Sample records for safety system functional

  1. Integration of functional safety systems on the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Williams, Timothy R.; Hubbard, Robert P.; Shimko, Steve

    2016-07-01

    The Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST) was envisioned from an early stage to incorporate a functional safety system to ensure the safety of personnel and equipment within the facility. Early hazard analysis showed the need for a functional safety system. The design used a distributed approach in which each major subsystem contains a PLC-based safety controller. This PLC-based system complies with the latest international standards for functional safety. The use of a programmable controller also allows for flexibility to incorporate changes in the design of subsystems without adversely impacting safety. Various subsystems were built by different contractors and project partners but had to function as a piece of the overall control system. Using distributed controllers allows project contractors and partners to build components as standalone subsystems that then need to be integrated into the overall functional safety system. Recently factory testing was concluded on the major subsystems of the facility. Final integration of these subsystems is currently underway on the site. Building on lessons learned in early factory tests, changes to the interface between subsystems were made to improve the speed and ease of integration of the entire system. Because of the distributed design each subsystem can be brought online as it is delivered and assembled rather than waiting until the entire facility is finished. This enhances safety during the risky period of integration and testing. The DKIST has implemented a functional safety system that has allowed construction of subsystems in geographically diverse locations but that function cohesively once they are integrated into the facility currently under construction.

  2. 33 CFR 96.240 - What functional requirements must a safety management system meet?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... a safety management system meet? 96.240 Section 96.240 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY VESSEL OPERATING REGULATIONS RULES FOR THE SAFE OPERATION OF VESSELS AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS Company and Vessel Safety Management Systems § 96.240 What functional...

  3. Modelling safety of multistate systems with ageing components

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

    Kołowrocki, Krzysztof; Soszyńska-Budny, Joanna

    An innovative approach to safety analysis of multistate ageing systems is presented. Basic notions of the ageing multistate systems safety analysis are introduced. The system components and the system multistate safety functions are defined. The mean values and variances of the multistate systems lifetimes in the safety state subsets and the mean values of their lifetimes in the particular safety states are defined. The multi-state system risk function and the moment of exceeding by the system the critical safety state are introduced. Applications of the proposed multistate system safety models to the evaluation and prediction of the safty characteristics ofmore » the consecutive “m out of n: F” is presented as well.« less

  4. Functional Safety of Hybrid Laser Safety Systems - How can a Combination between Passive and Active Components Prevent Accidents?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lugauer, F. P.; Stiehl, T. H.; Zaeh, M. F.

    Modern laser systems are widely used in industry due to their excellent flexibility and high beam intensities. This leads to an increased hazard potential, because conventional laser safety barriers only offer a short protection time when illuminated with high laser powers. For that reason active systems are used more and more to prevent accidents with laser machines. These systems must fulfil the requirements of functional safety, e.g. according to IEC 61508, which causes high costs. The safety provided by common passive barriers is usually unconsidered in this context. In the presented approach, active and passive systems are evaluated from a holistic perspective. To assess the functional safety of hybrid safety systems, the failure probability of passive barriers is analysed and added to the failure probability of the active system.

  5. Functional safety for the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bulau, Scott; Williams, Timothy R.

    2012-09-01

    Since inception, the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope (ATST) has planned to implement a facility-wide functional safety system to protect personnel from harm and prevent damage to the facility or environment. The ATST will deploy an integrated safety-related control system (SRCS) to achieve functional safety throughout the facility rather than relying on individual facility subsystems to provide safety functions on an ad hoc basis. The Global Interlock System (GIS) is an independent, distributed, facility-wide, safety-related control system, comprised of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) programmable controllers that monitor, evaluate, and control hazardous energy and conditions throughout the facility that arise during operation and maintenance. The GIS has been designed to utilize recent advances in technology for functional safety plus revised national and international standards that allow for a distributed architecture using programmable controllers over a local area network instead of traditional hard-wired safety functions, while providing an equivalent or even greater level of safety. Programmable controllers provide an ideal platform for controlling the often complex interrelationships between subsystems in a modern astronomical facility, such as the ATST. A large, complex hard-wired relay control system is no longer needed. This type of system also offers greater flexibility during development and integration in addition to providing for expanded capability into the future. The GIS features fault detection, self-diagnostics, and redundant communications that will lead to decreased maintenance time and increased availability of the facility.

  6. Urban and suburban arterial safety performance functions : final report.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2016-06-30

    This report documents findings from a comprehensive set of safety performance functions developed for the entire urban-suburban : arterial road segment system on the state highway system in Washington. Conventional urban suburban safety performance :...

  7. 10 CFR 50.36 - Technical specifications.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ..., or component that is part of the primary success path and which functions or actuates to mitigate a... significant safety functions. Where a limiting safety system setting is specified for a variable on which a... the automatic safety system does not function as required, the licensee shall take appropriate action...

  8. Design of agricultural product quality safety retrospective supervision system of Jiangsu province

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Kun

    2017-08-01

    In store and supermarkets to consumers can trace back agricultural products through the electronic province card to query their origin, planting, processing, packaging, testing and other important information and found that the problems. Quality and safety issues can identify the responsibility of the problem. This paper designs a retroactive supervision system for the quality and safety of agricultural products in Jiangsu Province. Based on the analysis of agricultural production and business process, the goal of Jiangsu agricultural product quality safety traceability system construction is established, and the specific functional requirements and non-functioning requirements of the retroactive system are analyzed, and the target is specified for the specific construction of the retroactive system. The design of the quality and safety traceability system in Jiangsu province contains the design of the overall design, the trace code design and the system function module.

  9. Improving Performance of the System Safety Function at Marshall Space Flight Center

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kiessling, Ed; Tippett, Donald D.; Shivers, Herb

    2004-01-01

    The Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) determined that organizational and management issues were significant contributors to the loss of Space Shuttle Columbia. In addition, the CAIB observed similarities between the organizational and management climate that preceded the Challenger accident and the climate that preceded the Columbia accident. To prevent recurrence of adverse organizational and management climates, effective implementation of the system safety function is suggested. Attributes of an effective system safety program are presented. The Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) system safety program is analyzed using the attributes. Conclusions and recommendations for improving the MSFC system safety program are offered in this case study.

  10. Software Dependability and Safety Evaluations ESA's Initiative

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hernek, M.

    ESA has allocated funds for an initiative to evaluate Dependability and Safety methods of Software. The objectives of this initiative are; · More extensive validation of Safety and Dependability techniques for Software · Provide valuable results to improve the quality of the Software thus promoting the application of Dependability and Safety methods and techniques. ESA space systems are being developed according to defined PA requirement specifications. These requirements may be implemented through various design concepts, e.g. redundancy, diversity etc. varying from project to project. Analysis methods (FMECA. FTA, HA, etc) are frequently used during requirements analysis and design activities to assure the correct implementation of system PA requirements. The criticality level of failures, functions and systems is determined and by doing that the critical sub-systems are identified, on which dependability and safety techniques are to be applied during development. Proper performance of the software development requires the development of a technical specification for the products at the beginning of the life cycle. Such technical specification comprises both functional and non-functional requirements. These non-functional requirements address characteristics of the product such as quality, dependability, safety and maintainability. Software in space systems is more and more used in critical functions. Also the trend towards more frequent use of COTS and reusable components pose new difficulties in terms of assuring reliable and safe systems. Because of this, its dependability and safety must be carefully analysed. ESA identified and documented techniques, methods and procedures to ensure that software dependability and safety requirements are specified and taken into account during the design and development of a software system and to verify/validate that the implemented software systems comply with these requirements [R1].

  11. Occupational Safety and Health System for Workers Engaged in Emergency Response Operations in the USA.

    PubMed

    Toyoda, Hiroyuki; Kubo, Tatsuhiko; Mori, Koji

    2016-12-03

    To study the occupational safety and health systems used for emergency response workers in the USA, we performed interviews with related federal agencies and conducted research on related studies. We visited the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in the USA and performed interviews with their managers on the agencies' roles in the national emergency response system. We also obtained information prepared for our visit from the USA's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). In addition, we conducted research on related studies and information on the website of the agencies. We found that the USA had an established emergency response system based on their National Incident Management System (NIMS). This enabled several organizations to respond to emergencies cooperatively using a National Response Framework (NRF) that clarifies the roles and cooperative functions of each federal agency. The core system in NIMS was the Incident Command System (ICS), within which a Safety Officer was positioned as one of the command staff supporting the commander. All ICS staff were required to complete a training program specific to their position; in addition, the Safety Officer was required to have experience. The All-Hazards model was commonly used in the emergency response system. We found that FEMA coordinated support functions, and OSHA and NIOSH, which had specific functions to protect workers, worked cooperatively under NRF. These agencies employed certified industrial hygienists that play a professional role in safety and health. NIOSH recently executed support activities during disasters and other emergencies. The USA's emergency response system is characterized by functions that protect the lives and health of emergency response workers. Trained and experienced human resources support system effectiveness. The findings provided valuable information that could be used to improve the occupational safety and health function in the Japanese system.

  12. Normal people working in normal organizations with normal equipment: system safety and cognition in a mid-air collision.

    PubMed

    de Carvalho, Paulo Victor Rodrigues; Gomes, José Orlando; Huber, Gilbert Jacob; Vidal, Mario Cesar

    2009-05-01

    A fundamental challenge in improving the safety of complex systems is to understand how accidents emerge in normal working situations, with equipment functioning normally in normally structured organizations. We present a field study of the en route mid-air collision between a commercial carrier and an executive jet, in the clear afternoon Amazon sky in which 154 people lost their lives, that illustrates one response to this challenge. Our focus was on how and why the several safety barriers of a well structured air traffic system melted down enabling the occurrence of this tragedy, without any catastrophic component failure, and in a situation where everything was functioning normally. We identify strong consistencies and feedbacks regarding factors of system day-to-day functioning that made monitoring and awareness difficult, and the cognitive strategies that operators have developed to deal with overall system behavior. These findings emphasize the active problem-solving behavior needed in air traffic control work, and highlight how the day-to-day functioning of the system can jeopardize such behavior. An immediate consequence is that safety managers and engineers should review their traditional safety approach and accident models based on equipment failure probability, linear combinations of failures, rules and procedures, and human errors, to deal with complex patterns of coincidence possibilities, unexpected links, resonance among system functions and activities, and system cognition.

  13. Software-Based Safety Systems in Space - Learning from other Domains

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Klicker, M.; Putzer, H.

    2012-01-01

    Increasing complexity and new emerging capabilities for manned and unmanned missions have been the hallmark of the past decades of space exploration. One of the drivers in this process was the ever increasing use of software and software-intensive systems to implement system functions necessary to the capabilities needed. The course of technological evolution suggests that this development will continue well into the future with a number of challenges for the safety community some of which shall be discussed in this paper. The current state of the art reveals a number of problems with developing and assessing safety critical software which explains the reluctance of the space community to rely on software-based safety measures to mitigate hazards. Among others, usually lack of trustworthy evidence of software integrity in all foreseeable situations and the difficulties to integrate software in the traditional safety analysis framework are cited. Experience from other domains and recent developments in modern software development methodologies and verification techniques are analysed for the suitability for space systems and an avionics architectural framework (see STANAG 4626) for the implementation of safety critical software is proposed. This is shown to create among other features the possibility of numerous degradation modes enhancing overall system safety and interoperability of computerized space systems. It also potentially simplifies international cooperation on a technical level by introducing a higher degree of compatibility. As software safety cannot be tested or argued into a system in hindsight, the development process and especially the architecture chosen are essential to establish safety properties for the software used to implement safety functions. The core of the safety argument revolves around the separation of different functions and software modules from each other by minimal coupling of functions and credible separation mechanisms in the architecture combined with rigorous development methodologies for the software itself.

  14. Software Safety Risk in Legacy Safety-Critical Computer Systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hill, Janice L.; Baggs, Rhoda

    2007-01-01

    Safety Standards contain technical and process-oriented safety requirements. Technical requirements are those such as "must work" and "must not work" functions in the system. Process-Oriented requirements are software engineering and safety management process requirements. Address the system perspective and some cover just software in the system > NASA-STD-8719.13B Software Safety Standard is the current standard of interest. NASA programs/projects will have their own set of safety requirements derived from the standard. Safety Cases: a) Documented demonstration that a system complies with the specified safety requirements. b) Evidence is gathered on the integrity of the system and put forward as an argued case. [Gardener (ed.)] c) Problems occur when trying to meet safety standards, and thus make retrospective safety cases, in legacy safety-critical computer systems.

  15. Commonalities and Differences in Functional Safety Systems Between ISS Payloads and Industrial Applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Malyshev, Mikhail; Kreimer, Johannes

    2013-09-01

    Safety analyses for electrical, electronic and/or programmable electronic (E/E/EP) safety-related systems used in payload applications on-board the International Space Station (ISS) are often based on failure modes, effects and criticality analysis (FMECA). For industrial applications of E/E/EP safety-related systems, comparable strategies exist and are defined in the IEC-61508 standard. This standard defines some quantitative criteria based on potential failure modes (for example, Safe Failure Fraction). These criteria can be calculated for an E/E/EP system or components to assess their compliance to requirements of a particular Safety Integrity Level (SIL). The standard defines several SILs depending on how much risk has to be mitigated by a safety-critical system. When a FMECA is available for an ISS payload or its subsystem, it may be possible to calculate the same or similar parameters as defined in the 61508 standard. One example of a payload that has a dedicated functional safety subsystem is the Electromagnetic Levitator (EML). This payload for the ISS is planned to be operated on-board starting 2014. The EML is a high-temperature materials processing facility. The dedicated subsystem "Hazard Control Electronics" (HCE) is implemented to ensure compliance to failure tolerance in limiting samples processing parameters to maintain generation of the potentially toxic by-products to safe limits in line with the requirements applied to the payloads by the ISS Program. The objective of this paper is to assess the implementation of the HCE in the EML against criteria for functional safety systems in the IEC-61508 standard and to evaluate commonalities and differences with respect to safety requirements levied on ISS Payloads. An attempt is made to assess a possibility of using commercially available components and systems certified for compliance to industrial functional safety standards in ISS payloads.

  16. European Workshop Industrical Computer Science Systems approach to design for safety

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Zalewski, Janusz

    1992-01-01

    This paper presents guidelines on designing systems for safety, developed by the Technical Committee 7 on Reliability and Safety of the European Workshop on Industrial Computer Systems. The focus is on complementing the traditional development process by adding the following four steps: (1) overall safety analysis; (2) analysis of the functional specifications; (3) designing for safety; (4) validation of design. Quantitative assessment of safety is possible by means of a modular questionnaire covering various aspects of the major stages of system development.

  17. Sociotechnical systems as a framework for regulatory system design and evaluation: Using Work Domain Analysis to examine a new regulatory system.

    PubMed

    Carden, Tony; Goode, Natassia; Read, Gemma J M; Salmon, Paul M

    2017-03-15

    Like most work systems, the domain of adventure activities has seen a series of serious incidents and subsequent calls to improve regulation. Safety regulation systems aim to promote safety and reduce accidents. However, there is scant evidence they have led to improved safety outcomes. In fact there is some evidence that the poor integration of regulatory system components has led to adverse safety outcomes in some contexts. Despite this, there is an absence of methods for evaluating regulatory and compliance systems. This article argues that sociotechnical systems theory and methods provide a suitable framework for evaluating regulatory systems. This is demonstrated through an analysis of a recently introduced set of adventure activity regulations. Work Domain Analysis (WDA) was used to describe the regulatory system in terms of its functional purposes, values and priority measures, purpose-related functions, object-related processes and cognitive objects. This allowed judgement to be made on the nature of the new regulatory system and on the constraints that may impact its efficacy following implementation. Importantly, the analysis suggests that the new system's functional purpose of ensuring safe activities is not fully supported in terms of the functions and objects available to fulfil them. Potential improvements to the design of the system are discussed along with the implications for regulatory system design and evaluation across the safety critical domains generally. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Safety of High Speed Ground Transportation Systems : Analytical Methodology for Safety Validation of Computer Controlled Subsystems : Volume 2. Development of a Safety Validation Methodology

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1995-01-01

    This report describes the development of a methodology designed to assure that a sufficiently high level of safety is achieved and maintained in computer-based systems which perform safety cortical functions in high-speed rail or magnetic levitation ...

  19. 49 CFR 236.911 - Exclusions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... system technology. However, a subsystem or component of an office system must comply with the requirements of this subpart if it performs safety-critical functions within, or affects the safety performance... this subpart if they result in a degradation of safety or a material increase in safety-critical...

  20. 49 CFR 236.911 - Exclusions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... system technology. However, a subsystem or component of an office system must comply with the requirements of this subpart if it performs safety-critical functions within, or affects the safety performance... this subpart if they result in a degradation of safety or a material increase in safety-critical...

  1. 49 CFR 236.911 - Exclusions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... system technology. However, a subsystem or component of an office system must comply with the requirements of this subpart if it performs safety-critical functions within, or affects the safety performance... this subpart if they result in a degradation of safety or a material increase in safety-critical...

  2. 49 CFR 236.911 - Exclusions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... system technology. However, a subsystem or component of an office system must comply with the requirements of this subpart if it performs safety-critical functions within, or affects the safety performance... this subpart if they result in a degradation of safety or a material increase in safety-critical...

  3. 49 CFR 236.911 - Exclusions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... system technology. However, a subsystem or component of an office system must comply with the requirements of this subpart if it performs safety-critical functions within, or affects the safety performance... this subpart if they result in a degradation of safety or a material increase in safety-critical...

  4. An aspect-oriented approach for designing safety-critical systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Petrov, Z.; Zaykov, P. G.; Cardoso, J. P.; Coutinho, J. G. F.; Diniz, P. C.; Luk, W.

    The development of avionics systems is typically a tedious and cumbersome process. In addition to the required functions, developers must consider various and often conflicting non-functional requirements such as safety, performance, and energy efficiency. Certainly, an integrated approach with a seamless design flow that is capable of requirements modelling and supporting refinement down to an actual implementation in a traceable way, may lead to a significant acceleration of development cycles. This paper presents an aspect-oriented approach supported by a tool chain that deals with functional and non-functional requirements in an integrated manner. It also discusses how the approach can be applied to development of safety-critical systems and provides experimental results.

  5. 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.

  6. Design an optimum safety policy for personnel safety management - A system dynamic approach

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Balaji, P.

    2014-10-01

    Personnel safety management (PSM) ensures that employee's work conditions are healthy and safe by various proactive and reactive approaches. Nowadays it is a complex phenomenon because of increasing dynamic nature of organisations which results in an increase of accidents. An important part of accident prevention is to understand the existing system properly and make safety strategies for that system. System dynamics modelling appears to be an appropriate methodology to explore and make strategy for PSM. Many system dynamics models of industrial systems have been built entirely for specific host firms. This thesis illustrates an alternative approach. The generic system dynamics model of Personnel safety management was developed and tested in a host firm. The model was undergone various structural, behavioural and policy tests. The utility and effectiveness of model was further explored through modelling a safety scenario. In order to create effective safety policy under resource constraint, DOE (Design of experiment) was used. DOE uses classic designs, namely, fractional factorials and central composite designs. It used to make second order regression equation which serve as an objective function. That function was optimized under budget constraint and optimum value used for safety policy which shown greatest improvement in overall PSM. The outcome of this research indicates that personnel safety management model has the capability for acting as instruction tool to improve understanding of safety management and also as an aid to policy making.

  7. Analyzing Software Requirements Errors in Safety-Critical, Embedded Systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lutz, Robyn R.

    1993-01-01

    This paper analyzes the root causes of safety-related software errors in safety-critical, embedded systems. The results show that software errors identified as potentially hazardous to the system tend to be produced by different error mechanisms than non- safety-related software errors. Safety-related software errors are shown to arise most commonly from (1) discrepancies between the documented requirements specifications and the requirements needed for correct functioning of the system and (2) misunderstandings of the software's interface with the rest of the system. The paper uses these results to identify methods by which requirements errors can be prevented. The goal is to reduce safety-related software errors and to enhance the safety of complex, embedded systems.

  8. Systems, methods and apparatus for quiesence of autonomic safety devices with self action

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hinchey, Michael G. (Inventor); Sterritt, Roy (Inventor)

    2011-01-01

    Systems, methods and apparatus are provided through which in some embodiments an autonomic environmental safety device may be quiesced. In at least one embodiment, a method for managing an autonomic safety device, such as a smoke detector, based on functioning state and operating status of the autonomic safety device includes processing received signals from the autonomic safety device to obtain an analysis of the condition of the autonomic safety device, generating one or more stay-awake signals based on the functioning status and the operating state of the autonomic safety device, transmitting the stay-awake signal, transmitting self health/urgency data, and transmitting environment health/urgency data. A quiesce component of an autonomic safety device can render the autonomic safety device inactive for a specific amount of time or until a challenging situation has passed.

  9. Towards integrated hygiene and food safety management systems: the Hygieneomic approach.

    PubMed

    Armstrong, G D

    1999-09-15

    Integrated hygiene and food safety management systems in food production can give rise to exceptional improvements in food safety performance, but require high level commitment and full functional involvement. A new approach, named hygieneomics, has been developed to assist management in their introduction of hygiene and food safety systems. For an effective introduction, the management systems must be designed to fit with the current generational state of an organisation. There are, broadly speaking, four generational states of an organisation in their approach to food safety. They comprise: (i) rules setting; (ii) ensuring compliance; (iii) individual commitment; (iv) interdependent action. In order to set up an effective integrated hygiene and food safety management system a number of key managerial requirements are necessary. The most important ones are: (a) management systems must integrate the activities of key functions from research and development through to supply chain and all functions need to be involved; (b) there is a critical role for the senior executive, in communicating policy and standards; (c) responsibilities must be clearly defined, and it should be clear that food safety is a line management responsibility not to be delegated to technical or quality personnel; (d) a thorough and effective multi-level audit approach is necessary; (e) key activities in the system are HACCP and risk management, but it is stressed that these are ongoing management activities, not once-off paper generating exercises; and (f) executive management board level review is necessary of audit results, measurements, status and business benefits.

  10. ASIL determination for motorbike's Electronics Throttle Control System (ETCS) mulfunction

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zaman Rokhani, Fakhrul; Rahman, Muhammad Taqiuddin Abdul; Ain Kamsani, Noor; Sidek, Roslina Mohd; Saripan, M. Iqbal; Samsudin, Khairulmizam; Khair Hassan, Mohd

    2017-11-01

    Electronics Throttle Control System (ETCS) is the principal electronic unit in all fuel injection engine motorbike, augmenting the engine performance efficiency in comparison to the conventional carburetor based engine. ETCS is regarded as a safety-critical component, whereby ETCS malfunction can cause unintended acceleration or deceleration event, which can be hazardous to riders. In this study, Hazard Analysis and Risk Assessment, an ISO26262 functional safety standard analysis has been applied on motorbike's ETCS to determine the required automotive safety integrity level. Based on the analysis, the established automotive safety integrity level can help to derive technical and functional safety measures for ETCS development.

  11. Westinghouse Small Modular Reactor balance of plant and supporting systems design

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

    Memmott, M. J.; Stansbury, C.; Taylor, C.

    2012-07-01

    The Westinghouse Small Modular Reactor (SMR) is an 800 MWt (>225 MWe) integral pressurized water reactor (iPWR), in which all of the components typically associated with the nuclear steam supply system (NSSS) of a nuclear power plant are incorporated within a single reactor pressure vessel. This paper is the second in a series of four papers which describe the design and functionality of the Westinghouse SMR. It focuses, in particular, upon the supporting systems and the balance of plant (BOP) designs of the Westinghouse SMR. Several Westinghouse SMR systems are classified as safety, and are critical to the safe operationmore » of the Westinghouse SMR. These include the protection and monitoring system (PMS), the passive core cooling system (PXS), and the spent fuel cooling system (SFS) including pools, valves, and piping. The Westinghouse SMR safety related systems include the instrumentation and controls (I and C) as well as redundant and physically separated safety trains with batteries, electrical systems, and switch gears. Several other incorporated systems are non-safety related, but provide functions for plant operations including defense-in-depth functions. These include the chemical volume control system (CVS), heating, ventilation and cooling (HVAC) systems, component cooling water system (CCS), normal residual heat removal system (RNS) and service water system (SWS). The integrated performance of the safety-related and non-safety related systems ensures the safe and efficient operation of the Westinghouse SMR through various conditions and transients. The turbine island consists of the turbine, electric generator, feedwater and steam systems, moisture separation systems, and the condensers. The BOP is designed to minimize assembly time, shipping challenges, and on-site testing requirements for all structures, systems, and components. (authors)« less

  12. Design an optimum safety policy for personnel safety management - A system dynamic approach

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

    Balaji, P.

    2014-10-06

    Personnel safety management (PSM) ensures that employee's work conditions are healthy and safe by various proactive and reactive approaches. Nowadays it is a complex phenomenon because of increasing dynamic nature of organisations which results in an increase of accidents. An important part of accident prevention is to understand the existing system properly and make safety strategies for that system. System dynamics modelling appears to be an appropriate methodology to explore and make strategy for PSM. Many system dynamics models of industrial systems have been built entirely for specific host firms. This thesis illustrates an alternative approach. The generic system dynamicsmore » model of Personnel safety management was developed and tested in a host firm. The model was undergone various structural, behavioural and policy tests. The utility and effectiveness of model was further explored through modelling a safety scenario. In order to create effective safety policy under resource constraint, DOE (Design of experiment) was used. DOE uses classic designs, namely, fractional factorials and central composite designs. It used to make second order regression equation which serve as an objective function. That function was optimized under budget constraint and optimum value used for safety policy which shown greatest improvement in overall PSM. The outcome of this research indicates that personnel safety management model has the capability for acting as instruction tool to improve understanding of safety management and also as an aid to policy making.« less

  13. Safety Analysis and Protection Measures of the Control System of the Pulsed High Magnetic Field Facility in WHMFC

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shi, J. T.; Han, X. T.; Xie, J. F.; Yao, L.; Huang, L. T.; Li, L.

    2013-03-01

    A Pulsed High Magnetic Field Facility (PHMFF) has been established in Wuhan National High Magnetic Field Center (WHMFC) and various protection measures are applied in its control system. In order to improve the reliability and robustness of the control system, the safety analysis of the PHMFF is carried out based on Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) technique. The function and realization of 5 protection systems, which include sequence experiment operation system, safety assistant system, emergency stop system, fault detecting and processing system and accident isolating protection system, are given. The tests and operation indicate that these measures improve the safety of the facility and ensure the safety of people.

