation System orbiter.

  6. Tritium safety study using Caisson Assembly (CATS) at TPL/JAEA

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Hayashi, T.; Kobayashi, K.; Iwai, Y.

    Tritium confinement is required as the most important safety Junction for a fusion reactor. In order to demonstrate the confinement performance experimentally, an unique equipment, called CATS: Caisson Assembly for Tritium Safety study, was installed in Tritium Process Laboratory of Japan Atomic Energy Agency and operated for about 10 years. Tritium confinement and migration data in CATS have been accumulated and dynamic simulation code was accumulated using these data. Contamination and decontamination behavior on various materials and new safety equipment functions have been investigated under collaborations with a lot of laboratories and universities. (authors)

  7. Critical Characteristics of Radiation Detection System Components to be Dedicated for use in Safety Class and Safety Significant System

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    DAVIS, S.J.

    2000-12-28

    This document identifies critical characteristics of components to be dedicated for use in Safety Significant (SS) Systems, Structures, or Components (SSCs). This document identifies the requirements for the components of the common, radiation area, monitor alarm in the WESF pool cell. These are procured as Commercial Grade Items (CGI), with the qualification testing and formal dedication to be performed at the Waste Encapsulation Storage Facility (WESF) for use in safety significant systems. System modifications are to be performed in accordance with the approved design. Components for this change are commercially available and interchangeable with the existing alarm configuration This documentmore » focuses on the operational requirements for alarm, declaration of the safety classification, identification of critical characteristics, and interpretation of requirements for procurement. Critical characteristics are identified herein and must be verified, followed by formal dedication, prior to the components being used in safety related applications.« less

  8. Performance and Life Tests of a Regenerative Blower for EVA Suit Ventilation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Izenson, Michael G.; Chen, Weibo; McCormick, John; Paul, Heather L.; Jennings, Mallory A.

    2012-01-01

    Ventilation fans for future space suits must meet demanding performance specifications, satisfy stringent safety requirements for operation in an oxygen atmosphere, and be able to increase output to operate in buddy mode. A regenerative blower is an attractive choice due to its ability to meet these requirements at low operating speed. This paper describes progress in the development and testing of a regenerative blower designed to meet requirements for ventilation subsystems in future space suits. The blower includes a custom-designed motor that has significantly improved its efficiency. We have measured the blower s head/flow performance and power consumption under conditions that simulate both the normal and buddy mode operating points. We have operated the blower for TBD hours and demonstrated safe operation in an oxygen test loop at prototypical pressures. We also demonstrated operation with simulated lunar dust.

  9. Performance and Life Tests of a Regenerative Blower for EVA Suit Ventilation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Izenson, Mike; Chen, Weibo; Paul, Heather L.; Jennings, Mallory A.

    2011-01-01

    Ventilation fans for future space suits must meet demanding performance specifications, satisfy stringent safety requirements for operation in an oxygen atmosphere, and be able to increase output to operate in buddy mode. A regenerative blower is an attractive choice due to its ability to meet these requirements at low operating speed. This paper describes progress in the development and testing of a regenerative blower designed to meet requirements for ventilation subsystems in a future space suit Portable Life Support Systems (PLSS). The blower assembly includes a custom-designed motor that has significantly improved in efficiency during this development effort. The blower was tested at both nominal and buddy mode operating points and head/flow performance and power consumption were measured. The blower was operated for over 1000 hours to demonstrate safe operation in an oxygen test loop at prototypical pressures. In addition, the blower demonstrated operation with the introduction of simulated lunar dust.

  10. Taichi-inspired rigid-flexible coupling cellulose-supported solid polymer electrolyte for high-performance lithium batteries

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Jianjun; Yue, Liping; Hu, Pu; Liu, Zhihong; Qin, Bingsheng; Zhang, Bo; Wang, Qingfu; Ding, Guoliang; Zhang, Chuanjian; Zhou, Xinhong; Yao, Jianhua; Cui, Guanglei; Chen, Liquan

    2014-01-01

    Inspired by Taichi, we proposed rigid-flexible coupling concept and herein developed a highly promising solid polymer electrolyte comprised of poly (ethylene oxide), poly (cyano acrylate), lithium bis(oxalate)borate and robust cellulose nonwoven. Our investigation revealed that this new class solid polymer electrolyte possessed comprehensive properties in high mechanical integrity strength, sufficient ionic conductivity (3 × 10−4 S cm−1) at 60°C and improved dimensional thermostability (up to 160°C). In addition, the lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4)/lithium (Li) cell using such solid polymer electrolyte displayed superior rate capacity (up to 6 C) and stable cycle performance at 80°C. Furthermore, the LiFePO4/Li battery could also operate very well even at an elevated temperature of 160°C, thus improving enhanced safety performance of lithium batteries. The use of this solid polymer electrolyte mitigates the safety risk and widens the operation temperature range of lithium batteries. Thus, this fascinating study demonstrates a proof of concept of the use of rigid-flexible coupling solid polymer electrolyte toward practical lithium battery applications with improved reliability and safety. PMID:25183416

  11. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Brunett, A. J.; Fei, T.; Strons, P. S.

    The Transient Reactor Test Facility (TREAT), located at Idaho National Laboratory (INL), is a test facility designed to evaluate the performance of reactor fuels and materials under transient accident conditions. The facility, an air-cooled, graphite-moderated reactor designed to utilize fuel containing high-enriched uranium (HEU), has been in non-operational standby status since 1994. Currently, in support of the missions of the Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Material Management and Minimization (M3) Reactor Conversion Program, a new core design is being developed for TREAT that will utilize low-enriched uranium (LEU). The primary objective of this conversion effort ismore » to design an LEU core that is capable of meeting the performance characteristics of the existing HEU core. Minimal, if any, changes are anticipated for the supporting systems (e.g. reactor trip system, filtration/cooling system, etc.); therefore, the LEU core must also be able to function with the existing supporting systems, and must also satisfy acceptable safety limits. In support of the LEU conversion effort, a range of ancillary safety analyses are required to evaluate the LEU core operation relative to that of the existing facility. These analyses cover neutronics, shielding, and thermal hydraulic topics that have been identified as having the potential to have reduced safety margins due to conversion to LEU fuel, or are required to support the required safety analyses documentation. The majority of these ancillary tasks have been identified in [1] and [2]. The purpose of this report is to document the ancillary safety analyses that have been performed at Argonne National Laboratory during the early stages of the LEU design effort, and to describe ongoing and anticipated analyses. For all analyses presented in this report, methodologies are utilized that are consistent with, or improved from, those used in analyses for the HEU Final Safety Analysis Report (FSAR) [3]. Depending on the availability of historical data derived from HEU TREAT operation, results calculated for the LEU core are compared to measurements obtained from HEU TREAT operation. While all analyses in this report are largely considered complete and have been reviewed for technical content, it is important to note that all topics will be revisited once the LEU design approaches its final stages of maturity. For most safety significant issues, it is expected that the analyses presented here will be bounding, but additional calculations will be performed as necessary to support safety analyses and safety documentation. It should also be noted that these analyses were completed as the LEU design evolved, and therefore utilized different LEU reference designs. Preliminary shielding, neutronic, and thermal hydraulic analyses have been completed and have generally demonstrated that the various LEU core designs will satisfy existing safety limits and standards also satisfied by the existing HEU core. These analyses include the assessment of the dose rate in the hodoscope room, near a loaded fuel transfer cask, above the fuel storage area, and near the HEPA filters. The potential change in the concentration of tramp uranium and change in neutron flux reaching instrumentation has also been assessed. Safety-significant thermal hydraulic items addressed in this report include thermally-induced mechanical distortion of the grid plate, and heating in the radial reflector.« less

  12. Unexpected Anomaly of GHF (Gradient Heating Furnace) On-Board

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kobayashi, Ryoji

    2013-09-01

    GHF (Gradient Heating Furnace) is vacuum furnace that enables to raise temperature up to 1600 degree Celsius. GHF consumes large amount of power (about 4 kW), contains pressure vessel and has interface with vacuum line. Therefore, GHF has hazardous function in nature. JAXA performed safety analysis thoroughly, identified all causes and set appropriate safety controls to meet safety requirements. JAXA launched GHF in January of 2011 and operates in Kibo laboratory of ISS (International Space Station). JAXA encountered unexpected anomalies during operations on-board. They did not give safety degradation actually since safety devices inherent to GHF worked, but some of anomalies were unexpected.This paper presents one of the "unexpected" anomaly happened on-board, and how it relates with safety and how it is controlled not to lead to safety accident.It is pretty hard to find out "root cause" for some of anomalies due to limited telemetry information and crew resources. In addition, most of engineers designing GHF have gone. This paper also introduces agency level efforts to struggle to find out causes and to set appropriate countermeasure.Finally, this paper summaries lessons and learned from anomaly JAXA encountered.

  13. Evaluation of the operator protection factors offered by positive pressure air suits against airborne microbiological challenge.

    PubMed

    Steward, Jackie A; Lever, Mark S

    2012-08-01

    Laboratories throughout the world that perform work with Risk Group 4 Pathogens generally adopt one of two approaches within BSL-4 environments: either the use of positive pressure air-fed suits or using Class III microbiological safety cabinets and isolators for animal work. Within the UK at present, all laboratories working with Risk Group 4 agents adopt the use of Class III microbiological safety cabinet lines and isolators. Operator protection factors for the use of microbiological safety cabinets and isolators are available however; there is limited published data on the operator protection factors afforded by the use of positive pressure suits. This study evaluated the operator protection factors provided by positive pressure air suits against a realistic airborne microbiological challenge. The suits were tested, both intact and with their integrity compromised, on an animated mannequin within a stainless steel exposure chamber. The suits gave operator protection in all tests with an intact suit and with a cut in the leg. When compromised by a cut in the glove, a very small ingress of the challenge was seen as far as the wrist. This is likely to be due to the low airflow in the gloves of the suit. In all cases no microbiological penetration of the respiratory tract was observed. These data provide evidence on which to base safety protocols for use of positive pressure suits within high containment laboratories.

  14. Career Profile: Flight Operations Engineer (Airborne Science) Matthew Berry

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2014-11-05

    Operations engineers at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center help to advance science, technology, aeronautics, and space exploration by managing operational aspects of a flight research project. They serve as the governing authority on airworthiness related to the modification, operation, or maintenance of specialized research or support aircraft so those aircraft can be flown safely without jeopardizing the pilots, persons on the ground or the flight test project. With extensive aircraft modifications often required to support new research and technology development efforts, operations engineers are key leaders from technical concept to flight to ensure flight safety and mission success. Other responsibilities of an operations engineer include configuration management, performing systems design and integration, system safety analysis, coordinating flight readiness activities, and providing real-time flight support. This video highlights the responsibilities and daily activities of NASA Armstrong operations engineer Matthew Berry during the preparation and execution of flight tests in support of aeronautics research. http://www.nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/home/ http://www.nasa.gov/

  15. Career Profile: Flight Operations Engineer (Aeronautics) Brian Griffin

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2014-10-17

    Operations engineers at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center help to advance science, technology, aeronautics, and space exploration by managing operational aspects of a flight research project. They serve as the governing authority on airworthiness related to the modification, operation, or maintenance of specialized research or support aircraft so those aircraft can be flown safely without jeopardizing the pilots, persons on the ground or the flight test project. With extensive aircraft modifications often required to support new research and technology development efforts, operations engineers are key leaders from technical concept to flight to ensure flight safety and mission success. Other responsibilities of an operations engineer include configuration management, performing systems design and integration, system safety analysis, coordinating flight readiness activities, and providing real-time flight support. This video highlights the responsibilities and daily activities of NASA Armstrong operations engineer Brian Griffin during the preparation and execution of flight tests in support of aeronautics research. http://www.nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/home/ http://www.nasa.gov/

  16. Preliminary Recommendations for the Collection, Storage, and Analysis of UAS Safety Data

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Enomoto, Francis; Bushnell, David; Denney, Ewen; Pai, Ganesh; Schumann, Johann

    2013-01-01

    Although the use of UASs in military and public service operations is proliferating, civilian use of UASs remains limited in the United States today. With efforts underway to accommodate and integrate UASs into the NAS, a proactive understanding of safety issues, i.e., the unique hazards and the corresponding risks that UASs pose not only through their operations for commercial purposes, but also to existing operations in the NAS, is especially important so as to (a) support the development of a sound regulatory basis, (b) regulate, design and properly equip UASs, and (c) effectively mitigate the risks posed. Data, especially about system and component failures, incidents, and accidents, provides valuable insight into how performance and operational capabilities/limitations contribute to hazards. Since the majority of UAS operations today take place in a context that is significantly different from the norm in civil aviation, i.e., with different operational goals and standards, identifying that which constitutes useful and sufficient data on UASs and their operations is a substantial research challenge.

  17. Safety of elective hand surgery following axillary lymph node dissection for breast cancer.

    PubMed

    Hershko, Dan D; Stahl, Shalom

    2007-01-01

    The development of lymphedema is the most feared complication shared by breast cancer survivors undergoing hand surgery after prior axillary lymph node dissection (ALND). Traditionally, these patients are advised to avoid any interventional procedures in the ipsilateral upper extremity. However, the appropriateness of some of these precautions was recently challenged by some surgeons claiming that elective hand operations can be safely performed in these patients. The purpose of this study was to evaluate our experience and determine the safety of elective hand operations in breast cancer survivors. The medical records of patients operated for different hand conditions after prior breast surgery and ALND at our institution between 1983 and 2002 were reviewed. The techniques and preventive measures performed, use of antibiotics, and upper extremity complications associated with the operations were analyzed. Overall, we operated on 27 patients after prior ALND performed for breast cancer. Follow-up was available for 25 patients. Four patients had pre-existing lymphedema. The surgical technique used was similar to that performed in patients without prior ALND and antibiotic prophylaxis was not given. Delayed wound healing was observed in one patient and finger joint stiffness in another. Two patients with pre-existing lymphedema developed temporary worsening of their condition. None of the patients developed new lymphedema. The results of the present study support the few previous studies, suggesting that hand surgery can be safely performed in patients with prior ALND. Based on these findings, the appropriateness of the rigorous precautions and prohibitions regarding the care and use of the ipsilateral upper extremity may need to be reconsidered.

  18. 77 FR 21595 - Applications and Amendments to Facility Operating Licenses and Combined Licenses Involving...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-04-10

    ... must be one which, if proven, would entitle the requestor/petitioner to relief. A requestor/ petitioner..., and fire modeling calculations, have been performed to demonstrate that the performance-based... may include engineering evaluations, probabilistic safety assessments, and fire modeling calculations...

  19. Ground Robotic Hand Applications for the Space Program study (GRASP)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Grissom, William A.; Rafla, Nader I.

    1992-04-01

    This document reports on a NASA-STDP effort to address research interests of the NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) through a study entitled, Ground Robotic-Hand Applications for the Space Program (GRASP). The primary objective of the GRASP study was to identify beneficial applications of specialized end-effectors and robotic hand devices for automating any ground operations which are performed at the Kennedy Space Center. Thus, operations for expendable vehicles, the Space Shuttle and its components, and all payloads were included in the study. Typical benefits of automating operations, or augmenting human operators performing physical tasks, include: reduced costs; enhanced safety and reliability; and reduced processing turnaround time.

  20. Ground Robotic Hand Applications for the Space Program study (GRASP)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Grissom, William A.; Rafla, Nader I. (Editor)

    1992-01-01

    This document reports on a NASA-STDP effort to address research interests of the NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) through a study entitled, Ground Robotic-Hand Applications for the Space Program (GRASP). The primary objective of the GRASP study was to identify beneficial applications of specialized end-effectors and robotic hand devices for automating any ground operations which are performed at the Kennedy Space Center. Thus, operations for expendable vehicles, the Space Shuttle and its components, and all payloads were included in the study. Typical benefits of automating operations, or augmenting human operators performing physical tasks, include: reduced costs; enhanced safety and reliability; and reduced processing turnaround time.

  1. Safety of remifentanil in transsphenoidal surgery: A single-center analysis of 540 patients.

    PubMed

    Cote, David J; Burke, William T; Castlen, Joseph P; King, Chih H; Zaidi, Hasan A; Smith, Timothy R; Laws, Edward R; Aglio, Linda S

    2017-04-01

    Although some studies have examined the efficacy and safety of remifentanil in patients undergoing neurosurgical procedures, none has examined its safety in transsphenoidal operations specifically. In this study, all transsphenoidal operations performed by a single author from 2008 to 2015 were retrospectively reviewed to evaluate the safety of remifentanil in a consecutive series of patients. During the study period, 540 transsphenoidal operations were identified. Of these, 443 (82.0%) patients received remifentanil intra-operatively; 97 (18.0%) did not. The two groups were well-matched with regard to demographic categories, comorbidities, and pre-operative medications (p>0.05), except pre-operative tobacco use (p=0.021). Patients were also well-matched with regard to radiographic features and surgical techniques. Patients who received remifentanil were more likely to harbor a macroadenoma (78.1% vs. 67.0%, p=0.025), and had slightly longer anesthesia time on average (269.2minvs. 239.4min, p=0.024). All pathologic diagnoses were well-matched between the two groups, except that patients receiving remifentanil were more likely to harbor a non-functioning adenoma (46.5% vs. 26.8%, p<0.001). Analysis of post-operative complications showed no significant difference between patients who received remifentanil and those who did not, and length of stay and prevalence of ICU stay did not differ between the two groups. In a well-matched series of 540 patients undergoing transsphenoidal surgery, remifentanil was found to be a safe anesthetic adjunct. There were no significant differences in post-operative hospital course or complications in patients who did and did not receive intra-operative remifentanil. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Opinion and Special Articles: Stress when performing the first lumbar puncture may compromise patient safety.

    PubMed

    Henriksen, Mikael Johannes Vuokko; Wienecke, Troels; Kristiansen, Jesper; Park, Yoon Soo; Ringsted, Charlotte; Konge, Lars

    2018-05-22

    To quantify physician stress levels when performing lumbar puncture (LP) and explore operator stress effect on patient outcomes. This was a cross-sectional, multicenter study. Novices, intermediates, and experts in performing LP were recruited from 4 departments of neurology and emergency medicine. Stress was measured before and during performance of the LP using cognitive appraisal (CA), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Short (STAI-S) questionnaire, and the heart rate variability measure low frequency/high frequency index (LF/HF ratio). Patient-related outcomes were pain, confidence in the operator, and postdural puncture headache (PDPH). Forty-six physicians were included in the study: 22 novices, 12 intermediates, and 12 experts. Novices had the highest stress level and experts the lowest measured by cognitive appraisal and STAI-S before and during LP performance ( p < 0.001 for all comparisons). Novices had the highest sympathetic tonus indicated by the highest LF/HF ratio before ( p = 0.004) and during ( p = 0.056) LP performance. Physician stress level was not significantly related to patients' pain. However, there was a significant relationship between STAI-S during the procedure and patient confidence in the operator (regression coefficient = -0.034, p = 0.008). High physician heart rate during the procedure significantly increased the odds of PDPH (odds ratio = 1.17, p = 0.036). Novice stress levels were high before and during performance of LP. Stress was significantly related to patient confidence in the operator and risk of PDPH. Simulation-based training should be considered to reduce novice residents' stress levels and increase patient safety. © 2018 American Academy of Neurology.

  3. A safety management system for an offshore Azerbaijan Caspian Sea Project

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Brasic, M.F.; Barber, S.W.; Hill, A.S.

    1996-11-01

    This presentation will describe the Safety Management System that Azerbaijan International Operating Company (AIOC) has structured to assure that Company activities are performed in a manner that protects the public, the environment, contractors and AIOC employees. The Azerbaijan International Oil Company is a consortium of oil companies that includes Socar, the state oil company of Azerbaijan, a number of major westem oil companies, and companies from Russia, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. The Consortium was formed to develop and produce a group of large oil fields in the Caspian Sea. The Management of AIOC, in starting a new operation in Azerbaijan,more » recognized the need for a formal HSE management system to ensure that their HSE objectives for AIOC activities were met. As a consortium of different partners working together in a unique operation, no individual partner company HSE Management system was appropriate. Accordingly AIOC has utilized the E & P Forum {open_quotes}Guidelines for the Development and Application of Health Safety and Environmental Management Systems{close_quotes} as the framework document for the development of the new AIOC system. Consistent with this guideline, AIOC has developed 19 specific HSE Management System Expectations for implementing its HSE policy and objectives. The objective is to establish and continue to maintain operational integrity in all AIOC activities and site operations. An important feature is the use of structured Safety Cases for the design engineering activity. The basis for the Safety Cases is API RP 75 and 14 J for offshore facilities and API RP 750 for onshore facilities both complimented by {open_quotes}Best International Oilfield Practice{close_quotes}. When viewed overall, this approach provides a fully integrated system of HSE management from design into operation.« less

  4. Cyber Safety and Security for Reduced Crew Operations (RCO)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Driscoll, Kevin

    2017-01-01

    NASA and the Aviation Industry is looking into reduced crew operations (RCO) that would cut today's required two-person flight crews down to a single pilot with support from ground-based crews. Shared responsibility across air and ground personnel will require highly reliable and secure data communication and supporting automation, which will be safety-critical for passenger and cargo aircraft. This paper looks at the different types and degrees of authority delegation given from the air to the ground and the ramifications of each, including the safety and security hazards introduced, the mitigation mechanisms for these hazards, and other demands on an RCO system architecture which would be highly invasive into (almost) all safety-critical avionics. The adjacent fields of unmanned aerial systems and autonomous ground vehicles are viewed to find problems that RCO may face and related aviation accident scenarios are described. The paper explores possible data communication architectures to meet stringent performance and information security (INFOSEC) requirements of RCO. Subsequently, potential challenges for RCO data communication authentication, encryption and non-repudiation are identified. The approach includes a comprehensive safety-hazard analysis of the RCO system to determine top level INFOSEC requirements for RCO and proposes an option for effective RCO implementation. This paper concludes with questioning the economic viability of RCO in light of the expense of overcoming the operational safety and security hazards it would introduce.

  5. Recent Upgrades at the Safety and Tritium Applied Research Facility

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Cadwallader, Lee Charles; Merrill, Brad Johnson; Stewart, Dean Andrew

    This paper gives a brief overview of the Safety and Tritium Applied Research (STAR) facility operated by the Fusion Safety Program (FSP) at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). FSP researchers use the STAR facility to carry out experiments in tritium permeation and retention in various fusion materials, including wall armor tile materials. FSP researchers also perform other experimentation as well to support safety assessment in fusion development. This lab, in its present two-building configuration, has been in operation for over ten years. The main experiments at STAR are briefly described. This paper discusses recent work to enhance personnel safety atmore » the facility. The STAR facility is a Department of Energy less than hazard category 3 facility; the personnel safety approach calls for ventilation and tritium monitoring for radiation protection. The tritium areas of STAR have about 4 to 12 air changes per hour, with air flow being once through and then routed to the facility vent stack. Additional radiation monitoring has been installed to read the laboratory room air where experiments with tritium are conducted. These ion chambers and bubblers are used to verify that no significant tritium concentrations are present in the experiment rooms. Standby electrical power has been added to the facility exhaust blower so that proper ventilation will now operate during commercial power outages as well as the real-time tritium air monitors.« less

  6. Limited-scope probabilistic safety analysis for the Los Alamos Meson Physics Facility (LAMPF)

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Sharirli, M.; Rand, J.L.; Sasser, M.K.

    1992-01-01

    The reliability of instrumentation and safety systems is a major issue in the operation of accelerator facilities. A probabilistic safety analysis was performed or the key safety and instrumentation systems at the Los Alamos Meson Physics Facility (LAMPF). in Phase I of this unique study, the Personnel Safety System (PSS) and the Current Limiters (XLs) were analyzed through the use of the fault tree analyses, failure modes and effects analysis, and criticality analysis. Phase II of the program was done to update and reevaluate the safety systems after the Phase I recommendations were implemented. This paper provides a brief reviewmore » of the studies involved in Phases I and II of the program.« less

  7. Limited-scope probabilistic safety analysis for the Los Alamos Meson Physics Facility (LAMPF)

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Sharirli, M.; Rand, J.L.; Sasser, M.K.

    1992-12-01

    The reliability of instrumentation and safety systems is a major issue in the operation of accelerator facilities. A probabilistic safety analysis was performed or the key safety and instrumentation systems at the Los Alamos Meson Physics Facility (LAMPF). in Phase I of this unique study, the Personnel Safety System (PSS) and the Current Limiters (XLs) were analyzed through the use of the fault tree analyses, failure modes and effects analysis, and criticality analysis. Phase II of the program was done to update and reevaluate the safety systems after the Phase I recommendations were implemented. This paper provides a brief reviewmore » of the studies involved in Phases I and II of the program.« less

  8. Influence of Design Variations on Systems Performance

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Tumer, Irem Y.; Stone, Robert B.; Huff, Edward M.; Norvig, Peter (Technical Monitor)

    2000-01-01

    High-risk aerospace components have to meet very stringent quality, performance, and safety requirements. Any source of variation is a concern, as it may result in scrap or rework. poor performance, and potentially unsafe flying conditions. The sources of variation during product development, including design, manufacturing, and assembly, and during operation are shown. Sources of static and dynamic variation during development need to be detected accurately in order to prevent failure when the components are placed in operation. The Systems' Health and Safety (SHAS) research at the NASA Ames Research Center addresses the problem of detecting and evaluating the statistical variation in helicopter transmissions. In this work, we focus on the variations caused by design, manufacturing, and assembly of these components, prior to being placed in operation (DMV). In particular, we aim to understand and represent the failure and variation information, and their correlation to performance and safety and feed this information back into the development cycle at an early stage. The feedback of such critical information will assure the development of more reliable components with less rework and scrap. Variations during design and manufacturing are a common source of concern in the development and production of such components. Accounting for these variations, especially those that have the potential to affect performance, is accomplished in a variety ways, including Taguchi methods, FMEA, quality control, statistical process control, and variation risk management. In this work, we start with the assumption that any of these variations can be represented mathematically, and accounted for by using analytical tools incorporating these mathematical representations. In this paper, we concentrate on variations that are introduced during design. Variations introduced during manufacturing are investigated in parallel work.