  14. The Design of a Practical Enterprise Safety Management System

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gabbar, Hossam A.; Suzuki, Kazuhiko

    This book presents design guidelines and implementation approaches for enterprise safety management system as integrated within enterprise integrated systems. It shows new model-based safety management where process design automation is integrated with enterprise business functions and components. It proposes new system engineering approach addressed to new generation chemical industry. It will help both the undergraduate and professional readers to build basic knowledge about issues and problems of designing practical enterprise safety management system, while presenting in clear way, the system and information engineering practices to design enterprise integrated solution.

  15. Formal Verification of Complex Systems based on SysML Functional Requirements

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-12-23

    Formal Verification of Complex Systems based on SysML Functional Requirements Hoda Mehrpouyan1, Irem Y. Tumer2, Chris Hoyle2, Dimitra Giannakopoulou3...requirements for design of complex engineered systems. The proposed ap- proach combines a SysML modeling approach to document and structure safety requirements...methods and tools to support the integration of safety into the design solution. 2.1. SysML for Complex Engineered Systems Traditional methods and tools

  16. Two-lane rural highways safety performance functions.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2016-05-01

    This report documents findings from a comprehensive set of safety performance functions developed for the entire : state two-lane rural highway system in Washington. The findings indicate that random parameter models and : heterogeneous negative bino...

  17. Mathematical modelling of active safety system functions as tools for development of driverless vehicles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ryazantsev, V.; Mezentsev, N.; Zakharov, A.

    2018-02-01

    This paper is dedicated to a solution of the issue of synthesis of the vehicle longitudinal dynamics control functions (acceleration and deceleration control) based on the element base of the vehicle active safety system (ESP) - driverless vehicle development tool. This strategy helps to reduce time and complexity of integration of autonomous motion control systems (AMCS) into the vehicle architecture and allows direct control of actuators ensuring the longitudinal dynamics control, as well as reduction of time for calibration works. The “vehicle+wheel+road” longitudinal dynamics control is complicated due to the absence of the required prior information about the control object. Therefore, the control loop becomes an adaptive system, i.e. a self-adjusting monitoring system. Another difficulty is the driver’s perception of the longitudinal dynamics control process in terms of comfort. Traditionally, one doesn’t pay a lot of attention to this issue within active safety systems, and retention of vehicle steerability, controllability and stability in emergency situations are considered to be the quality criteria. This is mainly connected to its operational limits, since it is activated only in critical situations. However, implementation of the longitudinal dynamics control in the AMCS poses another challenge for the developers - providing the driver with comfortable vehicle movement during acceleration and deceleration - while the possible highest safety level in terms of the road grip is provided by the active safety system (ESP). The results of this research are: universal active safety system - AMCS interaction interface; block diagram for the vehicle longitudinal acceleration and deceleration control as one of the active safety system’s integrated functions; ideology of adaptive longitudinal dynamics control, which enables to realize the deceleration and acceleration requested by the AMCS; algorithms synthesised; analytical experiments proving the efficiency and practicability of the chosen concept.

  18. 14 CFR 417.123 - Computing systems and software.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Computing systems and software. 417.123... systems and software. (a) A launch operator must document a system safety process that identifies the... systems and software. (b) A launch operator must identify all safety-critical functions associated with...

  19. 14 CFR 417.123 - Computing systems and software.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Computing systems and software. 417.123... systems and software. (a) A launch operator must document a system safety process that identifies the... systems and software. (b) A launch operator must identify all safety-critical functions associated with...

  20. 14 CFR 417.123 - Computing systems and software.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Computing systems and software. 417.123... systems and software. (a) A launch operator must document a system safety process that identifies the... systems and software. (b) A launch operator must identify all safety-critical functions associated with...

  1. 14 CFR 417.123 - Computing systems and software.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Computing systems and software. 417.123... systems and software. (a) A launch operator must document a system safety process that identifies the... systems and software. (b) A launch operator must identify all safety-critical functions associated with...

  2. 14 CFR 417.123 - Computing systems and software.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Computing systems and software. 417.123... systems and software. (a) A launch operator must document a system safety process that identifies the... systems and software. (b) A launch operator must identify all safety-critical functions associated with...

  3. NASA System Safety Handbook. Volume 2: System Safety Concepts, Guidelines, and Implementation Examples

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Dezfuli, Homayoon; Benjamin, Allan; Everett, Christopher; Feather, Martin; Rutledge, Peter; Sen, Dev; Youngblood, Robert

    2015-01-01

    This is the second of two volumes that collectively comprise the NASA System Safety Handbook. Volume 1 (NASASP-210-580) was prepared for the purpose of presenting the overall framework for System Safety and for providing the general concepts needed to implement the framework. Volume 2 provides guidance for implementing these concepts as an integral part of systems engineering and risk management. This guidance addresses the following functional areas: 1.The development of objectives that collectively define adequate safety for a system, and the safety requirements derived from these objectives that are levied on the system. 2.The conduct of system safety activities, performed to meet the safety requirements, with specific emphasis on the conduct of integrated safety analysis (ISA) as a fundamental means by which systems engineering and risk management decisions are risk-informed. 3.The development of a risk-informed safety case (RISC) at major milestone reviews to argue that the systems safety objectives are satisfied (and therefore that the system is adequately safe). 4.The evaluation of the RISC (including supporting evidence) using a defined set of evaluation criteria, to assess the veracity of the claims made therein in order to support risk acceptance decisions.

  4. Research on public participant urban infrastructure safety monitoring system using smartphone

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, Xuefeng; Wang, Niannian; Ou, Jinping; Yu, Yan; Li, Mingchu

    2017-04-01

    Currently more and more people concerned about the safety of major public security. Public participant urban infrastructure safety monitoring and investigation has become a trend in the era of big data. In this paper, public participant urban infrastructure safety protection system based on smart phones is proposed. The system makes it possible to public participant disaster data collection, monitoring and emergency evaluation in the field of disaster prevention and mitigation. Function of the system is to monitor the structural acceleration, angle and other vibration information, and extract structural deformation and implement disaster emergency communications based on smartphone without network. The monitoring data is uploaded to the website to create urban safety information database. Then the system supports big data analysis processing, the structure safety assessment and city safety early warning.

  5. Long-Time Stability of Ni-Ti-Shape Memory Alloys for Automotive Safety Systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Strittmatter, Joachim; Gümpel, Paul

    2011-07-01

    In automotive a lot of electromagnetically, pyrotechnically or mechanically driven actuators are integrated to run comfort systems and to control safety systems in modern passenger cars. Using shape memory alloys (SMA) the existing systems could be simplified, performing the same function through new mechanisms with reduced size, weight, and costs. A drawback for the use of SMA in safety systems is the lack of materials knowledge concerning the durability of the switching function (long-time stability of the shape memory effect). Pedestrian safety systems play a significant role to reduce injuries and fatal casualties caused by accidents. One automotive safety system for pedestrian protection is the bonnet lifting system. Based on such an application, this article gives an introduction to existing bonnet lifting systems for pedestrian protection, describes the use of quick changing shape memory actuators and the results of the study concerning the long-time stability of the tested NiTi-wires. These wires were trained, exposed up to 4 years at elevated temperatures (up to 140 °C) and tested regarding their phase change temperatures, times, and strokes. For example, it was found that A P-temperature is shifted toward higher temperatures with longer exposing periods and higher temperatures. However, in the functional testing plant a delay in the switching time could not be detected. This article gives some answers concerning the long-time stability of NiTi-wires that were missing till now. With this knowledge, the number of future automotive applications using SMA can be increased. It can be concluded, that the use of quick changing shape memory actuators in safety systems could simplify the mechanism, reduce maintenance and manufacturing costs and should be insertable also for other automotive applications.

  6. 47 CFR 80.1081 - Functional requirements.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... 47 Telecommunication 5 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Functional requirements. 80.1081 Section 80.1081 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) SAFETY AND SPECIAL RADIO SERVICES STATIONS IN THE MARITIME SERVICES Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) Equipment Requirements...

  7. 47 CFR 80.1081 - Functional requirements.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... 47 Telecommunication 5 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Functional requirements. 80.1081 Section 80.1081 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) SAFETY AND SPECIAL RADIO SERVICES STATIONS IN THE MARITIME SERVICES Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) Equipment Requirements...

  8. 47 CFR 80.1081 - Functional requirements.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... 47 Telecommunication 5 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Functional requirements. 80.1081 Section 80.1081 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) SAFETY AND SPECIAL RADIO SERVICES STATIONS IN THE MARITIME SERVICES Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) Equipment Requirements...

  9. 47 CFR 80.1081 - Functional requirements.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 47 Telecommunication 5 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Functional requirements. 80.1081 Section 80.1081 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) SAFETY AND SPECIAL RADIO SERVICES STATIONS IN THE MARITIME SERVICES Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) Equipment Requirements...

  10. Definition and means of maintaining the criticality detectors and alarms portion of the PFP safety envelope

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

    White, W.F.

    The purpose of this document is to provide the definition and means of maintaining the Safety Envelope (SE) related to the Criticality Alarm System (CAS). This document provides amplification of the Limiting Condition for Operation (LCO) described in the Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP) Operational Safety Requirements (OSR), WHC-SD-CP-OSR-010, Rev. 0, 1994, Section 3.1.2, Criticality Detectors and Alarms. This document, with its appendices, provides the following: (1) System functional requirements for determining system operability (Section 3); (2) A list of annotated system block diagrams which indicate the safety envelope boundaries (Appendix C); (3) A list of the Safety Class 1 andmore » 2 Safety Envelope (SC-1/2 SE) equipment for input into the Master Component Index (Appendix B); (4) Functional requirements for individual SC-1/2 SE components, including appropriate setpoints and process parameters (Section 6 and Appendix A); (5) A list of the operational, maintenance and surveillance procedures necessary to operate and maintain the SC-1/2 SE components as required by the LCO (Section 6 and Appendix A).« less

  11. Regulatory Concerns on the In-Containment Water Storage System of the Korean Next Generation Reactor

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

    Ahn, Hyung-Joon; Lee, Jae-Hun; Bang, Young-Seok

    2002-07-15

    The in-containment water storage system (IWSS) is a newly adopted system in the design of the Korean Next Generation Reactor (KNGR). It consists of the in-containment refueling water storage tank, holdup volume tank, and cavity flooding system (CFS). The IWSS has the function of steam condensation and heat sink for the steam release from the pressurizer and provides cooling water to the safety injection system and containment spray system in an accident condition and to the CFS in a severe accident condition. With the progress of the KNGR design, the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety has been developing Safety andmore » Regulatory Requirements and Guidances for safety review of the KNGR. In this paper, regarding the IWSS of the KNGR, the major contents of the General Safety Criteria, Specific Safety Requirements, Safety Regulatory Guides, and Safety Review Procedures were introduced, and the safety review items that have to be reviewed in-depth from the regulatory viewpoint were also identified.« less

  12. Application research of rail transit safety protection based on laser detection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Zhifei

    2016-10-01

    Platform screen door can not only prevent the passengers fell or jumped the track danger, to passengers bring comfortable waiting environment, but also has the function of environmental protection and energy saving. But platform screen door and train the full-length gap region is insecure in the system design of a hidden, such as passengers for some reason (grab the train) in the interstitial region retention, is sandwiched between the intercity safety door and the door, and such as the region lacks security detection and alarm system, once the passengers in the gap region retention (caught), bring more serious threat to the safety of passengers and traffic safety. This paper from the point of view of the design presents the physical, infrared, laser three safety protection device setting schemes. Domestic intelligence of between rail transit shield door and train security clearance processing used is screen door system standard configuration, the obstacle detection function for avoid passengers stranded in the clearance has strong prevention function. Laser detection research and development projects can access to prevent shield door and train gap clamp safety measures. Rail safety protection method are studied applying laser detection technique. According to the laser reflection equation of foreign body, the characteristics of laser detection of foreign bodies are given in theory. By using statistical analysis method, the workflow of laser detection system is established. On this basis, protection methods is proposed. Finally the simulation and test results show that the laser detection technology in the rail traffic safety protection reliability and stability, And the future laser detection technology in is discussed the development of rail transit.

  13. Safety and fitness electronic records (SAFER) system : logical architecture document : working draft

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1997-01-31

    This Logical Architecture Document includes the products developed during the functional analysis of the Safety and Fitness Electronic Records (SAFER) System. This document, along with the companion Operational Concept and Physical Architecture Docum...

  14. 2014 Summer Series - Kristin Yvonne Rozier - No More Helicopter Parenting: Intelligent Autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2014-06-10

    Safety is NASA's top priority! The search for innovative new ways to validate and verify is vital for the development of safety-critical systems. Such techniques have been successfully used to assure systems for air traffic control, airplane separation assurance, autopilots, logic designs, medical devices, and other functions that ensure human safety.

  15. Review of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ziebinski, Adam; Cupek, Rafal; Grzechca, Damian; Chruszczyk, Lukas

    2017-11-01

    New cars can be equipped with many advanced safety solutions. Airbags, seatbelts and all of the essential passive safety parts are standard equipment. Now cars are often equipped with new advanced active safety systems that can prevent accidents. The functions of the Advanced Driver Assistance Systems are still growing. A review of the most popular available technologies used in ADAS and descriptions of their application areas are discussed in this paper.

  16. Development of a Comprehensive Database System for Safety Analyst

    PubMed Central

    Paz, Alexander; Veeramisti, Naveen; Khanal, Indira; Baker, Justin

    2015-01-01

    This study addressed barriers associated with the use of Safety Analyst, a state-of-the-art tool that has been developed to assist during the entire Traffic Safety Management process but that is not widely used due to a number of challenges as described in this paper. As part of this study, a comprehensive database system and tools to provide data to multiple traffic safety applications, with a focus on Safety Analyst, were developed. A number of data management tools were developed to extract, collect, transform, integrate, and load the data. The system includes consistency-checking capabilities to ensure the adequate insertion and update of data into the database. This system focused on data from roadways, ramps, intersections, and traffic characteristics for Safety Analyst. To test the proposed system and tools, data from Clark County, which is the largest county in Nevada and includes the cities of Las Vegas, Henderson, Boulder City, and North Las Vegas, was used. The database and Safety Analyst together help identify the sites with the potential for safety improvements. Specifically, this study examined the results from two case studies. The first case study, which identified sites having a potential for safety improvements with respect to fatal and all injury crashes, included all roadway elements and used default and calibrated Safety Performance Functions (SPFs). The second case study identified sites having a potential for safety improvements with respect to fatal and all injury crashes, specifically regarding intersections; it used default and calibrated SPFs as well. Conclusions were developed for the calibration of safety performance functions and the classification of site subtypes. Guidelines were provided about the selection of a particular network screening type or performance measure for network screening. PMID:26167531

  17. CSHM: Web-based safety and health monitoring system for construction management.

    PubMed

    Cheung, Sai On; Cheung, Kevin K W; Suen, Henry C H

    2004-01-01

    This paper describes a web-based system for monitoring and assessing construction safety and health performance, entitled the Construction Safety and Health Monitoring (CSHM) system. The design and development of CSHM is an integration of internet and database systems, with the intent to create a total automated safety and health management tool. A list of safety and health performance parameters was devised for the management of safety and health in construction. A conceptual framework of the four key components of CSHM is presented: (a) Web-based Interface (templates); (b) Knowledge Base; (c) Output Data; and (d) Benchmark Group. The combined effect of these components results in a system that enables speedy performance assessment of safety and health activities on construction sites. With the CSHM's built-in functions, important management decisions can theoretically be made and corrective actions can be taken before potential hazards turn into fatal or injurious occupational accidents. As such, the CSHM system will accelerate the monitoring and assessing of performance safety and health management tasks.

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

    Soubies, B.; Henry, J.Y.; Le Meur, M.

    1300 MWe pressurised water reactors (PWRs), like the 1400 MWe reactors, operate with microprocessor-based safety systems. This is particularly the case for the Digital Integrated Protection System (SPIN), which trips the reactor in an emergency and sets in action the safeguard functions. The softwares used in these systems must therefore be highly dependable in the execution of their functions. In the case of SPIN, three players are working at different levels to achieve this goal: the protection system manufacturer, Merlin Gerin; the designer of the nuclear steam supply system, Framatome; the operator of the nuclear power plants, Electricite de Francemore » (EDF), which is also responsible for the safety of its installations. Regulatory licenses are issued by the French safety authority, the Nuclear Installations Safety Directorate (French abbreviation DSIN), subsequent to a successful examination of the technical provisions adopted by the operator. This examination is carried out by the IPSN and the standing group on nuclear reactors. This communication sets out: the methods used by the manufacturer to develop SPIN software for the 1400 MWe PWRs (N4 series); the approach adopted by the IPSN to evaluate the safety software of the protection system for the N4 series of reactors.« less

  19. A safety-based decision making architecture for autonomous systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Musto, Joseph C.; Lauderbaugh, L. K.

    1991-01-01

    Engineering systems designed specifically for space applications often exhibit a high level of autonomy in the control and decision-making architecture. As the level of autonomy increases, more emphasis must be placed on assimilating the safety functions normally executed at the hardware level or by human supervisors into the control architecture of the system. The development of a decision-making structure which utilizes information on system safety is detailed. A quantitative measure of system safety, called the safety self-information, is defined. This measure is analogous to the reliability self-information defined by McInroy and Saridis, but includes weighting of task constraints to provide a measure of both reliability and cost. An example is presented in which the safety self-information is used as a decision criterion in a mobile robot controller. The safety self-information is shown to be consistent with the entropy-based Theory of Intelligent Machines defined by Saridis.

  20. Safety approach to the selection of design criteria for the CRBRP reactor refueling system

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

    Meisl, C J; Berg, G E; Sharkey, N F

    1979-01-01

    The selection of safety design criteria for Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactor (LMFBR) refueling systems required the extrapolation of regulations and guidelines intended for Light Water Reactor refueling systems and was encumbered by the lack of benefit from a commercially licensed predecessor other than Fermi. The overall approach and underlying logic are described for developing safety design criteria for the reactor refueling system (RRS) of the Clinch River Breeder Reactor Plant (CRBRP). The complete selection process used to establish the criteria is presented, from the definition of safety functions to the finalization of safety design criteria in the appropriate documents.more » The process steps are illustrated by examples.« less

  1. 46 CFR 62.35-10 - Flooding safety.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 2 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Flooding safety. 62.35-10 Section 62.35-10 Shipping... Requirements for Specific Types of Automated Vital Systems § 62.35-10 Flooding safety. (a) Automatic bilge.... (b) Remote controls for flooding safety equipment must remain functional under flooding conditions to...

  2. 46 CFR 62.35-10 - Flooding safety.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 2 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Flooding safety. 62.35-10 Section 62.35-10 Shipping... Requirements for Specific Types of Automated Vital Systems § 62.35-10 Flooding safety. (a) Automatic bilge.... (b) Remote controls for flooding safety equipment must remain functional under flooding conditions to...

  3. 46 CFR 62.35-10 - Flooding safety.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 2 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Flooding safety. 62.35-10 Section 62.35-10 Shipping... Requirements for Specific Types of Automated Vital Systems § 62.35-10 Flooding safety. (a) Automatic bilge.... (b) Remote controls for flooding safety equipment must remain functional under flooding conditions to...

  4. 46 CFR 62.35-10 - Flooding safety.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 2 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Flooding safety. 62.35-10 Section 62.35-10 Shipping... Requirements for Specific Types of Automated Vital Systems § 62.35-10 Flooding safety. (a) Automatic bilge.... (b) Remote controls for flooding safety equipment must remain functional under flooding conditions to...

  5. 23 CFR 1200.4 - State Highway Safety Agency-Authority and functions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ... is suitably equipped and organized to carry out the State's highway safety program. (b) Authority... safety and projects administered by other State and local agencies; (3) Maintain or have ready access to information contained in State highway safety data systems, including crash, citation, adjudication, emergency...

  6. 23 CFR 1200.4 - State Highway Safety Agency-Authority and functions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... is suitably equipped and organized to carry out the State's highway safety program. (b) Authority... safety and projects administered by other State and local agencies; (3) Maintain or have ready access to information contained in State highway safety data systems, including crash, citation, adjudication, emergency...

  7. 46 CFR 62.35-10 - Flooding safety.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Flooding safety. 62.35-10 Section 62.35-10 Shipping... Requirements for Specific Types of Automated Vital Systems § 62.35-10 Flooding safety. (a) Automatic bilge.... (b) Remote controls for flooding safety equipment must remain functional under flooding conditions to...

  8. Experience of creating a multifunctional safety system at the coal mining enterprise

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Reshetnikov, V. V.; Davkaev, K. S.; Korolkov, M. V.; Lyakhovets, M. V.

    2018-05-01

    The principles of creating multifunctional safety systems (MFSS) based on mathematical models with Markov properties are considered. The applicability of such models for the analysis of the safety of the created systems and their effectiveness is substantiated. The method of this analysis and the results of its testing are discussed. The variant of IFSB implementation in the conditions of the operating coal-mining enterprise is given. The functional scheme, data scheme and operating modes of the MFSS are given. The automated workplace of the industrial safety controller is described.

  9. Food safety security: a new concept for enhancing food safety measures.

    PubMed

    Iyengar, Venkatesh; Elmadfa, Ibrahim

    2012-06-01

    The food safety security (FSS) concept is perceived as an early warning system for minimizing food safety (FS) breaches, and it functions in conjunction with existing FS measures. Essentially, the function of FS and FSS measures can be visualized in two parts: (i) the FS preventive measures as actions taken at the stem level, and (ii) the FSS interventions as actions taken at the root level, to enhance the impact of the implemented safety steps. In practice, along with FS, FSS also draws its support from (i) legislative directives and regulatory measures for enforcing verifiable, timely, and effective compliance; (ii) measurement systems in place for sustained quality assurance; and (iii) shared responsibility to ensure cohesion among all the stakeholders namely, policy makers, regulators, food producers, processors and distributors, and consumers. However, the functional framework of FSS differs from that of FS by way of: (i) retooling the vulnerable segments of the preventive features of existing FS measures; (ii) fine-tuning response systems to efficiently preempt the FS breaches; (iii) building a long-term nutrient and toxicant surveillance network based on validated measurement systems functioning in real time; (iv) focusing on crisp, clear, and correct communication that resonates among all the stakeholders; and (v) developing inter-disciplinary human resources to meet ever-increasing FS challenges. Important determinants of FSS include: (i) strengthening international dialogue for refining regulatory reforms and addressing emerging risks; (ii) developing innovative and strategic action points for intervention {in addition to Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) procedures]; and (iii) introducing additional science-based tools such as metrology-based measurement systems.

  10. 49 CFR 533.6 - Measurement and calculation procedures.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... the technology is related to crash-avoidance technologies, safety critical systems or systems affecting safety-critical functions, or technologies designed for the purpose of reducing the frequency of... improvements related to air conditioning efficiency, off-cycle technologies, and hybridization and other...

  11. Telemedicine to promote patient safety: Use of phone-based interactive voice response system (IVRS) to reduce adverse safety events in predialysis CKD

    PubMed Central

    Weiner, Shoshana; Fink, Jeffery C.

    2017-01-01

    Chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients have several features conferring upon them a high risk of adverse safety events, which are defined as incidents with unintended harm related to processes of care or medications. These characteristics include impaired renal function, polypharmacy, and frequent health system encounters. The consequences of such events in CKD can include new or prolonged hospitalization, accelerated renal function loss, acute kidney injury, end-stage renal disease and death. Health information technology administered via telemedicine presents opportunities for CKD patients to remotely communicate safety-related findings to providers for the purpose of improving their care. However, many CKD patients have limitations which hinder their use of telemedicine and access to the broad capabilities of health information technology. In this review we summarize previous assessments of the pre-dialysis CKD populations’ proficiency in using telemedicine modalities and describe the use of interactive voice-response system (IVRS) to gauge the safety phenotype of the CKD patient. We discuss the potential for expanded IVRS use in CKD to address the safety threats inherent to this population. PMID:28224940

  12. Advanced vehicle dynamics of heavy trucks with the perspective of road safety

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Trigell, Annika Stensson; Rothhämel, Malte; Pauwelussen, Joop; Kural, Karel

    2017-10-01

    This paper presents state-of-the art within advanced vehicle dynamics of heavy trucks with the perspective of road safety. The most common accidents with heavy trucks involved are truck against passenger cars. Safety critical situations are for example loss of control (such as rollover and lateral stability) and a majority of these occur during speed when cornering. Other critical situations are avoidance manoeuvre and road edge recovery. The dynamic behaviour of heavy trucks have significant differences compared to passenger cars and as a consequence, successful application of vehicle dynamic functions for enhanced safety of trucks might differ from the functions in passenger cars. Here, the differences between vehicle dynamics of heavy trucks and passenger cars are clarified. Advanced vehicle dynamics solutions with the perspective of road safety of trucks are presented, beginning with the topic vehicle stability, followed by the steering system, the braking system and driver assistance systems that differ in some way from that of passenger cars as well.

  13. Overview of the U.S. DOE Hydrogen Safety, Codes and Standards Program. Part 4: Hydrogen Sensors; Preprint

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

    Buttner, William J.; Rivkin, Carl; Burgess, Robert

    Hydrogen sensors are recognized as a critical element in the safety design for any hydrogen system. In this role, sensors can perform several important functions including indication of unintended hydrogen releases, activation of mitigation strategies to preclude the development of dangerous situations, activation of alarm systems and communication to first responders, and to initiate system shutdown. The functionality of hydrogen sensors in this capacity is decoupled from the system being monitored, thereby providing an independent safety component that is not affected by the system itself. The importance of hydrogen sensors has been recognized by DOE and by the Fuel Cellmore » Technologies Office's Safety and Codes Standards (SCS) program in particular, which has for several years supported hydrogen safety sensor research and development. The SCS hydrogen sensor programs are currently led by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The current SCS sensor program encompasses the full range of issues related to safety sensors, including development of advance sensor platforms with exemplary performance, development of sensor-related code and standards, outreach to stakeholders on the role sensors play in facilitating deployment, technology evaluation, and support on the proper selection and use of sensors.« less

  14. 49 CFR 533.6 - Measurement and calculation procedures.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... technology is related to crash-avoidance technologies, safety critical systems or systems affecting safety-critical functions, or technologies designed for the purpose of reducing the frequency of vehicle crashes... improvements related to air conditioning efficiency, off-cycle technologies, and hybridization and other...