  9. Idaho National Laboratory Integrated Safety Management System FY 2013 Effectiveness Review and Declaration Report

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Hunt, Farren

    2013-12-01

    Idaho National Laboratory (INL) performed an Annual Effectiveness Review of the Integrated Safety Management System (ISMS), per 48 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 970.5223 1, “Integration of Environment, Safety and Health into Work Planning and Execution.” The annual review assessed Integrated Safety Management (ISM) effectiveness, provided feedback to maintain system integrity, and identified target areas for focused improvements and assessments for Fiscal Year (FY) 2014. Results of the FY 2013 annual effectiveness review demonstrate that the INL’s ISMS program is “Effective” and continually improving and shows signs of being significantly strengthened. Although there have been unacceptable serious events in themore » past, there has also been significant attention, dedication, and resources focused on improvement, lessons learned and future prevention. BEA’s strategy of focusing on these improvements includes extensive action and improvement plans that include PLN 4030, “INL Sustained Operational Improvement Plan, PLN 4058, “MFC Strategic Excellence Plan,” PLN 4141, “ATR Sustained Excellence Plan,” and PLN 4145, “Radiological Control Road to Excellence,” and the development of LWP 20000, “Conduct of Research.” As a result of these action plans, coupled with other assurance activities and metrics, significant improvement in operational performance, organizational competence, management oversight and a reduction in the number of operational events is being realized. In short, the realization of the fifth core function of ISMS (feedback and continuous improvement) and the associated benefits are apparent.« less

  10. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Roussel, G.

    Leak-Before-Break (LBB) technology has not been applied in the first design of the seven Pressurized Water Reactors the Belgian utility is currently operating. The design basis of these plants required to consider the dynamic effects associated with the ruptures to be postulated in the high energy piping. The application of the LBB technology to the existing plants has been recently approved by the Belgian Safety Authorities but with a limitation to the primary coolant loop. LBB analysis has been initiated for the Doel 3 and Tihange 2 plants to allow the withdrawal of some of the reactor coolant pump snubbersmore » at both plants and not reinstall some of the restraints after steam generator replacement at Doel 3. LBB analysis was also found beneficial to demonstrate the acceptability of the primary components and piping to the new conditions resulting from power uprating and stretch-out operation. LBB analysis has been subsequently performed on the primary coolant loop of the Tihange I plant and is currently being performed for the Doel 4 plant. Application of the LBB to the primary coolant loop is based in Belgium on the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission requirements. However the Belgian Safety Authorities required some additional analyses and put some restrictions on the benefits of the LBB analysis to maintain the global safety of the plant at a sufficient level. This paper develops the main steps of the safety evaluation performed by the Belgian Safety Authorities for accepting the application of the LBB technology to existing plants and summarizes the requirements asked for in addition to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission rules.« less

  11. [Operating Room Nurses' Experiences of Securing for Patient Safety].

    PubMed

    Park, Kwang Ok; Kim, Jong Kyung; Kim, Myoung Sook

    2015-10-01

    This study was done to evaluate the experience of securing patient safety in hospital operating rooms. Experiential data were collected from 15 operating room nurses through in-depth interviews. The main question was "Could you describe your experience with patient safety in the operating room?". Qualitative data from the field and transcribed notes were analyzed using Strauss and Corbin's grounded theory methodology. The core category of experience with patient safety in the operating room was 'trying to maintain principles of patient safety during high-risk surgical procedures'. The participants used two interactional strategies: 'attempt continuous improvement', 'immersion in operation with sharing issues of patient safety'. The results indicate that the important factors for ensuring the safety of patients in the operating room are manpower, education, and a system for patient safety. Successful and safe surgery requires communication, teamwork and recognition of the importance of patient safety by the surgical team.

  12. Performance and Safety Characteristics of Lithium-molybdenum Disulfide Cells

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Stiles, J. A.

    1984-01-01

    The lithium-molybdenum disulfide system offers attractive characteristics including high rate capability, successful operation up to 75 C, a very low self-discharge rate, a good cycle life and safety characteristics which compare favorably to those of other lithium cells. Moreover, the materials and manufacturing costs for the system is effectively controlled, so the cells should ultimately be competitive with currently marketed rechargeable cells.

  13. How to develop a standard operating procedure for sorting unfixed cells.

    PubMed

    Schmid, Ingrid

    2012-07-01

    Written standard operating procedures (SOPs) are an important tool to assure that recurring tasks in a laboratory are performed in a consistent manner. When the procedure covered in the SOP involves a high-risk activity such as sorting unfixed cells using a jet-in-air sorter, safety elements are critical components of the document. The details on sort sample handling, sorter set-up, validation, operation, troubleshooting, and maintenance, personal protective equipment (PPE), and operator training, outlined in the SOP are to be based on careful risk assessment of the procedure. This review provides background information on the hazards associated with sorting of unfixed cells and the process used to arrive at the appropriate combination of facility design, instrument placement, safety equipment, and practices to be followed. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Rethinking healthcare as a safety--critical industry.

    PubMed

    Lwears, Robert

    2012-01-01

    The discipline of ergonomics, or human factors engineering, has made substantial contributions to both the development of a science of safety, and to the improvement of safety in a wide variety of hazardous industries, including nuclear power, aviation, shipping, energy extraction and refining, military operations, and finance. It is notable that healthcare, which in most advanced societies is a substantial sector of the economy (eg, 15% of US gross domestic product) and has been associated with large volumes of potentially preventable morbidity and mortality, has heretofore not been viewed as a safety-critical industry. This paper proposes that improving safety performance in healthcare must involve a re-envisioning of healthcare itself as a safety-critical industry, but one with considerable differences from most engineered safety-critical systems. This has implications both for healthcare, and for conceptions of safety-critical industries.

  15. Performance Analysis of the IEEE 802.11p Multichannel MAC Protocol in Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks

    PubMed Central

    2017-01-01

    Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANETs) employ multichannel to provide a variety of safety and non-safety applications, based on the IEEE 802.11p and IEEE 1609.4 protocols. The safety applications require timely and reliable transmissions, while the non-safety applications require efficient and high throughput. In the IEEE 1609.4 protocol, operating interval is divided into alternating Control Channel (CCH) interval and Service Channel (SCH) interval with an identical length. During the CCH interval, nodes transmit safety-related messages and control messages, and Enhanced Distributed Channel Access (EDCA) mechanism is employed to allow four Access Categories (ACs) within a station with different priorities according to their criticality for the vehicle’s safety. During the SCH interval, the non-safety massages are transmitted. An analytical model is proposed in this paper to evaluate performance, reliability and efficiency of the IEEE 802.11p and IEEE 1609.4 protocols. The proposed model improves the existing work by taking serval aspects and the character of multichannel switching into design consideration. Extensive performance evaluations based on analysis and simulation help to validate the accuracy of the proposed model and analyze the capabilities and limitations of the IEEE 802.11p and IEEE 1609.4 protocols, and enhancement suggestions are given. PMID:29231882

  16. Performance Analysis of the IEEE 802.11p Multichannel MAC Protocol in Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks.

    PubMed

    Song, Caixia

    2017-12-12

    Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANETs) employ multichannel to provide a variety of safety and non-safety applications, based on the IEEE 802.11p and IEEE 1609.4 protocols. The safety applications require timely and reliable transmissions, while the non-safety applications require efficient and high throughput. In the IEEE 1609.4 protocol, operating interval is divided into alternating Control Channel (CCH) interval and Service Channel (SCH) interval with an identical length. During the CCH interval, nodes transmit safety-related messages and control messages, and Enhanced Distributed Channel Access (EDCA) mechanism is employed to allow four Access Categories (ACs) within a station with different priorities according to their criticality for the vehicle's safety. During the SCH interval, the non-safety massages are transmitted. An analytical model is proposed in this paper to evaluate performance, reliability and efficiency of the IEEE 802.11p and IEEE 1609.4 protocols. The proposed model improves the existing work by taking serval aspects and the character of multichannel switching into design consideration. Extensive performance evaluations based on analysis and simulation help to validate the accuracy of the proposed model and analyze the capabilities and limitations of the IEEE 802.11p and IEEE 1609.4 protocols, and enhancement suggestions are given.

  17. Initial Development of a Metric to Describe the Level of Safety Associated with Piloting an Aircraft with Synthetic Vision Systems (SVS) Displays

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bartolone, Anthony P.; Glabb, Louis J.; Hughes, Monica F.; Parrish, Russell V.

    2005-01-01

    Synthetic Vision Systems (SVS) displays provide pilots with a continuous view of terrain combined with integrated guidance symbology in an effort to increase situation awareness (SA) and decrease workload during operations in Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC). It is hypothesized that SVS displays can replicate the safety and operational flexibility of flight in Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC), regardless of actual out-the-window (OTW) visibility or time of day. Significant progress has been made towards evolving SVS displays as well as demonstrating their ability to increase SA compared to conventional avionics in a variety of conditions. While a substantial amount of data has been accumulated demonstrating the capabilities of SVS displays, the ability of SVS to replicate the safety and operational flexibility of VMC flight performance in all visibility conditions is unknown to any specific degree. In order to more fully quantify the relationship of flight operations in IMC with SVS displays to conventional operations conducted in VMC, a fundamental comparison to current day general aviation (GA) flight instruments was warranted. Such a comparison could begin to establish the extent to which SVS display concepts are capable of maintaining an "equivalent level of safety" with the round dials they could one day replace, for both current and future operations. A combination of subjective and objective data measures were used to quantify the relationship between selected components of safety that are associated with flying an approach. Four information display methods ranging from a "round dials" baseline through a fully integrated SVS package that includes terrain, pathway based guidance, and a strategic navigation display, were investigated in this high fidelity simulation experiment. In addition, a broad spectrum of pilots, representative of the GA population, were employed for testing in an attempt to enable greater application of the results and determine if "equivalent levels of safety" are achievable through the incorporation of SVS technology regardless of a pilot's flight experience.

  18. Factors related to teamwork performance and stress of operating room nurses.

    PubMed

    Sonoda, Yukio; Onozuka, Daisuke; Hagihara, Akihito

    2018-01-01

    To evaluate operating room nurses' perception of teamwork performance and their level of mental stress and to identify related factors. Little is known about the factors affecting teamwork and the mental stress of surgical nurses, although the performance of the surgical team is essential for patient safety. The questionnaire survey for operation room nurses consisted of simple questions about teamwork performance and mental stress. Multivariate analyses were used to identify factors causing a sense of teamwork performance or mental stress. A large number of surgical nurses had a sense of teamwork performance, but 30-40% of operation room nurses were mentally stressed during surgery. Neither the patient nor the operation factors were related to the sense of teamwork performance in both types of nurses. Among scrub nurses, endoscopic and abdominal surgery, body mass index, blood loss and the American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status class were related to their mental stress. Conversely, circulating nurses were stressed about teamwork performance. The factors related to teamwork performance and mental stress during surgery differed between scrub and circulating nurses. Increased support for operation room nurses is necessary. The increased support leads to safer surgical procedures and better patient outcomes. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  19. An Overview of the NASA Aviation Safety Program (AVSP) Systemwide Accident Prevention (SWAP) Human Performance Modeling (HPM) Element

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Foyle, David C.; Goodman, Allen; Hooley, Becky L.

    2003-01-01

    An overview is provided of the Human Performance Modeling (HPM) element within the NASA Aviation Safety Program (AvSP). Two separate model development tracks for performance modeling of real-world aviation environments are described: the first focuses on the advancement of cognitive modeling tools for system design, while the second centers on a prescriptive engineering model of activity tracking for error detection and analysis. A progressive implementation strategy for both tracks is discussed in which increasingly more complex, safety-relevant applications are undertaken to extend the state-of-the-art, as well as to reveal potential human-system vulnerabilities in the aviation domain. Of particular interest is the ability to predict the precursors to error and to assess potential mitigation strategies associated with the operational use of future flight deck technologies.

  20. Microbiological performance of a food safety management system in a food service operation.

    PubMed

    Lahou, E; Jacxsens, L; Daelman, J; Van Landeghem, F; Uyttendaele, M

    2012-04-01

    The microbiological performance of a food safety management system in a food service operation was measured using a microbiological assessment scheme as a vertical sampling plan throughout the production process, from raw materials to final product. The assessment scheme can give insight into the microbiological contamination and the variability of a production process and pinpoint bottlenecks in the food safety management system. Three production processes were evaluated: a high-risk sandwich production process (involving raw meat preparation), a medium-risk hot meal production process (starting from undercooked raw materials), and a low-risk hot meal production process (reheating in a bag). Microbial quality parameters, hygiene indicators, and relevant pathogens (Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella, Bacillus cereus, and Escherichia coli O157) were in accordance with legal criteria and/or microbiological guidelines, suggesting that the food safety management system was effective. High levels of total aerobic bacteria (>3.9 log CFU/50 cm(2)) were noted occasionally on gloves of food handlers and on food contact surfaces, especially in high contamination areas (e.g., during handling of raw material, preparation room). Core control activities such as hand hygiene of personnel and cleaning and disinfection (especially in highly contaminated areas) were considered points of attention. The present sampling plan was used to produce an overall microbiological profile (snapshot) to validate the food safety management system in place.

  1. The relationship between safety net activities and hospital financial performance

    PubMed Central

    2010-01-01

    Background During the 1990's hospitals in the U.S were faced with cost containment charges, which may have disproportionately impacted hospitals that serve poor patients. The purposes of this paper are to study the impact of safety net activities on total profit margins and operating expenditures, and to trace these relationships over the 1990s for all U.S urban hospitals, controlling for hospital and market characteristics. Methods The primary data source used for this analysis is the Annual Survey of Hospitals from the American Hospital Association and Medicare Hospital Cost Reports for years 1990-1999. Ordinary least square, hospital fixed effects, and two-stage least square analyses were performed for years 1990-1999. Logged total profit margin and operating expenditure were the dependent variables. The safety net activities are the socioeconomic status of the population in the hospital serving area, and Medicaid intensity. In some specifications, we also included uncompensated care burden. Results We found little evidence of negative effects of safety net activities on total margin. However, hospitals serving a low socioeconomic population had lower expenditure raising concerns for the quality of the services provided. Conclusions Despite potentially negative policy and market changes during the 1990s, safety net activities do not appear to have imperiled the survival of hospitals. There may, however, be concerns about the long-term quality of the services for hospitals serving low socioeconomic population. PMID:20074367

  2. Crane cabins' interior space multivariate anthropometric modeling.

    PubMed

    Essdai, Ahmed; Spasojević Brkić, Vesna K; Golubović, Tamara; Brkić, Aleksandar; Popović, Vladimir

    2018-01-01

    Previous research has shown that today's crane cabins fail to meet the needs of a large proportion of operators. Performance and financial losses and effects on safety should not be overlooked as well. The first aim of this survey is to model the crane cabin interior space using up-to-date crane operator anthropometric data and to compare the multivariate and univariate method anthropometric models. The second aim of the paper is to define the crane cabin interior space dimensions that enable anthropometric convenience. To facilitate the cabin design, the anthropometric dimensions of 64 crane operators in the first sample and 19 more in the second sample were collected in Serbia. The multivariate anthropometric models, spanning 95% of the population on the basis of a set of 8 anthropometric dimensions, have been developed. The percentile method was also used on the same set of data. The dimensions of the interior space, necessary for the accommodation of the crane operator, are 1174×1080×1865 mm. The percentiles results for the 5th and 95th model are within the obtained dimensions. The results of this study may prove useful to crane cabin designers in eliminating anthropometric inconsistencies and improving the health of operators, but can also aid in improving the safety, performance and financial results of the companies where crane cabins operate.

  3. Improving operating room safety

    PubMed Central

    2009-01-01

    Despite the introduction of the Universal Protocol, patient safety in surgery remains a daily challenge in the operating room. This present study describes one community health system's efforts to improve operating room safety through human factors training and ultimately the development of a surgical checklist. Using a combination of formal training, local studies documenting operating room safety issues and peer to peer mentoring we were able to substantially change the culture of our operating room. Our efforts have prepared us for successfully implementing a standardized checklist to improve operating room safety throughout our entire system. Based on these findings we recommend a multimodal approach to improving operating room safety. PMID:19930577

  4. Current food safety management systems in fish-exporting companies require further improvements to adequately cope with contextual pressure: case study.

    PubMed

    Onjong, Hillary Adawo; Wangoh, John; Njage, Patrick Murigu Kamau

    2014-10-01

    Fish-processing plants still face food safety (FS) challenges worldwide despite the existence of several quality assurance standards and food safety management systems/s (FSMSs). This study assessed performance of FSMS in fish exporting sector considering pressure from the context in which they operate. A FSMS diagnostic tool with checklist was used to assess the context, FSMS, and FS output in 9 Kenyan fish exporting companies. Majority (67%) companies operated at moderate- to high-risk context but with an average performance in control and assurance activities. This situation could be insufficient to deal with ambiguity, uncertainty, and vulnerability issues in the context characteristics. Contextual risk posed by product characteristics (nature of raw materials) and chain environment characteristics was high. Risk posed by the chain environment characteristics, low power in supplier relationships, and low degree of authority in customer relationships was high. Lack of authority in relationship with suppliers would lead to high raw material risk situation. Even though cooling facilities, a key control activity, was at an advanced level, there was inadequate packaging intervention equipment which coupled with inadequate physical intervention equipment could lead to further weakened FSMS performance. For the fish companies to improve their FSMS to higher level and enhance predictability, they should base their FSMS on scientific information sources, historical results, and own experimental trials in their preventive, intervention, and monitoring systems. Specific suggestions are derived for improvements toward higher FSMS activity levels or lower risk levels in context characteristics. Weak areas in performance of control and assurance activities in export fish-processing sector already implementing current quality assurance guidelines and standards were studied taking into consideration contextual pressure wherein the companies operate. Important mitigation measures toward improved contextual risk, core assurance, and control activities irrespective of applied food safety management systems in fish industries were suggested. © 2014 Institute of Food Technologists®

  5. Assessment of human exposure doses received by activation of medical linear accelerator components

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lee, D.-Y.; Kim, J.-H.; Park, E.-T.

    2017-08-01

    This study analyzes the radiation exposure dose that an operator can receive from radioactive components during maintenance or repair of a linear accelerator. This study further aims to evaluate radiological safety. Simulations are performed on 10 MV and 15 MV photon beams, which are the most frequently used high-energy beams in clinics. The simulation analyzes components in order of activity and the human exposure dose based on the amount of neutrons received. As a result, the neutron dose, radiation dose, and human exposure dose are ranked in order of target, primary collimator, flattening filter, multi-leaf collimator, and secondary collimator, where the minimum dose is 9.34E-07 mSv/h and the maximum is 1.71E-02 mSv/h. When applying the general dose limit (radiation worker 20 mSv/year, pubic 1 mSv/year) in accordance with the Nuclear Safety Act, all components of a linear accelerator are evaluated as below the threshold value. Therefore, the results suggest that there is no serious safety issue for operators in maintaining and repairing a linear accelerator. Nevertheless, if an operator recognizes an exposure from the components of a linear accelerator during operation and considers the operating time and shielding against external exposure, exposure of the operator is expected to be minimized.

  6. A Historical Analysis of Crane Mishaps at Kennedy Space Center

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wolfe, Crystal

    2014-01-01

    Cranes and hoists are widely used in many areas. Crane accidents and handling mishaps are responsible for injuries, costly equipment damage, and program delays. Most crane accidents are caused by preventable factors. Understanding these factors is critical when designing cranes and preparing lift plans. Analysis of previous accidents provides insight into current recommendations for crane safety. Cranes and hoists are used throughout Kennedy Space Center to lift everything from machine components to critical flight hardware. Unless they are trained crane operators, most NASA employees and contractors do not need to undergo specialized crane training and may not understand the safety issues surrounding the use of cranes and hoists. A single accident with a crane or hoist can injure or kill people, cause severe equipment damage, and delay or terminate a program. Handling mishaps can also have a significant impact on the program. Simple mistakes like bouncing or jarring a load, or moving the crane down when it should go up, can damage fragile flight hardware and cause major delays in processing. Hazardous commodities (high pressure gas, hypergolic propellants, and solid rocket motors) can cause life safety concerns for the workers performing the lifting operations. Most crane accidents are preventable with the correct training and understanding of potential hazards. Designing the crane with human factors taken into account can prevent many accidents. Engineers are also responsible for preparing lift plans where understanding the safety issues can prevent or mitigate potential accidents. Cranes are widely used across many areas of KSC. Failure of these cranes often leads to injury, high damage costs, and significant delays in program objectives. Following a basic set of principles and procedures during design, fabrication, testing, regular use, and maintenance can significantly minimize many of these failures. As the accident analysis shows, load drops are often caused or influenced by human factors. Therefore, proper training and understanding of crane safety throughout the workforce is critical. It is important that the engineers designing the cranes, lift planners preparing the lift plans, operators performing the lifts, and training officers conducting the operator training all understand the problems that can happen with cranes and how to ensure the safety of the workforce and equipment being lifted.

  7. Identifying factors affecting the safety of mid-block bicycle lanes considering mixed 2-wheeled traffic flow.

    PubMed

    Bai, Lu; Chan, Ching-Yao; Liu, Pan; Xu, Chengcheng

    2017-10-03

    Electric bikes (e-bikes) have been one of the fastest growing trip modes in Southeast Asia over the past 2 decades. The increasing popularity of e-bikes raised some safety concerns regarding urban transport systems. The primary objective of this study was to identify whether and how the generalized linear regression model (GLM) could be used to relate cyclists' safety with various contributing factors when riding in a mid-block bike lane. The types of 2-wheeled vehicles in the study included bicycle-style electric bicycles (BSEBs), scooter-style electric bicycles (SSEBs), and regular bicycles (RBs). Traffic conflict technology was applied as a surrogate measure to evaluate the safety of 2-wheeled vehicles. The safety performance model was developed by adopting a generalized linear regression model for relating the frequency of rear-end conflicts between e-bikes and regular bikes to the operating speeds of BSEBs, SSEBs, and RBs in mid-block bike lanes. The frequency of rear-end conflicts between e-bikes and bikes increased with an increase in the operating speeds of e-bikes and the volume of e-bikes and bikes and decreased with an increase in the width of bike lanes. The large speed difference between e-bikes and bikes increased the frequency of rear-end conflicts between e-bikes and bikes in mid-block bike lanes. A 1% increase in the average operating speed of e-bikes would increase the expected number of rear-end conflicts between e-bikes and bikes by 1.48%. A 1% increase in the speed difference between e-bikes and bikes would increase the expected number of rear-end conflicts between e-bikes/bikes by 0.16%. The conflict frequency in mid-block bike lanes can be modeled using generalized linear regression models. The factors that significantly affected the frequency of rear-end conflicts included the operating speeds of e-bikes, the speed difference between e-bikes and regular bikes, the volume of e-bikes, the volume of bikes, and the width of bike lanes. The safety performance model can help better understand the causes of crash occurrences in mid-block bike lanes.

  8. A simulation model for determining the optimal size of emergency teams on call in the operating room at night.

    PubMed

    van Oostrum, Jeroen M; Van Houdenhoven, Mark; Vrielink, Manon M J; Klein, Jan; Hans, Erwin W; Klimek, Markus; Wullink, Gerhard; Steyerberg, Ewout W; Kazemier, Geert

    2008-11-01

    Hospitals that perform emergency surgery during the night (e.g., from 11:00 pm to 7:30 am) face decisions on optimal operating room (OR) staffing. Emergency patients need to be operated on within a predefined safety window to decrease morbidity and improve their chances of full recovery. We developed a process to determine the optimal OR team composition during the night, such that staffing costs are minimized, while providing adequate resources to start surgery within the safety interval. A discrete event simulation in combination with modeling of safety intervals was applied. Emergency surgery was allowed to be postponed safely. The model was tested using data from the main OR of Erasmus University Medical Center (Erasmus MC). Two outcome measures were calculated: violation of safety intervals and frequency with which OR and anesthesia nurses were called in from home. We used the following input data from Erasmus MC to estimate distributions of all relevant parameters in our model: arrival times of emergency patients, durations of surgical cases, length of stay in the postanesthesia care unit, and transportation times. In addition, surgeons and OR staff of Erasmus MC specified safety intervals. Reducing in-house team members from 9 to 5 increased the fraction of patients treated too late by 2.5% as compared to the baseline scenario. Substantially more OR and anesthesia nurses were called in from home when needed. The use of safety intervals benefits OR management during nights. Modeling of safety intervals substantially influences the number of emergency patients treated on time. Our case study showed that by modeling safety intervals and applying computer simulation, an OR can reduce its staff on call without jeopardizing patient safety.