  15. Definition and means of maintaining the supply ventilation system seismic shutdown portion of the PFP safety envelope

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

    Keck, R.D.

    1997-01-21

    The purpose of this document is to record the technical evaluation of the Limiting Condition for Operation (LCO) described in the Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP) Operational Safety Requirements, WHC-SD-CP-OSR- 010, Rev. 0. Kay 1994, Section 3.2.3, `Supply Ventilation System Seismic Shutdown.` This document, with its appendices, provides the following: 1. The system functional requirements for determining system operability (Section 3). 2. Evaluations of equipment to determine the safety boundary for the system (Section 4). 3. A list of annotated drawings which show the safety envelope boundaries (Appendix C). 4. A list of the safety envelope equipment (Appendix B). 5. Functionalmore » requirements for the individual safety envelope equipment, including appropriate setpoints and process parameters (Section 4.1). 6. A list of the operational, maintenance and surveillance procedures necessary to operate and maintain the system equipment within the safety envelope (Sections 5 and 6 and Appendix A).« less

  16. Analytical methodology for safety validation of computer controlled subsystems. Volume 1 : state-of-the-art and assessment of safety verification/validation methodologies

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1995-09-01

    This report describes the development of a methodology designed to assure that a sufficiently high level of safety is achieved and maintained in computer-based systems which perform safety critical functions in high-speed rail or magnetic levitation ...

  17. Range Safety for an Autonomous Flight Safety System

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lanzi, Raymond J.; Simpson, James C.

    2010-01-01

    The Range Safety Algorithm software encapsulates the various constructs and algorithms required to accomplish Time Space Position Information (TSPI) data management from multiple tracking sources, autonomous mission mode detection and management, and flight-termination mission rule evaluation. The software evaluates various user-configurable rule sets that govern the qualification of TSPI data sources, provides a prelaunch autonomous hold-launch function, performs the flight-monitoring-and-termination functions, and performs end-of-mission safing

  18. Discretionary Review by the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission: Is It Necessary?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Moran, Robert D.

    1974-01-01

    Deficiencies in the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSAHRC), a court system created to carry out adjudicatory functions under the Williams-Steiger Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, are exposed and alternative solutions offered. (JT)

  19. System modeling with the DISC framework: evidence from safety-critical domains.

    PubMed

    Reiman, Teemu; Pietikäinen, Elina; Oedewald, Pia; Gotcheva, Nadezhda

    2012-01-01

    The objective of this paper is to illustrate the development and application of the Design for Integrated Safety Culture (DISC) framework for system modeling by evaluating organizational potential for safety in nuclear and healthcare domains. The DISC framework includes criteria for good safety culture and a description of functions that the organization needs to implement in order to orient the organization toward the criteria. Three case studies will be used to illustrate the utilization of the DISC framework in practice.

  20. Functionality of hospital information systems: results from a survey of quality directors at Turkish hospitals.

    PubMed

    Saluvan, Mehmet; Ozonoff, Al

    2018-01-12

    We aimed to determine availability of core Hospital Information Systems (HIS) functions implemented in Turkish hospitals and the perceived importance of these functions on quality and patient safety. We surveyed quality directors (QDs) at civilian hospitals in the nation of Turkey. Data were collected via web survey using an instrument with 50 items describing core functionality of HIS. We calculated mean availability of each function, mean and median values of perceived impact on quality, and we investigated the relationship between availability and perceived importance. We received responses from 31% of eligible institutions, representing all major geographic regions of Turkey. Mean availability of 50 HIS functions was 65.6%, ranging from 19.6% to 97.4%. Mean importance score was 7.87 (on a 9-point scale) ranging from 7.13 to 8.41. Functions related to result management (89.3%) and decision support systems (52.2%) had the highest and lowest reported availability respectively. Availability and perceived importance were moderately correlated (r = 0.52). QDs report high importance of the HIS functions surveyed as they relate to quality and patient safety. Availability and perceived importance of HIS functions are generally correlated, with some interesting exceptions. These findings may inform future investments and guide policy changes within the Turkish healthcare system. Financial incentives, regulations around certified HIS, revisions to accreditation manuals, and training interventions are all policies which will help integrate HIS functions to support quality and patient safety in Turkish hospitals.

  1. The assessment of exploitation process of power for access control system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wiśnios, Michał; Paś, Jacek

    2017-10-01

    The safety of public utility facilities is a function not only of effectiveness of the electronic safety systems, used for protection of property and persons, but it also depends on the proper functioning of their power supply systems. The authors of the research paper analysed the power supply systems, which are used in buildings for the access control system that is integrated with the closed-circuit TV. The Access Control System is a set of electronic, electromechanical and electrical devices and the computer software controlling the operation of the above-mentioned elements, which is aimed at identification of people, vehicles allowed to cross the boundary of the reserved area, to prevent from crossing the reserved area and to generate the alarm signal informing about the attempt of crossing by an unauthorised entity. The industrial electricity with appropriate technical parameters is a basis of proper functioning of safety systems. Only the electricity supply to the systems is not equivalent to the operation continuity provision. In practice, redundant power supply systems are used. In the carried out reliability analysis of the power supply system, various power circuits of the system were taken into account. The reliability and operation requirements for this type of system were also included.

  2. The Necessity of Functional Analysis for Space Exploration Programs

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Morris, A. Terry; Breidenthal, Julian C.

    2011-01-01

    As NASA moves toward expanded commercial spaceflight within its human exploration capability, there is increased emphasis on how to allocate responsibilities between government and commercial organizations to achieve coordinated program objectives. The practice of program-level functional analysis offers an opportunity for improved understanding of collaborative functions among heterogeneous partners. Functional analysis is contrasted with the physical analysis more commonly done at the program level, and is shown to provide theoretical performance, risk, and safety advantages beneficial to a government-commercial partnership. Performance advantages include faster convergence to acceptable system solutions; discovery of superior solutions with higher commonality, greater simplicity and greater parallelism by substituting functional for physical redundancy to achieve robustness and safety goals; and greater organizational cohesion around program objectives. Risk advantages include avoidance of rework by revelation of some kinds of architectural and contractual mismatches before systems are specified, designed, constructed, or integrated; avoidance of cost and schedule growth by more complete and precise specifications of cost and schedule estimates; and higher likelihood of successful integration on the first try. Safety advantages include effective delineation of must-work and must-not-work functions for integrated hazard analysis, the ability to formally demonstrate completeness of safety analyses, and provably correct logic for certification of flight readiness. The key mechanism for realizing these benefits is the development of an inter-functional architecture at the program level, which reveals relationships between top-level system requirements that would otherwise be invisible using only a physical architecture. This paper describes the advantages and pitfalls of functional analysis as a means of coordinating the actions of large heterogeneous organizations for space exploration programs.

  3. Is Model-Based Development a Favorable Approach for Complex and Safety-Critical Computer Systems on Commercial Aircraft?

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Torres-Pomales, Wilfredo

    2014-01-01

    A system is safety-critical if its failure can endanger human life or cause significant damage to property or the environment. State-of-the-art computer systems on commercial aircraft are highly complex, software-intensive, functionally integrated, and network-centric systems of systems. Ensuring that such systems are safe and comply with existing safety regulations is costly and time-consuming as the level of rigor in the development process, especially the validation and verification activities, is determined by considerations of system complexity and safety criticality. A significant degree of care and deep insight into the operational principles of these systems is required to ensure adequate coverage of all design implications relevant to system safety. Model-based development methodologies, methods, tools, and techniques facilitate collaboration and enable the use of common design artifacts among groups dealing with different aspects of the development of a system. This paper examines the application of model-based development to complex and safety-critical aircraft computer systems. Benefits and detriments are identified and an overall assessment of the approach is given.

  4. 23 CFR 970.212 - Federal lands safety management system (SMS).

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ...) An inventory of safety appurtenances such as signs, delineators, and guardrails (including terminals... upgrading safety appurtenances including highway-rail crossing warning devices, signs, highway elements, and... standards) for low volume roads may be tailored to be consistent with the functional classification of the...

  5. 23 CFR 970.212 - Federal lands safety management system (SMS).

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ...) An inventory of safety appurtenances such as signs, delineators, and guardrails (including terminals... upgrading safety appurtenances including highway-rail crossing warning devices, signs, highway elements, and... standards) for low volume roads may be tailored to be consistent with the functional classification of the...

  6. 23 CFR 970.212 - Federal lands safety management system (SMS).

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ...) An inventory of safety appurtenances such as signs, delineators, and guardrails (including terminals... upgrading safety appurtenances including highway-rail crossing warning devices, signs, highway elements, and... standards) for low volume roads may be tailored to be consistent with the functional classification of the...

  7. 23 CFR 970.212 - Federal lands safety management system (SMS).

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ...) An inventory of safety appurtenances such as signs, delineators, and guardrails (including terminals... upgrading safety appurtenances including highway-rail crossing warning devices, signs, highway elements, and... standards) for low volume roads may be tailored to be consistent with the functional classification of the...

  8. Microbiological Food Safety Surveillance in China

    PubMed Central

    Pei, Xiaoyan; Li, Ning; Guo, Yunchang; Liu, Xiumei; Yan, Lin; Li, Ying; Yang, Shuran; Hu, Jing; Zhu, Jianghui; Yang, Dajin

    2015-01-01

    Microbiological food safety surveillance is a system that collects data regarding food contamination by foodborne pathogens, parasites, viruses, and other harmful microbiological factors. It helps to understand the spectrum of food safety, timely detect food safety hazards, and provide relevant data for food safety supervision, risk assessment, and standards-setting. The study discusses the microbiological surveillance of food safety in China, and introduces the policies and history of the national microbiological surveillance system. In addition, the function and duties of different organizations and institutions are provided in this work, as well as the generation and content of the surveillance plan, quality control, database, and achievement of the microbiological surveillance of food safety in China. PMID:26343705

  9. Mitigating Motion Base Safety Issues: The NASA LaRC CMF Implementation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bryant, Richard B., Jr.; Grupton, Lawrence E.; Martinez, Debbie; Carrelli, David J.

    2005-01-01

    The NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC), Cockpit Motion Facility (CMF) motion base design has taken advantage of inherent hydraulic characteristics to implement safety features using hardware solutions only. Motion system safety has always been a concern and its implementation is addressed differently by each organization. Some approaches rely heavily on software safety features. Software which performs safety functions is subject to more scrutiny making its approval, modification, and development time consuming and expensive. The NASA LaRC's CMF motion system is used for research and, as such, requires that the software be updated or modified frequently. The CMF's customers need the ability to update the simulation software frequently without the associated cost incurred with safety critical software. This paper describes the CMF engineering team's approach to achieving motion base safety by designing and implementing all safety features in hardware, resulting in applications software (including motion cueing and actuator dynamic control) being completely independent of the safety devices. This allows the CMF safety systems to remain intact and unaffected by frequent research system modifications.

  10. Safety Metrics for Human-Computer Controlled Systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Leveson, Nancy G; Hatanaka, Iwao

    2000-01-01

    The rapid growth of computer technology and innovation has played a significant role in the rise of computer automation of human tasks in modem production systems across all industries. Although the rationale for automation has been to eliminate "human error" or to relieve humans from manual repetitive tasks, various computer-related hazards and accidents have emerged as a direct result of increased system complexity attributed to computer automation. The risk assessment techniques utilized for electromechanical systems are not suitable for today's software-intensive systems or complex human-computer controlled systems.This thesis will propose a new systemic model-based framework for analyzing risk in safety-critical systems where both computers and humans are controlling safety-critical functions. A new systems accident model will be developed based upon modem systems theory and human cognitive processes to better characterize system accidents, the role of human operators, and the influence of software in its direct control of significant system functions Better risk assessments will then be achievable through the application of this new framework to complex human-computer controlled systems.

  11. Argument for a Joint Safety Reporting System

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2015-02-13

    Process Manager for the HQ AF Safety Center (AFSEC) at Kirtland AFB, New Mexico . His primary duties included leadership and oversight of the day-to...Military Mishaps Functional Lead and Navy-Marine Corps Subject Matter Expert ( SME ) for the SIMWG, the DOD Force Risk Reduction system rolls up the service

  12. [Comment to DPR 177/011].

    PubMed

    De Santis, Anna Elisa

    2012-01-01

    The subject of this study is the analysis of DPR 177/2011 regarding occupational safety in confined environments suspected of pollution The study wishes to represent a platform for the knowledge of the relevant principles and issues that are the functional basis for occupational health professionals, to offer a scheme in which it is possible to implement local actions of occupational prevention in the confined spaces and to help Italian intervention plans Italian within the European area, such, e.g., the present "Healthy workplaces campaign working together for risk prevention" promoted by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work. The interiorization of this behavioural scheme is needed for professionals and authorities in the occupational safety systems, both public and private, who have the institutional duty to obtain trheir effectiveness. To observe the safety system in the specific matter of confined spaces, their essential elements were considered. These elements were identified both in the DPR 177/2011 and in other pertinent documents. This study doesn't pretend to identify all relevant documents, but wishes to underline the open structure of the system for acquiring non strictly juridical documents, such as ICOH guidelines and International code of ethics for occupational health professionals and pertinent authorities. A specific matter of the study is the different role of rules and ethical principles in verifying the adequacy of the safety system. The role of guidelines and ethic principles in the internal evaluation of legal value was examined for their relevance in order to decide on adequacy of the employer's management in safety matter adequacy which can by evaluated looking at his effective knowledge of spaces and good selection of managers and professionals. Furthermore, the study establishes how central--in reaching the safety--is the method based on effectiveness in managing the prevention in occupational health. The managerial method, not based on formal interpretation but on the effective situation of the spaces and of the human resources, is a critical element in safety systems and represents an acceptable scheme for the conduct of the subjects in charge for the production cycle. They are those who effectively decide on the site, except for some situations, as it is for example the prevision of managerial liability for activity in outsourcing. It has been stressed in this study the dynamicity of safety system in confined spaces which can be derived by the employer's duty of vigilance for interference risks between his activity and the activity of other enterprises operating in outsourcing. This duty it is permanent in every space and moment of production cycle. This context of functional responsibility, and liability when it exists, based on reality as well as on the knowledge of the spaces and human resources, shows the central function of qualified MD and his functionality in both aspects. In the first, he is able to understand various risks existing for health. In the second, for the many strict contacts with workers, he can participate in developing their information and formation, which have educational importance for the safety system of the occupational health. To conclude about the occupational safety system, this study stresses that the activity of qualified MD is not a simple surveillance carried out by medical examinations as a routine, but it is a strategic issue for the realization of organizational wellness at work, which is functional to respect both the human rights and an efficient production cycle.

  13. Sophisticated Calculation of the 1oo4-architecture for Safety-related Systems Conforming to IEC61508

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hayek, A.; Bokhaiti, M. Al; Schwarz, M. H.; Boercsoek, J.

    2012-05-01

    With the publication and enforcement of the standard IEC 61508 of safety related systems, recent system architectures have been presented and evaluated. Among a number of techniques and measures to the evaluation of safety integrity level (SIL) for safety-related systems, several measures such as reliability block diagrams and Markov models are used to analyze the probability of failure on demand (PFD) and mean time to failure (MTTF) which conform to IEC 61508. The current paper deals with the quantitative analysis of the novel 1oo4-architecture (one out of four) presented in recent work. Therefore sophisticated calculations for the required parameters are introduced. The provided 1oo4-architecture represents an advanced safety architecture based on on-chip redundancy, which is 3-failure safe. This means that at least one of the four channels have to work correctly in order to trigger the safety function.

  14. 23 CFR 972.212 - Federal lands safety management system (SMS).

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... functional classification to provide adequate information for use in making safety decisions in the RR... NHTSA, May 1996, may be obtained at the FHWA, Office of Safety, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington..., design, construction, maintenance, and operations. (d) The SMS may be utilized at various levels of...

  15. Five-year safety and performance results from the Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System clinical trial

    PubMed Central

    da Cruz, Lyndon; Dorn, Jessy D.; Humayun, Mark S.; Dagnelie, Gislin; Handa, James; Barale, Pierre-Olivier; Sahel, José-Alain; Stanga, Paulo E.; Hafezi, Farhad; Safran, Avinoam B.; Salzmann, Joel; Santos, Arturo; Birch, David; Spencer, Rand; Cideciyan, Artur V.; de Juan, Eugene; Duncan, Jacque L.; Eliott, Dean; Fawzi, Amani; Olmos de Koo, Lisa C.; Ho, Allen C.; Brown, Gary; Haller, Julia; Regillo, Carl; Del Priore, Lucian V.; Arditi, Aries; Greenberg, Robert J.

    2016-01-01

    Purpose The Argus® II Retinal Prosthesis System (Second Sight Medical Products, Inc., Sylmar, CA) was developed to restore some vision to patients blind from retinitis pigmentosa (RP) or outer retinal degeneration. A clinical trial was initiated in 2006 to study the long-term safety and efficacy of the Argus II System in patients with bare or no light perception due to end-stage RP. Design The study is a prospective, multicenter, single-arm, clinical trial. Within-patient controls included the non-implanted fellow eye and patients' native residual vision compared to their vision when using the System. Subjects There were 30 subjects in 10 centers in the U.S. and Europe. Methods The worse-seeing eye of blind patients was implanted with the Argus II System. Patients wore glasses mounted with a small camera and a video processor that converted images into stimulation patterns sent to the electrode array on the retina. Main Outcome Measures The primary outcome measures were safety (the number, seriousness, and relatedness of adverse events) and visual function, as measured by three computer-based, objective tests. Secondary measures included functional vision performance on objectively-scored real-world tasks. Results Twenty-four out of 30 patients remained implanted with functioning Argus II Systems at 5 years post-implant. Only one additional serious adverse event was experienced since the 3-year time point. Patients performed significantly better with the System ON than OFF on all visual function tests and functional vision tasks. Conclusions The five-year results of the Argus II trial support the long-term safety profile and benefit of the Argus II System for patients blind from RP. The Argus II is the first and only retinal implant to have market approval in the European Economic Area, the United States, and Canada. PMID:27453256

  16. 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.

  17. 30 CFR 75.1101-8 - Water sprinkler systems; arrangement of sprinklers.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... OF LABOR COAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH MANDATORY SAFETY STANDARDS-UNDERGROUND COAL MINES Fire... sprinklers functioning. (d) Each individual sprinkler shall be activated at a temperature of not less than...

  18. Striving for safety: communicating and deciding in sociotechnical systems

    PubMed Central

    Flach, John M.; Carroll, John S.; Dainoff, Marvin J.; Hamilton, W. Ian

    2015-01-01

    How do communications and decisions impact the safety of sociotechnical systems? This paper frames this question in the context of a dynamic system of nested sub-systems. Communications are related to the construct of observability (i.e. how components integrate information to assess the state with respect to local and global constraints). Decisions are related to the construct of controllability (i.e. how component sub-systems act to meet local and global safety goals). The safety dynamics of sociotechnical systems are evaluated as a function of the coupling between observability and controllability across multiple closed-loop components. Two very different domains (nuclear power and the limited service food industry) provide examples to illustrate how this framework might be applied. While the dynamical systems framework does not offer simple prescriptions for achieving safety, it does provide guides for exploring specific systems to consider the potential fit between organisational structures and work demands, and for generalising across different systems regarding how safety can be managed. Practitioner Summary: While offering no simple prescriptions about how to achieve safety in sociotechnical systems, this paper develops a theoretical framework based on dynamical systems theory as a practical guide for generalising from basic research to work domains and for generalising across alternative work domains to better understand how patterns of communication and decision-making impact system safety. PMID:25761155

  19. Implementing Software Safety in the NASA Environment

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wetherholt, Martha S.; Radley, Charles F.

    1994-01-01

    Until recently, NASA did not consider allowing computers total control of flight systems. Human operators, via hardware, have constituted the ultimate safety control. In an attempt to reduce costs, NASA has come to rely more and more heavily on computers and software to control space missions. (For example. software is now planned to control most of the operational functions of the International Space Station.) Thus the need for systematic software safety programs has become crucial for mission success. Concurrent engineering principles dictate that safety should be designed into software up front, not tested into the software after the fact. 'Cost of Quality' studies have statistics and metrics to prove the value of building quality and safety into the development cycle. Unfortunately, most software engineers are not familiar with designing for safety, and most safety engineers are not software experts. Software written to specifications which have not been safety analyzed is a major source of computer related accidents. Safer software is achieved step by step throughout the system and software life cycle. It is a process that includes requirements definition, hazard analyses, formal software inspections, safety analyses, testing, and maintenance. The greatest emphasis is placed on clearly and completely defining system and software requirements, including safety and reliability requirements. Unfortunately, development and review of requirements are the weakest link in the process. While some of the more academic methods, e.g. mathematical models, may help bring about safer software, this paper proposes the use of currently approved software methodologies, and sound software and assurance practices to show how, to a large degree, safety can be designed into software from the start. NASA's approach today is to first conduct a preliminary system hazard analysis (PHA) during the concept and planning phase of a project. This determines the overall hazard potential of the system to be built. Shortly thereafter, as the system requirements are being defined, the second iteration of hazard analyses takes place, the systems hazard analysis (SHA). During the systems requirements phase, decisions are made as to what functions of the system will be the responsibility of software. This is the most critical time to affect the safety of the software. From this point, software safety analyses as well as software engineering practices are the main focus for assuring safe software. While many of the steps proposed in this paper seem like just sound engineering practices, they are the best technical and most cost effective means to assure safe software within a safe system.

  20. Functions and requirements for tank farm restoration and safe operations, Project W-314. Revision 3

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

    Garrison, R.C.

    1995-02-01

    This Functions and Requirements document (FRD) establishes the basic performance criteria for Project W-314, in accordance with the guidance outlined in the letter from R.W. Brown, RL, to President, WHC, ``Tank Waste Remediation System (TWRS) Project Documentation Methodology,`` 94-PRJ-018, dated 3/18/94. The FRD replaces the Functional Design Criteria (FDC) as the project technical baseline documentation. Project W-314 will improve the reliability of safety related systems, minimize onsite health and safety hazards, and support waste retrieval and disposal activities by restoring and/or upgrading existing Tank Farm facilities and systems. The scope of Project W-314 encompasses the necessary restoration upgrades of themore » Tank Farms` instrumentation, ventilation, electrical distribution, and waste transfer systems.« less

  1. Preserving the functionality/asset value of the state highway system : technical report.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2010-02-01

    Maintaining, preserving, and enhancing the functionality of state and local roadways of our transportation system : is important because it maintains capacity and efficiency, reduces potential for congestion, maintains safety, reduces : the need for ...

  2. Software safety - A user's practical perspective

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Dunn, William R.; Corliss, Lloyd D.

    1990-01-01

    Software safety assurance philosophy and practices at the NASA Ames are discussed. It is shown that, to be safe, software must be error-free. Software developments on two digital flight control systems and two ground facility systems are examined, including the overall system and software organization and function, the software-safety issues, and their resolution. The effectiveness of safety assurance methods is discussed, including conventional life-cycle practices, verification and validation testing, software safety analysis, and formal design methods. It is concluded (1) that a practical software safety technology does not yet exist, (2) that it is unlikely that a set of general-purpose analytical techniques can be developed for proving that software is safe, and (3) that successful software safety-assurance practices will have to take into account the detailed design processes employed and show that the software will execute correctly under all possible conditions.

  3. Space-Based Range Safety and Future Space Range Applications

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Whiteman, Donald E.; Valencia, Lisa M.; Simpson, James C.

    2005-01-01

    The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Space-Based Telemetry and Range Safety (STARS) study is a multiphase project to demonstrate the performance, flexibility and cost savings that can be realized by using space-based assets for the Range Safety [global positioning system (GPS) metric tracking data, flight termination command and range safety data relay] and Range User (telemetry) functions during vehicle launches and landings. Phase 1 included flight testing S-band Range Safety and Range User hardware in 2003 onboard a high-dynamic aircraft platform at Dryden Flight Research Center (Edwards, California, USA) using the NASA Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) as the communications link. The current effort, Phase 2, includes hardware and packaging upgrades to the S-band Range Safety system and development of a high data rate Ku-band Range User system. The enhanced Phase 2 Range Safety Unit (RSU) provided real-time video for three days during the historic Global Flyer (Scaled Composites, Mojave, California, USA) flight in March, 2005. Additional Phase 2 testing will include a sounding rocket test of the Range Safety system and aircraft flight testing of both systems. Future testing will include a flight test on a launch vehicle platform. This paper discusses both Range Safety and Range User developments and testing with emphasis on the Range Safety system. The operational concept of a future space-based range is also discussed.

  4. Space-Based Range Safety and Future Space Range Applications

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Whiteman, Donald E.; Valencia, Lisa M.; Simpson, James C.

    2005-01-01

    The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Space-Based Telemetry and Range Safety study is a multiphase project to demonstrate the performance, flexibility and cost savings that can be realized by using space-based assets for the Range Safety (global positioning system metric tracking data, flight termination command and range safety data relay) and Range User (telemetry) functions during vehicle launches and landings. Phase 1 included flight testing S-band Range Safety and Range User hardware in 2003 onboard a high-dynamic aircraft platform at Dryden Flight Research Center (Edwards, California) using the NASA Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System as the communications link. The current effort, Phase 2, includes hardware and packaging upgrades to the S-band Range Safety system and development of a high data rate Ku-band Range User system. The enhanced Phase 2 Range Safety Unit provided real-time video for three days during the historic GlobalFlyer (Scaled Composites, Mojave, California) flight in March, 2005. Additional Phase 2 testing will include a sounding rocket test of the Range Safety system and aircraft flight testing of both systems. Future testing will include a flight test on a launch vehicle platform. This report discusses both Range Safety and Range User developments and testing with emphasis on the Range Safety system. The operational concept of a future space-based range is also discussed.

  5. A system safety model for developmental aircraft programs

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Amberboy, E. J.; Stokeld, R. L.

    1982-01-01

    Basic tenets of safety as applied to developmental aircraft programs are presented. The integration of safety into the project management aspects of planning, organizing, directing and controlling is illustrated by examples. The basis for project management use of safety and the relationship of these management functions to 'real-world' situations is presented. The rationale which led to the safety-related project decision and the lessons learned as they may apply to future projects are presented.

  6. The Research on Safety Management Information System of Railway Passenger Based on Risk Management Theory

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhu, Wenmin; Jia, Yuanhua

    2018-01-01

    Based on the risk management theory and the PDCA cycle model, requirements of the railway passenger transport safety production is analyzed, and the establishment of the security risk assessment team is proposed to manage risk by FTA with Delphi from both qualitative and quantitative aspects. The safety production committee is also established to accomplish performance appraisal, which is for further ensuring the correctness of risk management results, optimizing the safety management business processes and improving risk management capabilities. The basic framework and risk information database of risk management information system of railway passenger transport safety are designed by Ajax, Web Services and SQL technologies. The system realizes functions about risk management, performance appraisal and data management, and provides an efficient and convenient information management platform for railway passenger safety manager.

  7. Drivers' safety needs, behavioural adaptations and acceptance of new driving support systems.

    PubMed

    Saad, Farida; Van Elslande, Pierre

    2012-01-01

    The aim of this paper is to discuss the contribution of two complementary approaches for designing and evaluating new driver support systems likely to improve the operation and safety of the road traffic system. The first approach is based on detailed analyses of traffic crashes so as to estimate drivers' needs for assistance and the situational constraints that safety functions should address to be efficient. The second approach is based on in depth-analyses of behavioral adaptations induced by the usage of new driver support systems in regular driving situations and on drivers' acceptance of the assistance provided by the systems.

  8. 14 CFR Appendix C to Part 417 - Flight Safety Analysis Methodologies and Products for an Unguided Suborbital Launch Vehicle Flown...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... operator clearly and convincingly demonstrates that an alternative approach provides an equivalent level of... firing times of the stages, fuel flow rates, contributions from the wind weighting safety system employed... each stage of flight. (iv) Thrust as a function of time. (v) Propellant weight as a function of time...

  9. 14 CFR Appendix C to Part 417 - Flight Safety Analysis Methodologies and Products for an Unguided Suborbital Launch Vehicle Flown...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... operator clearly and convincingly demonstrates that an alternative approach provides an equivalent level of... firing times of the stages, fuel flow rates, contributions from the wind weighting safety system employed... each stage of flight. (iv) Thrust as a function of time. (v) Propellant weight as a function of time...

  10. 14 CFR Appendix C to Part 417 - Flight Safety Analysis Methodologies and Products for an Unguided Suborbital Launch Vehicle Flown...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... operator clearly and convincingly demonstrates that an alternative approach provides an equivalent level of... firing times of the stages, fuel flow rates, contributions from the wind weighting safety system employed... each stage of flight. (iv) Thrust as a function of time. (v) Propellant weight as a function of time...

  11. 14 CFR Appendix C to Part 417 - Flight Safety Analysis Methodologies and Products for an Unguided Suborbital Launch Vehicle Flown...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... operator clearly and convincingly demonstrates that an alternative approach provides an equivalent level of... firing times of the stages, fuel flow rates, contributions from the wind weighting safety system employed... each stage of flight. (iv) Thrust as a function of time. (v) Propellant weight as a function of time...

  12. 14 CFR Appendix C to Part 417 - Flight Safety Analysis Methodologies and Products for an Unguided Suborbital Launch Vehicle Flown...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... operator clearly and convincingly demonstrates that an alternative approach provides an equivalent level of... firing times of the stages, fuel flow rates, contributions from the wind weighting safety system employed... each stage of flight. (iv) Thrust as a function of time. (v) Propellant weight as a function of time...

  13. 75 FR 81667 - Biweekly Notice; Applications and Amendments to Facility Operating Licenses Involving No...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-12-28

    ...-Filing system does not support unlisted software, and the NRC Meta System Help Desk will not be able to... Setpoint Methodology for LSSS [Limiting Safety System Setting] Functions,'' which included the instrument... System Instrumentation,'' Function 3, Condensate Storage Tank Level--Low. The supporting TS Bases will...

  14. Functional Observational Battery Testing for Nervous System Effects of Drugs and Other Chemicals

    EPA Science Inventory

    Screening for behavioral toxicity, or neurotoxicity, has become standard practice in preclinical safety pharmacology and toxicology. Behavior represents the integrated sum of activities mediated by the nervous system. Current screening batteries, such as the functional observat...

  15. Review of battery powered embedded systems design for mission-critical low-power applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Malewski, Matthew; Cowell, David M. J.; Freear, Steven

    2018-06-01

    The applications and uses of embedded systems is increasingly pervasive. Mission and safety critical systems relying on embedded systems pose specific challenges. Embedded systems is a multi-disciplinary domain, involving both hardware and software. Systems need to be designed in a holistic manner so that they are able to provide the desired reliability and minimise unnecessary complexity. The large problem landscape means that there is no one solution that fits all applications of embedded systems. With the primary focus of these mission and safety critical systems being functionality and reliability, there can be conflicts with business needs, and this can introduce pressures to reduce cost at the expense of reliability and functionality. This paper examines the challenges faced by battery powered systems, and then explores at more general problems, and several real-world embedded systems.

  16. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s advanced system testing utilizing a data acquisition system on the highways (FAST DASH) safety technology evaluation project #3 : novel convex mirrors.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2016-11-01

    An independent evaluation of a set of novel prototype mirrors was conducted to determine whether the mirrors perform as well as traditional production mirrors across the basic functions of field of view (FOV), image distortion, and distance estimatio...

  17. Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP) HVAC System Component Index

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

    DICK, J.D.

    2000-02-28

    The Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP) WAC System includes sub-systems 25A through 25K. Specific system boundaries and justifications are contained in HNF-SD-CP-SDD-005, ''Definition and Means of Maintaining the Ventilation System Confinement Portion of the PFP Safety Envelope.'' The procurement requirements associated with the system necessitates procurement of some system equipment as Commercial Grade Items in accordance with HNF-PRO-268, ''Control of Purchased Items and Services.'' This document lists safety class and safety significant components for the Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning and specifies the critical characteristics for Commercial Grade Items, as required by HNF-PRO-268 and HNF-PRO-1819. These are the minimum specifications that themore » equipment must meet in order to properly perform its safety function. There may be several manufacturers or models that meet the critical characteristics for any one item.« less

  18. Making Patient Risk Visible: Implementation of a Nursing Document Information System to Improve Patient Safety.

    PubMed

    Wang, Panfeng; Zhang, Hongjun; Li, Baohua; Lin, Keke

    2016-01-01

    The aims of this study were to develop a nursing information system (NIS), enhance the visibility of patient risk, and identify challenges and facilitators to adoption of the NIS risk assessment system for nurse leaders. This article describes the function of a nursing risk assessment information system, and the results of a survey on the risk assessment system. The results suggested that quality of information processing in nursing significantly improved patient safety. Nurses surveyed demonstrated a high degree of satisfaction, with saving time and improving safety. The nursing document information system described was introduced to improve patient safety and decrease risk. The application of the system has greatly enhanced the efficiency of nursing work, and guides the nurses to make an accurate, comprehensive and objective assessment of patient information, contributing significantly to further improvement in care standards and care decisions.

  19. Automated Mixed Traffic Vehicle (AMTV) technology and safety study

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Johnston, A. R.; Peng, T. K. C.; Vivian, H. C.; Wang, P. K.

    1978-01-01

    Technology and safety related to the implementation of an Automated Mixed Traffic Vehicle (AMTV) system are discussed. System concepts and technology status were reviewed and areas where further development is needed are identified. Failure and hazard modes were also analyzed and methods for prevention were suggested. The results presented are intended as a guide for further efforts in AMTV system design and technology development for both near term and long term applications. The AMTV systems discussed include a low speed system, and a hybrid system consisting of low speed sections and high speed sections operating in a semi-guideway. The safety analysis identified hazards that may arise in a properly functioning AMTV system, as well as hardware failure modes. Safety related failure modes were emphasized. A risk assessment was performed in order to create a priority order and significant hazards and failure modes were summarized. Corrective measures were proposed for each hazard.

  20. Overview of Threats and Failure Models for Safety-Relevant Computer-Based Systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Torres-Pomales, Wilfredo

    2015-01-01

    This document presents a high-level overview of the threats to safety-relevant computer-based systems, including (1) a description of the introduction and activation of physical and logical faults; (2) the propagation of their effects; and (3) function-level and component-level error and failure mode models. These models can be used in the definition of fault hypotheses (i.e., assumptions) for threat-risk mitigation strategies. This document is a contribution to a guide currently under development that is intended to provide a general technical foundation for designers and evaluators of safety-relevant systems.

  1. SafeNet: a methodology for integrating general-purpose unsafe devices in safe-robot rehabilitation systems.

    PubMed

    Vicentini, Federico; Pedrocchi, Nicola; Malosio, Matteo; Molinari Tosatti, Lorenzo

    2014-09-01

    Robot-assisted neurorehabilitation often involves networked systems of sensors ("sensory rooms") and powerful devices in physical interaction with weak users. Safety is unquestionably a primary concern. Some lightweight robot platforms and devices designed on purpose include safety properties using redundant sensors or intrinsic safety design (e.g. compliance and backdrivability, limited exchange of energy). Nonetheless, the entire "sensory room" shall be required to be fail-safe and safely monitored as a system at large. Yet, sensor capabilities and control algorithms used in functional therapies require, in general, frequent updates or re-configurations, making a safety-grade release of such devices hardly sustainable in cost-effectiveness and development time. As such, promising integrated platforms for human-in-the-loop therapies could not find clinical application and manufacturing support because of lacking in the maintenance of global fail-safe properties. Under the general context of cross-machinery safety standards, the paper presents a methodology called SafeNet for helping in extending the safety rate of Human Robot Interaction (HRI) systems using unsafe components, including sensors and controllers. SafeNet considers, in fact, the robotic system as a device at large and applies the principles of functional safety (as in ISO 13489-1) through a set of architectural procedures and implementation rules. The enabled capability of monitoring a network of unsafe devices through redundant computational nodes, allows the usage of any custom sensors and algorithms, usually planned and assembled at therapy planning-time rather than at platform design-time. A case study is presented with an actual implementation of the proposed methodology. A specific architectural solution is applied to an example of robot-assisted upper-limb rehabilitation with online motion tracking. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Evaluation of features to support safety and quality in general practice clinical software

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    Background Electronic prescribing is now the norm in many countries. We wished to find out if clinical software systems used by general practitioners in Australia include features (functional capabilities and other characteristics) that facilitate improved patient safety and care, with a focus on quality use of medicines. Methods Seven clinical software systems used in general practice were evaluated. Fifty software features that were previously rated as likely to have a high impact on safety and/or quality of care in general practice were tested and are reported here. Results The range of results for the implementation of 50 features across the 7 clinical software systems was as follows: 17-31 features (34-62%) were fully implemented, 9-13 (18-26%) partially implemented, and 9-20 (18-40%) not implemented. Key findings included: Access to evidence based drug and therapeutic information was limited. Decision support for prescribing was available but varied markedly between systems. During prescribing there was potential for medicine mis-selection in some systems, and linking a medicine with its indication was optional. The definition of 'current medicines' versus 'past medicines' was not always clear. There were limited resources for patients, and some medicines lists for patients were suboptimal. Results were provided to the software vendors, who were keen to improve their systems. Conclusions The clinical systems tested lack some of the features expected to support patient safety and quality of care. Standards and certification for clinical software would ensure that safety features are present and that there is a minimum level of clinical functionality that clinicians could expect to find in any system.

  3. Definition and Means of Maintaining the Emergency Notification and Evacuation System Portion of the Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP) Safety Envelope

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

    WHITE, W.F.

    2000-04-04

    The purpose of this document is to provide the definition and means of maintaining the safety envelope (SE) for the Emergency Notification and Evacuation System (ENES). Together with the appendices, it provides: (1) The system requirements for determining system operability (Section 3.0); (2) Evaluations of equipment to determine the safety boundary for the system (Section 4.0); (3) List of system drawings that are annotated to show the SE boundaries (Appendix A); (4) Identification of the SE equipment by reference to systems and drawings (Appendix B); (5) Requirements for the individual SE equipment (Section 4.0); and (6) A list of themore » operational and surveillance procedures necessary to operate and maintain the system equipment within the SE (Sections 5.0 and 6.0). The Private Automatic Exchange (PAX) phones and PAX switchers are outside the safety envelope defined in WHC-SD-CP-OSR-010, Section 5.4.10, ''Safety Communication and Alarm Systems,'' Section 5.4.1 0.1, ''Major Components and Operating Characteristics,'' and Section 5.4.10.1.12, ''PAX System.'' The PAX override microphone system maintains the safety envelope, and functions as a backup to the evacuation sirens during an emergency.« less

  4. The NATO Unmanned Aircraft System Human Systems Integration Guidebook

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2012-11-01

    Stakeholders HSI Management Activity Goals Project SMEs HCR Acceptance Methods & Criteria Figure 2. Overarching HSI Goal Structure ...88ABW Clear 10/21/2013; 88ABW-2013-4442 55 N NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organisation NTSB National Transportation Safety Board S SME Subject...support the organisation Personnel trained to support safety Operational Concepts HSI Technical Activity Goals Allocation of Functions

  5. Toward an Application Guide for Safety Integrity Level Allocation in Railway Systems.

    PubMed

    Ouedraogo, Kiswendsida Abel; Beugin, Julie; El-Koursi, El-Miloudi; Clarhaut, Joffrey; Renaux, Dominique; Lisiecki, Frederic

    2018-02-02

    The work in the article presents the development of an application guide based on feedback and comments stemming from various railway actors on their practices of SIL allocation to railway safety-related functions. The initial generic methodology for SIL allocation has been updated to be applied to railway rolling stock safety-related functions in order to solve the SIL concept application issues. Various actors dealing with railway SIL allocation problems are the intended target of the methodology; its principles will be summarized in this article with a focus on modifications and precisions made in order to establish a practical guide for railway safety authorities. The methodology is based on the flowchart formalism used in CSM (common safety method) European regulation. It starts with the use of quantitative safety requirements, particularly tolerable hazard rates (THR). THR apportioning rules are applied. On the one hand, the rules are related to classical logical combinations of safety-related functions preventing hazard occurrence. On the other hand, to take into account technical conditions (last safety weak link, functional dependencies, technological complexity, etc.), specific rules implicitly used in existing practices are defined for readjusting some THR values. SIL allocation process based on apportioned and validated THR values is finally illustrated through the example of "emergency brake" subsystems. Some specific SIL allocation rules are also defined and illustrated. © 2018 Society for Risk Analysis.

  6. Efficacy and Safety of Apixaban Compared With Warfarin in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation in Relation to Renal Function Over Time: Insights From the ARISTOTLE Randomized Clinical Trial.

    PubMed

    Hijazi, Ziad; Hohnloser, Stefan H; Andersson, Ulrika; Alexander, John H; Hanna, Michael; Keltai, Matyas; Parkhomenko, Alexander; López-Sendón, José L; Lopes, Renato D; Siegbahn, Agneta; Granger, Christopher B; Wallentin, Lars

    2016-07-01

    Renal impairment confers an increased risk of stroke, bleeding, and death in patients with atrial fibrillation. Little is known about the efficacy and safety of apixaban in relation to renal function changes over time. To evaluate changes of renal function over time and their interactions with outcomes during a median of 1.8 years of follow-up in patients with atrial fibrillation randomized to apixaban vs warfarin treatment. The prospective, randomized, double-blind Apixaban for Reduction in Stroke and Other Thromboembolic Events in Atrial Fibrillation (ARISTOTLE) clinical trial randomized 18 201 patients with atrial fibrillation to apixaban or warfarin. Serial creatinine measurements were available in 16 869 patients. Worsening of renal function was defined as an annual decrease in estimated glomerular filtration more than 20%. The relations between treatment, outcomes, and renal function were investigated using Cox regression models, with renal function as a time-dependent covariate. Stroke or systemic embolism (primary outcome), major bleeding (safety outcome), and mortality were examined in relation to renal function over time estimated with both the Cockcroft-Gault and Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration equations. Among 16 869 patients, the median age was 70 years and 65.2% of patients were men. Worsening in estimated glomerular filtration more than 20% was observed in 2294 patients (13.6%) and was associated with older age and more cardiovascular comorbidities. The risks of stroke or systemic embolism, major bleeding, and mortality were higher in patients with worsening renal function (HR, 1.53; 95% CI, 1.17-2.01 for stroke or systemic embolism; HR, 1.56; 95% CI, 1.27-1.93 for major bleeding; and HR, 2.31; 95% CI, 1.98-2.68 for mortality). The beneficial effects of apixaban vs warfarin on rates of stroke or systemic embolism and major bleeding were consistent in patients with normal or poor renal function over time and also in those with worsening renal function. In patients with atrial fibrillation, declining renal function was more common in elderly patients and those with cardiovascular comorbidities. Worsening renal function was associated with a higher risk of subsequent cardiovascular events and bleeding. The superior efficacy and safety of apixaban as compared with warfarin were similar in patients with normal, poor, and worsening renal function. clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00412984.

  7. Reliability enhancement of APR + diverse protection system regarding common cause failures

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

    Oh, Y. G.; Kim, Y. M.; Yim, H. S.

    2012-07-01

    The Advanced Power Reactor Plus (APR +) nuclear power plant design has been developed on the basis of the APR1400 (Advanced Power Reactor 1400 MWe) to further enhance safety and economics. For the mitigation of Anticipated Transients Without Scram (ATWS) as well as Common Cause Failures (CCF) within the Plant Protection System (PPS) and the Emergency Safety Feature - Component Control System (ESF-CCS), several design improvement features have been implemented for the Diverse Protection System (DPS) of the APR + plant. As compared to the APR1400 DPS design, the APR + DPS has been designed to provide the Safety Injectionmore » Actuation Signal (SIAS) considering a large break LOCA accident concurrent with the CCF. Additionally several design improvement features, such as channel structure with redundant processing modules, and changes of system communication methods and auto-system test methods, are introduced to enhance the functional reliability of the DPS. Therefore, it is expected that the APR + DPS can provide an enhanced safety and reliability regarding possible CCF in the safety-grade I and C systems as well as the DPS itself. (authors)« less

  8. Confinement of Radioactive Materials at Defense Nuclear Facilities

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2004-10-01

    The design of defense nuclear facilities includes systems whose reliable operation is vital to the protection of the public, workers, and the...final safety-class barrier to the release of hazardous materials with potentially serious public consequences. The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety...the public at certain defense nuclear facilities . This change has resulted in downgrading of the functional safety classification of confinement

  9. Five-Year Safety and Performance Results from the Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System Clinical Trial.

    PubMed

    da Cruz, Lyndon; Dorn, Jessy D; Humayun, Mark S; Dagnelie, Gislin; Handa, James; Barale, Pierre-Olivier; Sahel, José-Alain; Stanga, Paulo E; Hafezi, Farhad; Safran, Avinoam B; Salzmann, Joel; Santos, Arturo; Birch, David; Spencer, Rand; Cideciyan, Artur V; de Juan, Eugene; Duncan, Jacque L; Eliott, Dean; Fawzi, Amani; Olmos de Koo, Lisa C; Ho, Allen C; Brown, Gary; Haller, Julia; Regillo, Carl; Del Priore, Lucian V; Arditi, Aries; Greenberg, Robert J

    2016-10-01

    The Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System (Second Sight Medical Products, Inc, Sylmar, CA) was developed to restore some vision to patients blind as a result of retinitis pigmentosa (RP) or outer retinal degeneration. A clinical trial was initiated in 2006 to study the long-term safety and efficacy of the Argus II System in patients with bare or no light perception resulting from end-stage RP. Prospective, multicenter, single-arm clinical trial. Within-patient controls included the nonimplanted fellow eye and patients' native residual vision compared with their vision with the Argus II. Thirty participants in 10 centers in the United States and Europe. The worse-seeing eye of blind patients was implanted with the Argus II. Patients wore glasses mounted with a small camera and a video processor that converted images into stimulation patterns sent to the electrode array on the retina. The primary outcome measures were safety (the number, seriousness, and relatedness of adverse events) and visual function, as measured by 3 computer-based, objective tests. Secondary measures included functional vision performance on objectively scored real-world tasks. Twenty-four of 30 patients remained implanted with functioning Argus II Systems at 5 years after implantation. Only 1 additional serious adverse event was experienced after the 3-year time point. Patients performed significantly better with the Argus II on than off on all visual function tests and functional vision tasks. The 5-year results of the Argus II trial support the long-term safety profile and benefit of the Argus II System for patients blind as a result of RP. The Argus II is the first and only retinal implant to have market approval in the European Economic Area, the United States, and Canada. Copyright © 2016 American Academy of Ophthalmology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Improving Patient Safety with X-Ray and Anesthesia Machine Ventilator Synchronization: A Medical Device Interoperability Case Study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Arney, David; Goldman, Julian M.; Whitehead, Susan F.; Lee, Insup

    When a x-ray image is needed during surgery, clinicians may stop the anesthesia machine ventilator while the exposure is made. If the ventilator is not restarted promptly, the patient may experience severe complications. This paper explores the interconnection of a ventilator and simulated x-ray into a prototype plug-and-play medical device system. This work assists ongoing interoperability framework development standards efforts to develop functional and non-functional requirements and illustrates the potential patient safety benefits of interoperable medical device systems by implementing a solution to a clinical use case requiring interoperability.

  11. An Online Risk Monitor System (ORMS) to Increase Safety and Security Levels in Industry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zubair, M.; Rahman, Khalil Ur; Hassan, Mehmood Ul

    2013-12-01

    The main idea of this research is to develop an Online Risk Monitor System (ORMS) based on Living Probabilistic Safety Assessment (LPSA). The article highlights the essential features and functions of ORMS. The basic models and modules such as, Reliability Data Update Model (RDUM), running time update, redundant system unavailability update, Engineered Safety Features (ESF) unavailability update and general system update have been described in this study. ORMS not only provides quantitative analysis but also highlights qualitative aspects of risk measures. ORMS is capable of automatically updating the online risk models and reliability parameters of equipment. ORMS can support in the decision making process of operators and managers in Nuclear Power Plants.

  12. Demonstration Advanced Avionics System (DAAS). Phase 1 report

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1981-01-01

    An integrated avionics system which provides expanded functional capabilities that significantly enhance the utility and safety of general aviation at a cost commensurate with the general aviation market is discussed. Displays and control were designed so that the pilot can use the system after minimum training. Functional and hardware descriptions, operational evaluation and failure modes effects analysis are included.

  13. Nanodrugs: pharmacokinetics and safety

    PubMed Central

    Onoue, Satomi; Yamada, Shizuo; Chan, Hak-Kim

    2014-01-01

    To date, various nanodrug systems have been developed for different routes of administration, which include dendrimers, nanocrystals, emulsions, liposomes, solid lipid nanoparticles, micelles, and polymeric nanoparticles. Nanodrug systems have been employed to improve the efficacy, safety, physicochemical properties, and pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic profile of pharmaceutical substances. In particular, functionalized nanodrug systems can offer enhanced bioavailability of orally taken drugs, prolonged half-life of injected drugs (by reducing immunogenicity), and targeted delivery to specific tissues. Thus, nanodrug systems might lower the frequency of administration while providing maximized pharmacological effects and minimized systemic side effects, possibly leading to better therapeutic compliance and clinical outcomes. In spite of these attractive pharmacokinetic advantages, recent attention has been drawn to the toxic potential of nanodrugs since they often exhibit in vitro and in vivo cytotoxicity, oxidative stress, inflammation, and genotoxicity. A better understanding of the pharmacokinetic and safety characteristics of nanodrugs and the limitations of each delivery option is necessary for the further development of efficacious nanodrugs with high therapeutic potential and a wide safety margin. This review highlights the recent progress in nanodrug system development, with a focus on the pharmacokinetic advantages and safety challenges. PMID:24591825

  14. Safety Needs Mediate Stressful Events Induced Mental Disorders.

    PubMed

    Zheng, Zheng; Gu, Simeng; Lei, Yu; Lu, Shanshan; Wang, Wei; Li, Yang; Wang, Fushun

    2016-01-01

    "Safety first," we say these words almost every day, but we all take this for granted for what Maslow proposed in his famous theory of Hierarchy of Needs : safety needs come second to physiological needs. Here we propose that safety needs come before physiological needs. Safety needs are personal security, financial security, and health and well-being, which are more fundamental than physiological needs. Safety worrying is the major reason for mental disorders, such as anxiety, phobia, depression, and PTSD. The neural basis for safety is amygdala, LC/NE system, and corticotrophin-releasing hormone system, which can be regarded as a "safety circuitry," whose major behavior function is "fight or flight" and "fear and anger" emotions. This is similar to the Appraisal theory for emotions: fear is due to the primary appraisal, which is related to safety of individual, while anger is due to secondary appraisal, which is related to coping with the unsafe situations. If coping is good, the individual will be happy; if coping failed, the individual will be sad or depressed.

  15. Engineering Hematopoietic Cells for Cancer Immunotherapy: Strategies to Address Safety and Toxicity Concerns.

    PubMed

    Resetca, Diana; Neschadim, Anton; Medin, Jeffrey A

    2016-09-01

    Advances in cancer immunotherapies utilizing engineered hematopoietic cells have recently generated significant clinical successes. Of great promise are immunotherapies based on chimeric antigen receptor-engineered T (CAR-T) cells that are targeted toward malignant cells expressing defined tumor-associated antigens. CAR-T cells harness the effector function of the adaptive arm of the immune system and redirect it against cancer cells, overcoming the major challenges of immunotherapy, such as breaking tolerance to self-antigens and beating cancer immune system-evasion mechanisms. In early clinical trials, CAR-T cell-based therapies achieved complete and durable responses in a significant proportion of patients. Despite clinical successes and given the side effect profiles of immunotherapies based on engineered cells, potential concerns with the safety and toxicity of various therapeutic modalities remain. We discuss the concerns associated with the safety and stability of the gene delivery vehicles for cell engineering and with toxicities due to off-target and on-target, off-tumor effector functions of the engineered cells. We then overview the various strategies aimed at improving the safety of and resolving toxicities associated with cell-based immunotherapies. Integrating failsafe switches based on different suicide gene therapy systems into engineered cells engenders promising strategies toward ensuring the safety of cancer immunotherapies in the clinic.