  9. Vehicle automation and weather : challenges and opportunities.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2016-12-25

    Adverse weather has major impacts on the safety and operations of all roads, from signalized arterials to Interstate highways. Weather affects driver behavior, vehicle performance, pavement friction, and roadway infrastructure, thereby increasing the...

  10. 29 CFR Appendix A to Subpart M of... - Determining Roof Widths

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ..., DEPARTMENT OF LABOR (CONTINUED) SAFETY AND HEALTH REGULATIONS FOR CONSTRUCTION Fall Protection Pt. 1926... monitoring system alone as a means of providing fall protection during the performance of roofing operations...

  11. 29 CFR Appendix A to Subpart M of... - Determining Roof Widths

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ..., DEPARTMENT OF LABOR (CONTINUED) SAFETY AND HEALTH REGULATIONS FOR CONSTRUCTION Fall Protection Pt. 1926... monitoring system alone as a means of providing fall protection during the performance of roofing operations...

  12. 29 CFR Appendix A to Subpart M of... - Determining Roof Widths

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ..., DEPARTMENT OF LABOR (CONTINUED) SAFETY AND HEALTH REGULATIONS FOR CONSTRUCTION Fall Protection Pt. 1926... monitoring system alone as a means of providing fall protection during the performance of roofing operations...

  13. 29 CFR Appendix A to Subpart M of... - Determining Roof Widths

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ..., DEPARTMENT OF LABOR (CONTINUED) SAFETY AND HEALTH REGULATIONS FOR CONSTRUCTION Fall Protection Pt. 1926... monitoring system alone as a means of providing fall protection during the performance of roofing operations...

  14. 29 CFR Appendix A to Subpart M of... - Determining Roof Widths

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ..., DEPARTMENT OF LABOR (CONTINUED) SAFETY AND HEALTH REGULATIONS FOR CONSTRUCTION Fall Protection Pt. 1926... monitoring system alone as a means of providing fall protection during the performance of roofing operations...

  15. Safety analysis report for the use of hazardous production materials in photovoltaic applications at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Volume 2, Appendices

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Crandall, R.S.; Nelson, B.P.; Moskowitz, P.D.

    1992-07-01

    To ensure the continued safety of SERI`s employees, the community, and the environment, NREL commissioned an internal audit of its photovoltaic operations that used hazardous production materials (HPMS). As a result of this audit, NREL management voluntarily suspended all operations using toxic and/or pyrophoric gases. This suspension affected seven laboratories and ten individual deposition systems. These activities are located in Building 16, which has a permitted occupancy of Group B, Division 2 (B-2). NREL management decided to do the following. (1) Exclude from this SAR all operations which conformed, or could easily be made to conform, to B-2 Occupancy requirements.more » (2) Include in this SAR all operations that could be made to conform to B-2 Occupancy requirements with special administrative and engineering controls. (3) Move all operations that could not practically be made to conform to B-2 occupancy requirements to alternate locations. In addition to the layered set of administrative and engineering controls set forth in this SAR, a semiquantitative risk analysis was performed on 30 various accident scenarios. Twelve presented only routine risks, while 18 presented low risks. Considering the demonstrated safe operating history of NREL in general and these systems specifically, the nature of the risks identified, and the layered set of administrative and engineering controls, it is clear that this facility falls within the DOE Low Hazard Class. Each operation can restart only after it has passed an Operational Readiness Review, comparing it to the requirements of this SAR, while subsequent safety inspections will ensure future compliance. This document contains the appendices to the NREL safety analysis report.« less

  16. CloudSat Safety Operations at Vandenberg AFB

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Greenberg, Steve

    2006-01-01

    CloudSat safety operations at Vendenberg AFB is given. The topics include: 1) CloudSat Project Overview; 2) Vandenberg Ground Operations; 3) Delta II Launch Vehicle; 4) The A-Train; 5) System Safety Management; 6) CALIPSO Hazards Assessment; 7) CALIPSO Supplemental Safeguards; 8) Joint System Safety Operations; 9) Extended Stand-down; 10) Launch Delay Safety Concerns; and 11) Lessons Learned.

  17. A dynamical systems model for nuclear power plant risk

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hess, Stephen Michael

    The recent transition to an open access generation marketplace has forced nuclear plant operators to become much more cost conscious and focused on plant performance. Coincidentally, the regulatory perspective also is in a state of transition from a command and control framework to one that is risk-informed and performance-based. Due to these structural changes in the economics and regulatory system associated with commercial nuclear power plant operation, there is an increased need for plant management to explicitly manage nuclear safety risk. Application of probabilistic risk assessment techniques to model plant hardware has provided a significant contribution to understanding the potential initiating events and equipment failures that can lead to core damage accidents. Application of the lessons learned from these analyses has supported improved plant operation and safety over the previous decade. However, this analytical approach has not been nearly as successful in addressing the impact of plant processes and management effectiveness on the risks of plant operation. Thus, the research described in this dissertation presents a different approach to address this issue. Here we propose a dynamical model that describes the interaction of important plant processes among themselves and their overall impact on nuclear safety risk. We first provide a review of the techniques that are applied in a conventional probabilistic risk assessment of commercially operating nuclear power plants and summarize the typical results obtained. The limitations of the conventional approach and the status of research previously performed to address these limitations also are presented. Next, we present the case for the application of an alternative approach using dynamical systems theory. This includes a discussion of previous applications of dynamical models to study other important socio-economic issues. Next, we review the analytical techniques that are applicable to analysis of these models. Details of the development of the mathematical risk model are presented. This includes discussion of the processes included in the model and the identification of significant interprocess interactions. This is followed by analysis of the model that demonstrates that its dynamical evolution displays characteristics that have been observed at commercially operating plants. The model is analyzed using the previously described techniques from dynamical systems theory. From this analysis, several significant insights are obtained with respect to the effective control of nuclear safety risk. Finally, we present conclusions and recommendations for further research.

  18. C-Band Airport Surface Communications System Engineering-Initial High-Level Safety Risk Assessment and Mitigation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Zelkin, Natalie; Henriksen, Stephen

    2011-01-01

    This document is being provided as part of ITT's NASA Glenn Research Center Aerospace Communication Systems Technical Support (ACSTS) contract: "New ATM Requirements--Future Communications, C-Band and L-Band Communications Standard Development." ITT has completed a safety hazard analysis providing a preliminary safety assessment for the proposed C-band (5091- to 5150-MHz) airport surface communication system. The assessment was performed following the guidelines outlined in the Federal Aviation Administration Safety Risk Management Guidance for System Acquisitions document. The safety analysis did not identify any hazards with an unacceptable risk, though a number of hazards with a medium risk were documented. This effort represents an initial high-level safety hazard analysis and notes the triggers for risk reassessment. A detailed safety hazards analysis is recommended as a follow-on activity to assess particular components of the C-band communication system after the profile is finalized and system rollout timing is determined. A security risk assessment has been performed by NASA as a parallel activity. While safety analysis is concerned with a prevention of accidental errors and failures, the security threat analysis focuses on deliberate attacks. Both processes identify the events that affect operation of the system; and from a safety perspective the security threats may present safety risks.

  19. NASA Conjunction Assessment Organizational Approach and the Associated Determination of Screening Volume Sizes

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Newman, Lauri K.; Hejduk, Matthew D.

    2015-01-01

    NASA is committed to safety of flight for all of its operational assets Performed by CARA at NASA GSFC for robotic satellites Focus of this briefing Performed by TOPO at NASA JSC for human spaceflight he Conjunction Assessment Risk Analysis (CARA) was stood up to offer this service to all NASA robotic satellites Currently provides service to 70 operational satellites NASA unmanned operational assets Other USG assets (USGS, USAF, NOAA) International partner assets Conjunction Assessment (CA) is the process of identifying close approaches between two orbiting objects; sometimes called conjunction screening The Joint Space Operations Center (JSpOC) a USAF unit at Vandenberg AFB, maintains the high accuracy catalog of space objects, screens CARA-supported assets against the catalog, performs OD tasking, and generates close approach data.

  20. Project Operations: Flood Control Operations and Maintenance Policies

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1996-10-30

    President and an internal review performed by the Corps task group shortly after failure of the Teton Dam , we have undertaken numerous actions to modify our...practice for design, construction and operation of Corps reservoir projects. One important item as a result of the Teton Dam failure and the review...1 Glossary 1-4 1-2 CHAPTER 2 - Dam Operations Management Purpose 2-1 2-1 Policy 2-2 2-1 Emergency Plan 2-3 2-1 Dam Safety Training 2-4 2-2

  1. Interdisciplinary collaboration to maintain a culture of safety in a labor and delivery setting.

    PubMed

    Burke, Carol; Grobman, William; Miller, Deborah

    2013-01-01

    A culture of safety is a growing movement in obstetrical healthcare quality and management. Patient-centered and safe care is a primary priority for all healthcare workers, with communication and teamwork central to achieving optimal maternal health outcomes. A mandatory educational program was developed and implemented by physicians and nurses to sustain awareness and compliance to current protocols within a large university-based hospital. A didactic portion reviewing shoulder dystocia, operative vaginal delivery, obstetric hemorrhage, and fetal monitoring escalation was combined with a simulation session. The simulation was a fetal bradycardia activating the decision to perform an operative vaginal delivery complicated by a shoulder dystocia. More than 370 members of the healthcare team participated including obstetricians, midwives, the anesthesia team, and nurses. Success of the program was measured by an evaluation tool and comparing results from a prior safety questionnaire. Ninety-seven percent rated the program as excellent, and the response to a question on perception of overall grade on patient safety measured by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality safety survey demonstrated a significant improvement in the score (P = .003) following the program.

  2. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Wichman, K.; Tsao, J.; Mayfield, M.

    The regulatory application of leak before break (LBB) for operating and advanced reactors in the U.S. is described. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has approved the application of LBB for six piping systems in operating reactors: reactor coolant system primary loop piping, pressurizer surge, safety injection accumulator, residual heat removal, safety injection, and reactor coolant loop bypass. The LBB concept has also been applied in the design of advanced light water reactors. LBB applications, and regulatory considerations, for pressurized water reactors and advanced light water reactors are summarized in this paper. Technology development for LBB performed by the NRCmore » and the International Piping Integrity Research Group is also briefly summarized.« less

  3. Three dimensional computed tomography lung modeling is useful in simulation and navigation of lung cancer surgery.

    PubMed

    Ikeda, Norihiko; Yoshimura, Akinobu; Hagiwara, Masaru; Akata, Soichi; Saji, Hisashi

    2013-01-01

    The number of minimally invasive operations, such as video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) lobectomy or segmentectomy, has enormously increased in recent years. These operations require extreme knowledge of the anatomy of pulmonary vessels and bronchi in each patient, and surgeons must carefully dissect the branches of pulmonary vessels during operation. Thus, foreknowledge of the anatomy of each patient would greatly contribute to the safety and accuracy of the operation. The development of multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) has promoted three dimensional (3D) images of lung structures. It is possible to see the vascular and bronchial structures from the view of the operator; therefore, it is employed for preoperative simulation as well as navigation during operation. Due to advances in software, even small vessels can be accurately imaged, which is useful in performing segmentectomy. Surgical simulation and navigation systems based on high quality 3D lung modeling, including vascular and bronchial structures, can be used routinely to enhance the safety operation, education of junior staff, as well as providing a greater sense of security to the operators.

  4. Potential Operating Orbits for Fission Electric Propulsion Systems Driven by the SAFE-400

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Houts, Mike; Kos, Larry; Poston, David; Rodgers, Stephen L. (Technical Monitor)

    2002-01-01

    Safety must be ensured during all phases of space fission system design, development, fabrication, launch, operation, and shutdown. One potential space fission system application is fission electric propulsion (FEP), in which fission energy is converted into electricity and used to power high efficiency (Isp greater than 3000s) electric thrusters. For these types of systems it is important to determine which operational scenarios ensure safety while allowing maximum mission performance and flexibility. Space fission systems are essentially nonradioactive at launch, prior to extended operation at high power. Once high power operation begins, system radiological inventory steadily increases as fission products build up. For a given fission product isotope, the maximum radiological inventory is typically achieved once the system has operated for a length of time equivalent to several half-lives. After that time, the isotope decays at the same rate it is produced, and no further inventory builds in. For an FEP mission beginning in Earth orbit, altitude and orbital lifetime increase as the propulsion system operates. Two simultaneous effects of fission propulsion system operation are thus (1) increasing fission product inventory and (2) increasing orbital lifetime. Phrased differently, as fission products build up, more time is required for the fission products to naturally convert back into non-radioactive isotopes. Simultaneously, as fission products build up, orbital lifetime increases, providing more time for the fission products to naturally convert back into non-radioactive isotopes. Operational constraints required to ensure safety can thus be quantified.

  5. Potential operating orbits for fission electric propulsion systems driven by the SAFE-400

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Houts, Mike; Kos, Larry; Poston, David

    2002-01-01

    Safety must be ensured during all phases of space fission system design, development, fabrication, launch, operation, and shutdown. One potential space fission system application is fission electric propulsion (FEP), in which fission energy is converted into electricity and used to power high efficiency (Isp>3000s) electric thrusters. For these types of systems it is important to determine which operational scenarios ensure safety while allowing maximum mission performance and flexibility. Space fission systems are essentially non-radioactive at launch, prior to extended operation at high power. Once high power operation begins, system radiological inventory steadily increases as fission products build up. For a given fission product isotope, the maximum radiological inventory is typically achieved once the system has operated for a length of time equivalent to several half-lives. After that time, the isotope decays at the same rate it is produced, and no further inventory builds in. For an FEP mission beginning in Earth orbit, altitude and orbital lifetime increase as the propulsion system operates. Two simultaneous effects of fission propulsion system operation are thus (1) increasing fission product inventory and (2) increasing orbital lifetime. Phrased differently, as fission products build up, more time is required for the fission products to naturally convert back into non-radioactive isotopes. Simultaneously, as fission products build up, orbital lifetime increases, providing more time for the fission products to naturally convert back into non-radioactive isotopes. Operational constraints required to ensure safety can thus be quantified. .

  6. Preoperative Safety Briefing Project

    PubMed Central

    DeFontes, James; Surbida, Stephanie

    2004-01-01

    Context: Increased media attention on surgical procedures that were performed on the wrong anatomic site or wrong patient has prompted the health care industry to identify and address human factors that lead to medical errors. Objective: To increase patient safety in the perioperative setting, our objective was to create a climate of improved communication, collaboration, team-work, and situational awareness while the surgical team reviewed pertinent information about the patient and the pending procedure. Methods: A team of doctors, nurses, and technicians used human factors principles to develop the Preoperative Safety Briefing for use by surgical teams, a briefing similar to the preflight checklist used by the airline industry. A six-month pilot of the briefing began in the Kaiser Permanente (KP) Anaheim Medical Center in February 2002. Four indicators of safety culture were used to measure success of the pilot: occurrence of wrong-site/wrong procedures, attitudinal survey data, near-miss reports, and nursing personnel turnover data. Results: Wrong-site surgeries decreased from 3 to 0 (300%) per year; employee satisfaction increased 19%; nursing personnel turnover decreased 16%; and perception of the safety climate in the operating room improved from “good” to “outstanding.” Operating suite personnel perception of teamwork quality improved substantially. Operating suite personnel perception of patient safety as a priority, of personnel communication, of their taking responsibility for patient safety, of nurse input being well received, of overall morale, and of medical errors being handled appropriately also improved substantially. Conclusions: Team members who work together and communicate well can quickly detect and more easily avoid errors. The Preoperative Safety Briefing is now standard in many operating suites in the KP Orange County Service Area. The concepts and design of this project are transferable, and similar projects are underway in the Departments of Radiology and of Labor and Delivery at KP Anaheim Medical Center. PMID:26704913

  7. Exploring the use of situation awareness in behaviors and practices of health and safety leaders.

    PubMed

    Willmer, D R

    2017-01-01

    An understanding of how health and safety management systems (HSMS) reduce worksite injuries, illnesses and fatalities may be gained in studying the behaviors of health and safety leaders. These leaders bear the accountability for identifying, understanding and managing the risks of a mining operation. More importantly, they have to transfer this knowledge of perception, recognition and response to risks in the mining environment to their workers. The leaders' efforts to build and maintain a mining operation's workforce that consistently executes safe work practices may be captured through more than just lagging indicators of health and safety performance. This exploratory study interviewed six leaders in occupations such as site-level safety supervisors, mine superintendents and/or general managers at surface and underground stone, sand and gravel and metal/nonmetal mine sites throughout the United States, with employee populations ranging from 40 to 175. In exploring leaders' perspectives on how they systematically manage health and safety, examples such as approaches to task training, handling near-miss incidents, identifying future leaders and providing workers with feedback offer insights into how leaders translate their knowledge and management of site-level risks to others.

  8. Cabin fuselage structural design with engine installation and control system

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Balakrishnan, Tanapaal; Bishop, Mike; Gumus, Ilker; Gussy, Joel; Triggs, Mike

    1994-01-01

    Design requirements for the cabin, cabin system, flight controls, engine installation, and wing-fuselage interface that provide adequate interior volume for occupant seating, cabin ingress and egress, and safety are presented. The fuselage structure must be sufficient to meet the loadings specified in the appropriate sections of Federal Aviation Regulation Part 23. The critical structure must provide a safe life of 10(exp 6) load cycles and 10,000 operational mission cycles. The cabin seating and controls must provide adjustment to account for various pilot physiques and to aid in maintenance and operation of the aircraft. Seats and doors shall not bind or lockup under normal operation. Cabin systems such as heating and ventilation, electrical, lighting, intercom, and avionics must be included in the design. The control system will consist of ailerons, elevator, and rudders. The system must provide required deflections with a combination of push rods, bell cranks, pulleys, and linkages. The system will be free from slack and provide smooth operation without binding. Environmental considerations include variations in temperature and atmospheric pressure, protection against sand, dust, rain, humidity, ice, snow, salt/fog atmosphere, wind and gusts, and shock and vibration. The following design goals were set to meet the requirements of the statement of work: safety, performance, manufacturing and cost. To prevent the engine from penetrating the passenger area in the event of a crash was the primary safety concern. Weight and the fuselage aerodynamics were the primary performance concerns. Commonality and ease of manufacturing were major considerations to reduce cost.

  9. U. S. research safety vehicle (RSV) phase I program. Volume III. RSV characteristics and performance specifications. Final report, Jan 1974--Apr 1975

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Andon, J.; Dodson, E.; Khadilkar, A.

    1975-06-01

    Current passenger car usage patterns and factors influencing usage are analyzed and projections of usage patterns in the mid-1980's are made. Current available data on six categories of vehicle accidents are analyzed and projections made of national accident patterns in the mid-80's; the effect of potential reductions in these projections as a result of safety programs and other factors related to driving safety are estimated. Based on the usage and accident projections, the characteristics of an RSV (weighing under 3,000 lbs C.W.) for operation in the mid-1980 traffic environment are described. A recommended set of specifications for the RSV aremore » developed considering the potential safety payoff accruing to an increased level of safety performance, the need for energy conservation, availability of material resources, and changes in vehicle mix. (An executive summary of this report is presented in Volume I).« less

  10. Safe use of electronic health records and health information technology systems: trust but verify.

    PubMed

    Denham, Charles R; Classen, David C; Swenson, Stephen J; Henderson, Michael J; Zeltner, Thomas; Bates, David W

    2013-12-01

    We will provide a context to health information technology systems (HIT) safety hazards discussions, describe how electronic health record-computer prescriber order entry (EHR-CPOE) simulation has already identified unrecognized hazards in HIT on a national scale, helping make EHR-CPOE systems safer, and we make the case for all stakeholders to leverage proven methods and teams in HIT performance verification. A national poll of safety, quality improvement, and health-care administrative leaders identified health information technology safety as the hazard of greatest concern for 2013. Quality, HIT, and safety leaders are very concerned about technology performance risks as addressed in the Health Information Technology and Patient Safety report of the Institute of Medicine; and these are being addressed by the Office of the National Coordinator of HIT of the U.S. Dept. of Human Services in their proposed plans. We describe the evolution of postdeployment testing of HIT performance, including the results of national deployment of Texas Medical Institute of Technology's electronic health record computer prescriber order entry (TMIT EHR-CPOE) Flight Simulator verification test that is addressed in these 2 reports, and the safety hazards of concern to leaders. A global webinar for health-care leaders addressed the top patient safety hazards in the areas of leadership, practices, and technologies. A poll of 76 of the 221 organizations participating in the webinar revealed that HIT hazards were the participants' greatest concern of all 30 hazards presented. Of those polled, 89% rated HIT patient/data mismatches in EHRs and HIT systems as a 9 or 10 on a scale of 1 to 10 as a hazard of great concern. Review of a key study of postdeployment testing of the safety performance of operational EHR systems with CPOE implemented in 62 hospitals, using the TMIT EHR-CPOE simulation tool, showed that only 53% of the medication orders that could have resulted in fatalities were detected. The study also showed significant variability in the performance of specific EHR vendor systems, with the same vendor product scoring as high as a 75% detection score in one health-care organization, and the same vendor system scoring below 10% in another health-care organization. HIT safety hazards should be taken very seriously, and the need for proven, robust, and regular postdeployment performance verification measurement of EHR system operations in every health-care organization is critical to ensure that these systems are safe for every patient. The TMIT EHR-CPOE flight simulator is a well-tested and scalable tool that can be used to identify performance gaps in EHR and other HIT systems. It is critical that suppliers, providers, and purchasers of health-care partner with HIT stakeholders and leverage the existing body of work, as well as expert teams and collaborative networks to make care safer; and public-private partnerships to accelerate safety in HIT. A global collaborative is already underway incorporating a "trust but verify" philosophy.

  11. 47 CFR 90.1432 - Conditions for waiver to allow limited and temporary wideband operations in the 700 MHz public...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... temporary wideband operations in the 700 MHz public safety spectrum. 90.1432 Section 90.1432... and temporary wideband operations in the 700 MHz public safety spectrum. (a) Wideband operations in the 700 MHz Public Safety spectrum. Wideband operations are prohibited in the public safety allocation...

  12. 47 CFR 90.1432 - Conditions for waiver to allow limited and temporary wideband operations in the 700 MHz public...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... temporary wideband operations in the 700 MHz public safety spectrum. 90.1432 Section 90.1432... and temporary wideband operations in the 700 MHz public safety spectrum. (a) Wideband operations in the 700 MHz Public Safety spectrum. Wideband operations are prohibited in the public safety allocation...

  13. 47 CFR 90.1432 - Conditions for waiver to allow limited and temporary wideband operations in the 700 MHz public...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... temporary wideband operations in the 700 MHz public safety spectrum. 90.1432 Section 90.1432... and temporary wideband operations in the 700 MHz public safety spectrum. (a) Wideband operations in the 700 MHz Public Safety spectrum. Wideband operations are prohibited in the public safety allocation...

  14. Adaptive control of 5 DOF upper-limb exoskeleton robot with improved safety.

    PubMed

    Kang, Hao-Bo; Wang, Jian-Hui

    2013-11-01

    This paper studies an adaptive control strategy for a class of 5 DOF upper-limb exoskeleton robot with a special safety consideration. The safety requirement plays a critical role in the clinical treatment when assisting patients with shoulder, elbow and wrist joint movements. With the objective of assuring the tracking performance of the pre-specified operations, the proposed adaptive controller is firstly designed to be robust to the model uncertainties. To further improve the safety and fault-tolerance in the presence of unknown large parameter variances or even actuator faults, the adaptive controller is on-line updated according to the information provided by an adaptive observer without additional sensors. An output tracking performance is well achieved with a tunable error bound. The experimental example also verifies the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme. © 2013 ISA. Published by ISA. All rights reserved.

  15. Use of directional median openings on urban roadways.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2014-05-01

    Over the past decades, many states and local transportation agencies have installed directional median openings on : divided roadways to improve arterial safety and operational performance. A directional opening is normally used to : restrict crossin...

  16. Line pilot perspectives on complexity of terminal instrument flight procedures

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2017-07-25

    Instrument flight procedures (IFPs) based on RNAV and RNP offer safety enhancements along with new levels of flexibility to negotiate terrain, airspace, and environmental considerations. However, operational implementation of performance-based IFPs d...

  17. Coordination between airway facilities specialists and air traffic personnel.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2002-04-01

    Airway Facilities (AF) is responsible for providing services and conducting operations that deliver the highest possible levels of National Airspace System (NAS) safety and efficiency. To accomplish this, AF specialists perform maintenance tasks for ...

  18. Maglev System Concept Definition (SCD) System Safety Review

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1993-01-07

    As part of the National Maglev Initiative (NMI), the Federal Railroad : Administration (FRA) solicited proposals to conceptually define the technical feasibility, : performance and costs of constructing and operating Maglev systems in the United : St...

  19. Results of operation and current safety performance of nuclear facilities located in the Russian Federation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kuznetsov, V. M.; Khvostova, M. S.

    2016-12-01

    After the NPP radiation accidents in Russia and Japan, a safety statu of Russian nuclear power plants causes concern. A repeated life time extension of power unit reactor plants, designed at the dawn of the nuclear power engineering in the Soviet Union, power augmentation of the plants to 104-109%, operation of power units in a daily power mode in the range of 100-70-100%, the use of untypical for NPP remixed nuclear fuel without a careful study of the results of its application (at least after two operating periods of the research nuclear installations), the aging of operating personnel, and many other management actions of the State Corporation "Rosatom", should attract the attention of the Federal Service for Ecological, Technical and Atomic Supervision (RosTekhNadzor), but this doesn't happen. The paper considers safety issues of nuclear power plants operating in the Russian Federation. The authors collected statistical information on violations in NPP operation over the past 25 years, which shows that even after repeated relaxation over this period of time of safety regulation requirements in nuclear industry and highly expensive NPP modernization, the latter have not become more safe, and the statistics confirms this. At a lower utilization factor high-power pressure-tube reactors RBMK-1000, compared to light water reactors VVER-440 and 1000, have a greater number of violations and that after annual overhauls. A number of direct and root causes of NPP mulfunctions is still high and remains stable for decades. The paper reveals bottlenecks in ensuring nuclear and radiation safety of nuclear facilities. Main outstanding issues on the storage of spent nuclear fuel are defined. Information on emissions and discharges of radioactive substances, as well as fullness of storages of solid and liquid radioactive waste, located at the NPP sites are presented. Russian NPPs stress test results are submitted, as well as data on the coming removal from operation of NPP units is analyzed.

  20. Microprocessor tester for the treat upgrade reactor trip system

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Lenkszus, F.R.; Bucher, R.G.

    1984-01-01

    The upgrading of the Transient Reactor Test (TREAT) Facility at ANL-Idaho has been designed to provide additional experimental capabilities for the study of core disruptive accident (CDA) phenomena. In addition, a programmable Automated Reactor Control System (ARCS) will permit high-power transients up to 11,000 MW having a controlled reactor period of from 15 to 0.1 sec. These modifications to the core neutronics will improve simulation of LMFBR accident conditions. Finally, a sophisticated, multiply-redundant safety system, the Reactor Trip System (RTS), will provide safe operation for both steady state and transient production operating modes. To insure that this complex safety systemmore » is functioning properly, a Dedicated Microprocessor Tester (DMT) has been implemented to perform a thorough checkout of the RTS prior to all TREAT operations.« less

  1. Evaluating Alerting and Guidance Performance of a UAS Detect-And-Avoid System

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lee, Seung Man; Park, Chunki; Thipphavong, David P.; Isaacson, Douglas R.; Santiago, Confesor

    2016-01-01

    A key challenge to the routine, safe operation of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) is the development of detect-and-avoid (DAA) systems to aid the UAS pilot in remaining "well clear" of nearby aircraft. The goal of this study is to investigate the effect of alerting criteria and pilot response delay on the safety and performance of UAS DAA systems in the context of routine civil UAS operations in the National Airspace System (NAS). A NAS-wide fast-time simulation study was conducted to assess UAS DAA system performance with a large number of encounters and a broad set of DAA alerting and guidance system parameters. Three attributes of the DAA system were controlled as independent variables in the study to conduct trade-off analyses: UAS trajectory prediction method (dead-reckoning vs. intent-based), alerting time threshold (related to predicted time to LoWC), and alerting distance threshold (related to predicted Horizontal Miss Distance, or HMD). A set of metrics, such as the percentage of true positive, false positive, and missed alerts, based on signal detection theory and analysis methods utilizing the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves were proposed to evaluate the safety and performance of DAA alerting and guidance systems and aid development of DAA system performance standards. The effect of pilot response delay on the performance of DAA systems was evaluated using a DAA alerting and guidance model and a pilot model developed to support this study. A total of 18 fast-time simulations were conducted with nine different DAA alerting threshold settings and two different trajectory prediction methods, using recorded radar traffic from current Visual Flight Rules (VFR) operations, and supplemented with DAA-equipped UAS traffic based on mission profiles modeling future UAS operations. Results indicate DAA alerting distance threshold has a greater effect on DAA system performance than DAA alerting time threshold or ownship trajectory prediction method. Further analysis on the alert lead time (time in advance of predicted loss of well clear at which a DAA alert is first issued) indicated a strong positive correlation between alert lead time and DAA system performance (i.e. the ability of the UAS pilot to maneuver the unmanned aircraft to remain well clear). While bigger distance thresholds had beneficial effects on alert lead time and missed alert rate, it also generated a higher rate of false alerts. In the design and development of DAA alerting and guidance systems, therefore, the positive and negative effects of false alerts and missed alerts should be carefully considered to achieve acceptable alerting system performance by balancing false and missed alerts. The results and methodology presented in this study are expected to help stakeholders, policymakers and standards committees define the appropriate setting of DAA system parameter thresholds for UAS that ensure safety while minimizing operational impacts to the NAS and equipage requirements for its users before DAA operational performance standards can be finalized.

  2. Identification of High Performance, Low Environmental Impact Materials and Processes Using Systematic Substitution (SyS)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Dhooge, P. M.; Nimitz, J. S.

    2001-01-01

    Process analysis can identify opportunities for efficiency improvement including cost reduction, increased safety, improved quality, and decreased environmental impact. A thorough, systematic approach to materials and process selection is valuable in any analysis. New operations and facilities design offer the best opportunities for proactive cost reduction and environmental improvement, but existing operations and facilities can also benefit greatly. Materials and processes that have been used for many years may be sources of excessive resource use, waste generation, pollution, and cost burden that should be replaced. Operational and purchasing personnel may not recognize some materials and processes as problems. Reasons for materials or process replacement may include quality and efficiency improvements, excessive resource use and waste generation, materials and operational costs, safety (flammability or toxicity), pollution prevention, compatibility with new processes or materials, and new or anticipated regulations.

  3. A rough set-based measurement model study on high-speed railway safety operation.

    PubMed

    Hu, Qizhou; Tan, Minjia; Lu, Huapu; Zhu, Yun

    2018-01-01

    Aiming to solve the safety problems of high-speed railway operation and management, one new method is urgently needed to construct on the basis of the rough set theory and the uncertainty measurement theory. The method should carefully consider every factor of high-speed railway operation that realizes the measurement indexes of its safety operation. After analyzing the factors that influence high-speed railway safety operation in detail, a rough measurement model is finally constructed to describe the operation process. Based on the above considerations, this paper redistricts the safety influence factors of high-speed railway operation as 16 measurement indexes which include staff index, vehicle index, equipment index and environment. And the paper also provides another reasonable and effective theoretical method to solve the safety problems of multiple attribute measurement in high-speed railway operation. As while as analyzing the operation data of 10 pivotal railway lines in China, this paper respectively uses the rough set-based measurement model and value function model (one model for calculating the safety value) for calculating the operation safety value. The calculation result shows that the curve of safety value with the proposed method has smaller error and greater stability than the value function method's, which verifies the feasibility and effectiveness.

  4. Ares I-X Range Safety Flight Envelope Analysis

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Starr, Brett R.; Olds, Aaron D.; Craig, Anthony S.

    2011-01-01

    Ares I-X was the first test flight of NASA's Constellation Program's Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle designed to provide manned access to low Earth orbit. As a one-time test flight, the Air Force's 45th Space Wing required a series of Range Safety analysis data products to be developed for the specified launch date and mission trajectory prior to granting flight approval on the Eastern Range. The range safety data package is required to ensure that the public, launch area, and launch complex personnel and resources are provided with an acceptable level of safety and that all aspects of prelaunch and launch operations adhere to applicable public laws. The analysis data products, defined in the Air Force Space Command Manual 91-710, Volume 2, consisted of a nominal trajectory, three sigma trajectory envelopes, stage impact footprints, acoustic intensity contours, trajectory turn angles resulting from potential vehicle malfunctions (including flight software failures), characterization of potential debris, and debris impact footprints. These data products were developed under the auspices of the Constellation's Program Launch Constellation Range Safety Panel and its Range Safety Trajectory Working Group with the intent of beginning the framework for the operational vehicle data products and providing programmatic review and oversight. A multi-center NASA team in conjunction with the 45th Space Wing, collaborated within the Trajectory Working Group forum to define the data product development processes, performed the analyses necessary to generate the data products, and performed independent verification and validation of the data products. This paper outlines the Range Safety data requirements and provides an overview of the processes established to develop both the data products and the individual analyses used to develop the data products, and it summarizes the results of the analyses required for the Ares I-X launch.

  5. Ares I-X Range Safety Analyses Overview

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Starr, Brett R.; Gowan, John W., Jr.; Thompson, Brian G.; Tarpley, Ashley W.

    2011-01-01

    Ares I-X was the first test flight of NASA's Constellation Program's Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle designed to provide manned access to low Earth orbit. As a one-time test flight, the Air Force's 45th Space Wing required a series of Range Safety analysis data products to be developed for the specified launch date and mission trajectory prior to granting flight approval on the Eastern Range. The range safety data package is required to ensure that the public, launch area, and launch complex personnel and resources are provided with an acceptable level of safety and that all aspects of prelaunch and launch operations adhere to applicable public laws. The analysis data products, defined in the Air Force Space Command Manual 91-710, Volume 2, consisted of a nominal trajectory, three sigma trajectory envelopes, stage impact footprints, acoustic intensity contours, trajectory turn angles resulting from potential vehicle malfunctions (including flight software failures), characterization of potential debris, and debris impact footprints. These data products were developed under the auspices of the Constellation's Program Launch Constellation Range Safety Panel and its Range Safety Trajectory Working Group with the intent of beginning the framework for the operational vehicle data products and providing programmatic review and oversight. A multi-center NASA team in conjunction with the 45th Space Wing, collaborated within the Trajectory Working Group forum to define the data product development processes, performed the analyses necessary to generate the data products, and performed independent verification and validation of the data products. This paper outlines the Range Safety data requirements and provides an overview of the processes established to develop both the data products and the individual analyses used to develop the data products, and it summarizes the results of the analyses required for the Ares I-X launch.

  6. 78 FR 69929 - Fifty-Ninth Meeting: RTCA Special Committee 186, Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B)

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-11-21

    .... December 13 Chairman's Introductory Remarks Working Group Reports Review of Meeting Agenda Review/Approval... Services (SBS) Program--Status. EUROCAE WG-51 Report Review/Approval--New Document--Safety, Performance and.../SC186-326. Review/Approval--Revised DO-317A--Minimum Operational Performance Standards (MOPS) for...

  7. The Effects of Training, Feedback, and Participant Involvement in Behavioral Safety Observations on Office Ergonomic Behavior

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sasson, Joseph R.; Austin, John

    2005-01-01

    Eleven computer terminal operators participated in an experiment that assessed effects of several interventions aimed at increasing safe ergonomic performance. All participants received ergonomics training and performance feedback while six of them collected observations of safe behavior among the remaining five participants. Effects of…

  8. Booster Main Engine Selection Criteria for the Liquid Fly-Back Booster

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ryan, Richard M.; Rothschild, William J.; Christensen, David L.

    1998-01-01

    The Liquid Fly-Back Booster (LFBB) Program seeks to enhance the Space Shuttle system safety, performance and economy of operations through the use of an advanced, liquid propellant Booster Main Engine (BME). There are several viable BME candidates that could be suitable for this application. The objective of this study was to identify the key Criteria to be applied in selecting among these BME candidates. This study involved an assessment of influences on the overall LFBB utility due to variations in the candidate rocket-engines characteristics. This includes BME impacts on vehicle system weight, performance, design approaches, abort modes, margins of safety, engine-out operations, and maintenance and support concepts. Systems engineering analyses and trade studies were performed to identify the LFBB system level sensitivities to a wide variety of BME related parameters. This presentation summarizes these trade studies and the resulting findings of the LFBB design teams regarding the BME characteristics that most significantly affect the LFBB system. The resulting BME choice should offer the best combination of reliability, performance, reusability, robustness, cost, and risk for the LFBB program.

  9. [Efficacy, safety and comfort of compression therapy models in the immediate post-operative period after a greater saphenectomy. A prospective randomised study].

    PubMed

    Collazo Chao, Eliseo; Luque, María Antonia; González-Ripoll, Carmen

    2010-10-01

    There is still controversy on the best compression therapy after performing a greater saphenectomy. The purpose of this study is to establish whether the use of a controlled compression stocking has the same level of safety and efficacy as a compression bandage in the immediate post-operative period after a greater saphenectomy. A prospective, randomised, open-labelled study, comparing three groups: a) a conventional compression bandage for one week, b) a conventional compression bandage replaced by a controlled tubular compression stocking at 5h of its putting in place, c) immediate direct use of the controlled tubular compression stocking, was conducted on fifty-five consecutive outpatients with a greater saphenectomy in one of their legs, and who fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The working hypothesis was that the controlled tubular compression stocking could replace, in terms of efficacy, safety and comfort, the usual controlled compression in the immediate post-operative period after saphenous vein stripping. The analysis variables were pain, control of bleeding, analgesics in the post-operative period, bruising, incapacity during the first week after the operation and comfort level. There were no statistically significant differences found between the three types of compressions studied as regards, safety, efficacy, comfort level, pain and analgesic consumption, but there was as regards the level of convenience in favour of the use of the stocking. The controlled tubular compression stocking can replace the compression bandage with more advantages after greater saphenous vein stripping in outpatients, having the same safety and efficacy. Copyright © 2009 AEC. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  10. Software Design Improvements. Part 2; Software Quality and the Design and Inspection Process

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lalli, Vincent R.; Packard, Michael H.; Ziemianski, Tom

    1997-01-01

    The application of assurance engineering techniques improves the duration of failure-free performance of software. The totality of features and characteristics of a software product are what determine its ability to satisfy customer needs. Software in safety-critical systems is very important to NASA. We follow the System Safety Working Groups definition for system safety software as: 'The optimization of system safety in the design, development, use and maintenance of software and its integration with safety-critical systems in an operational environment. 'If it is not safe, say so' has become our motto. This paper goes over methods that have been used by NASA to make software design improvements by focusing on software quality and the design and inspection process.

  11. A performance improvement case study in aircraft maintenance and its implications for hazard identification.

    PubMed

    Ward, Marie; McDonald, Nick; Morrison, Rabea; Gaynor, Des; Nugent, Tony

    2010-02-01

    Aircraft maintenance is a highly regulated, safety critical, complex and competitive industry. There is a need to develop innovative solutions to address process efficiency without compromising safety and quality. This paper presents the case that in order to improve a highly complex system such as aircraft maintenance, it is necessary to develop a comprehensive and ecologically valid model of the operational system, which represents not just what is meant to happen, but what normally happens. This model then provides the backdrop against which to change or improve the system. A performance report, the Blocker Report, specific to aircraft maintenance and related to the model was developed gathering data on anything that 'blocks' task or check performance. A Blocker Resolution Process was designed to resolve blockers and improve the current check system. Significant results were obtained for the company in the first trial and implications for safety management systems and hazard identification are discussed. Statement of Relevance: Aircraft maintenance is a safety critical, complex, competitive industry with a need to develop innovative solutions to address process and safety efficiency. This research addresses this through the development of a comprehensive and ecologically valid model of the system linked with a performance reporting and resolution system.

  12. Advanced Outage and Control Center: Strategies for Nuclear Plant Outage Work Status Capabilities

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Gregory Weatherby

    The research effort is a part of the Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) Program. LWRS is a research and development program sponsored by the Department of Energy, performed in close collaboration with industry to provide the technical foundations for licensing and managing the long-term, safe and economical operation of current nuclear power plants. The LWRS Program serves to help the US nuclear industry adopt new technologies and engineering solutions that facilitate the continued safe operation of the plants and extension of the current operating licenses. The Outage Control Center (OCC) Pilot Project was directed at carrying out the applied researchmore » for development and pilot of technology designed to enhance safe outage and maintenance operations, improve human performance and reliability, increase overall operational efficiency, and improve plant status control. Plant outage management is a high priority concern for the nuclear industry from cost and safety perspectives. Unfortunately, many of the underlying technologies supporting outage control are the same as those used in the 1980’s. They depend heavily upon large teams of staff, multiple work and coordination locations, and manual administrative actions that require large amounts of paper. Previous work in human reliability analysis suggests that many repetitive tasks, including paper work tasks, may have a failure rate of 1.0E-3 or higher (Gertman, 1996). With between 10,000 and 45,000 subtasks being performed during an outage (Gomes, 1996), the opportunity for human error of some consequence is a realistic concern. Although a number of factors exist that can make these errors recoverable, reducing and effectively coordinating the sheer number of tasks to be performed, particularly those that are error prone, has the potential to enhance outage efficiency and safety. Additionally, outage management requires precise coordination of work groups that do not always share similar objectives. Outage managers are concerned with schedule and cost, union workers are concerned with performing work that is commensurate with their trade, and support functions (safety, quality assurance, and radiological controls, etc.) are concerned with performing the work within the plants controls and procedures. Approaches to outage management should be designed to increase the active participation of work groups and managers in making decisions that closed the gap between competing objectives and the potential for error and process inefficiency.« less

  13. Supervision by a technically qualified surgeon affects the proficiency and safety of laparoscopic colectomy performed by novice surgeons.

    PubMed

    Ichikawa, Nobuki; Homma, Shigenori; Yoshida, Tadashi; Ohno, Yosuke; Kawamura, Hideki; Kamiizumi, You; Iijima, Hiroaki; Taketomi, Akinobu

    2018-01-01

    The use of laparoscopic colectomy is becoming widespread and acquisition of its technique is challenging. In this study, we investigated whether supervision by a technically qualified surgeon affects the proficiency and safety of laparoscopic colectomy performed by novice surgeons. The outcomes of 23 right colectomies and 19 high anterior resections for colon cancers performed by five novice surgeons (experience level of <10 cases) between 2014 and 2016 were assessed. A laparoscopic surgeon qualified by the Endoscopic Surgical Skill Qualification System (Japan Society for Endoscopic Surgery) participated in surgeries as the teaching assistant. In the right colectomy group, one patient (4.3%) required conversion to open surgery and postoperative morbidities occurred in two cases (8.6%). The operative time moving average gradually decreased from 216 to 150 min, and the blood loss decreased from 128 to 28 mL. In the CUSUM charts, the values for operative time decreased continuously after the 18th case, as compared to the Japanese standard. The values for blood loss also plateaued after the 18th case. In the high anterior resection group, one patient (5.2%) required conversion to open surgery and no postoperative complication occurred in any patient. The operative time moving average gradually decreased from 258 to 228 min, and the blood loss decreased from 33 to 18 mL. The CUSUM charts showed that the values of operative time plateaued after the 18th case, as compared to the Japanese standard. In the CUSUM chart for blood loss, no distinguishing peak or trend was noted. Supervision by a technically qualified surgeon affects the proficiency and safety of laparoscopic colectomy performed by novice surgeons. The trainee's learning curve in this study represents successful mentoring by the laparoscopic surgeon qualified by the Endoscopic Surgical Skill Qualification System.

  14. Impact of federal compliance reviews of trucking companies in reducing highway truck crashes.

    PubMed

    Chen, Guang Xiang

    2008-01-01

    The compliance review (CR) is a federal program monitoring motor carrier safety performance and regulatory compliance. This study sought to assess the impact of CRs on reviewed trucking companies in reducing truck crashes. Data was from the Motor Carrier Management Information System. Study subjects were trucking companies established during 1990-1995, had at least one truck, and remained active until April 2004. Truck crash data of these companies was examined from 1996 to 2003. The crash rates in 2003 and annual percentage changes in number of crashes were computed. Analyses were stratified by company size, organization, operation classification, and safety rating. Companies that received CRs had a higher crash rate than never-reviewed companies. Reviewed companies experienced a 39-15% reduction in number of crashes in the year the CR was performed. The reduction in crashes was observed in all reviewed companies regardless of company size, operation classification, type of organization, or safety rating. The reduction in crashes was sustained for at least 7 years after CRs. The study results were controlled for the year in which CRs were performed, crash trend, and CR selection bias. However, further studies, especially a randomized prospective longitudinal study, are needed to overcome the limitations that are associated with an observation study.

  15. Safety and reliability analysis in a polyvinyl chloride batch process using dynamic simulator-case study: Loss of containment incident.

    PubMed

    Rizal, Datu; Tani, Shinichi; Nishiyama, Kimitoshi; Suzuki, Kazuhiko

    2006-10-11

    In this paper, a novel methodology in batch plant safety and reliability analysis is proposed using a dynamic simulator. A batch process involving several safety objects (e.g. sensors, controller, valves, etc.) is activated during the operational stage. The performance of the safety objects is evaluated by the dynamic simulation and a fault propagation model is generated. By using the fault propagation model, an improved fault tree analysis (FTA) method using switching signal mode (SSM) is developed for estimating the probability of failures. The timely dependent failures can be considered as unavailability of safety objects that can cause the accidents in a plant. Finally, the rank of safety object is formulated as performance index (PI) and can be estimated using the importance measures. PI shows the prioritization of safety objects that should be investigated for safety improvement program in the plants. The output of this method can be used for optimal policy in safety object improvement and maintenance. The dynamic simulator was constructed using Visual Modeler (VM, the plant simulator, developed by Omega Simulation Corp., Japan). A case study is focused on the loss of containment (LOC) incident at polyvinyl chloride (PVC) batch process which is consumed the hazardous material, vinyl chloride monomer (VCM).

  16. Space safety and rescue 1984-1985

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Heath, G. W.

    The present conference on spacecraft crew safety and rescue technologies and operations considers safety aspects of Space Shuttle ground processing, the Inmarsat and COSPAS/SARSAT emergency location satellite systems, emergency location and rescue communications using Geosat, the use of the Manned Maneuvering Unit for on-orbit rescue operations, NASA Space Station safety design and operational considerations, and the medico-legal implications of space station operation. Also discussed are the operational and environmental aspects of EPIRBS, mobile satellites for safety and disaster response, Inmarsat's role in the Future Global Maritime Distress and Safety System, and test results of the L-band satellite's EPIRB system.

  17. The NASA Ames Fatigue Countermeasures Program: The Next Generation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rosekind, Mark R.; Neri, David F.; Miller, Donna L.; Gregory, Kevin B.; Webbon, Lissa L.; Oyung, Ray L.

    1997-01-01

    Twenty-four hour, global aviation operations pose unique challenges to humans. Physiological requirements related to sleep, the internal circadian clock, and human fatigue are critical factors that are known to affect safety, performance, and productivity. Understanding the human operators' physiological capabilities, and limitations, will be important to address these issues as global demand for aviation activities continues to increase. In 1980, in response to a Congressional request, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Ames Research Center initiated a Fatigue/Jet Lag Program to examine the role of fatigue in flight operations. Originally established by Dr. John K. Lauber and Dr. Charles E. Billings, the Program was designed to address three objectives: (1) determine the extent of fatigue, sleep loss, and circadian disruption in flight operations; (2) determine how fatigue affected flight crew performance; and (3) develop strategies to maximize performance and alertness during flight operations.

  18. Environmental Performance Report 2015

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    The National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL's) Environmental Performance Report provides a description of the laboratory's environmental management activities for 2015, including information on environmental and sustainability performance, environmental compliance activities and status, and environmental protection programs, highlights, and successes. The purpose of this report is to ensure that U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the public receive timely, accurate information about events that have affected or could adversely affect the health, safety, and security of the public or workers; the environment; or the operations of DOE facilities. This report meets the requirements of the Annual Site Environmental Report and ismore » prepared in accordance with the DOE Order 231.1B, Environment, Safety and Health Reporting.« less

  19. Environmental Performance Report 2016

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Braus, Genevieve

    The National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL's) Environmental Performance Report provides a description of the laboratory's environmental management activities for 2016, including information on environmental and sustainability performance, environmental compliance activities and status, and environmental protection programs, highlights, and successes. The purpose of this report is to ensure that U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the public receive timely, accurate information about events that have affected or could adversely affect the health, safety, and security of the public or workers; the environment; or the operations of DOE facilities. This report meets the requirements of the Annual Site Environmental Report and ismore » prepared in accordance with the DOE Order 231.1B, Environment, Safety and Health Reporting.« less

  20. 14 CFR 417.311 - Flight safety crew roles and qualifications.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... crew roles and qualifications. (a) A flight safety crew must operate the flight safety system hardware... the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to operate the flight safety system hardware in accordance... rules. (3) An individual who operates flight safety support systems must have knowledge of and be...

  1. 14 CFR 417.311 - Flight safety crew roles and qualifications.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... crew roles and qualifications. (a) A flight safety crew must operate the flight safety system hardware... the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to operate the flight safety system hardware in accordance... rules. (3) An individual who operates flight safety support systems must have knowledge of and be...

  2. 14 CFR 417.311 - Flight safety crew roles and qualifications.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... crew roles and qualifications. (a) A flight safety crew must operate the flight safety system hardware... the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to operate the flight safety system hardware in accordance... rules. (3) An individual who operates flight safety support systems must have knowledge of and be...

  3. Nuclear Powerplant Safety: Operations.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Department of Energy, Washington, DC. Nuclear Energy Office.