  16. Experimental optimization of the FireFly 600 photovoltaic off-grid system.

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

    Boyson, William Earl; Orozco, Ron; Ralph, Mark E.

    2003-10-01

    A comprehensive evaluation and experimental optimization of the FireFly{trademark} 600 off-grid photovoltaic system manufactured by Energia Total, Ltd. was conducted at Sandia National Laboratories in May and June of 2001. This evaluation was conducted at the request of the manufacturer and addressed performance of individual system components, overall system functionality and performance, safety concerns, and compliance with applicable codes and standards. A primary goal of the effort was to identify areas for improvement in performance, reliability, and safety. New system test procedures were developed during the effort.

  17. Formal Modeling and Analysis of a Preliminary Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS)Concept

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Carrreno, Victor A.; Gottliebsen, Hanne; Butler, Ricky; Kalvala, Sara

    2004-01-01

    New concepts for automating air traffic management functions at small non-towered airports raise serious safety issues associated with the software implementations and their underlying key algorithms. The criticality of such software systems necessitates that strong guarantees of the safety be developed for them. In this paper we present a formal method for modeling and verifying such systems using the PVS theorem proving system. The method is demonstrated on a preliminary concept of operation for the Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) project at NASA Langley.

  18. SAFEGUARD: An Assured Safety Net Technology for UAS

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Dill, Evan T.; Young, Steven D.; Hayhurst, Kelly J.

    2016-01-01

    As demands increase to use unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) for a broad spectrum of commercial applications, regulatory authorities are examining how to safely integrate them without loss of safety or major disruption to existing airspace operations. This work addresses the development of the Safeguard system as an assured safety net technology for UAS. The Safeguard system monitors and enforces conformance to a set of rules defined prior to flight (e.g., geospatial stay-out or stay-in regions, speed limits, altitude limits). Safeguard operates independently of the UAS autopilot and is strategically designed in a way that can be realized by a small set of verifiable functions to simplify compliance with regulatory standards for commercial aircraft. A framework is described that decouples the system from any other devices on the UAS as well as introduces complementary positioning source(s) for applications that require integrity and availability beyond what the Global Positioning System (GPS) can provide. Additionally, the high level logic embedded within the software is presented, as well as the steps being taken toward verification and validation (V&V) of proper functionality. Next, an initial prototype implementation of the described system is disclosed. Lastly, future work including development, testing, and system V&V is summarized.

  19. Fairfax County and the Commonwealth of Virginia Public Safety and Transportation Operations Center : concept of cooperation (ConCoop)

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2005-01-01

    The Public Safety and Transportation Operations Centers (PSTOCs) Concept of Cooperation (ConCoop) enables partner agencies to lay out and reach consensus on: : their intentions in co-locating; : joint functions and systems needed to mee...

  20. Color Functionality Used in Visual Display for Occupational and Environmental Safety and Managing Color Vision Deficiency.

    PubMed

    Ochiai, Nobuhisa; Kondo, Hiroyuki

    2017-01-01

    The effects of color perception are utilized in visual displays for the purpose of safety in the workplace and in daily life. These effects, generally known as color functionality, are divided into four classifications: visibility, legibility, conspicuity and discriminability. This article focuses on the relationship between the color functionality of color schemes used in visual displays for occupational and environmental safety and color vision deficiency (particularly congenital red-green color deficiency), a critical issue in ophthalmology, and examines the effects of color functionality on the perception of the color red in individuals with protan defects. Due to abrupt system reforms, current Japanese clinical ophthalmology finds itself in a situation where it is insufficiently prepared to handle congenital red-green color deficiencies. Indeed, occupational problems caused by color vision deficiencies have been almost completely neglected, and are an occupational safety and health concern that will need to be solved in the future. This report will present the guidelines for the color vision testing established by the British Health and Safety Executive (HSE), a pioneering example of a model meant to solve these problems. Issues relating to the creation of guidelines adapted to Japanese clinical ophthalmology will also be examined, and we will discuss ways to utilize color functionality used in visual displays for occupational and environmental safety to help manage color vision deficiency.

  1. Optimal Design of Integrated Systems Health Management (ISHM) Systems for improving safety in NASA's Exploration Vehicles: A Two-Level Multidisciplinary Design Approach

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mehr, Ali Farhang; Tumer, Irem; Barszcz, Eric

    2005-01-01

    Integrated Vehicle Health Management (ISHM) systems are used to detect, assess, and isolate functional failures in order to improve safety of space systems such as Orbital Space Planes (OSPs). An ISHM system, as a whole, consists of several subsystems that monitor different components of an OSP including: Spacecraft, Launch Vehicle, Ground Control, and the International Space Station. In this research, therefore, we propose a new methodology to design and optimize ISHM as a distributed system with multiple disciplines (that correspond to different subsystems of OSP safety). A paramount amount of interest has been given in the literature to the multidisciplinary design optimization of problems with such architecture (as will be reviewed in the full paper).

  2. Shared Information Framework and Technology (SHIFT) Handbook

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2009-02-01

    field. Such a patchwork of separate systems neither improves information sharing nor guarantees the safety and security of communities and personnel in...analysis. In many organizations, security may not necessarily be the expertise of people working in the field, or security and safety issues may be...the safety and security of all crisis management personnel in crisis areas. Functioning information sharing between organisations improves situational

  3. Designing Crane Controls with Applied Mechanical and Electrical Safety Features

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lytle, Bradford P.; Walczak, Thomas A.

    2002-01-01

    The use of overhead traveling bridge cranes in many varied applications is common practice. In particular, the use of cranes in the nuclear, military, commercial, aerospace, and other industries can involve safety critical situations. Considerations for Human Injury or Casualty, Loss of Assets, Endangering the Environment, or Economic Reduction must be addressed. Traditionally, in order to achieve additional safety in these applications, mechanical systems have been augmented with a variety of devices. These devices assure that a mechanical component failure shall reduce the risk of a catastrophic loss of the correct and/or safe load carrying capability. ASME NOG-1-1998, (Rules for Construction of Overhead and Gantry Cranes, Top Running Bridge, and Multiple Girder), provides design standards for cranes in safety critical areas. Over and above the minimum safety requirements of todays design standards, users struggle with obtaining a higher degree of reliability through more precise functional specifications while attempting to provide "smart" safety systems. Electrical control systems also may be equipped with protective devices similar to the mechanical design features. Demands for improvement of the cranes "control system" is often recognized, but difficult to quantify for this traditionally "mechanically" oriented market. Finite details for each operation must be examined and understood. As an example, load drift (or small motions) at close tolerances can be unacceptable (and considered critical). To meet these high functional demands encoders and other devices are independently added to control systems to provide motion and velocity feedback to the control drive. This paper will examine the implementation of Programmable Electronic Systems (PES). PES is a term this paper will use to describe any control system utilizing any programmable electronic device such as Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC), or an Adjustable Frequency Drive (AID) 'smart' programmable motion controller. Therefore the use of the term Programmable Electronic Systems (PES) is an encompassing description for a large spectrum of programmable electronic control devices.

  4. FY 1991 safety program status report

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1991-01-01

    In FY 1991, the NASA Safety Division continued efforts to enhance the quality and productivity of its safety oversight function. Recent initiatives set forth in areas such as training, risk management, safety assurance, operational safety, and safety information systems have matured into viable programs contributing to the safety and success of activities throughout the Agency. Efforts continued to develop a centralized intra-agency safety training program with establishment of the NASA Safety Training Center at the Johnson Space Center (JSC). The objective is to provide quality training for NASA employees and contractors on a broad range of safety-related topics. Courses developed by the Training Center will be presented at various NASA locations to minimize travel and reach the greatest number of people at the least cost. In FY 1991, as part of the ongoing efforts to enhance the total quality of NASA's safety work force, the Safety Training Center initiated development of a Certified Safety Professional review course. This course provides a comprehensive review of the skills and knowledge that well-rounded safety professionals must possess to qualify for professional certification. FY 1992 will see the course presented to NASA and contractor employees at all installations via the NASA Video Teleconference System.

  5. Developing a Web-Based Advisory Expert System for Implementing Traffic Calming Strategies

    PubMed Central

    Falamarzi, Amir; Borhan, Muhamad Nazri; Rahmat, Riza Atiq O. K.

    2014-01-01

    Lack of traffic safety has become a serious issue in residential areas. In this paper, a web-based advisory expert system for the purpose of applying traffic calming strategies on residential streets is described because there currently lacks a structured framework for the implementation of such strategies. Developing an expert system can assist and advise engineers for dealing with traffic safety problems. This expert system is developed to fill the gap between the traffic safety experts and people who seek to employ traffic calming strategies including decision makers, engineers, and students. In order to build the expert system, examining sources related to traffic calming studies as well as interviewing with domain experts have been carried out. The system includes above 150 rules and 200 images for different types of measures. The system has three main functions including classifying traffic calming measures, prioritizing traffic calming strategies, and presenting solutions for different traffic safety problems. Verifying, validating processes, and comparing the system with similar works have shown that the system is consistent and acceptable for practical uses. Finally, some recommendations for improving the system are presented. PMID:25276861

  6. Developing a web-based advisory expert system for implementing traffic calming strategies.

    PubMed

    Falamarzi, Amir; Borhan, Muhamad Nazri; Rahmat, Riza Atiq O K

    2014-01-01

    Lack of traffic safety has become a serious issue in residential areas. In this paper, a web-based advisory expert system for the purpose of applying traffic calming strategies on residential streets is described because there currently lacks a structured framework for the implementation of such strategies. Developing an expert system can assist and advise engineers for dealing with traffic safety problems. This expert system is developed to fill the gap between the traffic safety experts and people who seek to employ traffic calming strategies including decision makers, engineers, and students. In order to build the expert system, examining sources related to traffic calming studies as well as interviewing with domain experts have been carried out. The system includes above 150 rules and 200 images for different types of measures. The system has three main functions including classifying traffic calming measures, prioritizing traffic calming strategies, and presenting solutions for different traffic safety problems. Verifying, validating processes, and comparing the system with similar works have shown that the system is consistent and acceptable for practical uses. Finally, some recommendations for improving the system are presented.

  7. 10 CFR Appendix A to Part 851 - Worker Safety and Health Functional Areas

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... requirements to research and development laboratory type operations consistent with the DOE level of protection... safety policies and procedures to ensure that pressure systems are designed, fabricated, tested... must include the following: (1) Design drawings, sketches, and calculations must be reviewed and...

  8. 10 CFR Appendix A to Part 851 - Worker Safety and Health Functional Areas

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... requirements to research and development laboratory type operations consistent with the DOE level of protection... safety policies and procedures to ensure that pressure systems are designed, fabricated, tested... must include the following: (1) Design drawings, sketches, and calculations must be reviewed and...

  9. 10 CFR Appendix A to Part 851 - Worker Safety and Health Functional Areas

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... requirements to research and development laboratory type operations consistent with the DOE level of protection... safety policies and procedures to ensure that pressure systems are designed, fabricated, tested... must include the following: (1) Design drawings, sketches, and calculations must be reviewed and...

  10. 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''.

  11. High dynamic range CMOS (HDRC) imagers for safety systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Strobel, Markus; Döttling, Dietmar

    2013-04-01

    The first part of this paper describes the high dynamic range CMOS (HDRC®) imager - a special type of CMOS image sensor with logarithmic response. The powerful property of a high dynamic range (HDR) image acquisition is detailed by mathematical definition and measurement of the optoelectronic conversion function (OECF) of two different HDRC imagers. Specific sensor parameters will be discussed including the pixel design for the global shutter readout. The second part will give an outline on the applications and requirements of cameras for industrial safety. Equipped with HDRC global shutter sensors SafetyEYE® is a high-performance stereo camera system for safe three-dimensional zone monitoring enabling new and more flexible solutions compared to existing safety guards.

  12. Applying Formal Verification Techniques to Ambient Assisted Living Systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Benghazi, Kawtar; Visitación Hurtado, María; Rodríguez, María Luisa; Noguera, Manuel

    This paper presents a verification approach based on timed traces semantics and MEDISTAM-RT [1] to check the fulfillment of non-functional requirements, such as timeliness and safety, and assure the correct functioning of the Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) systems. We validate this approach by its application to an Emergency Assistance System for monitoring people suffering from cardiac alteration with syncope.

  13. On the Safety of Machine Learning: Cyber-Physical Systems, Decision Sciences, and Data Products.

    PubMed

    Varshney, Kush R; Alemzadeh, Homa

    2017-09-01

    Machine learning algorithms increasingly influence our decisions and interact with us in all parts of our daily lives. Therefore, just as we consider the safety of power plants, highways, and a variety of other engineered socio-technical systems, we must also take into account the safety of systems involving machine learning. Heretofore, the definition of safety has not been formalized in a machine learning context. In this article, we do so by defining machine learning safety in terms of risk, epistemic uncertainty, and the harm incurred by unwanted outcomes. We then use this definition to examine safety in all sorts of applications in cyber-physical systems, decision sciences, and data products. We find that the foundational principle of modern statistical machine learning, empirical risk minimization, is not always a sufficient objective. We discuss how four different categories of strategies for achieving safety in engineering, including inherently safe design, safety reserves, safe fail, and procedural safeguards can be mapped to a machine learning context. We then discuss example techniques that can be adopted in each category, such as considering interpretability and causality of predictive models, objective functions beyond expected prediction accuracy, human involvement for labeling difficult or rare examples, and user experience design of software and open data.

  14. The Armstrong Institute: An Academic Institute for Patient Safety and Quality Improvement, Research, Training, and Practice.

    PubMed

    Pronovost, Peter J; Holzmueller, Christine G; Molello, Nancy E; Paine, Lori; Winner, Laura; Marsteller, Jill A; Berenholtz, Sean M; Aboumatar, Hanan J; Demski, Renee; Armstrong, C Michael

    2015-10-01

    Academic medical centers (AMCs) could advance the science of health care delivery, improve patient safety and quality improvement, and enhance value, but many centers have fragmented efforts with little accountability. Johns Hopkins Medicine, the AMC under which the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the Johns Hopkins Health System are organized, experienced similar challenges, with operational patient safety and quality leadership separate from safety and quality-related research efforts. To unite efforts and establish accountability, the Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality was created in 2011.The authors describe the development, purpose, governance, function, and challenges of the institute to help other AMCs replicate it and accelerate safety and quality improvement. The purpose is to partner with patients, their loved ones, and all interested parties to end preventable harm, continuously improve patient outcomes and experience, and eliminate waste in health care. A governance structure was created, with care mapped into seven categories, to oversee the quality and safety of all patients treated at a Johns Hopkins Medicine entity. The governance has a Patient Safety and Quality Board Committee that sets strategic goals, and the institute communicates these goals throughout the health system and supports personnel in meeting these goals. The institute is organized into 13 functional councils reflecting their behaviors and purpose. The institute works daily to build the capacity of clinicians trained in safety and quality through established programs, advance improvement science, and implement and evaluate interventions to improve the quality of care and safety of patients.

  15. Certification of highly complex safety-related systems.

    PubMed

    Reinert, D; Schaefer, M

    1999-01-01

    The BIA has now 15 years of experience with the certification of complex electronic systems for safety-related applications in the machinery sector. Using the example of machining centres this presentation will show the systematic procedure for verifying and validating control systems using Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) and microcomputers for safety functions. One section will describe the control structure of machining centres with control systems using "integrated safety." A diverse redundant architecture combined with crossmonitoring and forced dynamization is explained. In the main section the steps of the systematic certification procedure are explained showing some results of the certification of drilling machines. Specification reviews, design reviews with test case specification, statistical analysis, and walk-throughs are the analytical measures in the testing process. Systematic tests based on the test case specification, Electro Magnetic Interference (EMI), and environmental testing, and site acceptance tests on the machines are the testing measures for validation. A complex software driven system is always undergoing modification. Most of the changes are not safety-relevant but this has to be proven. A systematic procedure for certifying software modifications is presented in the last section of the paper.

  16. Principles and Benefits of Explicitly Designed Medical Device Safety Architecture.

    PubMed

    Larson, Brian R; Jones, Paul; Zhang, Yi; Hatcliff, John

    The complexity of medical devices and the processes by which they are developed pose considerable challenges to producing safe designs and regulatory submissions that are amenable to effective reviews. Designing an appropriate and clearly documented architecture can be an important step in addressing this complexity. Best practices in medical device design embrace the notion of a safety architecture organized around distinct operation and safety requirements. By explicitly separating many safety-related monitoring and mitigation functions from operational functionality, the aspects of a device most critical to safety can be localized into a smaller and simpler safety subsystem, thereby enabling easier verification and more effective reviews of claims that causes of hazardous situations are detected and handled properly. This article defines medical device safety architecture, describes its purpose and philosophy, and provides an example. Although many of the presented concepts may be familiar to those with experience in realization of safety-critical systems, this article aims to distill the essence of the approach and provide practical guidance that can potentially improve the quality of device designs and regulatory submissions.

  17. 10 CFR Appendix A to Part 851 - Worker Safety and Health Functional Areas

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... Information Technology. (1) Employee medical, psychological, and employee assistance program (EAP) records... site information (e.g., site characterization data, as-built drawings) provided by the construction... systems; (5) A safety analysis approved by the Head of DOE Field Element must be developed for the...

  18. 47 CFR 80.1081 - Functional requirements.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 47 Telecommunication 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Functional requirements. 80.1081 Section 80... STATIONS IN THE MARITIME SERVICES Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) Equipment Requirements for Ship Stations § 80.1081 Functional requirements. Ships, while at sea, must be capable: (a) Except...

  19. A sensor monitoring system for telemedicine, safety and security applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vlissidis, Nikolaos; Leonidas, Filippos; Giovanis, Christos; Marinos, Dimitrios; Aidinis, Konstantinos; Vassilopoulos, Christos; Pagiatakis, Gerasimos; Schmitt, Nikolaus; Pistner, Thomas; Klaue, Jirka

    2017-02-01

    A sensor system capable of medical, safety and security monitoring in avionic and other environments (e.g. homes) is examined. For application inside an aircraft cabin, the system relies on an optical cellular network that connects each seat to a server and uses a set of database applications to process data related to passengers' health, safety and security status. Health monitoring typically encompasses electrocardiogram, pulse oximetry and blood pressure, body temperature and respiration rate while safety and security monitoring is related to the standard flight attendance duties, such as cabin preparation for take-off, landing, flight in regions of turbulence, etc. In contrast to previous related works, this article focuses on the system's modules (medical and safety sensors and associated hardware), the database applications used for the overall control of the monitoring function and the potential use of the system for security applications. Further tests involving medical, safety and security sensing performed in an real A340 mock-up set-up are also described and reference is made to the possible use of the sensing system in alternative environments and applications, such as health monitoring within other means of transport (e.g. trains or small passenger sea vessels) as well as for remotely located home users, over a wired Ethernet network or the Internet.

  20. Context-aware system for pre-triggering irreversible vehicle safety actuators.

    PubMed

    Böhmländer, Dennis; Dirndorfer, Tobias; Al-Bayatti, Ali H; Brandmeier, Thomas

    2017-06-01

    New vehicle safety systems have led to a steady improvement of road safety and a reduction in the risk of suffering a major injury in vehicle accidents. A huge leap forward in the development of new vehicle safety systems are actuators that have to be activated irreversibly shortly before a collision in order to mitigate accident consequences. The triggering decision has to be based on measurements of exteroceptive sensors currently used in driver assistance systems. This paper focuses on developing a novel context-aware system designed to detect potential collisions and to trigger safety actuators even before an accident occurs. In this context, the analysis examines the information that can be collected from exteroceptive sensors (pre-crash data) to predict a certain collision and its severity to decide whether a triggering is entitled or not. A five-layer context-aware architecture is presented, that is able to collect contextual information about the vehicle environment and the actual driving state using different sensors, to perform reasoning about potential collisions, and to trigger safety functions upon that information. Accident analysis is used in a data model to represent uncertain knowledge and to perform reasoning. A simulation concept based on real accident data is introduced to evaluate the presented system concept. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Safe Exploration Algorithms for Reinforcement Learning Controllers.

    PubMed

    Mannucci, Tommaso; van Kampen, Erik-Jan; de Visser, Cornelis; Chu, Qiping

    2018-04-01

    Self-learning approaches, such as reinforcement learning, offer new possibilities for autonomous control of uncertain or time-varying systems. However, exploring an unknown environment under limited prediction capabilities is a challenge for a learning agent. If the environment is dangerous, free exploration can result in physical damage or in an otherwise unacceptable behavior. With respect to existing methods, the main contribution of this paper is the definition of a new approach that does not require global safety functions, nor specific formulations of the dynamics or of the environment, but relies on interval estimation of the dynamics of the agent during the exploration phase, assuming a limited capability of the agent to perceive the presence of incoming fatal states. Two algorithms are presented with this approach. The first is the Safety Handling Exploration with Risk Perception Algorithm (SHERPA), which provides safety by individuating temporary safety functions, called backups. SHERPA is shown in a simulated, simplified quadrotor task, for which dangerous states are avoided. The second algorithm, denominated OptiSHERPA, can safely handle more dynamically complex systems for which SHERPA is not sufficient through the use of safety metrics. An application of OptiSHERPA is simulated on an aircraft altitude control task.

  2. A Methodology for Validating Safety Heuristics Using Clinical Simulations: Identifying and Preventing Possible Technology-Induced Errors Related to Using Health Information Systems

    PubMed Central

    Borycki, Elizabeth; Kushniruk, Andre; Carvalho, Christopher

    2013-01-01

    Internationally, health information systems (HIS) safety has emerged as a significant concern for governments. Recently, research has emerged that has documented the ability of HIS to be implicated in the harm and death of patients. Researchers have attempted to develop methods that can be used to prevent or reduce technology-induced errors. Some researchers are developing methods that can be employed prior to systems release. These methods include the development of safety heuristics and clinical simulations. In this paper, we outline our methodology for developing safety heuristics specific to identifying the features or functions of a HIS user interface design that may lead to technology-induced errors. We follow this with a description of a methodological approach to validate these heuristics using clinical simulations. PMID:23606902

  3. 16 CFR 1000.13 - Directives System.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... 16 Commercial Practices 2 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Directives System. 1000.13 Section 1000.13 Commercial Practices CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION GENERAL COMMISSION ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTIONS § 1000.13 Directives System. The Commission maintains a Directives System which contains delegations of...

  4. 16 CFR 1000.13 - Directives System.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... 16 Commercial Practices 2 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Directives System. 1000.13 Section 1000.13 Commercial Practices CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION GENERAL COMMISSION ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTIONS § 1000.13 Directives System. The Commission maintains a Directives System which contains delegations of...

  5. 46 CFR 62.10-1 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... control means a function of an automatic control system to restrict operation to a specified operating... automatic or manual control. Safety trip control system means a manually or automatically operated system... GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) MARINE ENGINEERING VITAL SYSTEM AUTOMATION Terms Used...

  6. 46 CFR 62.10-1 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... control means a function of an automatic control system to restrict operation to a specified operating... automatic or manual control. Safety trip control system means a manually or automatically operated system... GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) MARINE ENGINEERING VITAL SYSTEM AUTOMATION Terms Used...

  7. 46 CFR 62.10-1 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... control means a function of an automatic control system to restrict operation to a specified operating... automatic or manual control. Safety trip control system means a manually or automatically operated system... GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) MARINE ENGINEERING VITAL SYSTEM AUTOMATION Terms Used...

  8. 46 CFR 62.10-1 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... control means a function of an automatic control system to restrict operation to a specified operating... automatic or manual control. Safety trip control system means a manually or automatically operated system... GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) MARINE ENGINEERING VITAL SYSTEM AUTOMATION Terms Used...

  9. 46 CFR 62.10-1 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... control means a function of an automatic control system to restrict operation to a specified operating... automatic or manual control. Safety trip control system means a manually or automatically operated system... GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) MARINE ENGINEERING VITAL SYSTEM AUTOMATION Terms Used...

  10. 16 CFR 1000.13 - Directives System.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 16 Commercial Practices 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Directives System. 1000.13 Section 1000.13 Commercial Practices CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION GENERAL COMMISSION ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTIONS § 1000.13 Directives System. The Commission maintains a Directives System which contains delegations of...

  11. [Topical issues of biological safety under current conditions. Part 3. Scientific provision for the national regulation of the biological safety framework in its broad interpretation].

    PubMed

    Onishchenko, G G; Smolensky, V Yu; Ezhlova, E B; Demina, Yu V; Toporkov, V P; Toporkov, A V; Lyapin, M N; Kutyrev, V V

    2014-01-01

    Consequent of investigation concerned with biological safety (BS) framework development in its broad interpretation, reflected in the Russian Federation State Acts, identified have been conceptual entity parameters of the up-to-date broad interpretation of BS, which have formed a part of the developed by the authors system for surveillance (prophylaxis, localization, indication, identification, and diagnostics) and control (prophylaxis, localization, and response/elimination) over the emergency situations of biological (sanitary-epidemiological) character. The System functionality is activated through supplying the content with information data which are concerned with monitoring and control of specific internal and external threats in the sphere of BS provision fixed in the Supplement 2 of the International Health Regulations (IHR, 2005), and with the previously characterized nomenclature of hazardous biological factors. The system is designed as a network-based research-and-practice tool for evaluation of the situation in the sphere of BS provision, as well as assessment of efficacy of management decision making as regards BS control and proper State policy implementation. Most of the system elements either directly or indirectly relate to the scope of activities conducted by Federal Service for Surveillance in the Sphere of Consumers Rights Protection and Human Welfare, being substantial argument for allocating coordination functions in the sphere of BS provision to this government agency and consistent with its function as the State Coordinator on IHR (2005). The data collected serve as materials to Draft Federal Law "Concerning biological safety provision of the population".

  12. Adaptive control with an expert system based supervisory level. Thesis

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Sullivan, Gerald A.