    Powerplant systems and procedures that ensure the day-to-day health and safety of people in and around the plant is referred to as operational safety. This safety is the result of careful planning, good engineering and design, strict licensing and regulation, and environmental monitoring. Procedures that assure operational safety at nuclear…

  4. Evaluating performance of a Lead Road Safety Agency (LRSA) in a low-income country: a case study from Pakistan.

    PubMed

    Bhatti, Junaid A; Ahmed, Aizaz

    2014-01-01

    The World Health Organization recommends identifying a Lead Road Safety Agency (LRSA) within the government to coordinate preventive interventions. As LRSAs in developing countries have rarely been evaluated, this case study describes the performance of the LRSA of Pakistan with respect to the World Bank criteria. The designated LRSA, the National Road Safety Secretariat, was put into operation in 2006 and worked for about two years with World Bank funding. The agency had a stand-alone structure headed by an experienced road safety specialist during the first year only and faced difficulty in recruiting other required experts. The LRSA drafted the first National Road Safety Plan, including strategic review of road safety and existing legislation, articulated multisectorial collaboration nationally and provincially, and collected traffic injury data in some districts. Its progress was halted by its dissolution because of funding problems. Currently, two agencies specialising in traffic enforcement and transport research respectively are fulfilling LRSA functions on an ad-hoc basis. Results suggest that sustainability and consistency of LRSAs in developing countries like Pakistan may only be ensured if they are legally protected, inter-ministerial, have permanent funding and are provided with the required expertise through international cooperation, so they can perform their required functions effectively.

  5. Piloted Well Clear Performance Evaluation of Detect and Avoid Systems with Suggestive Guidance

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mueller, Eric; Santiago, Confesor; Watza, Spencer

    2016-01-01

    Regulations to establish operational and performance requirements for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) are being developed by a consortium of government, industry and academic institutions (RTCA, 2013). Those requirements will apply to the new detect-and-avoid (DAA) systems and other equipment necessary to integrate UAS with the United States (U.S) National Airspace System (NAS) and will be determined according to their contribution to the overall safety case. That safety case requires demonstration that DAA-equipped UAS collectively operating in the NAS meet an airspace safety threshold (AST). Several key gaps must be closed in order to link equipment requirements to an airspace safety case. Foremost among these is calculation of the systems risk ratio, the degree to which a particular system mitigates violation of an aircraft separation standard (FAA, 2013). The risk ratio of a DAA system, in combination with risk ratios of other collision mitigation mechanisms, will determine the overall safety of the airspace measured in terms of the number of collisions per flight hour. It is not known what the effectiveness is of a pilot-in-the-loop DAA system or even what parameters of the DAA system most improve the pilots ability to maintain separation. The relationship between the DAA system design and the overall effectiveness of the DAA system that includes the pilot, expressed as a risk ratio, must be determined before DAA operational and performance requirements can be finalized. Much research has been devoted to integrating UAS into non-segregated airspace (Dalamagkidis, 2009, Ostwald, 2007, Gillian, 2012, Hesselink, 2011, Santiago, 2015, Rorie 2015 and 2016). Several traffic displays intended for use as part of a DAA system have gone through human-in-the-loop simulation and flight-testing. Most of these evaluations were part of development programs to produce a deployable system, so it is unclear how to generalize particular aspects of those designs to general requirements for future traffic displays (Calhoun, 2014). Other displays have undergone testing to collect data that may generalize to new displays, but have not been evaluated in the context of the development of an overall safety case for UAS equipped with DAA systems in the NAS (Bell, 2012). Other research efforts focus on DAA surveillance performance and separation standards. Together with this work, they are expected to facilitate validation of the airspace safety case (Park, 2014 and Johnson, 2015). The contribution of the present work is to quantify the effectiveness of the pilot-automation system to remain well clear as a function of display features and surveillance sensor error. This quantification will help enable selection of a minimum set of DAA design features that meets the AST, a set that may not be unique for all UAS platforms. A second objective is to collect and analyze pilot performance parameters that will improve the modeling of overall DAA system performance in non-human-in-the-loop simulations. Simulating the DAA-equipped UAS in such batch experiments will allow investigation of a much larger number of encounters than is possible in human simulations. This capability is necessary to demonstrate that a particular set of DAA requirements meets the AST under all foreseeable operational conditions.

  6. Improving rural emergency medical services (EMS) through transportation system enhancements.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2014-05-01

    Improved emergency medical services (EMS) will impact traffic safety and public health in rural : communities. Better planned, designed, and operated roadway networks that connect hospitals with : communities in need will enhance EMS performance. To ...

  7. Line pilot perspectives on complexity of terminal instrument flight procedures

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2016-09-01

    Many new Performance Based Navigation (PBN) Instrument Flight Procedures (IFPs) are being developed as the United States transforms its airspace to improve safety and efficiency. Despite significant efforts to prepare for operational implementation o...

  8. Demonstration project -- a solar-powered traffic counter.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1982-01-01

    Solar electric systems have some applications in the maintenance and operation of highway facilities. This report describes a project, performed by the Council in cooperation with the Traffic and Safety Division for the purpose of demonstrating the u...

  9. 78 FR 54510 - New Entrant Safety Assurance Program Operational Test

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-09-04

    ...-0298] New Entrant Safety Assurance Program Operational Test AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety...) announces an operational test of procedural changes to the New Entrant Safety Assurance Program. The operational test began in July 2013 and will be in effect for up to 12 months. It is applicable to new entrant...

  10. Capturing Safety Requirements to Enable Effective Task Allocation Between Humans and Automaton in Increasingly Autonomous Systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Neogi, Natasha A.

    2016-01-01

    There is a current drive towards enabling the deployment of increasingly autonomous systems in the National Airspace System (NAS). However, shifting the traditional roles and responsibilities between humans and automation for safety critical tasks must be managed carefully, otherwise the current emergent safety properties of the NAS may be disrupted. In this paper, a verification activity to assess the emergent safety properties of a clearly defined, safety critical, operational scenario that possesses tasks that can be fluidly allocated between human and automated agents is conducted. Task allocation role sets were proposed for a human-automation team performing a contingency maneuver in a reduced crew context. A safety critical contingency procedure (engine out on takeoff) was modeled in the Soar cognitive architecture, then translated into the Hybrid Input Output formalism. Verification activities were then performed to determine whether or not the safety properties held over the increasingly autonomous system. The verification activities lead to the development of several key insights regarding the implicit assumptions on agent capability. It subsequently illustrated the usefulness of task annotations associated with specialized requirements (e.g., communication, timing etc.), and demonstrated the feasibility of this approach.

  11. Systems cost/performance analysis (study 2.3). Volume 2: Systems cost/performance model. [unmanned automated payload programs and program planning

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Campbell, B. H.

    1974-01-01

    A methodology which was developed for balanced designing of spacecraft subsystems and interrelates cost, performance, safety, and schedule considerations was refined. The methodology consists of a two-step process: the first step is one of selecting all hardware designs which satisfy the given performance and safety requirements, the second step is one of estimating the cost and schedule required to design, build, and operate each spacecraft design. Using this methodology to develop a systems cost/performance model allows the user of such a model to establish specific designs and the related costs and schedule. The user is able to determine the sensitivity of design, costs, and schedules to changes in requirements. The resulting systems cost performance model is described and implemented as a digital computer program.

  12. Intelligent Life-Extending Controls for Aircraft Engines

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Guo, Ten-Huei; Chen, Philip; Jaw, Link

    2005-01-01

    Aircraft engine controllers are designed and operated to provide desired performance and stability margins. The purpose of life-extending-control (LEC) is to study the relationship between control action and engine component life usage, and to design an intelligent control algorithm to provide proper trade-offs between performance and engine life usage. The benefit of this approach is that it is expected to maintain safety while minimizing the overall operating costs. With the advances of computer technology, engine operation models, and damage physics, it is necessary to reevaluate the control strategy fro overall operating cost consideration. This paper uses the thermo-mechanical fatigue (TMF) of a critical component to demonstrate how an intelligent engine control algorithm can drastically reduce the engine life usage with minimum sacrifice in performance. A Monte Carlo simulation is also performed to evaluate the likely engine damage accumulation under various operating conditions. The simulation results show that an optimized acceleration schedule can provide a significant life saving in selected engine components.

  13. Resilient Propulsion Control Research for the NASA Integrated Resilient Aircraft Control (IRAC) Project

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Guo, Ten-Huei; Litt, Jonathan S.

    2007-01-01

    Gas turbine engines are designed to provide sufficient safety margins to guarantee robust operation with an exceptionally long life. However, engine performance requirements may be drastically altered during abnormal flight conditions or emergency maneuvers. In some situations, the conservative design of the engine control system may not be in the best interest of overall aircraft safety; it may be advantageous to "sacrifice" the engine to "save" the aircraft. Motivated by this opportunity, the NASA Aviation Safety Program is conducting resilient propulsion research aimed at developing adaptive engine control methodologies to operate the engine beyond the normal domain for emergency operations to maximize the possibility of safely landing the damaged aircraft. Previous research studies and field incident reports show that the propulsion system can be an effective tool to help control and eventually land a damaged aircraft. Building upon the flight-proven Propulsion Controlled Aircraft (PCA) experience, this area of research will focus on how engine control systems can improve aircraft safe-landing probabilities under adverse conditions. This paper describes the proposed research topics in Engine System Requirements, Engine Modeling and Simulation, Engine Enhancement Research, Operational Risk Analysis and Modeling, and Integrated Flight and Propulsion Controller Designs that support the overall goal.

  14. Concept analysis of safety climate in healthcare providers.

    PubMed

    Lin, Ying-Siou; Lin, Yen-Chun; Lou, Meei-Fang

    2017-06-01

    To report an analysis of the concept of safety climate in healthcare providers. Compliance with safe work practices is essential to patient safety and care outcomes. Analysing the concept of safety climate from the perspective of healthcare providers could improve understanding of the correlations between safety climate and healthcare provider compliance with safe work practices, thus enhancing quality of patient care. Concept analysis. The electronic databases of CINAHL, MEDLINE, PubMed and Web of Science were searched for literature published between 1995-2015. Searches used the keywords 'safety climate' or 'safety culture' with 'hospital' or 'healthcare'. The concept analysis method of Walker and Avant analysed safety climate from the perspective of healthcare providers. Three attributes defined how healthcare providers define safety climate: (1) creation of safe working environment by senior management in healthcare organisations; (2) shared perception of healthcare providers about safety of their work environment; and (3) the effective dissemination of safety information. Antecedents included the characteristics of healthcare providers and healthcare organisations as a whole, and the types of work in which they are engaged. Consequences consisted of safety performance and safety outcomes. Most studies developed and assessed the survey tools of safety climate or safety culture, with a minority consisting of interventional measures for improving safety climate. More prospective studies are needed to create interventional measures for improving safety climate of healthcare providers. This study is provided as a reference for use in developing multidimensional safety climate assessment tools and interventional measures. The values healthcare teams emphasise with regard to safety can serve to improve safety performance. Having an understanding of the concept of and interventional measures for safety climate allows healthcare providers to ensure the safety of their operations and their patients. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  15. Function Allocation in Complex Socio-Technical Systems: Procedure usage in nuclear power and the Context Analysis Method for Identifying Design Solutions (CAMIDS) Model

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schmitt, Kara Anne

    This research aims to prove that strict adherence to procedures and rigid compliance to process in the US Nuclear Industry may not prevent incidents or increase safety. According to the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations, the nuclear power industry has seen a recent rise in events, and this research claims that a contributing factor to this rise is organizational, cultural, and based on peoples overreliance on procedures and policy. Understanding the proper balance of function allocation, automation and human decision-making is imperative to creating a nuclear power plant that is safe, efficient, and reliable. This research claims that new generations of operators are less engaged and thinking because they have been instructed to follow procedures to a fault. According to operators, they were once to know the plant and its interrelations, but organizationally more importance is now put on following procedure and policy. Literature reviews were performed, experts were questioned, and a model for context analysis was developed. The Context Analysis Method for Identifying Design Solutions (CAMIDS) Model was created, verified and validated through both peer review and application in real world scenarios in active nuclear power plant simulators. These experiments supported the claim that strict adherence and rigid compliance to procedures may not increase safety by studying the industry's propensity for following incorrect procedures, and when it directly affects the outcome of safety or security of the plant. The findings of this research indicate that the younger generations of operators rely highly on procedures, and the organizational pressures of required compliance to procedures may lead to incidents within the plant because operators feel pressured into following the rules and policy above performing the correct actions in a timely manner. The findings support computer based procedures, efficient alarm systems, and skill of the craft matrices. The solution to the problems facing the industry include in-depth, multiple fault failure training which tests the operator's knowledge of the situation. This builds operator collaboration, competence and confidence to know what to do, and when to do it in response to an emergency situation. Strict adherence to procedures and rigid compliance to process may not prevent incidents or increase safety; building operators' fundamental skills of collaboration, competence and confidence will.

  16. Predicting safety culture: the roles of employer, operations manager and safety professional.

    PubMed

    Wu, Tsung-Chih; Lin, Chia-Hung; Shiau, Sen-Yu

    2010-10-01

    This study explores predictive factors in safety culture. In 2008, a sample 939 employees was drawn from 22 departments of a telecoms firm in five regions in central Taiwan. The sample completed a questionnaire containing four scales: the employer safety leadership scale, the operations manager safety leadership scale, the safety professional safety leadership scale, and the safety culture scale. The sample was then randomly split into two subsamples. One subsample was used for measures development, one for the empirical study. A stepwise regression analysis found four factors with a significant impact on safety culture (R²=0.337): safety informing by operations managers; safety caring by employers; and safety coordination and safety regulation by safety professionals. Safety informing by operations managers (ß=0.213) was by far the most significant predictive factor. The findings of this study provide a framework for promoting a positive safety culture at the group level. Crown Copyright © 2010. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Introduction: Aims and Requirements of Future Aerospace Vehicles. Chapter 1

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rodriguez, Pedro I.; Smeltzer, Stanley S., III; McConnaughey, Paul (Technical Monitor)

    2001-01-01

    The goals and system-level requirements for the next generation aerospace vehicles emphasize safety, reliability, low-cost, and robustness rather than performance. Technologies, including new materials, design and analysis approaches, manufacturing and testing methods, operations and maintenance, and multidisciplinary systems-level vehicle development are key to increasing the safety and reducing the cost of aerospace launch systems. This chapter identifies the goals and needs of the next generation or advanced aerospace vehicle systems.

  18. Safety and Mission Assurance: A NASA Perspective

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Higginbotham, Scott A.

    2016-01-01

    Manned spaceflight is an incredibly complex and inherently risky human endeavor. As the result of the lessons learned through years of triumph and tragedy, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has embraced a comprehensive and integrated approach to the challenge of ensuring safety and mission success. This presentation will provide an overview of some of the techniques employed in this effort, with a focus on the processing operations performed at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC).

  19. Initial development of a metric to describe the level of safety associated with piloting an aircraft with synthetic vision systems (SVS) displays

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bartolone, Anthony P.; Glaab, Louis J.; Hughes, Monica F.; Parrish, Russell V.

    2005-05-01

    Synthetic Vision Systems (SVS) displays provide pilots with a continuous view of terrain combined with integrated guidance symbology in an effort to increase situation awareness (SA) and decrease workload during operations in Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC). It is hypothesized that SVS displays can replicate the safety and operational flexibility of flight in Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC), regardless of actual out-the-window (OTW) visibility or time of day. Throughout the course of recent SVS research, significant progress has been made towards evolving SVS displays as well as demonstrating their ability to increase SA compared to conventional avionics in a variety of conditions. While a substantial amount of data has been accumulated demonstrating the capabilities of SVS displays, the ability of SVS to replicate the safety and operational flexibility of VMC flight performance in all visibility conditions is unknown to any specific degree. The previous piloted simulations and flight tests have shown better SA and path precision is achievable with SVS displays without causing an increase in workload, however none of the previous SVS research attempted to fully capture the significance of SVS displays in terms of their contribution to safety or operational benefits. In order to more fully quantify the relationship of flight operations in IMC with SVS displays to conventional operations conducted in VMC, a fundamental comparison to current day general aviation (GA) flight instruments was warranted. Such a comparison could begin to establish the extent to which SVS display concepts are capable of maintaining an "equivalent level of safety" with the round dials they could one day replace, for both current and future operations. Such a comparison was the focus of the SVS-ES experiment conducted under the Aviation Safety and Security Program's (AvSSP) GA Element of the SVS Project at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. A combination of subjective and objective data measures were used in this preliminary research to quantify the relationship between selected components of safety that are associated with flying an approach. Four information display methods ranging from a "round dials" baseline through a fully integrated SVS package that includes terrain, pathway based guidance, and a strategic navigation display, were investigated in this high fidelity simulation experiment. In addition, a broad spectrum of pilots, representative of the GA population, were employed for testing in an attempt to enable greater application of the results and determine if "equivalent levels of safety" are achievable through the incorporation of SVS technology regardless of a pilot's flight experience.

  20. Integrated Systems Health Management for Space Exploration

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Uckun, Serdar

    2005-01-01

    Integrated Systems Health Management (ISHM) is a system engineering discipline that addresses the design, development, operation, and lifecycle management of components, subsystems, vehicles, and other operational systems with the purpose of maintaining nominal system behavior and function and assuring mission safety and effectiveness under off-nominal conditions. NASA missions are often conducted in extreme, unfamiliar environments of space, using unique experimental spacecraft. In these environments, off-nominal conditions can develop with the potential to rapidly escalate into mission- or life-threatening situations. Further, the high visibility of NASA missions means they are always characterized by extraordinary attention to safety. ISHM is a critical element of risk mitigation, mission safety, and mission assurance for exploration. ISHM enables: In-space maintenance and repair; a) Autonomous (and automated) launch abort and crew escape capability; b) Efficient testing and checkout of ground and flight systems; c) Monitoring and trending of ground and flight system operations and performance; d) Enhanced situational awareness and control for ground personnel and crew; e) Vehicle autonomy (self-sufficiency) in responding to off-nominal conditions during long-duration and distant exploration missions; f) In-space maintenance and repair; and g) Efficient ground processing of reusable systems. ISHM concepts and technologies may be applied to any complex engineered system such as transportation systems, orbital or planetary habitats, observatories, command and control systems, life support systems, safety-critical software, and even the health of flight crews. As an overarching design and operational principle implemented at the system-of-systems level, ISHM holds substantial promise in terms of affordability, safety, reliability, and effectiveness of space exploration missions.

  1. Protecting Patients from an Unsafe System: The Etiology & Recovery of Intra-Operative Deviations in Care

    PubMed Central

    Hu, Yue-Yung; Arriaga, Alexander F.; Roth, Emilie M.; Peyre, Sarah E.; Corso, Katherine A.; Swanson, Richard S.; Osteen, Robert T.; Schmitt, Pamela; Bader, Angela M.; Zinner, Michael J.; Greenberg, Caprice C.

    2012-01-01

    Objective To understand the etiology and resolution of unanticipated events in the operating room (OR). Background The majority of surgical adverse events occur intra-operatively. The OR represents a complex, high-risk system. The influence of different human, team, and organizational/environmental factors on safety and performance is unknown. Methods We video-recorded and transcribed 10 high-acuity operations, representing 43.7 hours of patient care. Deviations, defined as delays and/or episodes of decreased patient safety, were identified by majority consensus of a multidisciplinary team. Factors that contributed to each event and/or mitigated its impact were determined and attributed to the patient, providers, or environment/organization. Results Thirty-three deviations (10 delays, 17 safety compromises, 6 both) occurred – with a mean of one every 79.4 minutes. These deviations were multifactorial (mean 3.1 factors). Problems with communication and organizational structure appeared repeatedly at the root of both types of deviations. Delays tended to be resolved with vigilance, communication, coordination, and cooperation, while mediation of safety compromises was most frequently accomplished with vigilance, leadership, communication, and/or coordination. The organization/environment was not found to play a direct role in compensation. Conclusions Unanticipated events are common in the OR. Deviations result from poor organizational/environmental design and suboptimal team dynamics, with caregivers compensating to avoid patient harm. While recognized in other high risk domains, such human resilience has not yet been described in surgery and has major implications for the design of safety interventions. PMID:22750753

  2. Operator learning effects in teleoperated rendezvous & docking

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wilde, M.; Harder, J.; Purschke, R.

    Teleoperation of spacecraft proximity operations and docking requires delicate timing and coordination of spacecraft maneuvers. Experience has shown that human operators show large performance fluctuations in these areas, which are a major factor to be addressed in operator training. In order to allow the quantification of the impact of these human fluctuations on control system performance and the human perception of this performance, a learning curve study was conducted with teleoperated final approach and docking scenarios. Over a period of ten experiment days, three test participants were tasked with repeatedly completing a set of three training scenarios. The scenarios were designed to contain different combinations of the major elements of any final approach and docking situation, and to feature an increasing difficulty level. The individual difficulty levels for the three operators furthermore differed in the level of operator support functions available in their human-machine interfaces. Operator performance in the test scenarios were evaluated in the fields approach success and precision, docking safety, and approach efficiency by a combination of recorded maneuver data and questionnaires. The results show that operator experience and the associated learning curves increase operator performance substantially, regardless of the support system used. The paper also shows that the fluctuations in operator performance and self-perception are substantial between as well as within experiment days, and must be reckoned with in teleoperation system design and mission planning.

  3. [Occupational medicine and communication: which role for print media?].

    PubMed

    Cecaro, M; Bernardini, M; Isolani, L; Passamonti, C

    2010-01-01

    The diffusion of recent regulations on work safety has captured mass-media's interest on work accidents. The present work aims to highlight the role of print media in building a social representation of work safety, by performing a qualitative analysis of articles published between 2009 and 2010 in three of the main national newspapers. Results showed that print media are accurate in reporting news, but they do not serve as source of education in work safety's issues. Information is mainly focused around catastrophic events, with headlines inducing negative emotions. Very few articles contain a critical discussion of methods and operational proposals tested around the Country. A possible transformation of media's role in promoting work safety is discussed.

  4. Safety management in multiemployer worksites in the manufacturing industry: opinions on co-operation and problems encountered.

    PubMed

    Nenonen, Sanna; Vasara, Juha

    2013-01-01

    Co-operation between different parties and effective safety management play an important role in ensuring safety in multiemployer worksites. This article reviews safety co-operation and factors complicating safety management in Finnish multiemployer manufacturing worksites. The paper focuses on the service providers' opinions; however, a comparison of the customers' views is also presented. The results show that safety-related co-operation between providers and customers is generally considered as successful but strongly dependent on the partner. Safety co-operation is provided through, e.g., training, orientation and risk analysis. Problems encountered include ensuring adequate communication, identifying hazards, co-ordinating work tasks and determining responsibilities. The providers and the customers encounter similar safety management problems. The results presented in this article can help companies to focus their efforts on the most problematic points of safety management and to avoid common pitfalls.

  5. 14 CFR 417.403 - General.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... Aeronautics and Space COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION, FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION LICENSING LAUNCH SAFETY Ground Safety § 417.403 General. (a) Public safety. A launch operator must... with launch processing and post-launch operations. (b) Ground safety analysis. A launch operator must...

  6. Circadian rhythms, sleep, and performance in space.

    PubMed

    Mallis, M M; DeRoshia, C W

    2005-06-01

    Maintaining optimal alertness and neurobehavioral functioning during space operations is critical to enable the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) vision "to extend humanity's reach to the Moon, Mars and beyond" to become a reality. Field data have demonstrated that sleep times and performance of crewmembers can be compromised by extended duty days, irregular work schedules, high workload, and varying environmental factors. This paper documents evidence of significant sleep loss and disruption of circadian rhythms in astronauts and associated performance decrements during several space missions, which demonstrates the need to develop effective countermeasures. Both sleep and circadian disruptions have been identified in the Behavioral Health and Performance (BH&P) area and the Advanced Human Support Technology (AHST) area of NASA's Bioastronautics Critical Path Roadmap. Such disruptions could have serious consequences on the effectiveness, health, and safety of astronaut crews, thus reducing the safety margin and increasing the chances of an accident or incident. These decrements oftentimes can be difficult to detect and counter effectively in restrictive operational environments. NASA is focusing research on the development of optimal sleep/wake schedules and countermeasure timing and application to help mitigate the cumulative effects of sleep and circadian disruption and enhance operational performance. Investing research in humans is one of NASA's building blocks that will allow for both short- and long-duration space missions and help NASA in developing approaches to manage and overcome the human limitations of space travel. In addition to reviewing the current state of knowledge concerning sleep and circadian disruptions during space operations, this paper provides an overview of NASA's broad research goals. Also, NASA-funded research, designed to evaluate the relationships between sleep quality, circadian rhythm stability, and performance proficiency in both ground-based simulations and space mission studies, as described in the 2003 NASA Task Book, will be reviewed.

  7. Circadian rhythms, sleep, and performance in space

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mallis, M. M.; DeRoshia, C. W.