    1991-01-01

    Adaptive control is presently one of the methods available which may be used to control plants with poorly modelled dynamics or time varying dynamics. Although many variations of adaptive controllers exist, a common characteristic of all adaptive control schemes, is that input/output measurements from the plant are used to adjust a control law in an on-line fashion. Ideally the adjustment mechanism of the adaptive controller is able to learn enough about the dynamics of the plant from input/output measurements to effectively control the plant. In practice, problems such as measurement noise, controller saturation, and incorrect model order, to name a few, may prevent proper adjustment of the controller and poor performance or instability result. In this work we set out to avoid the inadequacies of procedurally implemented safety nets, by introducing a two level control scheme in which an expert system based 'supervisor' at the upper level provides all the safety net functions for an adaptive controller at the lower level. The expert system is based on a shell called IPEX, (Interactive Process EXpert), that we developed specifically for the diagnosis and treatment of dynamic systems. Some of the more important functions that the IPEX system provides are: (1) temporal reasoning; (2) planning of diagnostic activities; and (3) interactive diagnosis. Also, because knowledge and control logic are separate, the incorporation of new diagnostic and treatment knowledge is relatively simple. We note that the flexibility available in the system to express diagnostic and treatment knowledge, allows much greater functionality than could ever be reasonably expected from procedural implementations of safety nets. The remainder of this chapter is divided into three sections. In section 1.1 we give a detailed review of the literature in the area of supervisory systems for adaptive controllers. In particular, we describe the evolution of safety nets from simple ad hoc techniques, up to the use of expert systems for more advanced supervision capabilities.

  13. 10 CFR 55.41 - Written examination: Operators.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... elements, control rods, core instrumentation, and coolant flow. (3) Mechanical components and design..., and functions of reactivity control mechanisms and instrumentation. (7) Design, components, and functions of control and safety systems, including instrumentation, signals, interlocks, failure modes, and...

  14. 10 CFR 55.41 - Written examination: Operators.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... elements, control rods, core instrumentation, and coolant flow. (3) Mechanical components and design..., and functions of reactivity control mechanisms and instrumentation. (7) Design, components, and functions of control and safety systems, including instrumentation, signals, interlocks, failure modes, and...

  15. IEC 61511 and the capital project process--a protective management system approach.

    PubMed

    Summers, Angela E

    2006-03-17

    This year, the process industry has reached an important milestone in process safety-the acceptance of an internationally recognized standard for safety instrumented systems (SIS). This standard, IEC 61511, documents good engineering practice for the assessment, design, operation, maintenance, and management of SISs. The foundation of the standard is established by several requirements in Part 1, Clauses 5-7, which cover the development of a management system aimed at ensuring that functional safety is achieved. The management system includes a quality assurance process for the entire SIS lifecycle, requiring the development of procedures, identification of resources and acquisition of tools. For maximum benefit, the deliverables and quality control checks required by the standard should be integrated into the capital project process, addressing safety, environmental, plant productivity, and asset protection. Industry has become inundated with a multitude of programs focusing on safety, quality, and cost performance. This paper introduces a protective management system, which builds upon the work process identified in IEC 61511. Typical capital project phases are integrated with the management system to yield one comprehensive program to efficiently manage process risk. Finally, the paper highlights areas where internal practices or guidelines should be developed to improve program performance and cost effectiveness.

  16. Safety Needs Mediate Stressful Events Induced Mental Disorders

    PubMed Central

    Gu, Simeng; Lei, Yu; Lu, Shanshan

    2016-01-01

    “Safety first,” we say these words almost every day, but we all take this for granted for what Maslow proposed in his famous theory of Hierarchy of Needs: safety needs come second to physiological needs. Here we propose that safety needs come before physiological needs. Safety needs are personal security, financial security, and health and well-being, which are more fundamental than physiological needs. Safety worrying is the major reason for mental disorders, such as anxiety, phobia, depression, and PTSD. The neural basis for safety is amygdala, LC/NE system, and corticotrophin-releasing hormone system, which can be regarded as a “safety circuitry,” whose major behavior function is “fight or flight” and “fear and anger” emotions. This is similar to the Appraisal theory for emotions: fear is due to the primary appraisal, which is related to safety of individual, while anger is due to secondary appraisal, which is related to coping with the unsafe situations. If coping is good, the individual will be happy; if coping failed, the individual will be sad or depressed. PMID:27738527

  17. Model Transformation for a System of Systems Dependability Safety Case

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Murphy, Judy; Driskell, Stephen B.

    2010-01-01

    Software plays an increasingly larger role in all aspects of NASA's science missions. This has been extended to the identification, management and control of faults which affect safety-critical functions and by default, the overall success of the mission. Traditionally, the analysis of fault identification, management and control are hardware based. Due to the increasing complexity of system, there has been a corresponding increase in the complexity in fault management software. The NASA Independent Validation & Verification (IV&V) program is creating processes and procedures to identify, and incorporate safety-critical software requirements along with corresponding software faults so that potential hazards may be mitigated. This Specific to Generic ... A Case for Reuse paper describes the phases of a dependability and safety study which identifies a new, process to create a foundation for reusable assets. These assets support the identification and management of specific software faults and, their transformation from specific to generic software faults. This approach also has applications to other systems outside of the NASA environment. This paper addresses how a mission specific dependability and safety case is being transformed to a generic dependability and safety case which can be reused for any type of space mission with an emphasis on software fault conditions.

  18. A cloud medication safety support system using QR code and Web services for elderly outpatients.

    PubMed

    Tseng, Ming-Hseng; Wu, Hui-Ching

    2014-01-01

    Drug is an important part of disease treatment, but medication errors happen frequently and have significant clinical and financial consequences. The prevalence of prescription medication use among the ambulatory adult population increases with advancing age. Because of the global aging society, outpatients need to improve medication safety more than inpatients. The elderly with multiple chronic conditions face the complex task of medication management. To reduce the medication errors for the elder outpatients with chronic diseases, a cloud medication safety supporting system is designed, demonstrated and evaluated. The proposed system is composed of a three-tier architecture: the front-end tier, the mobile tier and the cloud tier. The mobile tier will host the personalized medication safety supporting application on Android platforms that provides some primary functions including reminders for medication, assistance with pill-dispensing, recording of medications, position of medications and notices of forgotten medications for elderly outpatients. Finally, the hybrid technology acceptance model is employed to understand the intention and satisfaction level of the potential users to use this mobile medication safety support application system. The result of the system acceptance testing indicates that this developed system, implementing patient-centered services, is highly accepted by the elderly. This proposed M-health system could assist elderly outpatients' homecare in preventing medication errors and improving their medication safety.

  19. Study on high reliability safety valve for railway vehicle

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Xuan; Chen, Ruikun; Zhang, Shixi; Xu, BuDu

    2017-09-01

    Now, the realization of most of the functions of the railway vehicles rely on compressed air, so the demand for compressed air is growing higher and higher. This safety valve is a protection device for pressure limitation and pressure relief in an air supply system of railway vehicles. I am going to introduce the structure, operating principle, research and development process of the safety valve designed by our company in this document.

  20. Resilient Practices in Maintaining Safety of Health Information Technologies

    PubMed Central

    Ash, Joan S.; Sittig, Dean F.; Singh, Hardeep

    2014-01-01

    Electronic health record systems (EHRs) can improve safety and reliability of health care, but they can also introduce new vulnerabilities by failing to accommodate changes within a dynamic EHR-enabled health care system. Continuous assessment and improvement is thus essential for achieving resilience in EHR-enabled health care systems. Given the rapid adoption of EHRs by many organizations that are still early in their experiences with EHR safety, it is important to understand practices for maintaining resilience used by organizations with a track record of success in EHR use. We conducted interviews about safety practices with 56 key informants (including information technology managers, chief medical information officers, physicians, and patient safety officers) at two large health care systems recognized as leaders in EHR use. We identified 156 references to resilience-related practices from 41 informants. Framework analysis generated five categories of resilient practices: (a) sensitivity to dynamics and interdependencies affecting risks, (b) basic monitoring and responding practices, (c) management of practices and resources for monitoring and responding, (d) sensitivity to risks beyond the horizon, and (e) reflecting on risks with the safety and quality control process itself. The categories reflect three functions that facilitate resilience: reflection, transcending boundaries, and involving sharp-end practitioners in safety management. PMID:25866492

  1. Safety and Mission Assurance (SMA) Automated Task Order Management System (ATOMS) Operation Manual

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wallace, Shawn; Fikes, Lou A.

    2016-01-01

    This document describes operational aspects of the ATOMS system. The information provided is limited to the functionality provided by ATOMS and does not include information provided in the contractor's proprietary financial and task management system.

  2. Development of a methodology for assessing the safety of embedded software systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Garrett, C. J.; Guarro, S. B.; Apostolakis, G. E.

    1993-01-01

    A Dynamic Flowgraph Methodology (DFM) based on an integrated approach to modeling and analyzing the behavior of software-driven embedded systems for assessing and verifying reliability and safety is discussed. DFM is based on an extension of the Logic Flowgraph Methodology to incorporate state transition models. System models which express the logic of the system in terms of causal relationships between physical variables and temporal characteristics of software modules are analyzed to determine how a certain state can be reached. This is done by developing timed fault trees which take the form of logical combinations of static trees relating the system parameters at different point in time. The resulting information concerning the hardware and software states can be used to eliminate unsafe execution paths and identify testing criteria for safety critical software functions.

  3. Manned space flight nuclear system safety. Volume 4: Space shuttle nuclear system transportation. Part 1: Space shuttle nuclear safety

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1972-01-01

    An analysis of the nuclear safety aspects (design and operational considerations) in the transport of nuclear payloads to and from earth orbit by the space shuttle is presented. Three representative nuclear payloads used in the study were: (1) the zirconium hydride reactor Brayton power module, (2) the large isotope Brayton power system and (3) small isotopic heat sources which can be a part of an upper stage or part of a logistics module. Reference data on the space shuttle and nuclear payloads are presented in an appendix. Safety oriented design and operational requirements were identified to integrate the nuclear payloads in the shuttle mission. Contingency situations were discussed and operations and design features were recommended to minimize the nuclear hazards. The study indicates the safety, design and operational advantages in the use of a nuclear payload transfer module. The transfer module can provide many of the safety related support functions (blast and fragmentation protection, environmental control, payload ejection) minimizing the direct impact on the shuttle.

  4. 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...

  5. Alcohol addiction - the safety of available approved treatment options.

    PubMed

    Antonelli, Mariangela; Ferrulli, Anna; Sestito, Luisa; Vassallo, Gabriele A; Tarli, Claudia; Mosoni, Carolina; Rando, Maria M; Mirijello, Antonio; Gasbarrini, Antonio; Addolorato, Giovanni

    2018-02-01

    Alcohol Use Disorders (AUD) is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. At present disulfiram, naltrexone and acamprosate are approved for the treatment of AUD in U.S. and Europe. Nalmefene is approved in Europe and sodium oxybate is approved in Italy and Austria only. Baclofen received a 'temporary recommendation for use' in France. Areas covered: The safety of the above mentioned medications on liver, digestive system, kidney function, nervous system, pregnancy and lactation and their possible side effects are described and discussed. Expert opinion: Mechanism of action and metabolism of these drugs as well as patients' clinical characteristics can affect the safety of treatment. All approved medications are valid tools for the treatment of AUD in patients without advanced liver disease. For some drugs, attention should be paid to patients with renal failure and medications may be used with caution, adjusting the dosage according to kidney function. In patients with AUD and advanced liver disease, at present only baclofen has been formally tested in randomized controlled trials showing its safety in this population.

  6. Light duty utility arm phase 2 qualification test procedure

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

    Barnes, G.A.

    1997-01-16

    This Acceptance Test Procedure (ATP) will test and verify that the Exhauster meets the specified functional requirements, safety requirements, operating requirements, and provide a record of the functional test results. The system/functions that will be tested are listed in the scope section of the Acceptance Test Procedure.

  7. SLUDGE TREATMENT PROJECT KOP CONCEPTUAL DESIGN CONTROL DECISION REPORT

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

    CARRO CA

    2010-03-09

    This control decision addresses the Knock-Out Pot (KOP) Disposition KOP Processing System (KPS) conceptual design. The KPS functions to (1) retrieve KOP material from canisters, (2) remove particles less than 600 {micro}m in size and low density materials from the KOP material, (3) load the KOP material into Multi-Canister Overpack (MCO) baskets, and (4) stage the MCO baskets for subsequent loading into MCOs. Hazard and accident analyses of the KPS conceptual design have been performed to incorporate safety into the design process. The hazard analysis is documented in PRC-STP-00098, Knock-Out Pot Disposition Project Conceptual Design Hazard Analysis. The accident analysismore » is documented in PRC-STP-CN-N-00167, Knock-Out Pot Disposition Sub-Project Canister Over Lift Accident Analysis. Based on the results of these analyses, and analyses performed in support of MCO transportation and MCO processing and storage activities at the Cold Vacuum Drying Facility (CVDF) and Canister Storage Building (CSB), control decision meetings were held to determine the controls required to protect onsite and offsite receptors and facility workers. At the conceptual design stage, these controls are primarily defined by their safety functions. Safety significant structures, systems, and components (SSCs) that could provide the identified safety functions have been selected for the conceptual design. It is anticipated that some safety SSCs identified herein will be reclassified based on hazard and accident analyses performed in support of preliminary and detailed design.« less

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

    Kaftan, V. I.; Ustinov, A. V.

    The feasibility of using global radio-navigation satellite systems (GNSS) to improve functional safety of high-liability water-development works - dams at hydroelectric power plants, and, consequently, the safety of the population in the surrounding areas is examined on the basis of analysis of modern publications. Characteristics for determination of displacements and deformations with use of GNSS, and also in a complex with other types of measurements, are compared. It is demonstrated that combined monitoring of deformations of the ground surface of the region, and engineering and technical structures is required to ensure the functional safety of HPP, and reliable metrologic assurancemore » of measurements is also required to obtain actual characteristics of the accuracy and effectiveness of GNSS observations.« less

  9. A Model-based Framework for Risk Assessment in Human-Computer Controlled Systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hatanaka, Iwao

    2000-01-01

    The rapid growth of computer technology and innovation has played a significant role in the rise of computer automation of human tasks in modem production systems across all industries. Although the rationale for automation has been to eliminate "human error" or to relieve humans from manual repetitive tasks, various computer-related hazards and accidents have emerged as a direct result of increased system complexity attributed to computer automation. The risk assessment techniques utilized for electromechanical systems are not suitable for today's software-intensive systems or complex human-computer controlled systems. This thesis will propose a new systemic model-based framework for analyzing risk in safety-critical systems where both computers and humans are controlling safety-critical functions. A new systems accident model will be developed based upon modem systems theory and human cognitive processes to better characterize system accidents, the role of human operators, and the influence of software in its direct control of significant system functions. Better risk assessments will then be achievable through the application of this new framework to complex human-computer controlled systems.

  10. The research of distributed interactive simulation based on HLA in coal mine industry inherent safety

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dou, Zhi-Wu

    2010-08-01

    To solve the inherent safety problem puzzling the coal mining industry, analyzing the characteristic and the application of distributed interactive simulation based on high level architecture (DIS/HLA), a new method is proposed for developing coal mining industry inherent safety distributed interactive simulation adopting HLA technology. Researching the function and structure of the system, a simple coal mining industry inherent safety is modeled with HLA, the FOM and SOM are developed, and the math models are suggested. The results of the instance research show that HLA plays an important role in developing distributed interactive simulation of complicated distributed system and the method is valid to solve the problem puzzling coal mining industry. To the coal mining industry, the conclusions show that the simulation system with HLA plays an important role to identify the source of hazard, to make the measure for accident, and to improve the level of management.

  11. 16 CFR § 1000.13 - Directives System.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... 16 Commercial Practices 2 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Directives System. § 1000.13 Section § 1000.13 Commercial Practices CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION GENERAL COMMISSION ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTIONS § 1000.13 Directives System. The Commission maintains a Directives System which contains...

  12. Importance of awareness in improving performance of emergency medical services (EMS) systems in enhancing traffic safety: A lesson from India.

    PubMed

    Vasudevan, Vinod; Singh, Preeti; Basu, Samyajit

    2016-10-02

    India has been slow in implementing a central emergency medical services (EMS) system across the country. "108 services" is one of the most popular services that is functional under the public-private partnership model. Limited available literature shows that despite access to services, many traffic crash victims are transported using private vehicles. The objective of this study is to understand the effectiveness of 108 services from a traffic safety perspective. A questionnaire survey is conducted to understand the awareness of EMS and their function. Using traffic-related fatalities as the dependent variable, a fixed effect panel data model is developed to analyze the effectiveness of the 108 services in improving the traffic safety. The results from the survey show that, in general, people are not aware of the 108 services. A majority of the population prefers taking victims to the hospital using their personal vehicles or any other vehicles available compared to calling an ambulance. Results from panel data analysis show that despite having an efficient system, these services failed to make significant improvement in the safety of road users in the states in which their services were subscribed. The lack of awareness of an important safety service is alarming. This could be a major reason for lower utilization of 108 services for transporting victims of traffic crashes. This article shows the importance of having efficient awareness campaigns to improve the efficiency of any similar programs that are aimed to enhance the safety of a region.

  13. Patient safety goals for the proposed Federal Health Information Technology Safety Center.

    PubMed

    Sittig, Dean F; Classen, David C; Singh, Hardeep

    2015-03-01

    The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology is expected to oversee creation of a Health Information Technology (HIT) Safety Center. While its functions are still being defined, the center is envisioned as a public-private entity focusing on promotion of HIT related patient safety. We propose that the HIT Safety Center leverages its unique position to work with key administrative and policy stakeholders, healthcare organizations (HCOs), and HIT vendors to achieve four goals: (1) facilitate creation of a nationwide 'post-marketing' surveillance system to monitor HIT related safety events; (2) develop methods and governance structures to support investigation of major HIT related safety events; (3) create the infrastructure and methods needed to carry out random assessments of HIT related safety in complex HCOs; and (4) advocate for HIT safety with government and private entities. The convening ability of a federally supported HIT Safety Center could be critically important to our transformation to a safe and effective HIT enabled healthcare system. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  14. [Topical issues of biological safety under current conditions. Part 2. Conceptual, terminological, and definitive framework of biological safety].

    PubMed

    Onishchenko, G G; Smolenskiĭ, V Iu; Ezhlova, E B; Demina, Iu V; Toporkov, V P; Toporkov, A V; Liapin, M N; Kutyrev, V V

    2013-01-01

    In accordance with the established conceptual base for the up-to-date broad interpretation of biological safety, and IHR (2005), developed is the notional, terminological, and definitive framework, comprising 33 elements. Key item of the nomenclature is the biological safety that is identified as population safety (individual, social, national) from direct and (or) human environment mediated (occupational, socio-economic, geopolitical infrastructures, ecological system) exposures to hazardous biological factors. Ultimate objective of the biological safety provision is to prevent and liquidate aftermaths of emergency situations of biological character either of natural or human origin (anthropogenic) arising from direct and indirect impact of the biological threats to the public health compatible with national and international security hazard. Elaborated terminological framework allows for the construction of self-sufficient semantic content for biological safety provision, subject to formalization in legislative, normative and methodological respects and indicative of improvement as regards organizational and structural-functional groundwork of the Russian Federation National chemical and biological safety system, which is to become topical issue of Part 3.

  15. Ballistic Puncture Self-Healing Polymeric Materials

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Gordon, Keith L.; Siochi, Emilie J.; Yost, William T.; Bogert, Phil B.; Howell, Patricia A.; Cramer, K. Elliott; Burke, Eric R.

    2017-01-01

    Space exploration launch costs on the order of $10,000 per pound provide an incentive to seek ways to reduce structural mass while maintaining structural function to assure safety and reliability. Damage-tolerant structural systems provide a route to avoiding weight penalty while enhancing vehicle safety and reliability. Self-healing polymers capable of spontaneous puncture repair show promise to mitigate potentially catastrophic damage from events such as micrometeoroid penetration. Effective self-repair requires these materials to quickly heal following projectile penetration while retaining some structural function during the healing processes. Although there are materials known to possess this capability, they are typically not considered for structural applications. Current efforts use inexpensive experimental methods to inflict damage, after which analytical procedures are identified to verify that function is restored. Two candidate self-healing polymer materials for structural engineering systems are used to test these experimental methods.

  16. Safer Electrolytes for Lithium-Ion Batteries: State of the Art and Perspectives.

    PubMed

    Kalhoff, Julian; Eshetu, Gebrekidan Gebresilassie; Bresser, Dominic; Passerini, Stefano

    2015-07-08

    Lithium-ion batteries are becoming increasingly important for electrifying the modern transportation system and, thus, hold the promise to enable sustainable mobility in the future. However, their large-scale application is hindered by severe safety concerns when the cells are exposed to mechanical, thermal, or electrical abuse conditions. These safety issues are intrinsically related to their superior energy density, combined with the (present) utilization of highly volatile and flammable organic-solvent-based electrolytes. Herein, state-of-the-art electrolyte systems and potential alternatives are briefly surveyed, with a particular focus on their (inherent) safety characteristics. The challenges, which so far prevent the widespread replacement of organic carbonate-based electrolytes with LiPF6 as the conducting salt, are also reviewed herein. Starting from rather "facile" electrolyte modifications by (partially) replacing the organic solvent or lithium salt and/or the addition of functional electrolyte additives, conceptually new electrolyte systems, including ionic liquids, solvent-free, and/or gelled polymer-based electrolytes, as well as solid-state electrolytes, are also considered. Indeed, the opportunities for designing new electrolytes appear to be almost infinite, which certainly complicates strict classification of such systems and a fundamental understanding of their properties. Nevertheless, these innumerable opportunities also provide a great chance of developing highly functionalized, new electrolyte systems, which may overcome the afore-mentioned safety concerns, while also offering enhanced mechanical, thermal, physicochemical, and electrochemical performance. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  17. Guaranteeing safety in spatially situated agents

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

    Kohout, R.C.; Hendler, J.A.; Musliner, D.J.

    1996-12-31

    {open_quote}Mission-critical{close_quotes} systems, which include such diverse applications as nuclear power plant controllers, {open_quotes}fly-by-wire{close_quotes} airplanes, medical care and monitoring systems, and autonomous mobile vehicles, are characterized by the fact that system failure is potentially catastrophic. The high cost of failure justifies the expenditure of considerable effort at design-time in order to guarantee the correctness of system behavior. This paper examines the problem of guaranteeing safety in a well studied class of robot motion problems known as the {open_quotes}asteroid avoidance problem.{close_quotes} We establish necessary and sufficient conditions for ensuring safety in the simple version of this problem which occurs most frequently inmore » the literature, as well as sufficient conditions for a more general and realistic case. In doing so, we establish functional relationships between the number, size and speed of obstacles, the robot`s maximum speed and the conditions which must be maintained in order to ensure safety.« less

  18. Software development for safety-critical medical applications

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Knight, John C.

    1992-01-01

    There are many computer-based medical applications in which safety and not reliability is the overriding concern. Reduced, altered, or no functionality of such systems is acceptable as long as no harm is done. A precise, formal definition of what software safety means is essential, however, before any attempt can be made to achieve it. Without this definition, it is not possible to determine whether a specific software entity is safe. A set of definitions pertaining to software safety will be presented and a case study involving an experimental medical device will be described. Some new techniques aimed at improving software safety will also be discussed.

  19. Civil Uses of Remotely Piloted Aircraft

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Aderhold, J. R.; Gordon, G.; Scott, G. W.

    1976-01-01

    The economic, technical, and environmental implications of remotely piloted vehicles (RVP) are examined. The time frame is 1980-85. Representative uses are selected; detailed functional and performance requirements are derived for RPV systems; and conceptual system designs are devised. Total system cost comparisons are made with non-RPV alternatives. The potential market demand for RPV systems is estimated. Environmental and safety requirements are examined, and legal and regulatory concerns are identified. A potential demand for 2,000-11,000 RVP systems is estimated. Typical cost savings of 25 to 35% compared to non-RPV alternatives are determined. There appear to be no environmental problems, and the safety issue appears manageable.

  20. What is system control?

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

    Hirst, E.; Kirby, B.

    1999-11-01

    Just as the aviation industry needs air-traffic controllers to manage the movement of airplanes for safety and commerce, so too, the electricity industry requires system operators. The electrical-system-control functions encompass a range of activities that support commercial transactions and maintain bulk-power reliability. As part of a project for the Edison Electric Institute, the authors examined the functions and costs of system control and the issues that need to be resolved in a restructured electricity industry (Hirst and Kirby 1998).

  1. A functional comparison of basic restraint systems.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1967-06-01

    The availability of information necessary to provide realistic solutions for personal safety problems in public and private transportation systems is found to be inadequate and incomplete. The problem of body restraint during the accident event is pu...

  2. Preventing Chaos.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pineda, Ernest M.

    1999-01-01

    Discusses ways to help resolve the Y2K problem and avoid disruptions in school security and safety. Discusses computer software testing and validation to determine its functionality after year's end, and explores system remediation of non-compliant fire and security systems. (GR)

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

    LaSalle, F.R.; Golbeg, P.R.; Chenault, D.M.

    For reactor and nuclear facilities, both Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 50, and US Department of Energy Order 6430.1A require assessments of the interaction of non-Safety Class 1 piping and equipment with Safety Class 1 piping and equipment during a seismic event to maintain the safety function. The safety class systems of nuclear reactors or nuclear facilities are designed to the applicable American Society of Mechanical Engineers standards and Seismic Category 1 criteria that require rigorous analysis, construction, and quality assurance. Because non-safety class systems are generally designed to lesser standards and seismic criteria, they may become missilesmore » during a safe shutdown earthquake. The resistance of piping, tubing, and equipment to seismically generated missiles is addressed in the paper. Gross plastic and local penetration failures are considered with applicable test verification. Missile types and seismic zones of influence are discussed. Field qualification data are also developed for missile evaluation.« less

  4. Patient portal readiness among postpartum patients in a safety net setting.

    PubMed

    Wieland, Daryl; Gibeau, Anne; Dewey, Caitlin; Roshto, Melanie; Frankel, Hilary

    2017-07-05

    Maternity patients interact with the healthcare system over an approximately ten-month interval, requiring multiple visits, acquiring pregnancy-specific education, and sharing health information among providers. Many features of a web-based patient portal could help pregnant women manage their interactions with the healthcare system; however, it is unclear whether pregnant women in safety-net settings have the resources, skills or interest required for portal adoption. In this study of postpartum patients in a safety net hospital, we aimed to: (1) determine if patients have the technical resources and skills to access a portal, (2) gain insight into their interest in health information, and (3) identify the perceived utility of portal features and potential barriers to adoption. We developed a structured questionnaire to collect demographics from postpartum patients and measure use of technology and the internet, self-reported literacy, interest in health information, awareness of portal functions, and perceived barriers to use. The questionnaire was administered in person to women in an inpatient setting. Of the 100 participants surveyed, 95% reported routine internet use and 56% used it to search for health information. Most participants had never heard of a patient portal, yet 92% believed that the portal functions were important. The two most appealing functions were to check results and manage appointments. Most participants in this study have the required resources such as a device and familiarity with the internet to access a patient portal including an interest in interacting with a healthcare institution via electronic means. Pregnancy is a critical episode of care where active engagement with the healthcare system can influence outcomes. Healthcare systems and portal developers should consider ways to tailor a portal to address the specific health needs of a maternity population including those in a safety net setting.