    2005-01-01

    Maintaining optimal alertness and neurobehavioral functioning during space operations is critical to enable the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) vision "to extend humanity's reach to the Moon, Mars and beyond" to become a reality. Field data have demonstrated that sleep times and performance of crewmembers can be compromised by extended duty days, irregular work schedules, high workload, and varying environmental factors. This paper documents evidence of significant sleep loss and disruption of circadian rhythms in astronauts and associated performance decrements during several space missions, which demonstrates the need to develop effective countermeasures. Both sleep and circadian disruptions have been identified in the Behavioral Health and Performance (BH&P) area and the Advanced Human Support Technology (AHST) area of NASA's Bioastronautics Critical Path Roadmap. Such disruptions could have serious consequences on the effectiveness, health, and safety of astronaut crews, thus reducing the safety margin and increasing the chances of an accident or incident. These decrements oftentimes can be difficult to detect and counter effectively in restrictive operational environments. NASA is focusing research on the development of optimal sleep/wake schedules and countermeasure timing and application to help mitigate the cumulative effects of sleep and circadian disruption and enhance operational performance. Investing research in humans is one of NASA's building blocks that will allow for both short- and long-duration space missions and help NASA in developing approaches to manage and overcome the human limitations of space travel. In addition to reviewing the current state of knowledge concerning sleep and circadian disruptions during space operations, this paper provides an overview of NASA's broad research goals. Also, NASA-funded research, designed to evaluate the relationships between sleep quality, circadian rhythm stability, and performance proficiency in both ground-based simulations and space mission studies, as described in the 2003 NASA Task Book, will be reviewed.

  8. Attitudes to teamwork and safety among Italian surgeons and operating room nurses.

    PubMed

    Prati, Gabriele; Pietrantoni, Luca

    2014-01-01

    Previous studies have shown that surgical team members' attitudes about safety and teamwork in the operating theatre may play a role in patient safety. The aim of this study was to assess attitudes about teamwork and safety among Italian surgeons and operating room nurses. Fifty-five surgeons and 48 operating room nurses working in operating theatres at one hospital in Italy completed the Operating Room Management Attitudes Questionnaire (ORMAQ). Results showed several discrepancies in attitudes about teamwork and safety between surgeons and operating room nurses. Surgeons had more positive views on the quality of surgical leadership, communication, teamwork, and organizational climate in the theatre than operating room nurses. Operating room nurses reported that safety rules and procedures were more frequently disregarded than the surgeons. The results are only partially aligned with previous ORMAQ surveys of surgical teams in other countries. The differences emphasize the influence of national culture, as well as the particular healthcare system. This study shows discrepancies on many aspects in attitudes to teamwork and safety between surgeons and operating room nurses. The findings support implementation and use of team interventions and human factor training. Finally, attitude surveys provide a method for assessing safety culture in surgery, for evaluating the effectiveness of training initiatives, and for collecting data for a hospital's quality assurance programme.

  9. Track train dynamics analysis and test program: Methodology development for the derailment safety analysis of six-axle locomotives

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Marcotte, P. P.; Mathewson, K. J. R.

    1982-01-01

    The operational safety of six axle locomotives is analyzed. A locomotive model with corresponding data on suspension characteristics, a method of track defect characterization, and a method of characterizing operational safety are used. A user oriented software package was developed as part of the methodology and was used to study the effect (on operational safety) of various locomotive parameters and operational conditions such as speed, tractive effort, and track curvature. The operational safety of three different locomotive designs was investigated.

  10. Using computer graphics to enhance astronaut and systems safety

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Brown, J. W.

    1985-01-01

    Computer graphics is being employed at the NASA Johnson Space Center as a tool to perform rapid, efficient and economical analyses for man-machine integration, flight operations development and systems engineering. The Operator Station Design System (OSDS), a computer-based facility featuring a highly flexible and versatile interactive software package, PLAID, is described. This unique evaluation tool, with its expanding data base of Space Shuttle elements, various payloads, experiments, crew equipment and man models, supports a multitude of technical evaluations, including spacecraft and workstation layout, definition of astronaut visual access, flight techniques development, cargo integration and crew training. As OSDS is being applied to the Space Shuttle, Orbiter payloads (including the European Space Agency's Spacelab) and future space vehicles and stations, astronaut and systems safety are being enhanced. Typical OSDS examples are presented. By performing physical and operational evaluations during early conceptual phases. supporting systems verification for flight readiness, and applying its capabilities to real-time mission support, the OSDS provides the wherewithal to satisfy a growing need of the current and future space programs for efficient, economical analyses.

  11. The Application of Surgical Navigation in the Treatment of Temporomandibular Joint Ankylosis.

    PubMed

    Sun, Guowen; Lu, Mingxing; Hu, Qingang

    2015-11-01

    The purpose of this study was to assess the safety and the accuracy of surgical navigation technology in the resection of severe ankylosis of the mandibular condyle with the middle cranial fossa. The computed tomography scan data were transferred to a Windows-based computer workstation, and the patient's individual anatomy was assessed in multiplanar views at the workstation. In the operation, the patient and the virtual image were matched by individual registration with the reference points which were set on the skull bone surface and the teeth. Then, the real-time navigation can be performed. The acquisition of the data sets was uncomplicated, and image quality was sufficient to assess the operative result in 2 cases. Both of the operations were performed successfully with the guidance of real-time navigation. The application of surgical navigation has enhanced the safety and the accuracy of the surgery for bony ankylosis of temporomandibular joint. The use of surgical navigation resulted in the promotion of accurate and safe surgical excision of the ankylosed skull base tissue.

  12. A Study on Performance and Safety Tests of Electrosurgical Equipment.

    PubMed

    Tavakoli Golpaygani, A; Movahedi, M M; Reza, M

    2016-09-01

    Modern medicine employs a wide variety of instruments with different physiological effects and measurements. Periodic verifications are routinely used in legal metrology for industrial measuring instruments. The correct operation of electrosurgical generators is essential to ensure patient's safety and management of the risks associated with the use of high and low frequency electrical currents on human body. The metrological reliability of 20 electrosurgical equipment in six hospitals (3 private and 3 public) was evaluated in one of the provinces of Iran according to international and national standards. The achieved results show that HF leakage current of ground-referenced generators are more than isolated generators and the power analysis of only eight units delivered acceptable output values and the precision in the output power measurements was low. Results indicate a need for new and severe regulations on periodic performance verifications and medical equipment quality control program especially in high risk instruments. It is also necessary to provide training courses for operating staff in the field of meterology in medicine to be acquianted with critical parameters to get accuracy results with operation room equipment.

  13. Effects of hospital safety-net burden and hospital volume on failure to rescue after open abdominal aortic surgery.

    PubMed

    Rosero, Eric B; Joshi, Girish P; Minhajuddin, Abu; Timaran, Carlos H; Modrall, J Gregory

    2017-08-01

    Failure to rescue (FTR) is defined as the inability to rescue a patient from major perioperative complications, resulting in operative mortality. FTR is a known contributor to operative mortality after open abdominal aortic surgery. Understanding the causes of FTR is essential to designing interventions to improve perioperative outcomes. The objective of this study was to determine the relative contributions of hospital volume and safety-net burden (the proportion of uninsured and Medicaid-insured patients) to FTR. The Nationwide Inpatient Sample (2001-2011) was analyzed to investigate variables associated with FTR after elective open abdominal aortic operations in the United States. FTR was defined as in-hospital death following postoperative complications. Mixed multivariate regression models were used to assess independent predictors of FTR, taking into account the clustered structure of the data (patients nested into hospitals). A total of 47,233 elective open abdominal aortic operations were performed in 1777 hospitals during the study period. The overall incidences of postoperative complications, in-hospital mortality, and FTR in the whole cohort were 32.7%, 3.2%, and 8.6%, respectively. After adjusting for demographics, comorbidities, and hospital characteristics, safety-net burden was significantly associated with increased likelihood of FTR (highest vs lowest quartile of safety-net burden, odds ratio, 1.59; 95% confidence interval, 1.32-1.91; P < .0001). In contrast, after adjusting for safety-net burden, procedure-specific hospital volume was not significantly associated with FTR (P = .897). After adjusting for patient- and hospital-level variables, including hospital volume, safety-net burden was an independent predictor of FTR after open aortic surgery. Future investigations should be aimed at better understanding the relationship between safety-net hospital burden and FTR to design interventions to improve outcomes after open abdominal aortic surgery. Copyright © 2017 Society for Vascular Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. 10 CFR 36.37 - Power failures.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 1 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Power failures. 36.37 Section 36.37 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION LICENSES AND RADIATION SAFETY REQUIREMENTS FOR IRRADIATORS Design and Performance... only when using an operable and calibrated radiation survey meter. ...

  15. 10 CFR 36.37 - Power failures.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 1 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Power failures. 36.37 Section 36.37 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION LICENSES AND RADIATION SAFETY REQUIREMENTS FOR IRRADIATORS Design and Performance... only when using an operable and calibrated radiation survey meter. ...

  16. 10 CFR 36.37 - Power failures.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Power failures. 36.37 Section 36.37 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION LICENSES AND RADIATION SAFETY REQUIREMENTS FOR IRRADIATORS Design and Performance... only when using an operable and calibrated radiation survey meter. ...

  17. 10 CFR 36.37 - Power failures.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 1 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Power failures. 36.37 Section 36.37 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION LICENSES AND RADIATION SAFETY REQUIREMENTS FOR IRRADIATORS Design and Performance... only when using an operable and calibrated radiation survey meter. ...

  18. 10 CFR 36.37 - Power failures.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 1 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Power failures. 36.37 Section 36.37 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION LICENSES AND RADIATION SAFETY REQUIREMENTS FOR IRRADIATORS Design and Performance... only when using an operable and calibrated radiation survey meter. ...

  19. A bill to establish a safety performance rating system for motorcoach services and operations.

    THOMAS, 112th Congress

    Sen. Schumer, Charles E. [D-NY

    2011-12-16

    Senate - 12/16/2011 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. (All Actions) Tracker: This bill has the status IntroducedHere are the steps for Status of Legislation:

  20. Cockpit Human Factors Research Requirements

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1989-04-01

    The safety, reliability, and efficiency of the National Airspace System (NAS) depend upon : the men and women who operate and use it. Aviation human factors research is the study of : how people function in the performance of their jobs as pilots, co...

  1. Impact of data link technology on railroad dispatching operations

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2004-10-01

    This study examined data link communication as an alternative channel to voice radio for railroad dispatchers. The goal was to compare how data link affected performance compared to voice radio only communications on measures related to safety, produ...

  2. Studies to determine the effectiveness of longitudinal channelizing devices in work zones.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2011-01-01

    This report describes the methodology and results of analyses performed to determine whether the following longitudinal : channelizing device (LCD) applications improve the traffic safety and operations of work zones relative to the use of standard :...

  3. The Effect of Power Protection Equipment on Explosion Hazards and on the Reliability of Power Supply to Longwall Systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Boron, Sergiusz

    2017-06-01

    Operational safety of electrical machines and equipment depends, inter alia, on the hazards resulting from their use and on the scope of applied protective measures. The use of insufficient protection against existing hazards leads to reduced operational safety, particularly under fault conditions. On the other hand, excessive (in relation to existing hazards) level of protection may compromise the reliability of power supply. This paper analyses the explosion hazard created by earth faults in longwall power supply systems and evaluates existing protection equipment from the viewpoint of its protective performance, particularly in the context of explosion hazards, and also assesses its effect on the reliability of power supply.

  4. Safety aspects of cryochamber operation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chorowski, M.; Piotrowska, A.; Sieron, A.; Stanek, A.

    2014-01-01

    Local and whole body cryotherapy is well recognized, developed and appreciated both from medical and technical point of view. Poland is a country with a highest number of medical cryochambers in operation (above 200) and more than 3 millions of whole body cryotherapeutic sessions have been performed since 1989. Cryogenic temperatures applied for whole-body apart from medical effects have also significant influence on patient's psyche. A number of cryochambers is constantly increasing in hospitals, sport centers and spas. A temperature inside a cryochamber should be below 150 K. To achieve and stabilize such low temperature, either cascade compressor unit or liquid cryogens evaporation (N2 or synthetic air) are used. This paper presents safety oriented review of cryochamber design and constructions.

  5. 49 CFR 213.307 - Class of track: operating speed limits.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... conditions are met: (1) The vehicles utilized to carry such freight are of equal dynamic performance and have... distribution and securement in the freight vehicle will not adversely affect the dynamic performance of the... addressing other safety issues presented by the system. (b) If a segment of track does not meet all of the...

  6. 10 CFR Appendix O to Part 110 - Illustrative List of Fuel Element Fabrication Plant Equipment and Components Under NRC's Export...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... performance and safety during reactor operation. Also, in all cases precise control of processes, procedures... performance. (a) Items that are considered especially designed or prepared for the fabrication of fuel... pellets; (2) Automatic welding machines especially designed or prepared for welding end caps onto the fuel...

  7. Regaining Lost Separation in a Piloted Simulation of Autonomous Aircraft Operations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Barhydt, Richard; Eischeid, Todd M.; Palmer, Michael T.; Wing, David J.

    2002-01-01

    NASA is currently investigating a new concept of operations for the National Airspace System, designed to improve capacity while maintaining or improving current levels of safety. This concept, known as Distributed Air/Ground Traffic Management (DAG-TM), allows appropriately equipped autonomous aircraft to maneuver freely for flight optimization while resolving conflicts with other traffic and staying out of special use airspace and hazardous weather. While Airborne Separation Assurance System (ASAS) tools would normally allow pilots to resolve conflicts before they become hazardous, evaluation of system performance in sudden, near-term conflicts is needed in order to determine concept feasibility. If an acceptable safety level can be demonstrated in these situations, then operations may be conducted with lower separation minimums. An experiment was conducted in NASA Langley s Air Traffic Operations Lab to address issues associated with resolving near-term conflicts and the potential use of lower separation minimums. Sixteen commercial airline pilots flew a total of 32 traffic scenarios that required them to use prototype ASAS tools to resolve close range pop-up conflicts. Required separation standards were set at either 3 or 5 NM lateral spacing, with 1000 ft vertical separation being used for both cases. Reducing the lateral separation from 5 to 3 NM did not appear to increase operational risk, as indicated by the proximity to the intruder aircraft. Pilots performed better when they followed tactical guidance cues provided by ASAS than when they didn't follow the guidance. As air-air separation concepts are evolved, further studies will consider integration issues between ASAS and existing Airborne Collision Avoidance Systems (ACAS).These types of non-normal events will require the ASAS to provide effective alerts and resolutions prior to the time that an Airborne Collision Avoidance System (ACAS) would give a Resolution Advisory (RA). When an RA is issued, a pilot must take immediate action in order to avoid a potential near miss. The Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) II currently functions as an ACAS aboard commercial aircraft. Depending on the own aircraft s altitude, TCAS only issues RA s 15-35 seconds prior to the Closest Point of Approach (CPA). Prior to an RA, DAG-TM pilots operating autonomous aircraft must rely solely on ASAS for resolution guidance. An additional area of DAG-TM concept feasibility relates to a potential reduction in separation standards. Lower separation standards are likely needed in order to improve NAS efficiency and capacity. Current separation minimums are based in large part on the capabilities of older radar systems. Safety assessments are needed to determine the feasibility of reduced separation minimums. They will give strong consideration to surveillance system performance, including accuracy, integrity, and availability. Candidate surveillance systems include Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) and multi-lateration systems. Considering studies done for Reduced Vertical Separation Minimums (RVSM) operations, it is likely that flight technical errors will also be considered. In addition to a thorough evaluation of surveillance system performance, a potential decision to lower the separation standards should also take operational considerations into account. An ASAS Safety Assessment study identified improper maneuvering in response to a conflict (due to ambiguous or improper resolution commands or a pilot s failure to comply with the resolution) as a potential safety risk. If near-term conflicts with lower separation minimums were determined to be more challenging for pilots, the severity of these risks could be even greater.

  8. Safety evaluation of joint and conventional lane merge configurations for freeway work zones.

    PubMed

    Ishak, Sherif; Qi, Yan; Rayaprolu, Pradeep

    2012-01-01

    Inefficient operation of traffic in work zone areas not only leads to an increase in travel time delays, queue length, and fuel consumption but also increases the number of forced merges and roadway accidents. This study evaluated the safety performance of work zones with a conventional lane merge (CLM) configuration in Louisiana. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare the crash rates for accidents involving fatalities, injuries, and property damage only (PDO) in each of the following 4 areas: (1) advance warning area, (2) transition area, (3) work area, and (4) termination area. The analysis showed that the advance warning area had higher fatality, injury, and PDO crash rates when compared to the transition area, work area, and termination area. This finding confirmed the need to make improvements in the advance warning area where merging maneuvers take place. Therefore, a new lane merge configuration, called joint lane merge (JLM), was proposed and its safety performance was examined and compared to the conventional lane merge configuration using a microscopic simulation model (VISSIM), which was calibrated with real-world data from an existing work zone on I-55 and used to simulate a total of 25 different scenarios with different levels of demand and traffic composition. Safety performance was evaluated using 2 surrogate measures: uncomfortable decelerations and speed variance. Statistical analysis was conducted to determine whether the differences in safety performance between both configurations were significant. The safety analysis indicated that JLM outperformed CLM in most cases with low to moderate flow rates and that the percentage of trucks did not have a significant impact on the safety performance of either configuration. Though the safety analysis did not clearly indicate which lane merge configuration is safer for the overall work zone area, it was able to identify the possibly associated safety changes within the work zone area under different traffic conditions. Copyright © 2012 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

  9. Training and certification program of the operating staff for a 90-day test of a regenerative life support system

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1972-01-01

    Prior to beginning a 90-day test of a regenerative life support system, a need was identified for a training and certification program to qualify an operating staff for conducting the test. The staff was responsible for operating and maintaining the test facility, monitoring and ensuring crew safety, and implementing procedures to ensure effective mission performance with good data collection and analysis. The training program was designed to ensure that each operating staff member was capable of performing his assigned function and was sufficiently cross-trained to serve at certain other positions on a contingency basis. Complicating the training program were budget and schedule limitations, and the high level of sophistication of test systems.

  10. The ultralight sailplane

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mcmasters, J. H.

    1979-01-01

    As presently envisioned, the ultralight sailplane is intermediate in size, cost and performance between current hang gliders and the lower end of the traditional sailplane spectrum. In the design of an ultralight sailplane, safety, low cost, and operational simplicity were emphasized at the expense of absolute performance. An overview of the design requirements for an ultralight sailplane is presented. It was concluded that by a judicious combination of the technologies of hang gliding, human powered flight, conventional soaring and motor gliding, an operationally and economically viable class of ultralight, self-launching sailplanes can be developed.

  11. The effects of tobacco on aviation safety.

    PubMed

    Dille, J R; Linder, M K

    1981-02-01

    In 1976, the Federal Aviation Administration was petitioned to issue regulations that would prohibit all smoking in the cockpit during commercial flight operations and prohibit preflight smoking by flight crewmembers within 8 h before commercial flight operations. A review of the literature was conducted to determine the effects on pilot performance of carbon monoxide (CO), nicotine, and smoking withdrawal. The records of 2,660 fatal general aviation aircraft accidents in 1973-1976 have been examined. Smoking was not identified as a causal factor but may have contributed to the cause of some of these accidents. However, the compound factors that were often found and the dire consequences are far less likely to occur in air commerce operations. For some, withdrawal symptoms may occur and more than offset any benefits to aviation safety that are claimed for a ban on preflight and in-flight smoking.

  12. Robotic assistance improves intracorporeal suturing performance and safety in the operating room while decreasing operator workload.

    PubMed

    Stefanidis, Dimitrios; Wang, Fikre; Korndorffer, James R; Dunne, J Bruce; Scott, Daniel J

    2010-02-01

    Intracorporeal suturing is one of the most difficult laparoscopic tasks. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of robotic assistance on novice suturing performance, safety, and workload in the operating room. Medical students (n = 34), without prior laparoscopic suturing experience, were enrolled in an Institutional Review Board-approved, randomized protocol. After viewing an instructional video, subjects were tested in intracorporeal suturing on two identical, live, porcine Nissen fundoplication models; they placed three gastro-gastric sutures using conventional laparoscopic instruments in one model and using robotic assistance (da Vinci) in the other, in random order. Each knot was objectively scored based on time, accuracy, and security. Injuries to surrounding structures were recorded. Workload was assessed using the validated National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) task load index (TLX) questionnaire, which measures the subjects' self-reported performance, effort, frustration, and mental, physical, and temporal demands of the task. Analysis was by paired t-test; p < 0.05 was considered significant. Compared with laparoscopy, robotic assistance enabled subjects to suture faster (595 +/- 22 s versus 459 +/- 137 s, respectively; p < 0.001), achieve higher overall scores (0 +/- 1 versus 95 +/- 128, respectively; p < 0.001), and commit fewer errors per knot (1.15 +/- 1.35 versus 0.05 +/- 0.26, respectively; p < 0.001). Subjects' overall score did not improve between the first and third attempt for laparoscopic suturing (0 +/- 0 versus 0 +/- 0; p = NS) but improved significantly for robotic suturing (49 +/- 100 versus 141 +/- 152; p < 0.001). Moreover, subjects indicated on the NASA-TLX scale that the task was more difficult to perform with laparoscopic instruments compared with robotic assistance (99 +/- 15 versus 57 +/- 23; p < 0.001). Compared with standard laparoscopy, robotic assistance significantly improved intracorporeal suturing performance and safety of novices in the operating room while decreasing their workload. Moreover, the robot significantly shortened the learning curve of this difficult task. Further study is needed to assess the value of robotic assistance for experienced surgeons, and validated robotic training curricula need to be developed.

  13. Sustainable Forest Operations (SFO): A new paradigm in a changing world and climate.

    PubMed

    Marchi, Enrico; Chung, Woodam; Visser, Rien; Abbas, Dalia; Nordfjell, Tomas; Mederski, Piotr S; McEwan, Andrew; Brink, Michal; Laschi, Andrea

    2018-09-01

    The effective implementation of sustainable forest management depends largely on carrying out forest operations in a sustainable manner. Climate change, as well as the increasing demand for forest products, requires a re-thinking of forest operations in terms of sustainability. In this context, it is important to understand the major driving factors for the future development of forest operations that promote economic, environmental and social well-being. The main objective of this paper is to identify important issues concerning forest operations and to propose a new paradigm towards sustainability in a changing climate, work and environmental conditions. Previously developed concepts of forest operations are reviewed, and a newly developed concept - Sustainable Forest Operations (SFO), is presented. Five key performance areas to ensure the sustainability of forest operations include: (i) environment; (ii) ergonomics; (iii) economics; (iv) quality optimization of products and production; and (v) people and society. Practical field examples are presented to demonstrate how these five interconnected principles are relevant to achieving sustainability, namely profit and wood quality maximization, ecological benefits, climate change mitigation, carbon sequestration, and forest workers' health and safety. The new concept of SFO provides integrated perspectives and approaches to effectively address ongoing and foreseeable challenges the global forest communities face, while balancing forest operations performance across economic, environmental and social sustainability. In this new concept, we emphasize the role of wood as a renewable and environmentally friendly material, and forest workers' safety and utilization efficiency and waste management as additional key elements of sustainability. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Duties and functions of veterinary public health for the management of food safety: present needs and evaluation of efficiency.

    PubMed

    Trevisani, M; Rosmini, R

    2008-09-01

    Functions of veterinarians in the context of food safety assurance have changed very much in the last ten years as a consequence of new legislation. The aim of this review is to evaluate the management tools in veterinary public health that shall be used in response to the actual need and consider some possible key performance indicators. This review involved an examination of the legislation, guidelines and literature, which was then discussed to analyse the actual need, the strategies and the procedures with which the public veterinary service shall comply. The management of information gathered at different stages of the food chain, from both food production operators and veterinary inspectors operating in primary production, food processing and feed production should be exchanged and integrated in a database, not only to produce annual reports and plan national sampling plans, but also to verify and validate the effectiveness of procedures and strategies implemented by food safety operators to control risks. Further, the surveillance data from environmental agencies and human epidemiological units should be used for assessing risks and addressing management options.

  15. Geosciences In Action Everyday Supporting B2B Partnerships

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Glackin, M. M.; Miller, M.

    2015-12-01

    The weather and climate industry meets the needs of businesses every day providing services and technology that save dollars and protect lives and property. This industry employs thousands of Americans and exports products and services to the benefit of the U.S. economy and the quality of life for all people. It excels in its ability to understand and the rapidly apply the latest research, innovative technology, and business insights to uniquely solve customer needs. These skills complement the expertise of the research community and federal agencies to improve safety and performance. We will review the broad sectors of industry that are served and share insights into partnerships with other industries including an in depth example for the aviation industry. Turbulence is a major safety risk and operational challenge for airline operations, costing airlines hundreds of millions of dollars in injury claims, operational inefficiencies, maintenance costs, and loss revenue. Leveraging research developed under federal grants with latest technology and decision science, the industry provides an innovative solution to the turbulence challenge, proven to improve safety and reduce turbulence-related cost by nearly 50%.

  16. Key Performance Indicators in the Evaluation of the Quality of Radiation Safety Programs.

    PubMed

    Schultz, Cheryl Culver; Shaffer, Sheila; Fink-Bennett, Darlene; Winokur, Kay

    2016-08-01

    Beaumont is a multiple hospital health care system with a centralized radiation safety department. The health system operates under a broad scope Nuclear Regulatory Commission license but also maintains several other limited use NRC licenses in off-site facilities and clinics. The hospital-based program is expansive including diagnostic radiology and nuclear medicine (molecular imaging), interventional radiology, a comprehensive cardiovascular program, multiple forms of radiation therapy (low dose rate brachytherapy, high dose rate brachytherapy, external beam radiotherapy, and gamma knife), and the Research Institute (including basic bench top, human and animal). Each year, in the annual report, data is analyzed and then tracked and trended. While any summary report will, by nature, include items such as the number of pieces of equipment, inspections performed, staff monitored and educated and other similar parameters, not all include an objective review of the quality and effectiveness of the program. Through objective numerical data Beaumont adopted seven key performance indicators. The assertion made is that key performance indicators can be used to establish benchmarks for evaluation and comparison of the effectiveness and quality of radiation safety programs. Based on over a decade of data collection, and adoption of key performance indicators, this paper demonstrates one way to establish objective benchmarking for radiation safety programs in the health care environment.

  17. Study of airborne science experiment management concepts for application to space shuttle. Volume 1: Executive summary

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mulholland, D. R.; Reller, J. O., Jr.; Neel, C. B.; Haughney, L. C.

    1973-01-01

    The management concepts and operating procedures are documented as they apply to the planning of shuttle spacelab operations. Areas discussed include: airborne missions; formulation of missions; management procedures; experimenter involvement; experiment development and performance; data handling; safety procedures; and applications to shuttle spacelab planning. Characteristics of the airborne science experience are listed, and references and figures are included.

  18. 78 FR 11094 - Safety Zone; Lake Worth Dredge Operations, Lake Worth Inlet; West Palm Beach, FL

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-02-15

    ... 1625-AA00 Safety Zone; Lake Worth Dredge Operations, Lake Worth Inlet; West Palm Beach, FL AGENCY... safety zone on Lake Worth Inlet, West Palm Beach, Florida, to provide for the safety of life and vessels..., dredging operations will be conducted on Lake Worth Inlet in West Palm Beach, Florida. These operations...

  19. Pre-surgery briefings and safety climate in the operating theatre.

    PubMed

    Allard, Jon; Bleakley, Alan; Hobbs, Adrian; Coombes, Lee

    2011-08-01

    In 2008, the WHO produced a surgical safety checklist against a background of a poor patient safety record in operating theatres. Formal team briefings are now standard practice in high-risk settings such as the aviation industry and improve safety, but are resisted in surgery. Research evidence is needed to persuade the surgical workforce to adopt safety procedures such as briefings. To investigate whether exposure to pre-surgery briefings is related to perception of safety climate. Three Safety Attitude Questionnaires, completed by operating theatre staff in 2003, 2004 and 2006, were used to evaluate the effects of an educational intervention introducing pre-surgery briefings. Individual practitioners who agree with the statement 'briefings are common in the operating theatre' also report a better 'safety climate' in operating theatres. The study reports a powerful link between briefing practices and attitudes towards safety. Findings build on previous work by reporting on the relationship between briefings and safety climate within a 4-year period. Briefings, however, remain difficult to establish in local contexts without appropriate team-based patient safety education. Success in establishing a safety culture, with associated practices, may depend on first establishing unidirectional, positive change in attitudes to create a safety climate.

  20. Impact of resident training on operative time and safety in hemithyroidectomy.

    PubMed

    Folsom, Craig; Serbousek, Kimberly; Lydiatt, William; Rieke, Katherine; Sayles, Harlan; Smith, Russell; Panwar, Aru

    2017-06-01

    The purpose of this study was to present our assessment of the impact of resident participation on operative duration and outcomes after hemithyroidectomy, which may identify opportunities for optimization of educational programs, reduction in cost of healthcare delivery, and maximizing patient safety, while continuing to train a competent physician workforce for the future. The American College of Surgeons' National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) dataset from 2006 to 2012 identified 13,151 adult patients who underwent hemithyroidectomy. Differences in operative duration, postoperative complications, reoperation, and readmission rates were assessed based on stratification by resident participation in surgery. Compared with operations performed by attending surgeons alone, resident participation with attending supervision prolonged the operative duration by 10.5% (82.5 minutes vs 91.2 minutes; p < .0001). The incidence of readmission and wound complications was higher for patients who underwent surgery with resident participation. Resident participation in hemithyroidectomy may be associated with increased operative duration, higher incidence of wound complications, and readmission. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 39: 1212-1217, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  1. The effects of Crew Resource Mangement (CRM) training in airline maintenance: Results following three years' experience

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Taylor, J. C.; Robertson, M. M.

    1995-01-01

    This report describes three years' evaluation of the effects of one airline's Crew Resources Management (CRM) training operation for maintenance. This evaluation focuses on the post-training attitudes of maintenance managers' and technical support professionals, their reported behaviors, and the safety, efficiency and dependable maintenance performance of their units. The results reveal a strong positive effect of the training. The overall program represents the use of CRM training as a long-term commitment to improving performance through effective communication at all levels in airline maintenance operations. The initial findings described in our previous progress reports are reinforced and elaborated here. The current results benefit from the entire pre-post training survey, which now represents total attendance of all managers and staff professionals. Additionally there are now full results from the two-month, six-month, and 12-month follow-up questionnaires, together with as many as 33 months of post-training performance data, using several indicators. In this present report, we examine participants' attitudes, their reported behaviors following the training, the performance of their work units, and the relationships among these variables. Attitudes include those measured immediately before and after the training as well as participants' attitudes months after their training. Performance includes measures, by work units, of on-time flight departures, on-schedule maintenance releases, occupational and aircraft safety, and efficient labor costs. We report changes in these performance measures following training, as well their relationships with the training participants' attitudes. Highlights of results from this training program include increased safety and improved costs associated with positive attitudes about the use of more assertive communication, and the improved management of stress. Improved on-time performance is also related to those improved attitudes, as well as favorable attitudes about participative management.

  2. The Fundamentals and Status of Nuclear Power

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Matzie, Regis A.

    2011-11-01

    Nuclear power has enormous potential to provide clean, safe base-load electricity to the world's growing population. Harnessing this potential in an economic and responsible manner is not without challenges. Safety remains the principal tenet of our operating fleet, which currently provides ˜20% of U.S. electricity generated. The performance of this fleet from economic and safety standpoints has improved dramatically over the past several decades. This nuclear generation also represents greater than 70% of the emission free electricity with hydroelectric power providing the majority of the remainder. There have been many lessons learned from the more than 50 years of experience with nuclear power and these have been factored into the new designs now being constructed worldwide. These new designs, which have enhanced safety compared to the operating fleet, have been simplified by employing passive safety systems and modular construction. There are applications for licenses of more than 20 new reactors under review by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission; the first of these licenses will be completed in early 2012, and the first new U.S. reactor will start operating in 2016. Yet there are still more improvements that can be made and these are being pursued to achieve an even greater deployment of nuclear power technology.

  3. Embracing Safe Ground Test Facility Operations and Maintenance

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Dunn, Steven C.; Green, Donald R.

    2010-01-01

    Conducting integrated operations and maintenance in wind tunnel ground test facilities requires a balance of meeting due dates, efficient operation, responsiveness to the test customer, data quality, effective maintenance (relating to readiness and reliability), and personnel and facility safety. Safety is non-negotiable, so the balance must be an "and" with other requirements and needs. Pressure to deliver services faster at increasing levels of quality in under-maintained facilities is typical. A challenge for management is to balance the "need for speed" with safety and quality. It s especially important to communicate this balance across the organization - workers, with a desire to perform, can be tempted to cut corners on defined processes to increase speed. Having a lean staff can extend the time required for pre-test preparations, so providing a safe work environment for facility personnel and providing good stewardship for expensive National capabilities can be put at risk by one well-intending person using at-risk behavior. This paper documents a specific, though typical, operational environment and cites management and worker safety initiatives and tools used to provide a safe work environment. Results are presented and clearly show that the work environment is a relatively safe one, though still not good enough to keep from preventing injury. So, the journey to a zero injury work environment - both in measured reality and in the minds of each employee - continues. The intent of this paper is to provide a benchmark for others with operational environments and stimulate additional sharing and discussion on having and keeping a safe work environment.

  4. Operational Issues: What Science in Available?

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rosekind, Mark R.; Neri, David F.

    1997-01-01

    Flight/duty/rest considerations involve two highly complex factors: the diverse demands of aviation operations and human physiology (especially sleep and circadian rhythms). Several core operational issues related to fatigue have been identified, such as minimum rest requirements, duty length, flight time considerations, crossing multiple time zones, and night flying. Operations also can involve on-call reserve status and callout, delays due to unforeseen circumstances (e.g., weather, mechanical), and on-demand flights. Over 40 years of scientific research is now available to apply to these complex issues of flight/duty/rest requirements. This research involves controlled 'laboratory studies, simulations, and data collected during regular flight operations. When flight/duty/rest requirements are determined they are typically based on a variety of considerations, such as operational demand, safety, economic, etc. Rarely has the available, state-of-the-art science been a consideration along with these other factors when determining flight/duty/rest requirements. While the complexity of the operational demand and human physiology precludes an absolute solution, there is an opportunity to take full advantage of the current scientific data. Incorporating these data in a rational operational manner into flight/duty/rest requirements can improve flight crew performance, alertness, and ultimately, aviation safety.

  5. Development of Integrated Magnetic and Kinetic Control-oriented Transport Model for q-profile Response Prediction in EAST Discharges

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Hexiang; Schuster, Eugenio; Rafiq, Tariq; Kritz, Arnold; Ding, Siye

    2016-10-01

    Extensive research has been conducted to find high-performance operating scenarios characterized by high fusion gain, good confinement, plasma stability and possible steady-state operation. A key plasma property that is related to both the stability and performance of these advanced plasma scenarios is the safety factor profile. A key component of the EAST research program is the exploration of non-inductively driven steady-state plasmas with the recently upgraded heating and current drive capabilities that include lower hybrid current drive and neutral beam injection. Anticipating the need for tight regulation of the safety factor profile in these plasma scenarios, a first-principles-driven (FPD)control-oriented model is proposed to describe the safety factor profile evolution in EAST in response to the different actuators. The TRANSP simulation code is employed to tailor the FPD model to the EAST tokamak geometry and to convert it into a form suitable for control design. The FPD control-oriented model's prediction capabilities are demonstrated by comparing predictions with experimental data from EAST. Supported by the US DOE under DE-SC0010537,DE-FG02-92ER54141 and DE-SC0013977.

  6. Thermoregulatory models of safety-for-flight issues for space operations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pisacane, V. L.; Kuznetz, L. H.; Logan, J. S.; Clark, J. B.; Wissler, E. H.

    2006-10-01

    This study investigates the use of a mathematical model for thermoregulation as a tool in safety-of-flight issues and proposed solutions for mission operations of the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station. Specifically, this study assesses the effects of elevated cabin temperature and metabolic loads on astronauts wearing the Advanced Crew Escape Suit (ACES) and the Liquid Cooled Ventilation Garment (LCVG). The 225-node Wissler model is validated by comparison with two ground-based human subject tests, firefighters, and surrogate astronauts under anomalous conditions that show good agreement. Subsequent simulations indicate that the performance of the ACES/LCVG is marginal. Increases in either workload or cabin temperature from the nominal will increase rectal temperature, stored heat load, heart rate, and sweating leading to possible deficits in the ability of the astronauts to perform cognitive and motor tasks that could affect the safety of the mission, especially the safe landing of the Shuttle. Specific relationships are given between cabin temperature and metabolic rate that define the threshold for decreased manual dexterity and loss of tracking skills. Model results indicate that the most effective mitigation strategy would be to decrease the LCVG inlet temperature. Methods of accomplishing this are also proposed.

  7. Simulation Evaluation of Equivalent Vision Technologies for Aerospace Operations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kramer, Lynda J.; Williams, Steven P.; Wilz, Susan J.; Arthur, Jarvis J.

    2009-01-01

    A fixed-based simulation experiment was conducted in NASA Langley Research Center s Integration Flight Deck simulator to investigate enabling technologies for equivalent visual operations (EVO) in the emerging Next Generation Air Transportation System operating environment. EVO implies the capability to achieve or even improve on the safety of current-day Visual Flight Rules (VFR) operations, maintain the operational tempos of VFR, and perhaps even retain VFR procedures - all independent of the actual weather and visibility conditions. Twenty-four air transport-rated pilots evaluated the use of Synthetic/Enhanced Vision Systems (S/EVS) and eXternal Vision Systems (XVS) technologies as enabling technologies for future all-weather operations. The experimental objectives were to determine the feasibility of XVS/SVS/EVS to provide for all weather (visibility) landing capability without the need (or ability) for a visual approach segment and to determine the interaction of XVS/EVS and peripheral vision cues for terminal area and surface operations. Another key element of the testing investigated the pilot's awareness and reaction to non-normal events (i.e., failure conditions) that were unexpectedly introduced into the experiment. These non-normal runs served as critical determinants in the underlying safety of all-weather operations. Experimental data from this test are cast into performance-based approach and landing standards which might establish a basis for future all-weather landing operations. Glideslope tracking performance appears to have improved with the elimination of the approach visual segment. This improvement can most likely be attributed to the fact that the pilots didn't have to simultaneously perform glideslope corrections and find required visual landing references in order to continue a landing. Lateral tracking performance was excellent regardless of the display concept being evaluated or whether or not there were peripheral cues in the side window. Although workload ratings were significantly less when peripheral cues were present compared to when there were none, these differences appear to be operationally inconsequential. Larger display concepts tested in this experiment showed significant situation awareness (SA) improvements and workload reductions compared to smaller display concepts. With a fixed display size, a color display was more influential in SA and workload ratings than a collimated display.

  8. Advanced Design Features of APR1400 and Realization in Shin Kori Construction Project

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    OH, S.J.; Park, K.C.; Kim, H.G.

    2006-07-01

    APR1400 adopted several advanced design features. To ensure their proper operation as a part of ShinKori 3,4 project, both experimental and analytical work are continuing. In this paper, work on the advanced design features related to enhanced safety is examined. APR1400 safety injection system consists of four independent trains which include four safety injection pump and tanks. A passive flow regulating device called fluidic device is installed in the safety injection tanks. Separate effect tests including a full scale fluidic device tests have been conducted. Integral system tests are in progress. Combination of these work with the analytical work usingmore » RELAP5/Mod3 would ensure the proper operation of the new safety injection systems. To mitigate severe accidents, hydrogen mitigation system using PARs and igniters is adopted. Also, active injection system and the streamlined insulation design are adopted to enhance the in-vessel retention capability with the external cooling of RPV strategy. Analytic work with supporting experiments is performed. We are certain that these preparatory work would help the successful adaptation of ADF in ShinKori project. (authors)« less

  9. Understanding the role of sleep quality and sleep duration in commercial driving safety.

    PubMed

    Lemke, Michael K; Apostolopoulos, Yorghos; Hege, Adam; Sönmez, Sevil; Wideman, Laurie

    2016-12-01

    Long-haul truck drivers in the United States suffer disproportionately high injury rates. Sleep is a critical factor in these outcomes, contributing to fatigue and degrading multiple aspects of safety-relevant performance. Both sleep duration and sleep quality are often compromised among truck drivers; however, much of the efforts to combat fatigue focus on sleep duration rather than sleep quality. Thus, the current study has two objectives: (1) to determine the degree to which sleep impacts safety-relevant performance among long-haul truck drivers; and (2) to evaluate workday and non-workday sleep quality and duration as predictors of drivers' safety-relevant performance. A non-experimental, descriptive, cross-sectional design was employed to collect survey and biometric data from 260 long-haul truck drivers. The Trucker Sleep Disorders Survey was developed to assess sleep duration and quality, the impact of sleep on job performance and accident risk, and other relevant work organization characteristics. Descriptive statistics assessed work organization variables, sleep duration and quality, and frequency of engaging in safety-relevant performance while sleepy. Linear regression analyses were conducted to evaluate relationships between sleep duration, sleep quality, and work organization variables with safety composite variables. Drivers reported long work hours, with over 70% of drivers working more than 11h daily. Drivers also reported a large number of miles driven per week, with an average of 2,812.61 miles per week, and frequent violations of hours-of-service rules, with 43.8% of drivers "sometimes to always" violating the "14-h rule." Sleep duration was longer, and sleep quality was better, on non-workdays compared on workdays. Drivers frequently operated motor vehicles while sleepy, and sleepiness impacted several aspects of safety-relevant performance. Sleep quality was better associated with driving while sleepy and with job performance and concentration than sleep duration. Sleep duration was better associated with accidents and accident risk than sleep quality. Sleep quality appears to be better associated with safety-relevant performance among long-haul truck drivers than sleep duration. Comprehensive and multilevel efforts are needed to meaningfully address sleep quality among drivers. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Fuzzy-logic-based network for complex systems risk assessment: application to ship performance analysis.

    PubMed

    Abou, Seraphin C

    2012-03-01

    In this paper, a new interpretation of intuitionistic fuzzy sets in the advanced framework of the Dempster-Shafer theory of evidence is extended to monitor safety-critical systems' performance. Not only is the proposed approach more effective, but it also takes into account the fuzzy rules that deal with imperfect knowledge/information and, therefore, is different from the classical Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy system, which assumes that the rule (the knowledge) is perfect. We provide an analytical solution to the practical and important problem of the conceptual probabilistic approach for formal ship safety assessment using the fuzzy set theory that involves uncertainties associated with the reliability input data. Thus, the overall safety of the ship engine is investigated as an object of risk analysis using the fuzzy mapping structure, which considers uncertainty and partial truth in the input-output mapping. The proposed method integrates direct evidence of the frame of discernment and is demonstrated through references to examples where fuzzy set models are informative. These simple applications illustrate how to assess the conflict of sensor information fusion for a sufficient cooling power system of vessels under extreme operation conditions. It was found that propulsion engine safety systems are not only a function of many environmental and operation profiles but are also dynamic and complex. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Software Graphics Processing Unit (sGPU) for Deep Space Applications

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    McCabe, Mary; Salazar, George; Steele, Glen

    2015-01-01

    A graphics processing capability will be required for deep space missions and must include a range of applications, from safety-critical vehicle health status to telemedicine for crew health. However, preliminary radiation testing of commercial graphics processing cards suggest they cannot operate in the deep space radiation environment. Investigation into an Software Graphics Processing Unit (sGPU)comprised of commercial-equivalent radiation hardened/tolerant single board computers, field programmable gate arrays, and safety-critical display software shows promising results. Preliminary performance of approximately 30 frames per second (FPS) has been achieved. Use of multi-core processors may provide a significant increase in performance.

  12. Workload and Performance in Air Traffic Control: Exploring the Influence of Levels of Automation and Variation in Task Demand

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Edwards, Tamsyn El; Martin, Lynne; Bienert, Nancy; Mercer, Joey

    2017-01-01

    In air traffic control, task demand and workload have important implications for the safety and efficiency of air traffic. Task demand is dynamic, however, research on demand transitions and associated controller perception and performance is limited. In addition, there is a comparatively restricted understanding of the influence of task demand transitions on workload and performance, in association with automation. This study used an air traffic control simulation to investigate the influence of task demand transitions and two conditions of varying automation, on workload and efficiency-related performance. Findings showed that a both the direction of the task demand variation, and the amount of automation, influenced the relationship between workload and performance. Further research is needed to enhance understanding of demand transition and workload history effects on operator experience and performance, in both air traffic control and other safety-critical domains.

  13. Performance indicators: healthcare professionals' views.

    PubMed

    Gu, Xiuzhu; Itoh, Kenji

    2016-08-08

    Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to capture factors behind professional views of indicator usefulness as a common structure for assessing healthcare performance and their important characteristics to design limited key performance indicators (PIs) for holistic hospital management. Design/methodology/approach - Two surveys were conducted using self-administered questionnaires, in which hospital manager/staff respondents were asked to rate the 52 PIs' usefulness. In total, 228 manager and 894 staff responses were collected. Findings - Eight factors were elicited from manager and staff responses as performance measures with 72 percent cumulative variance accounted for. Hospital managers and staff showed similar performance measure perceptions: high-utility acknowledgment on safety, operational efficiency and patient/employee satisfaction but relatively low-employee development concerns. Manager indicator usefulness perceptions were rather homogeneous and significantly higher than staff for almost all performance measures. Practical implications - Homogeneous manager views mean that a single key PI set for hospital management may be established regardless of hospital attributes. The following aspects may be measures that should be managed in a healthcare organization based on their key PIs: patient/employee safety, operational efficiency, financial effectiveness and patient/employee satisfaction. Originality/value - This is a pilot study on hospital management PIs in Japan. The eight-dimensional factor structure and findings about healthcare provider perceptions may be useful for healthcare management.

  14. Environment, Safety, and Health Self-Assessment Report, Fiscal Year 2008

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Chernowski, John

    2009-02-27

    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's Environment, Safety, and Health (ES&H) Self-Assessment Program ensures that Integrated Safety Management (ISM) is implemented institutionally and by all divisions. The Self-Assessment Program, managed by the Office of Contract Assurance (OCA), provides for an internal evaluation of all ES&H programs and systems at LBNL. The functions of the program are to ensure that work is conducted safely, and with minimal negative impact to workers, the public, and the environment. The Self-Assessment Program is also the mechanism used to institute continuous improvements to the Laboratory's ES&H programs. The program is described in LBNL/PUB 5344, Environment, Safety, andmore » Health Self-Assessment Program and is composed of four distinct assessments: the Division Self-Assessment, the Management of Environment, Safety, and Health (MESH) review, ES&H Technical Assurance, and the Appendix B Self-Assessment. The Division Self-Assessment uses the five core functions and seven guiding principles of ISM as the basis of evaluation. Metrics are created to measure performance in fulfilling ISM core functions and guiding principles, as well as promoting compliance with applicable regulations. The five core functions of ISM are as follows: (1) Define the Scope of Work; (2) Identify and Analyze Hazards; (3) Control the Hazards; (4) Perform the Work; and (5) Feedback and Improvement. The seven guiding principles of ISM are as follows: (1) Line Management Responsibility for ES&H; (2) Clear Roles and Responsibilities; (3) Competence Commensurate with Responsibilities; (4) Balanced Priorities; (5) Identification of ES&H Standards and Requirements; (6) Hazard Controls Tailored to the Work Performed; and (7) Operations Authorization. Performance indicators are developed by consensus with OCA, representatives from each division, and Environment, Health, and Safety (EH&S) Division program managers. Line management of each division performs the Division Self-Assessment annually. The primary focus of the review is workplace safety. The MESH review is an evaluation of division management of ES&H in its research and operations, focusing on implementation and effectiveness of the division's ISM plan. It is a peer review performed by members of the LBNL Safety Review Committee (SRC), with staff support from OCA. Each division receives a MESH review every two to four years, depending on the results of the previous review. The ES&H Technical Assurance Program (TAP) provides the framework for systematic reviews of ES&H programs and processes. The intent of ES&H Technical Assurance assessments is to provide assurance that ES&H programs and processes comply with their guiding regulations, are effective, and are properly implemented by LBNL divisions. The Appendix B Performance Evaluation and Measurement Plan (PEMP) requires that LBNL sustain and enhance the effectiveness of integrated safety, health, and environmental protection through a strong and well-deployed system. Information required for Appendix B is provided by EH&S Division functional managers. The annual Appendix B report is submitted at the close of the fiscal year. This assessment is the Department of Energy's (DOE) primary mechanism for evaluating LBNL's contract performance in ISM.« less

  15. Research on station management in subway operation safety

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Yiman

    2017-10-01

    The management of subway station is an important part of the safe operation of urban subway. In order to ensure the safety of subway operation, it is necessary to study the relevant factors that affect station management. In the protection of subway safety operations on the basis of improving the quality of service, to promote the sustained and healthy development of subway stations. This paper discusses the influencing factors of subway operation accident and station management, and analyzes the specific contents of station management security for subway operation, and develops effective suppression measures. It is desirable to improve the operational quality and safety factor for subway operations.

  16. 76 FR 454 - Hazardous Materials Transportation: Revisions of Special Permits Procedures

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-01-05

    ... the agency to evaluate the applicant's fitness and the safety impact of operations that would be... applicant granted a special permit undergoes a safety fitness evaluation, further assuring the safety of... operations to enable the agency to evaluate the applicant's fitness and the safety impact of operations that...

  17. Integrating natural language processing expertise with patient safety event review committees to improve the analysis of medication events.