  5. A Mathematical Basis for the Safety Analysis of Conflict Prevention Algorithms

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Maddalon, Jeffrey M.; Butler, Ricky W.; Munoz, Cesar A.; Dowek, Gilles

    2009-01-01

    In air traffic management systems, a conflict prevention system examines the traffic and provides ranges of guidance maneuvers that avoid conflicts. This guidance takes the form of ranges of track angles, vertical speeds, or ground speeds. These ranges may be assembled into prevention bands: maneuvers that should not be taken. Unlike conflict resolution systems, which presume that the aircraft already has a conflict, conflict prevention systems show conflicts for all maneuvers. Without conflict prevention information, a pilot might perform a maneuver that causes a near-term conflict. Because near-term conflicts can lead to safety concerns, strong verification of correct operation is required. This paper presents a mathematical framework to analyze the correctness of algorithms that produce conflict prevention information. This paper examines multiple mathematical approaches: iterative, vector algebraic, and trigonometric. The correctness theories are structured first to analyze conflict prevention information for all aircraft. Next, these theories are augmented to consider aircraft which will create a conflict within a given lookahead time. Certain key functions for a candidate algorithm, which satisfy this mathematical basis are presented; however, the proof that a full algorithm using these functions completely satisfies the definition of safety is not provided.

  6. Probability of loss of assured safety in temperature dependent systems with multiple weak and strong links.

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

    Johnson, Jay Dean; Oberkampf, William Louis; Helton, Jon Craig

    2004-12-01

    Relationships to determine the probability that a weak link (WL)/strong link (SL) safety system will fail to function as intended in a fire environment are investigated. In the systems under study, failure of the WL system before failure of the SL system is intended to render the overall system inoperational and thus prevent the possible occurrence of accidents with potentially serious consequences. Formal developments of the probability that the WL system fails to deactivate the overall system before failure of the SL system (i.e., the probability of loss of assured safety, PLOAS) are presented for several WWSL configurations: (i) onemore » WL, one SL, (ii) multiple WLs, multiple SLs with failure of any SL before any WL constituting failure of the safety system, (iii) multiple WLs, multiple SLs with failure of all SLs before any WL constituting failure of the safety system, and (iv) multiple WLs, multiple SLs and multiple sublinks in each SL with failure of any sublink constituting failure of the associated SL and failure of all SLs before failure of any WL constituting failure of the safety system. The indicated probabilities derive from time-dependent temperatures in the WL/SL system and variability (i.e., aleatory uncertainty) in the temperatures at which the individual components of this system fail and are formally defined as multidimensional integrals. Numerical procedures based on quadrature (i.e., trapezoidal rule, Simpson's rule) and also on Monte Carlo techniques (i.e., simple random sampling, importance sampling) are described and illustrated for the evaluation of these integrals. Example uncertainty and sensitivity analyses for PLOAS involving the representation of uncertainty (i.e., epistemic uncertainty) with probability theory and also with evidence theory are presented.« less

  7. Fault Injection Validation of a Safety-Critical TMR Sysem

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Irrera, Ivano; Madeira, Henrique; Zentai, Andras; Hergovics, Beata

    2016-08-01

    Digital systems and their software are the core technology for controlling and monitoring industrial systems in practically all activity domains. Functional safety standards such as the European standard EN 50128 for railway applications define the procedures and technical requirements for the development of software for railway control and protection systems. The validation of such systems is a highly demanding task. In this paper we discuss the use of fault injection techniques, which have been used extensively in several domains, particularly in the space domain, to complement the traditional procedures to validate a SIL (Safety Integrity Level) 4 system for railway signalling, implementing a TMR (Triple Modular Redundancy) architecture. The fault injection tool is based on JTAG technology. The results of our injection campaign showed a high degree of tolerance to most of the injected faults, but several cases of unexpected behaviour have also been observed, helping understanding worst-case scenarios.

  8. 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.

  9. Configuration and Data Management Process and the System Safety Professional

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Shivers, Charles Herbert; Parker, Nelson C. (Technical Monitor)

    2001-01-01

    This article presents a discussion of the configuration management (CM) and the Data Management (DM) functions and provides a perspective of the importance of configuration and data management processes to the success of system safety activities. The article addresses the basic requirements of configuration and data management generally based on NASA configuration and data management policies and practices, although the concepts are likely to represent processes of any public or private organization's well-designed configuration and data management program.

  10. Enabling Civilian Low-Altitude Airspace and Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Operations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kopardekar, Parimal

    2014-01-01

    UAS operations will be safer if a UTM system is available to support the functions associated with Airspace management and geo-fencing (reduce risk of accidents, impact to other operations, and community concerns); Weather and severe wind integration (avoid severe weather areas based on prediction); Predict and manage congestion (mission safety);Terrain and man-made objects database and avoidance; Maintain safe separation (mission safety and assurance of other assets); Allow only authenticated operations (avoid unauthorized airspace use).

  11. Effects on speed and safety of point-to-point speed enforcement systems: evaluation on the urban motorway A56 Tangenziale di Napoli.

    PubMed

    Montella, Alfonso; Imbriani, Lella Liana; Marzano, Vittorio; Mauriello, Filomena

    2015-02-01

    In this paper, we evaluated the effects on speed and safety of the point-to-point (P2P) speed enforcement system activated on the urban motorway A56 in Italy. The P2P speed enforcement is a relatively new approach to traffic law enforcement that involves the calculation of the average speed over a section. To evaluate the speed effects, we performed a before-after analysis of speed data investigating also effects on non-compliance to speed limits. To evaluate the safety effects, we carried out an empirical Bayes observational before-and-after study. The P2P system led to very positive effects on both speed and safety. As far as the effects on the section average travel speeds, the system yielded to a reduction in the mean speed, the 85th percentile speed, the standard deviation of speed, and the proportion of drivers exceeding the speed limits, exceeding the speed limits more than 10km/h, and exceeding the speed limits more than 20km/h. The best results were the decrease of the speed variability and the reduction of the excessive speeding behaviour. The decrease in the standard deviation of speed was 26% while the proportion of light and heavy vehicles exceeding the speed limits more than 20km/h was reduced respectively by 84 and 77%. As far as the safety effects, the P2P system yielded to a 32% reduction in the total crashes, with a lower 95% confidence limit of the estimate equal to 22%. The greatest crash reductions were in rainy weather (57%), on wet pavement (51%), on curves (49%), for single vehicle crashes (44%), and for injury crashes (37%). It is noteworthy that the system produced a statistically significant reduction of 21% in total crashes also in the part of the motorway where it was not activated, thus generating a significant spillover effect. The investigation of the effects of the P2P system on speed and safety over time allowed to develop crash modification functions where the relationship between crash modification factors and speed parameters (mean speed, 85th percentile speed, and standard deviation of speed) was expressed by a power function. Crash modification functions show that the effect of speed on safety is greater on curves and for injury crashes. Even though the study results show excellent outcomes, we must point out that the crash reduction effects decreased over time and speed, speed variability, and non-compliance to speed limits significantly increased over time. To maintain its effectiveness over time, P2P speed enforcement must be actively managed, i.e. constantly monitored and supported by appropriate sanctions. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. 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.

  13. My Summer Experience as an Administrative Officer Assistant

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Jones, Janelle C.

    2004-01-01

    The motto of the Safety and Assurance Directorate (SAAD) at NASA Glenn Research Center is "mission success starts with safety." SAAD has the functions of providing reliability, quality assurance, and system safety management to all GRC projects, programs and offices. Product assurance personnel within SAAD supervise the product assurance efforts by contractors on major contracts within GRC. The directorate includes five division offices and the Plum brook Decommissioning Office. SAAD oversees Glenn's Emergency Preparedness Program which handles security, hazmat, and disaster response and supervision.

  14. A Fiber Bragg Grating-Based Monitoring System for Roof Safety Control in Underground Coal Mining

    PubMed Central

    Zhao, Yiming; Zhang, Nong; Si, Guangyao

    2016-01-01

    Monitoring of roof activity is a primary measure adopted in the prevention of roof collapse accidents and functions to optimize and support the design of roadways in underground coalmines. However, traditional monitoring measures, such as using mechanical extensometers or electronic gauges, either require arduous underground labor or cannot function properly in the harsh underground environment. Therefore, in this paper, in order to break through this technological barrier, a novel monitoring system for roof safety control in underground coal mining, using fiber Bragg grating (FBG) material as a perceived element and transmission medium, has been developed. Compared with traditional monitoring equipment, the developed, novel monitoring system has the advantages of providing accurate, reliable, and continuous online monitoring of roof activities in underground coal mining. This is expected to further enable the prevention of catastrophic roof collapse accidents. The system has been successfully implemented at a deep hazardous roadway in Zhuji Coal Mine, China. Monitoring results from the study site have demonstrated the advantages of FBG-based sensors over traditional monitoring approaches. The dynamic impacts of progressive face advance on roof displacement and stress have been accurately captured by the novel roadway roof activity and safety monitoring system, which provided essential references for roadway support and design of the mine. PMID:27775657

  15. Nanotechnology in food science: Functionality, applicability, and safety assessment.

    PubMed

    He, Xiaojia; Hwang, Huey-Min

    2016-10-01

    Rapid development of nanotechnology is expected to transform many areas of food science and food industry with increasing investment and market share. In this article, current applications of nanotechnology in food systems are briefly reviewed. Functionality and applicability of food-related nanotechnology are highlighted in order to provide a comprehensive view on the development and safety assessment of nanotechnology in the food industry. While food nanotechnology offers great potential benefits, there are emerging concerns arising from its novel physicochemical properties. Therefore, the safety concerns and regulatory policies on its manufacturing, processing, packaging, and consumption are briefly addressed. At the end of this article, the perspectives of nanotechnology in active and intelligent packaging applications are highlighted. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  16. Implementation of infants risk detection sensing system using IoT

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Youseok; Lee, Taeo; Lee, Yechan; Choi, Jaehyeon; Park, Eunju; Lim, Hankyu

    2017-06-01

    Infants are vulnerable to surrounding environment and they receive large influence from even a small change. As their body composition is not complete yet, infants receive huge impact from small pressure. Small change can cause disease or even death of infants. This paper designed and implemented a risk-detection system for infants. In addition to the fundamental function of safety management system, the risk-detection system implemented in this paper in corporate child-caring function by using a variety of sensors.

  17. 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

  18. Innovative safety valve selection techniques and data.

    PubMed

    Miller, Curt; Bredemyer, Lindsey

    2007-04-11

    The new valve data resources and modeling tools that are available today are instrumental in verifying that that safety levels are being met in both current installations and project designs. If the new ISA 84 functional safety practices are followed closely, good industry validated data used, and a user's maintenance integrity program strictly enforced, plants should feel confident that their design has been quantitatively reinforced. After 2 years of exhaustive reliability studies, there are now techniques and data available to support this safety system component deficiency. Everyone who has gone through the process of safety integrity level (SIL) verification (i.e. reliability math) will appreciate the progress made in this area. The benefits of these advancements are improved safety with lower lifecycle costs such as lower capital investment and/or longer testing intervals. This discussion will start with a review of the different valve, actuator, and solenoid/positioner combinations that can be used and their associated application restraints. Failure rate reliability studies (i.e. FMEDA) and data associated with the final combinations will then discussed. Finally, the impact of the selections on each safety system's SIL verification will be reviewed.

  19. Multifunctional millimeter-wave radar system for helicopter safety

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Goshi, Darren S.; Case, Timothy J.; McKitterick, John B.; Bui, Long Q.

    2012-06-01

    A multi-featured sensor solution has been developed that enhances the operational safety and functionality of small airborne platforms, representing an invaluable stride toward enabling higher-risk, tactical missions. This paper demonstrates results from a recently developed multi-functional sensor system that integrates a high performance millimeter-wave radar front end, an evidence grid-based integration processing scheme, and the incorporation into a 3D Synthetic Vision System (SVS) display. The front end architecture consists of a w-band real-beam scanning radar that generates a high resolution real-time radar map and operates with an adaptable antenna architecture currently configured with an interferometric capability for target height estimation. The raw sensor data is further processed within an evidence grid-based integration functionality that results in high-resolution maps in the region surrounding the platform. Lastly, the accumulated radar results are displayed in a fully rendered 3D SVS environment integrated with local database information to provide the best representation of the surrounding environment. The integrated system concept will be discussed and initial results from an experimental flight test of this developmental system will be presented. Specifically, the forward-looking operation of the system demonstrates the system's ability to produce high precision terrain mapping with obstacle detection and avoidance capability, showcasing the system's versatility in a true operational environment.

  20. Long-term results from an epiretinal prosthesis to restore sight to the blind

    PubMed Central

    Ho, Allen C.; Humayun, Mark S.; Dorn, Jessy D.; da Cruz, Lyndon; Dagnelie, Gislin; Handa, James; Barale, Pierre-Olivier; Sahel, José-Alain; Stanga, Paulo E.; Hafezi, Farhad; Safran, Avinoam B.; Salzmann, Joel; Santos, Arturo; Birch, David; Spencer, Rand; Cideciyan, Artur V.; de Juan, Eugene; Duncan, Jacque L.; Eliott, Dean; Fawzi, Amani; Olmos de Koo, Lisa C.; Brown, Gary C.; Haller, Julia A.; Regillo, Carl D.; Del Priore, Lucian V.; Arditi, Aries; Geruschat, Duane R.; Greenberg, Robert J.

    2015-01-01

    Purpose Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) is a group of inherited retinal degenerations leading to blindness due to photoreceptor loss. A rare disease, it affects about 100,000 people in the United States. There is no cure and no approved medical therapy to slow or reverse RP. The purpose of this clinical trial was to evaluate the safety, reliability, and benefit of the Argus® II Retinal Prosthesis System (Second Sight Medical Products, Inc., Sylmar, CA) in restoring some visual function to subjects completely blind from RP. Herein, we report clinical trial results at 1 and 3 years post-implant. Design The study is a multicenter, single-arm, prospective clinical trial. Subjects There were 30 subjects in 10 centers in the U.S. and Europe. Subjects served as their own controls – i.e., implanted eye vs. fellow eye, and System ON vs. System OFF (native residual vision). Methods The Argus II System was implanted on and in a single eye (typically the worse-seeing eye) of blind subjects. Subjects wore glasses mounted with a small camera and a video processor that converted images into stimulation patterns sent to the electrode array on the retina. Main Outcome Measures The primary outcome measures were safety (the number, seriousness, and relatedness of adverse events) and visual function, as measured by three computer-based, objective tests. Results Twenty-nine out of 30 subjects remained implanted with functioning Argus II Systems at 3 years post-implant. Eleven subjects experienced a total of 23 serious device- or surgery-related adverse events. All were treated with standard ophthalmic care. As a group, subjects performed significantly better with the System ON than OFF on all visual function tests and functional vision assessments. Conclusions The three-year results of the Argus II trial support the long-term safety profile and benefit of the Argus II System for patients blind from RP. Earlier results from this trial were used to gain approval of the Argus II by the FDA and a CE Mark in Europe. The Argus II System is the first and only retinal implant to have both approvals. PMID:26162233

  1. Health management and controls for Earth-to-orbit propulsion systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bickford, R. L.

    1995-03-01

    Avionics and health management technologies increase the safety and reliability while decreasing the overall cost for Earth-to-orbit (ETO) propulsion systems. New ETO propulsion systems will depend on highly reliable fault tolerant flight avionics, advanced sensing systems and artificial intelligence aided software to ensure critical control, safety and maintenance requirements are met in a cost effective manner. Propulsion avionics consist of the engine controller, actuators, sensors, software and ground support elements. In addition to control and safety functions, these elements perform system monitoring for health management. Health management is enhanced by advanced sensing systems and algorithms which provide automated fault detection and enable adaptive control and/or maintenance approaches. Aerojet is developing advanced fault tolerant rocket engine controllers which provide very high levels of reliability. Smart sensors and software systems which significantly enhance fault coverage and enable automated operations are also under development. Smart sensing systems, such as flight capable plume spectrometers, have reached maturity in ground-based applications and are suitable for bridging to flight. Software to detect failed sensors has reached similar maturity. This paper will discuss fault detection and isolation for advanced rocket engine controllers as well as examples of advanced sensing systems and software which significantly improve component failure detection for engine system safety and health management.

  2. [Organisational responsibility versus individual responsibility: safety culture? About the relationship between patient safety and medical malpractice law].

    PubMed

    Hart, Dieter

    2009-01-01

    The contribution is concerned with the correlations between risk information, patient safety, responsibility and liability, in particular in terms of liability law. These correlations have an impact on safety culture in healthcare, which can be evaluated positively if--in addition to good quality of medical care--as many sources of error as possible can be identified, analysed, and minimised or eliminated by corresponding measures (safety or risk management). Liability influences the conduct of individuals and enterprises; safety is (probably) also a function of liability; this should also apply to safety culture. The standard of safety culture does not only depend on individual liability for damages, but first of all on strict enterprise liability (system responsibility) and its preventive effects. Patient safety through quality and risk management is therefore also an organisational programme of considerable relevance in terms of liability law.

  3. Space Station man-machine automation trade-off analysis

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Zimmerman, W. F.; Bard, J.; Feinberg, A.

    1985-01-01

    The man machine automation tradeoff methodology presented is of four research tasks comprising the autonomous spacecraft system technology (ASST) project. ASST was established to identify and study system level design problems for autonomous spacecraft. Using the Space Station as an example spacecraft system requiring a certain level of autonomous control, a system level, man machine automation tradeoff methodology is presented that: (1) optimizes man machine mixes for different ground and on orbit crew functions subject to cost, safety, weight, power, and reliability constraints, and (2) plots the best incorporation plan for new, emerging technologies by weighing cost, relative availability, reliability, safety, importance to out year missions, and ease of retrofit. A fairly straightforward approach is taken by the methodology to valuing human productivity, it is still sensitive to the important subtleties associated with designing a well integrated, man machine system. These subtleties include considerations such as crew preference to retain certain spacecraft control functions; or valuing human integration/decision capabilities over equivalent hardware/software where appropriate.

  4. Waste Technology Engineering Laboratory (324 building)

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

    Kammenzind, D.E.

    The 324 Facility Standards/Requirements Identification Document (S/RID) is comprised of twenty functional areas. Two of the twenty functional areas (Decontamination and Decommissioning and Environmental Restoration) were determined as nonapplicable functional areas and one functional area (Research and Development and Experimental Activities) was determined applicable, however, requirements are found in other functional areas and will not be duplicated. Each functional area follows as a separate chapter, either containing the S/RID or a justification for nonapplicability. The twenty functional areas listed below follow as chapters: 1. Management Systems; 2. Quality Assurance; 3. Configuration Management; 4. Training and Qualification; 5. Emergency Management; 6.more » Safeguards and Security; 7. Engineering Program; 8. Construction; 9. Operations; 10. Maintenance; 11. Radiation Protection; 12. Fire Protection; 13. Packaging and Transportation; 14. Environmental Restoration; 15. Decontamination and Decommissioning; 16. Waste Management; 17. Research and Development and Experimental Activities; 18. Nuclear Safety; 19. Occupational Safety and Health; 20. Environmental Protection.« less

  5. An integrated quality function deployment and capital budgeting methodology for occupational safety and health as a systems thinking approach: the case of the construction industry.

    PubMed

    Bas, Esra

    2014-07-01

    In this paper, an integrated methodology for Quality Function Deployment (QFD) and a 0-1 knapsack model is proposed for occupational safety and health as a systems thinking approach. The House of Quality (HoQ) in QFD methodology is a systematic tool to consider the inter-relationships between two factors. In this paper, three HoQs are used to consider the interrelationships between tasks and hazards, hazards and events, and events and preventive/protective measures. The final priority weights of events are defined by considering their project-specific preliminary weights, probability of occurrence, and effects on the victim and the company. The priority weights of the preventive/protective measures obtained in the last HoQ are fed into a 0-1 knapsack model for the investment decision. Then, the selected preventive/protective measures can be adapted to the task design. The proposed step-by-step methodology can be applied to any stage of a project to design the workplace for occupational safety and health, and continuous improvement for safety is endorsed by the closed loop characteristic of the integrated methodology. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. 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.

  7. Spaceborne power systems preference analyses. Volume 1: Summary

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Smith, J. H.; Feinberg, A.; Miles, R. F., Jr.

    1985-01-01

    Sixteen alternative spaceborne nuclear power system concepts were ranked using multiattribute decision analysis to identify promising concepts for further technology development. Four groups interviewed were: safety, systems definition and design, technology assessment, and mission analysis. The ranking results were consistent from group and for different utility function models for individuals.

  8. 49 CFR 232.613 - End-of-train devices.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ..., DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION BRAKE SYSTEM SAFETY STANDARDS FOR FREIGHT AND OTHER NON-PASSENGER TRAINS AND EQUIPMENT; END-OF-TRAIN DEVICES Electronically Controlled Pneumatic (ECP) Braking Systems § 232.613 End-of... equipped with an ECP brake system unless that train is equipped with a functioning ECP-EOT device designed...

  9. Androgens and Female Sexual Function and Dysfunction--Findings From the Fourth International Consultation of Sexual Medicine.

    PubMed

    Davis, Susan R; Worsley, Roisin; Miller, Karen K; Parish, Sharon J; Santoro, Nanette

    2016-02-01

    Androgens have been implicated as important for female sexual function and dysfunction. To review the role of androgens in the physiology and pathophysiology of female sexual functioning and the evidence for efficacy of androgen therapy for female sexual dysfunction (FSD). We searched the literature using online databases for studies pertaining to androgens and female sexual function. Major reviews were included and their findings were summarized to avoid replicating their content. Quality of data published in the literature and recommendations were based on the GRADES system. The literature supports an important role for androgens in female sexual function. There is no blood androgen level below which women can be classified as having androgen deficiency. Clinical trials have consistently demonstrated that transdermal testosterone (T) therapy improves sexual function and sexual satisfaction in women who have been assessed as having hypoactive sexual desire disorder. The use of T therapy is limited by the lack of approved formulations for women and long-term safety data. Most studies do not support the use of systemic dehydroepiandrosterone therapy for the treatment of FSD in women with normally functioning adrenals or adrenal insufficiency. Studies evaluating the efficacy and safety of vaginal testosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone for the treatment of vulvovaginal atrophy are ongoing. Available data support an important role of androgens in female sexual function and dysfunction and efficacy of transdermal T therapy for the treatment of some women with FSD. Approved T formulations for women are generally unavailable. In consequence, the prescribing of T mostly involves off-label use of T products formulated for men and individually compounded T formulations. Long-term studies to determine the safety of T therapy for women and possible benefits beyond that of sexual function are greatly needed. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  10. VRLane: a desktop virtual safety management program for underground coal mine

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Mei; Chen, Jingzhu; Xiong, Wei; Zhang, Pengpeng; Wu, Daozheng

    2008-10-01

    VR technologies, which generate immersive, interactive, and three-dimensional (3D) environments, are seldom applied to coal mine safety work management. In this paper, a new method that combined the VR technologies with underground mine safety management system was explored. A desktop virtual safety management program for underground coal mine, called VRLane, was developed. The paper mainly concerned about the current research advance in VR, system design, key techniques and system application. Two important techniques were introduced in the paper. Firstly, an algorithm was designed and implemented, with which the 3D laneway models and equipment models can be built on the basis of the latest mine 2D drawings automatically, whereas common VR programs established 3D environment by using 3DS Max or the other 3D modeling software packages with which laneway models were built manually and laboriously. Secondly, VRLane realized system integration with underground industrial automation. VRLane not only described a realistic 3D laneway environment, but also described the status of the coal mining, with functions of displaying the run states and related parameters of equipment, per-alarming the abnormal mining events, and animating mine cars, mine workers, or long-wall shearers. The system, with advantages of cheap, dynamic, easy to maintenance, provided a useful tool for safety production management in coal mine.