    PubMed

    Fong, Allan; Harriott, Nicole; Walters, Donna M; Foley, Hanan; Morrissey, Richard; Ratwani, Raj R

    2017-08-01

    Many healthcare providers have implemented patient safety event reporting systems to better understand and improve patient safety. Reviewing and analyzing these reports is often time consuming and resource intensive because of both the quantity of reports and length of free-text descriptions in the reports. Natural language processing (NLP) experts collaborated with clinical experts on a patient safety committee to assist in the identification and analysis of medication related patient safety events. Different NLP algorithmic approaches were developed to identify four types of medication related patient safety events and the models were compared. Well performing NLP models were generated to categorize medication related events into pharmacy delivery delays, dispensing errors, Pyxis discrepancies, and prescriber errors with receiver operating characteristic areas under the curve of 0.96, 0.87, 0.96, and 0.81 respectively. We also found that modeling the brief without the resolution text generally improved model performance. These models were integrated into a dashboard visualization to support the patient safety committee review process. We demonstrate the capabilities of various NLP models and the use of two text inclusion strategies at categorizing medication related patient safety events. The NLP models and visualization could be used to improve the efficiency of patient safety event data review and analysis. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. AGR-1 Compact 1-3-1 Post-Irradiation Examination Results

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Demkowicz, Paul Andrew

    The Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR) Fuel Development and Qualification Program was established to perform the requisite research and development on tristructural isotropic (TRISO) coated particle fuel to support deployment of a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR). The work continues as part of the Advanced Reactor Technologies (ART) TRISO Fuel program. The overarching program goal is to provide a baseline fuel qualification data set to support licensing and operation of an HTGR. To achieve these goals, the program includes the elements of fuel fabrication, irradiation, post-irradiation examination (PIE) and safety testing, fuel performance modeling, and fission product transport (INL 2015). A seriesmore » of fuel irradiation experiments is being planned and conducted in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). These experiments will provide data on fuel performance under irradiation, support fuel process development, qualify the fuel for normal operating conditions, provide irradiated fuel for safety testing, and support the development of fuel performance and fission product transport models. The first of these irradiation tests, designated AGR-1, began in the ATR in December 2006 and ended in November 2009. This experiment was conducted primarily to act as a shakedown test of the multicapsule test train design and provide early data on fuel performance for use in fuel fabrication process development. It also provided samples for post-irradiation safety testing, where fission product retention of the fuel at high temperatures will be experimentally measured. The capsule design and details of the AGR-1 experiment have been presented previously (Grover, Petti, and Maki 2010, Maki 2009).« less

  19. AGR-1 Compact 5-3-1 Post-Irradiation Examination Results

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Demkowicz, Paul; Harp, Jason; Winston, Phil

    The Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR) Fuel Development and Qualification Program was established to perform the requisite research and development on tristructural isotropic (TRISO) coated particle fuel to support deployment of a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR). The work continues as part of the Advanced Reactor Technologies (ART) TRISO Fuel program. The overarching program goal is to provide a baseline fuel qualification data set to support licensing and operation of an HTGR. To achieve these goals, the program includes the elements of fuel fabrication, irradiation, post-irradiation examination (PIE) and safety testing, fuel performance, and fission product transport (INL 2015). A series ofmore » fuel irradiation experiments is being planned and conducted in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). These experiments will provide data on fuel performance under irradiation, support fuel process development, qualify the fuel for normal operating conditions, provide irradiated fuel for safety testing, and support the development of fuel performance and fission product transport models. The first of these irradiation tests, designated AGR-1, began in the ATR in December 2006 and ended in November 2009. This experiment was conducted primarily to act as a shakedown test of the multicapsule test train design and provide early data on fuel performance for use in fuel fabrication process development. It also provided samples for post-irradiation safety testing, where fission product retention of the fuel at high temperatures will be experimentally measured. The capsule design and details of the AGR-1 experiment have been presented previously.« less

  20. Aviation safety and operation problems research and technology

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Enders, J. H.; Strickle, J. W.

    1977-01-01

    Aircraft operating problems are described for aviation safety. It is shown that as aircraft technology improves, the knowledge and understanding of operating problems must also improve for economics, reliability and safety.

  1. 14 CFR 417.103 - Safety organization.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Safety organization. 417.103 Section 417... OF TRANSPORTATION LICENSING LAUNCH SAFETY Launch Safety Responsibilities § 417.103 Safety organization. (a) A launch operator must maintain and document a safety organization. A launch operator must...

  2. New safety rules challenge U. K. operators, regulators

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Hudson, J.

    1994-08-15

    Offshore safety regulations based on lessons learned from the Piper Alpha blast of 1988 have been in operation in the U.K. for a year. The Offshore Installations (Safety Case) Regulations 1992 make operators of fixed and mobile installations (the duty holders'') responsible for producing a formal safety assessment, or safety case, for each installation. After the end of November 1995 it will be an offense to operate an installation without a safety case which has been approved by the government's Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Producing safety cases for installations is a major task for duty holder, while assessing themmore » is a huge under taking for HSE's Offshore Safety Division (OSD). This paper reviews how HSE has established management arrangements to handle safety cases, considers progress in assessment, highlights some of the important lessons learned, and look to the future.« less

  3. Safety analysis, 200 Area, Savannah River Plant: Separations area operations

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Perkins, W.C.; Lee, R.; Allen, P.M.

    1991-07-01

    The nev HB-Line, located on the fifth and sixth levels of Building 221-H, is designed to replace the aging existing HB-Line production facility. The nev HB-Line consists of three separate facilities: the Scrap Recovery Facility, the Neptunium Oxide Facility, and the Plutonium Oxide Facility. There are three separate safety analyses for the nev HB-Line, one for each of the three facilities. These are issued as supplements to the 200-Area Safety Analysis (DPSTSA-200-10). These supplements are numbered as Sup 2A, Scrap Recovery Facility, Sup 2B, Neptunium Oxide Facility, Sup 2C, Plutonium Oxide Facility. The subject of this safety analysis, the, Plutoniummore » Oxide Facility, will convert nitrate solutions of {sup 238}Pu to plutonium oxide (PuO{sub 2}) powder. All these new facilities incorporate improvements in: (1) engineered barriers to contain contamination, (2) barriers to minimize personnel exposure to airborne contamination, (3) shielding and remote operations to decrease radiation exposure, and (4) equipment and ventilation design to provide flexibility and improved process performance.« less

  4. Cyber Safety and Security for Reduced Crew Operations (RCO)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Driscoll, Kevin R.; Roy, Aloke; Ponchak, Denise S.; Downey, Alan N.

    2017-01-01

    NASA and the Aviation Industry is looking into reduced crew operations (RCO) that would cut today's required two-person flight crews down to a single pilot with support from ground-based crews. Shared responsibility across air and ground personnel will require highly reliable and secure data communication and supporting automation, which will be safety-critical for passenger and cargo aircraft. This paper looks at the different types and degrees of authority delegation given from the air to the ground and the ramifications of each, including the safety and security hazards introduced, the mitigation mechanisms for these hazards, and other demands on an RCO system architecture which would be highly invasive into (almost) all safety-critical avionics. The adjacent fields of unmanned aerial systems and autonomous ground vehicles are viewed to find problems that RCO may face and related aviation accident scenarios are described. The paper explores possible data communication architectures to meet stringent performance and information security (INFOSEC) requirements of RCO. Subsequently, potential challenges for RCO data communication authentication, encryption and non-repudiation are identified.

  5. Preoperative surgical rehearsal using cadaveric fresh tissue surgical simulation increases resident operative confidence.

    PubMed

    Weber, Erin L; Leland, Hyuma A; Azadgoli, Beina; Minneti, Michael; Carey, Joseph N

    2017-08-01

    Rehearsal is an essential part of mastering any technical skill. The efficacy of surgical rehearsal is currently limited by low fidelity simulation models. Fresh cadaver models, however, offer maximal surgical simulation. We hypothesize that preoperative surgical rehearsal using fresh tissue surgical simulation will improve resident confidence and serve as an important adjunct to current training methods. Preoperative rehearsal of surgical procedures was performed by plastic surgery residents using fresh cadavers in a simulated operative environment. Rehearsal was designed to mimic the clinical operation, complete with a surgical technician to assist. A retrospective, web-based survey was used to assess resident perception of pre- and post-procedure confidence, preparation, technique, speed, safety, and anatomical knowledge on a 5-point scale (1= not confident, 5= very confident). Twenty-six rehearsals were performed by 9 residents (PGY 1-7) an average of 4.7±2.1 days prior to performance of the scheduled operation. Surveys demonstrated a median pre-simulation confidence score of 2 and a post-rehearsal score of 4 (P<0.01). The perceived improvement in confidence and performance was greatest when simulation was performed within 3 days of the scheduled case. All residents felt that cadaveric simulation was better than standard preparation methods of self-directed reading or discussion with other surgeons. All residents believed that their technique, speed, safety, and anatomical knowledge improved as a result of simulation. Fresh tissue-based preoperative surgical rehearsal was effectively implemented in the residency program. Resident confidence and perception of technique improved. Survey results suggest that cadaveric simulation is beneficial for all levels of residents. We believe that implementation of preoperative surgical rehearsal is an effective adjunct to surgical training at all skill levels in the current environment of decreased work hours.

  6. Hybrid propulsion technology program: Phase 1, volume 2

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Schuler, A. L.; Wiley, D. R.

    1989-01-01

    The program objectives of developing hybrid propulsion technology (HPT) to enable its application for manned and unmanned high thrust, high performance space launch vehicles are examined. The studies indicate that the hybrid propulsion (HP) is very attractive, especially when applied to large boosters for programs such as the Advanced Launch System (ALS) and the second generation Space Shuttle. Some of the advantages of HP are identified. Space launch vehicles using HP are less costly than those flying today because their propellant and insulation costs are much less and there are fewer operational restraints due to reduced safety requirements. Boosters using HP have safety features that are highly desirable, particularly for manned flights. HP systems will have a clean exhaust and high performance. Boosters using HP readily integrate with launch vehicles and their launch operations, because they are very compact for the amount of energy contained. Hybrid propulsion will increase the probability of mission success. In order to properly develop the technologies of HP, preliminary HP concepts are evaluated. System analyses and trade studies were performed to identify technologies applicable to HP.

  7. Booster Main Engine Selection Criteria for the Liquid Fly-Back Booster

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ryan, Richard M.; Rothschild, William J.; Christensen, David L.

    1998-01-01

    The Liquid Fly-Back Booster (LFBB) Program seeks to enhance the Space Shuttle system safety performance and economy of operations through the use of an advanced, liquid propellant Booster Main Engine (BME). There are several viable BME candidates that could be suitable for this application. The objective of this study was to identify the key criteria to be applied in selecting among these BME candidates. This study involved an assessment of influences on the overall LFBB utility due to variations in the candidate rocket engines' characteristics. This includes BME impacts on vehicle system weight, perfortnance,design approaches, abort modes, margins of safety, engine-out operations, and maintenance and support concepts. Systems engineering analyses and trade studies were performed to identify the LFBB system level sensitivities to a wide variety of BME related parameters. This presentation summarizes these trade studies and the resulting findings of the LFBB design teams regarding the BME characteristics that most significantly affect the LFBB system. The resulting BME choice should offer the best combination of reliability, performance, reusability, robustness, cost, and risk for the LFBB program.

  8. NASA Space Technology Can Improve Soldier Health, Performance and Safety

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Cowings, Patricia S.; Toscano, William B.

    2000-01-01

    One of the primary goals of NASA Life Sciences research is '... to enable a permanent human presence in space.' To meet this goal, NASA is creating alternative protocols designed to evaluate and test countermeasures that will account for and correct the environmental effects of space flight on crewmembers health, safety, and operational performance. NASA investigators have previously evaluated the effects of long-duration space flight on physiology and performance of cosmonauts aboard the MIR space station. They also initiated tests of a countermeasure, Autogenic-Feedback Training Exercise (AFTE) designed to prevent and/or correct adverse effects, i.e., facilitate adaptation to space and re-adaptation to Earth. AFTE is a six-hour physiological training program that has proven to be a highly efficient and effective method for enabling people to monitor and voluntarily control a range of their own physiological responses, thereby minimizing adverse reactions to environmental stress. However, because of limited opportunities to test this technology with space flight crews, it is essential to find operational or 'real world' environments in which to validate the efficacy of this approach.

  9. Use patterns among early adopters of adaptive cruise control.

    PubMed

    Xiong, Huimin; Boyle, Linda Ng; Moeckli, Jane; Dow, Benjamin R; Brown, Timothy L

    2012-10-01

    The objective of this study was to investigate use patterns among early adopters of adaptive cruise control (ACC). Extended use ofACC may influence a driver's behavior in the long-term, which can have unintended safety consequences. The authors examined the use of a motion-based simulator by 24 participants (15 males and 9 females). Cluster analysis was performed on drivers' use of ACC and was based on their gap settings, speed settings, number of warnings issued, and ACC disengaged. The data were then examined on the basis of driving performance measures and drivers' subjective responses to trust in ACC, understanding of system operations, and driving styles. Driving performance measures included minimum time headway, adjusted minimum time to collision, and drivers' reaction time to critical events. Three groups of drivers were observed on the basis of risky behavior, moderately risky behavior, and conservative behavior. Drivers in the conservative group stayed farther behind the lead vehicle than did drivers in the other two groups. Risky drivers responded later to critical events and had more ACC warnings issued. Safety consequences with ACC may be more prevalent in some driver groups than others. The findings suggest that these safety implications are related to trust in automation, driving styles, understanding of system operations, and personalities. Potential applications of this research include enhanced design for next-generation ACC systems and countermeasures to improve safe driving with ACC.

  10. Monitoring the Performance of a Neuro-Adaptive Controller

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Schumann, Johann; Gupta, Pramod

    2004-01-01

    Traditional control has proven to be ineffective to deal with catastrophic changes or slow degradation of complex, highly nonlinear systems like aircraft or spacecraft, robotics, or flexible manufacturing systems. Control systems which can adapt toward changes in the plant have been proposed as they offer many advantages (e.g., better performance, controllability of aircraft despite of a damaged wing). In the last few years, use of neural networks in adaptive controllers (neuro-adaptive control) has been studied actively. Neural networks of various architectures have been used successfully for online learning adaptive controllers. In such a typical control architecture, the neural network receives as an input the current deviation between desired and actual plant behavior and, by on-line training, tries to minimize this discrepancy (e.g.; by producing a control augmentation signal). Even though neuro-adaptive controllers offer many advantages, they have not been used in mission- or safety-critical applications, because performance and safety guarantees cannot b e provided at development time-a major prerequisite for safety certification (e.g., by the FAA or NASA). Verification and Validation (V&V) of an adaptive controller requires the development of new analysis techniques which can demonstrate that the control system behaves safely under all operating conditions. Because of the requirement to adapt toward unforeseen changes during operation, i.e., in real time, design-time V&V is not sufficient.

  11. Risk Informed Margins Management as part of Risk Informed Safety Margin Characterization

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Curtis Smith

    2014-06-01

    The ability to better characterize and quantify safety margin is important to improved decision making about Light Water Reactor (LWR) design, operation, and plant life extension. A systematic approach to characterization of safety margins and the subsequent margin management options represents a vital input to the licensee and regulatory analysis and decision making that will be involved. In addition, as research and development in the LWR Sustainability (LWRS) Program and other collaborative efforts yield new data, sensors, and improved scientific understanding of physical processes that govern the aging and degradation of plant SSCs needs and opportunities to better optimize plantmore » safety and performance will become known. To support decision making related to economics, readability, and safety, the Risk Informed Safety Margin Characterization (RISMC) Pathway provides methods and tools that enable mitigation options known as risk informed margins management (RIMM) strategies.« less

  12. Acquisition of Fire Safety Knowledge and Skills With Virtual Reality Simulation.

    PubMed

    Rossler, Kelly L; Sankaranarayanan, Ganesh; Duvall, Adrianne

    2018-05-25

    Prelicensure nursing students seeking to enter perioperative nursing need preparatory fire safety knowledge and skills training to participate as a member of an operating room (OR) team. This pilot study examined the effectiveness of the Virtual Electrosurgery Skill Trainer (VEST) on OR fire safety skills among prelicensure nursing students. An experimental pretest-posttest design was used in this study. Twenty nursing students were randomized to a control or an intervention group. Knowledge and skills acquisition of OR fire safety were assessed. There were no statistically significant findings in knowledge for either group. Fisher exact test demonstrated significant relationships between the skills performance criteria of following emergency procedures for a fire and demonstrating PASS (pull-aim-squeeze-sweep) technique (P = .001). Academic and hospital educators may consider incorporating virtual reality simulation to teach fire safety education or reinforce general fire safety practices to nursing students and novice nurses.

  13. An Intelligent Propulsion Control Architecture to Enable More Autonomous Vehicle Operation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Litt, Jonathan S.; Sowers, T. Shane; Simon, Donald L.; Owen, A. Karl; Rinehart, Aidan W.; Chicatelli, Amy K.; Acheson, Michael J.; Hueschen, Richard M.; Spiers, Christopher W.

    2018-01-01

    This paper describes an intelligent propulsion control architecture that coordinates with the flight control to reduce the amount of pilot intervention required to operate the vehicle. Objectives of the architecture include the ability to: automatically recognize the aircraft operating state and flight phase; configure engine control to optimize performance with knowledge of engine condition and capability; enhance aircraft performance by coordinating propulsion control with flight control; and recognize off-nominal propulsion situations and to respond to them autonomously. The hierarchical intelligent propulsion system control can be decomposed into a propulsion system level and an individual engine level. The architecture is designed to be flexible to accommodate evolving requirements, adapt to technology improvements, and maintain safety.

  14. The {open_quotes}ASR{close_quotes} story where we are and how we got there: A history of Sandia National Laboratories maintenance employee safety committee

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    NONE

    1997-08-01

    The Area Safety Representative (ASR) Team is an employee based safety committee that was originated in the latter part of 1994. It was introduced by the Operations and Engineering Center ES&H Coordinator who had heard about an employee based safety program implemented at the EG&G Corporation. This information was the first step in creating Sandia`s Maintenance `Area Safety Representative` (ASR) Program. An advertisement went out from the ES&H Coordinator to all the Maintenance Organizations asking for individuals who would be interested in performing as a volunteer safety representative for their section. The interest was moderate but effective. The committee consistedmore » of one volunteer from each of the working sections within the Maintenance Organization, e.e., HVAC Mechanics, Electricians, Millwrights, Plumbers, Sheetmetal Workers, High-Voltage Technicians, a Union Representative, and representatives from the Operations Group that manage sub-contracted personnel. During the past year, organizational changes have brought about the addition of representatives to include the Planners and the Custodians. The original committee members were enrolled in a 30-hour OSHA Voluntary Compliance Outreach Course. This information provided the members with a broad overview of the Safety Guidelines set forth by OSHA for themselves and their coworkers. It is to be noted that this is an employee based safety team. There are no supervisors or managers on the committee but their attendance is always welcomed at the ASR meetings.« less

  15. Technology Infusion of CodeSonar into the Space Network Ground Segment (RII07)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Benson, Markland

    2008-01-01

    The NASA Software Assurance Research Program (in part) performs studies as to the feasibility of technologies for improving the safety, quality, reliability, cost, and performance of NASA software. This study considers the application of commercial automated source code analysis tools to mission critical ground software that is in the operations and sustainment portion of the product lifecycle.

  16. da Vinci robot-assisted keyhole neurosurgery: a cadaver study on feasibility and safety.

    PubMed

    Marcus, Hani J; Hughes-Hallett, Archie; Cundy, Thomas P; Yang, Guang-Zhong; Darzi, Ara; Nandi, Dipankar

    2015-04-01

    The goal of this cadaver study was to evaluate the feasibility and safety of da Vinci robot-assisted keyhole neurosurgery. Several keyhole craniotomies were fashioned including supraorbital subfrontal, retrosigmoid and supracerebellar infratentorial. In each case, a simple durotomy was performed, and the flap was retracted. The da Vinci surgical system was then used to perform arachnoid dissection towards the deep-seated intracranial cisterns. It was not possible to simultaneously pass the 12-mm endoscope and instruments through the keyhole craniotomy in any of the approaches performed, limiting visualization. The articulated instruments provided greater dexterity than existing tools, but the instrument arms could not be placed in parallel through the keyhole craniotomy and, therefore, could not be advanced to the deep cisterns without significant clashing. The da Vinci console offered considerable ergonomic advantages over the existing operating room arrangement, allowing the operating surgeon to remain non-sterile and seated comfortably throughout the procedure. However, the lack of haptic feedback was a notable limitation. In conclusion, while robotic platforms have the potential to greatly enhance the performance of transcranial approaches, there is strong justification for research into next-generation robots, better suited to keyhole neurosurgery.

  17. The in-depth safety assessment (ISA) pilot projects in Ukraine.

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kot, C. A.

    1998-02-10

    Ukraine operates pressurized water reactors of the Soviet-designed type, VVER. All Ukrainian plants are currently operating with annually renewable permits until they update their safety analysis reports (SARs). After approval of the SARS by the Ukrainian Nuclear Regulatory Authority, the plants will be granted longer-term operating licenses. In September 1995, the Nuclear Regulatory Authority and the Government Nuclear Power Coordinating Committee of Ukraine issued a new contents requirement for the safety analysis reports of VVERs in Ukraine. It contains requirements in three major areas: design basis accident (DBA) analysis, probabilistic risk assessment (PRA), and beyond design-basis accident (BDBA) analysis. Themore » DBA requirements are an expanded version of the older SAR requirements. The last two requirements, on PRA and BDBA, are new. The US Department of Energy (USDOE), through the International Nuclear Safety Program (INSP), has initiated an assistance and technology transfer program to Ukraine to assist their nuclear power stations in developing a Western-type technical basis for the new SARS. USDOE sponsored In-Depth Safety Assessments (ISAs) have been initiated at three pilot nuclear reactor units in Ukraine, South Ukraine Unit 1, Zaporizhzhya Unit 5, and Rivne Unit 1. USDOE/INSP have structured the ISA program in such a way as to provide maximum assistance and technology transfer to Ukraine while encouraging and supporting the Ukrainian plants to take the responsibility and initiative and to perform the required assessments.« less

  18. LANL continuity of operations plan

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Senutovitch, Diane M

    2010-12-22

    The Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is a premier national security research institution, delivering scientific and engineering solutions for the nation's most crucial and complex problems. Our primary responsibility is to ensure the safety, security, and reliability of the nation's nuclear stockpile. LANL emphasizes worker safety, effective operational safeguards and security, and environmental stewardship, outstanding science remains the foundation of work at the Laboratory. In addition to supporting the Laboratory's core national security mission, our work advances bioscience, chemistry, computer science, earth and environmental sciences, materials science, and physics disciplines. To accomplish LANL's mission, we must ensure that the Laboratorymore » EFs continue to be performed during a continuity event, including localized acts of nature, accidents, technological or attack-related emergencies, and pandemic or epidemic events. The LANL Continuity of Operations (COOP) Plan documents the overall LANL COOP Program and provides the operational framework to implement continuity policies, requirements, and responsibilities at LANL, as required by DOE 0 150.1, Continuity Programs, May 2008. LANL must maintain its ability to perform the nation's PMEFs, which are: (1) maintain the safety and security of nuclear materials in the DOE Complex at fixed sites and in transit; (2) respond to a nuclear incident, both domestically and internationally, caused by terrorist activity, natural disaster, or accident, including mobilizing the resources to support these efforts; and (3) support the nation's energy infrastructure. This plan supports Continuity of Operations for Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). This plan issues LANL policy as directed by the DOE 0 150.1, Continuity Programs, and provides direction for the orderly continuation of LANL EFs for 30 days of closure or 60 days for a pandemic/epidemic event. Initiation of COOP operations may be required to support an allhazards event, including a national security emergency, major fire, catastrophic natural disaster, man-made disaster, terrorism event, or technological disaster by rendering LANL buildings, infrastructure, or Technical Areas unsafe, temporarily unusable, or inaccessible.« less

  19. Real-Time Risk Assessment Framework for Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Traffic Management (UTM)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ancel, Ersin; Capristan, Francisco M.; Foster, John V.; Condotta, Ryan

    2017-01-01

    The new Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Small Unmanned Aircraft rule (Part 107) marks the first national regulations for commercial operation of small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) under 55 pounds within the National Airspace System (NAS). Although sUAS flights may not be performed beyond visual line-of-sight or over non- participant structures and people, safety of sUAS operations must still be maintained and tracked at all times. Moreover, future safety-critical operation of sUAS (e.g., for package delivery) are already being conceived and tested. NASA's Unmanned Aircraft System Trac Management (UTM) concept aims to facilitate the safe use of low-altitude airspace for sUAS operations. This paper introduces the UTM Risk Assessment Framework (URAF) which was developed to provide real-time safety evaluation and tracking capability within the UTM concept. The URAF uses Bayesian Belief Networks (BBNs) to propagate off -nominal condition probabilities based on real-time component failure indicators. This information is then used to assess the risk to people on the ground by calculating the potential impact area and the effects of the impact. The visual representation of the expected area of impact and the nominal risk level can assist operators and controllers with dynamic trajectory planning and execution. The URAF was applied to a case study to illustrate the concept.

  20. How to pass a sensor acceptance test: using the gap between acceptance criteria and operational performance

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bijl, Piet

    2016-10-01

    When acquiring a new imaging system and operational task performance is a critical factor for success, it is necessary to specify minimum acceptance requirements that need to be met using a sensor performance model and/or performance tests. Currently, there exist a variety of models and test from different origin (defense, security, road safety, optometry) and they all do different predictions. This study reviews a number of frequently used methods and shows the effects that small changes in procedure or threshold criteria can have on the outcome of a test. For example, a system may meet the acceptance requirements but not satisfy the needs for the operational task, or the choice of test may determine the rank order of candidate sensors. The goal of the paper is to make people aware of the pitfalls associated with the acquisition process, by i) illustrating potential tricks to have a system accepted that is actually not suited for the operational task, and ii) providing tips to avoid this unwanted situation.

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