  11. Architecture-Led Safety Analysis of the Joint Multi-Role (JMR) Joint Common Architecture (JCA) Demonstration System

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2015-12-01

    relevant system components (i.e., their component type declarations) have been anno - tated with EMV2 error source or propagation declarations and hazard...contributors. They are recorded as EMV2 anno - tations for each of the ASSA. Figure 40 shows a sampling of potential hazard contributors by the functional...2012] Leveson, N., Engineering a Safer World. MIT Press. 2012. [Parnas 1991] Parnas, D. & Madey, J . Functional Documentation for Computer Systems

  12. Lung Function Measurements in Rodents in Safety Pharmacology Studies

    PubMed Central

    Hoymann, Heinz Gerd

    2012-01-01

    The ICH guideline S7A requires safety pharmacology tests including measurements of pulmonary function. In the first step – as part of the “core battery” – lung function tests in conscious animals are requested. If potential adverse effects raise concern for human safety, these should be explored in a second step as a “follow-up study”. For these two stages of safety pharmacology testing, both non-invasive and invasive techniques are needed which should be as precise and reliable as possible. A short overview of typical in vivo measurement techniques is given, their advantages and disadvantages are discussed and out of these the non-invasive head-out body plethysmography and the invasive but repeatable body plethysmography in orotracheally intubated rodents are presented in detail. For validation purposes the changes in the respective parameters such as tidal midexpiratory flow (EF50) or lung resistance have been recorded in the same animals in typical bronchoconstriction models and compared. In addition, the technique of head-out body plethysmography has been shown to be useful to measure lung function in juvenile rats starting from day two of age. This allows safety pharmacology testing and toxicological studies in juvenile animals as a model for the young developing organism as requested by the regulatory authorities (e.g., EMEA Guideline 1/2008). It is concluded that both invasive and non-invasive pulmonary function tests are capable of detecting effects and alterations on the respiratory system with different selectivity and area of operation. The use of both techniques in a large number of studies in mice and rats in the last years have demonstrated that they provide useful and reliable information on pulmonary mechanics in safety pharmacology and toxicology testing, in investigations of respiratory disorders, and in pharmacological efficacy studies. PMID:22973226

  13. A Collection Scheme for Tracing Information of Pig Safety Production

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Luo, Qingyao; Xiong, Benhai; Yang, Liang

    This study takes one main production pattern of smallhold pig farming in Tianjin as a study prototype, deeply analyzes characters of informations about tracing inputs including vaccines,feeds,veterinary drugs and supervision test in pig farming, proposesinputs metadata, criteria for integrating inputs event and interface norms for data transmision, developes and completes identification of 2D ear tags and traceability information collection system of pig safety production based on mobile PDA. The system has implemented functions including setting and invalidate of 2D ear tags, collection of tracing inputs and supervision in the mobile PDA and finally integration of tracing events (the epidemic event,feed event,drug event and supervision event) on the traceability data center (server). The PDA information collection system has been applied for demonstration in Tianjin, the collection is simple, convenient and feasible. It could meet with requirements of traceability information system of pig safety production

  14. SU-E-T-785: Using Systems Engineering to Design HDR Skin Treatment Operation for Small Lesions to Enhance Patient Safety

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

    Saw, C; Baikadi, M; Peters, C

    2015-06-15

    Purpose: Using systems engineering to design HDR skin treatment operation for small lesions using shielded applicators to enhance patient safety. Methods: Systems engineering is an interdisciplinary field that offers formal methodologies to study, design, implement, and manage complex engineering systems as a whole over their life-cycles. The methodologies deal with human work-processes, coordination of different team, optimization, and risk management. The V-model of systems engineering emphasize two streams, the specification and the testing streams. The specification stream consists of user requirements, functional requirements, and design specifications while the testing on installation, operational, and performance specifications. In implementing system engineering tomore » this project, the user and functional requirements are (a) HDR unit parameters be downloaded from the treatment planning system, (b) dwell times and positions be generated by treatment planning system, (c) source decay be computer calculated, (d) a double-check system of treatment parameters to comply with the NRC regulation. These requirements are intended to reduce human intervention to improve patient safety. Results: A formal investigation indicated that the user requirements can be satisfied. The treatment operation consists of using the treatment planning system to generate a pseudo plan that is adjusted for different shielded applicators to compute the dwell times. The dwell positions, channel numbers, and the dwell times are verified by the medical physicist and downloaded into the HDR unit. The decayed source strength is transferred to a spreadsheet that computes the dwell times based on the type of applicators and prescribed dose used. Prior to treatment, the source strength, dwell times, dwell positions, and channel numbers are double-checked by the radiation oncologist. No dosimetric parameters are manually calculated. Conclusion: Systems engineering provides methodologies to effectively design the HDR treatment operation that minimize human intervention and improve patient safety.« less

  15. Framework conditions and requirements to ensure the technical functional safety of reprocessed medical devices.

    PubMed

    Kraft, Marc

    2008-09-03

    Testing and restoring technical-functional safety is an essential part of medical device reprocessing. Technical functional tests have to be carried out on the medical device in the course of the validation of reprocessing procedures. These ensure (in addition to the hygiene tests) that the reprocessing procedure is suitable for the medical device. Functional tests are, however, also a part of reprocessing procedures. As a stage in the reprocessing, they ensure for the individual medical device that no damage or other changes limit the performance. When determining which technical-functional tests are to be carried out, the current technological standard has to be taken into account in the form of product-specific and process-oriented norms. Product-specific norms primarily define safety-relevant requirements. The risk management method described in DIN EN ISO 14971 is the basis for recognising hazards; the likelihood of such hazards arising can be minimised through additional technical-functional tests, which may not yet have been standardised. Risk management is part of a quality management system, which must be bindingly certified for manufacturers and processors of critical medical devices with particularly high processing demands by a body accredited by the competent authority.

  16. Framework conditions and requirements to ensure the technical functional safety of reprocessed medical devices

    PubMed Central

    Kraft, Marc

    2008-01-01

    Testing and restoring technical-functional safety is an essential part of medical device reprocessing. Technical functional tests have to be carried out on the medical device in the course of the validation of reprocessing procedures. These ensure (in addition to the hygiene tests) that the reprocessing procedure is suitable for the medical device. Functional tests are, however, also a part of reprocessing procedures. As a stage in the reprocessing, they ensure for the individual medical device that no damage or other changes limit the performance. When determining which technical-functional tests are to be carried out, the current technological standard has to be taken into account in the form of product-specific and process-oriented norms. Product-specific norms primarily define safety-relevant requirements. The risk management method described in DIN EN ISO 14971 is the basis for recognising hazards; the likelihood of such hazards arising can be minimised through additional technical-functional tests, which may not yet have been standardised. Risk management is part of a quality management system, which must be bindingly certified for manufacturers and processors of critical medical devices with particularly high processing demands by a body accredited by the competent authority. PMID:20204095

  17. Controls in new construction reactors-factory testing of the non-safety portion of the Lungmen nuclear power plant distributed control system

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

    Wu, Y. S.; Dick, J. W.; Tetirick, C. W.

    2006-07-01

    The construction permit for Taipower's Lungmen Nuclear Units 1 and 2, two ABWR plants, was issued on March 17, 1999[1], The construction of these units is progressing actively at site. The digital I and C system supplied by GE, which is designated as the Distributed Control and Information System (DCIS) in this project, is being implemented primarily at one vendor facility. In order to ensure the reliability, safety and availability of the DCIS, it is required to comprehensively test the whole DCIS in factory. This article describes the test requirements and acceptance criteria for functional testing of the Non-Safety Distributedmore » Control and Information system (DCIS) for Taiwan Power's Lungmen Units 1 and 2 GE selected Invensys as the equipment supplier for this Non-Safety portion of DCIS. The DCIS system of the Lungmen Units is a physically distributed control system. Field transmitters are connected to hard I/O terminal inputs on the Invensys I/A system. Once the signal is digitized on FBMs (Field Bus Modules) in Remote Multiplexing Units (RMUs), the signal is passed into an integrated control software environment. Control is based on the concept of compounds and blocks where each compound is a logical collection of blocks that performs a control function. Each point identified by control compound and block can be individually used throughout the DCIS system by referencing its unique name. In the Lungmen Project control logic and HSI (Human System Interface) requirements are divided into individual process systems called MPLs (Master Parts List). Higher-level Plant Computer System (PCS) algorithms access control compounds and blocks in these MPLs to develop functions. The test requirements and acceptance criteria for the DCIS system of the Lungmen Project are divided into three general categories (see 1,2,3 below) of verification, which in turn are divided into several specific tests: 1. DCIS System Physical Checks a) RMU Test - To confirm that the hard I/O database is installed on the DCIS and is physically addressed correctly. Test process is injecting a signal at each DCIS hard I/O terminal boundary and verifying correct receipt on the DCIS. b) DCIS Network Stress Test - Confirms system viability under extreme high load conditions beyond the plant could ever experience. Load conditions include alarm showers on the DCIS system to emulate plant upsets. c) System Hardware Configuration Test - These are typical checks of the DCIS system hardware including fault reporting, redundancy, and normal computer functions. d) Performance Test - Test confirms high level hardware and system capability attributes such as control system time response, 'cold start' reboots, and processor loading e) Electromagnetic compatibility tests - To verify the electromagnetic viability of the system and individual components 2. Implementation of Plant Systems and Systems Integration a) MPL Logic Tests -To confirm control functions implemented to system logic performs as expected, and that parameters are passed correctly between system control schemes. b) Data Link (Gateway) Tests- To verify third party interfaces to the DCIS. c) Plant Computer System (PCS) Logic Tests- Tests to verify that higher-level PCS logic is correctly implemented, performs as expected, and parameters are passed correctly between PCS sub-systems and MPL systems. Included the PCS sub-systems, Safety Parameter Display System, Historian, Alarms, Maintenance monitoring etc. 3. Unique Third Party Interfacing and Integration into the DCIS The set of controls for Automatic Power Regulation, Feedwater, and Recirculation Flow are specific in that these systems are implemented on third party Triple Modular Redundant (TMR) hardware, which was connected to the DCIS and are tested via full simulation. The TMR system is supplied by GE Control Solutions on the Mark Vie platform. (authors)« less

  18. Clinical Trial Electronic Portals for Expedited Safety Reporting: Recommendations from the Clinical Trials Transformation Initiative Investigational New Drug Safety Advancement Project.

    PubMed

    Perez, Raymond P; Finnigan, Shanda; Patel, Krupa; Whitney, Shanell; Forrest, Annemarie

    2016-12-15

    Use of electronic clinical trial portals has increased in recent years to assist with sponsor-investigator communication, safety reporting, and clinical trial management. Electronic portals can help reduce time and costs associated with processing paperwork and add security measures; however, there is a lack of information on clinical trial investigative staff's perceived challenges and benefits of using portals. The Clinical Trials Transformation Initiative (CTTI) sought to (1) identify challenges to investigator receipt and management of investigational new drug (IND) safety reports at oncologic investigative sites and coordinating centers and (2) facilitate adoption of best practices for communicating and managing IND safety reports using electronic portals. CTTI, a public-private partnership to improve the conduct of clinical trials, distributed surveys and conducted interviews in an opinion-gathering effort to record investigator and research staff views on electronic portals in the context of the new safety reporting requirements described in the US Food and Drug Administration's final rule (Code of Federal Regulations Title 21 Section 312). The project focused on receipt, management, and review of safety reports as opposed to the reporting of adverse events. The top challenge investigators and staff identified in using individual sponsor portals was remembering several complex individual passwords to access each site. Also, certain tasks are time-consuming (eg, downloading reports) due to slow sites or difficulties associated with particular operating systems or software. To improve user experiences, respondents suggested that portals function independently of browsers and operating systems, have intuitive interfaces with easy navigation, and incorporate additional features that would allow users to filter, search, and batch safety reports. Results indicate that an ideal system for sharing expedited IND safety information is through a central portal used by all sponsors. Until this is feasible, electronic reporting portals should at least have consistent functionality. CTTI has issued recommendations to improve the quality and use of electronic portals. ©Raymond P Perez, Shanda Finnigan, Krupa Patel, Shanell Whitney, Annemarie Forrest. Originally published in JMIR Cancer (http://cancer.jmir.org), 15.12.2016.

  19. 49 CFR 234.265 - Timing relays and timing devices.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION GRADE CROSSING SIGNAL SYSTEM SAFETY AND STATE ACTION PLANS... devices which perform internal functions associated with motion detectors, motion sensors, and grade...

  20. The European space suit, a design for productivity and crew safety.

    PubMed

    Skoog, A I; Berthier, S; Ollivier, Y

    1991-01-01

    In order to fulfill the two major mission objectives, i.e. support planned and unplanned external servicing of the COLUMBUS FFL and support the HERMES vehicle for safety critical operations and emergencies, the European Space Suit System baseline configuration incorporates a number of design features, which shall enhance the productivity and the crew safety of EVA astronauts. The work in EVA is today--and will be for several years--a manual work. Consequently, to improve productivity, the first challenge is to design a suit enclosure which minimizes movement restrictions and crew fatigue. It is covered by the "ergonomic" aspect of the suit design. Furthermore, it is also necessary to help the EVA crewmember in his work, by giving him the right information at the right time. Many solutions exist in this field of Man-Machine Interface, from a very simple system, based on cuff check lists, up to advanced systems, including Head-Up Displays. The design concept for improved productivity encompasses following features: easy donning/doffing thru rear entry, suit ergonomy optimisation, display of operational information in alpha-numerical and graphical form, and voice processing for operations and safety critical information. Concerning crew safety the major design features are: a lower R-factor for emergency EVA operations thru increased suit pressure, zero prebreath conditions for normal operations, visual and voice processing of all safety critical functions, and an autonomous life support system to permit unrestricted operations around HERMES and the CFFL. The paper analyses crew safety and productivity criteria and describes how these features are being built into the design of the European Space Suit System.

  1. IVHM Framework for Intelligent Integration for Vehicle Health Management

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Paris, Deidre; Trevino, Luis C.; Watson, Michael D.

    2005-01-01

    Integrated Vehicle Health Management (IVHM) systems for aerospace vehicles, is the process of assessing, preserving, and restoring system functionality across flight and techniques with sensor and communication technologies for spacecraft that can generate responses through detection, diagnosis, reasoning, and adapt to system faults in support of Integrated Intelligent Vehicle Management (IIVM). These real-time responses allow the IIVM to modify the affected vehicle subsystem(s) prior to a catastrophic event. Furthermore, this framework integrates technologies which can provide a continuous, intelligent, and adaptive health state of a vehicle and use this information to improve safety and reduce costs of operations. Recent investments in avionics, health management, and controls have been directed towards IIVM. As this concept has matured, it has become clear that IIVM requires the same sensors and processing capabilities as the real-time avionics functions to support diagnosis of subsystem problems. New sensors have been proposed, in addition to augment the avionics sensors to support better system monitoring and diagnostics. As the designs have been considered, a synergy has been realized where the real-time avionics can utilize sensors proposed for diagnostics and prognostics to make better real-time decisions in response to detected failures. IIVM provides for a single system allowing modularity of functions and hardware across the vehicle. The framework that supports IIVM consists of 11 major on-board functions necessary to fully manage a space vehicle maintaining crew safety and mission objectives. These systems include the following: Guidance and Navigation; Communications and Tracking; Vehicle Monitoring; Information Transport and Integration; Vehicle Diagnostics; Vehicle Prognostics; Vehicle Mission Planning, Automated Repair and Replacement; Vehicle Control; Human Computer Interface; and Onboard Verification and Validation. Furthermore, the presented framework provides complete vehicle management which not only allows for increased crew safety and mission success through new intelligence capabilities, but also yields a mechanism for more efficient vehicle operations.

  2. 78 FR 57470 - Special Conditions: Eclipse, EA500, Certification of Autothrottle Functions

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-09-19

    ... Engine Control System 23-112A-SC for High Intensity Radiated Fields (HIRF) Protection Equivalent Levels... transient. (e) Under rare normal and non-normal conditions, disengagement of any automatic control function... standards that the Administrator considers necessary to establish a level of safety equivalent to that...

  3. Sharing adverse drug event data using business intelligence technology.

    PubMed

    Horvath, Monica M; Cozart, Heidi; Ahmad, Asif; Langman, Matthew K; Ferranti, Jeffrey

    2009-03-01

    Duke University Health System uses computerized adverse drug event surveillance as an integral part of medication safety at 2 community hospitals and an academic medical center. This information must be swiftly communicated to organizational patient safety stakeholders to find opportunities to improve patient care; however, this process is encumbered by highly manual methods of preparing the data. Following the examples of other industries, we deployed a business intelligence tool to provide dynamic safety reports on adverse drug events. Once data were migrated into the health system data warehouse, we developed census-adjusted reports with user-driven prompts. Drill down functionality enables navigation from aggregate trends to event details by clicking report graphics. Reports can be accessed by patient safety leadership either through an existing safety reporting portal or the health system performance improvement Web site. Elaborate prompt screens allow many varieties of reports to be created quickly by patient safety personnel without consultation with the research analyst. The reduction in research analyst workload because of business intelligence implementation made this individual available to additional patient safety projects thereby leveraging their talents more effectively. Dedicated liaisons are essential to ensure clear communication between clinical and technical staff throughout the development life cycle. Design and development of the business intelligence model for adverse drug event data must reflect the eccentricities of the operational system, especially as new areas of emphasis evolve. Future usability studies examining the data presentation and access model are needed.

  4. Individual differences in cognitive functioning predict effectiveness of a heads-up Lane Departure Warning for younger and older drivers

    PubMed Central

    Aksan, Nazan; Sager, Lauren; Hacker, Sarah; Lester, Benjamin; Dawson, Jeffrey; Rizzo, Matthew; Ebe, Kazutoshi; Foley, James

    2016-01-01

    The effectiveness of an idealized lane departure warning (LDW) was evaluated in an interactive fixed base driving simulator. Thirty-eight older (mean age = 77 years) and 40 younger drivers (mean age = 35 years) took four different drives/routes similar in road culture composition and hazards encountered with and without LDW. The four drives were administered over visits separated approximately by two weeks to examine changes in long-term effectiveness of LDW. Performance metrics were number of LDW activations and average correction time to each LDW. LDW reduced correction time to re-center the vehicle by 1.34 seconds on average (95% CI = 1.12–1.57 seconds) but did not reduce the number of times the drivers drifted enough in their lanes to activate the system (LDW activations). The magnitude of reductions in average correction RT was similar for older and younger drivers and did not change with repeated exposures across visits. The contribution of individual differences in basic visual and motor function, as well as cognitive function to safety gains from LDW was also examined. Cognitive speed of processing predicted lane keeping performance for older and younger drivers. Differences in memory, visuospatial construction, and executive function tended to predict performance differences among older but not younger drivers. Cognitive functioning did not predict changes in the magnitude of safety benefits from LDW over time. Implications are discussed with respect to real-world safety systems. PMID:27898370

  5. Individual differences in cognitive functioning predict effectiveness of a heads-up lane departure warning for younger and older drivers.

    PubMed

    Aksan, Nazan; Sager, Lauren; Hacker, Sarah; Lester, Benjamin; Dawson, Jeffrey; Rizzo, Matthew; Ebe, Kazutoshi; Foley, James

    2017-02-01

    The effectiveness of an idealized lane departure warning (LDW) was evaluated in an interactive fixed base driving simulator. Thirty-eight older (mean age=77years) and 40 younger drivers (mean age=35years) took four different drives/routes similar in road culture composition and hazards encountered with and without LDW. The four drives were administered over visits separated approximately by two weeks to examine changes in long-term effectiveness of LDW. Performance metrics were number of LDW activations and average correction time to each LDW. LDW reduced correction time to re-center the vehicle by 1.34s on average (95% CI=1.12-1.57s) but did not reduce the number of times the drivers drifted enough in their lanes to activate the system (LDW activations). The magnitude of reductions in average correction RT was similar for older and younger drivers and did not change with repeated exposures across visits. The contribution of individual differences in basic visual and motor function, as well as cognitive function to safety gains from LDW was also examined. Cognitive speed of processing predicted lane keeping performance for older and younger drivers. Differences in memory, visuospatial construction, and executive function tended to predict performance differences among older but not younger drivers. Cognitive functioning did not predict changes in the magnitude of safety benefits from LDW over time. Implications are discussed with respect to real-world safety systems. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. NASIS data base management system - IBM 360/370 OS MVT implementation. 7: Data base administrator user's guide

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1973-01-01

    The Data Base Administrator User's Guide for the NASA Aerospace Safety information system is presented. The subjects discussed are: (1) multi-terminal tasking, (2) data base executive, (3) utilities, (4) maintenance, and (5) update mode functions.

  7. Proposal of the confinement strategy of radioactive and hazardous materials for the European DEMO

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jin, X. Z.; Carloni, D.; Stieglitz, R.; Ciattaglia, S.; Johnston, J.; Taylor, N.

    2017-04-01

    Confinement of radioactive and hazardous materials is one of the fundamental safety functions in a nuclear fusion facility, which has to limit the mobilisation and dispersion of sources and hazards during normal, abnormal and accidental situations. In a first step energy sources and radioactive source have been assessed for a conceptual DEMO configuration. The confinement study for the European DEMO has been investigated for the main systems at the plant breakdown structure (PBS) level 1 taking a bottom-up approach. Based on the identification of the systems possessing a confinement function, a confinement strategy has been proposed, in which DEMO confinement systems and barriers have been defined. In addition, confinement for the maintenance has been issued as well. The assignment of confinement barriers to the identified sources under abnormal and accidental conditions has been performed, and the DEMO main safety systems have been proposed as well. Finally, confinement related open issues have been pointed out, which need to be resolved in parallel with DEMO development.

  8. Asymptotic safety of gravity-matter systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Meibohm, J.; Pawlowski, J. M.; Reichert, M.

    2016-04-01

    We study the ultraviolet stability of gravity-matter systems for general numbers of minimally coupled scalars and fermions. This is done within the functional renormalization group setup put forward in [N. Christiansen, B. Knorr, J. Meibohm, J. M. Pawlowski, and M. Reichert, Phys. Rev. D 92, 121501 (2015).] for pure gravity. It includes full dynamical propagators and a genuine dynamical Newton's coupling, which is extracted from the graviton three-point function. We find ultraviolet stability of general gravity-fermion systems. Gravity-scalar systems are also found to be ultraviolet stable within validity bounds for the chosen generic class of regulators, based on the size of the anomalous dimension. Remarkably, the ultraviolet fixed points for the dynamical couplings are found to be significantly different from those of their associated background counterparts, once matter fields are included. In summary, the asymptotic safety scenario does not put constraints on the matter content of the theory within the validity bounds for the chosen generic class of regulators.

  9. Aspects of the passenger airbag E.C.U. location

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Soica, A.

    2016-08-01

    Road accidents represent the dark side of road traffic, their consequences leading to material damage and often to vehicle occupant fatalities. Passive safety systems offer a high level of protection to vehicle occupants; yet, depending on a number of constructive factors and not only, these systems can not always ensure a high survival rate. The costs of road traffic accidents are to be borne by the whole society, with high amounts of money required. In this paper we analyze how the collision is felt in various points on the vehicle, at a given time and how this may affect the proper functioning of the passive safety systems, especially the airbag system.

  10. Demonstration Advanced Avionics System (DAAS)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1982-01-01

    The feasibility of developing an integrated avionics system suitable for general aviation was determined. A design of reliable integrated avionics which provides expanded functional capability that significantly enhances the utility and safety of general aviation at a cost commensurate with the general aviation market was developed. The use of a data bus, microprocessors, electronic displays and data entry devices, and improved function capabilities were emphasized. An avionics system capable of evaluating the most critical and promising elements of an integrated system was designed, built and flight tested in a twin engine general aviation aircraft.

  11. 78 FR 33144 - Meeting: RTCA Program Management Committee

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-06-03

    ... by SC-227. Final Draft, New Document, Operational and Functional Requirements and Safety Objectives... & Synthetic Vision Systems-- Discussion--Revised Terms of Reference. SC-214--Standards for Air Traffic Data...

  12. Dedication of emergency diesel generators` control air subsystem

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

    Harrington, M.; Myers, G.; Palumbo, M.

    1994-12-31

    In the spring of 1993, the need to upgrade Seabrook Station`s emergency diesel generators` (EDGs`) control air system from nonsafety related to safety related was identified. This need was identified as a result of questions raised by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which was conducting an Electrical Distribution Safety Functional Inspection at Seabrook at that time. The specific reason for the reassignment of safety classification was recognition that failure of the control air supply to the EDGs` jacket cooling water temperature control valves could cause overcooling of the EDGs, which potentially could result in EDG failure during long-term operation. Thismore » paper addresses how the installed control air system was upgraded to safety related using Seabrook`s Commercial Grade Dedication (CGD) Program and how, by using the dedication skills obtained over the past few years, it was done at minimal cost.« less

  13. A safety monitoring system for taxi based on CMOS imager

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Zhi

    2005-01-01

    CMOS image sensors now become increasingly competitive with respect to their CCD counterparts, while adding advantages such as no blooming, simpler driving requirements and the potential of on-chip integration of sensor, analogue circuitry, and digital processing functions. A safety monitoring system for taxi based on cmos imager that can record field situation when unusual circumstance happened is described in this paper. The monitoring system is based on a CMOS imager (OV7120), which can output digital image data through parallel pixel data port. The system consists of a CMOS image sensor, a large capacity NAND FLASH ROM, a USB interface chip and a micro controller (AT90S8515). The structure of whole system and the test data is discussed and analyzed in detail.

  14. Expanding pedestrian injury risk to the body region level: how to model passive safety systems in pedestrian injury risk functions.

    PubMed

    Niebuhr, Tobias; Junge, Mirko; Achmus, Stefanie

    2015-01-01

    Assessment of the effectiveness of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) plays a crucial role in accident research. A common way to evaluate the effectiveness of new systems is to determine the potentials for injury severity reduction. Because injury risk functions describe the probability of an injury of a given severity conditional on a technical accident severity (closing speed, delta V, barrier equivalent speed, etc.), they are predestined for such evaluations. Recent work has stated an approach on how to model the pedestrian injury risk in pedestrian-to-passenger car accidents as a family of functions. This approach gave explicit and easily interpretable formulae for the injury risk conditional on the closing speed of the car. These results are extended to injury risk functions for pedestrian body regions. Starting with a double-checked German In-depth Accident Study (GIDAS) pedestrian-to-car accident data set (N = 444) and a functional-anatomical definition of the body regions, investigations on the influence of specific body regions on the overall injury severity will be presented. As the measure of injury severity, the ISSx, a rescaled version of the well-known Injury Severity Score (ISS), was used. Though traditional ISS is computed by summation of the squares of the 3 most severe injured body regions, ISSx is computed by the summation of the exponentials of the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) severities of the 3 most severely injured body regions. The exponentials used are scaled to fit the ISS range of values between 0 and 75. Three body regions (head/face/neck, thorax, hip/legs) clearly dominated abdominal and upper extremity injuries; that is, the latter 2 body regions had no influence at all on the overall injury risk over the range of technical accident severities. Thus, the ISSx is well described by use of the injury codes from the same body regions for any pedestrian injury severity. As a mathematical consequence, the ISSx becomes explicitly decomposable into the 3 body regions and so are the risk functions as body region-specific risk functions. The risk functions for each body region are stated explicitly for different injury severity levels and compared to the real-world accident data. The body region-specific risk functions can then be used to model the effect of improved passive safety systems. These modified body region-specific injury risk functions are aggregated to a new pedestrian injury risk function. Passive safety systems can therefore be modeled in injury risk functions for the first time. A short example on how the results can be used for assessing the effectiveness of new driver assistance systems concludes the article.

  15. Probabilistic assessment of dynamic system performance. Part 3

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

    Belhadj, Mohamed

    1993-01-01

    Accurate prediction of dynamic system failure behavior can be important for the reliability and risk analyses of nuclear power plants, as well as for their backfitting to satisfy given constraints on overall system reliability, or optimization of system performance. Global analysis of dynamic systems through investigating the variations in the structure of the attractors of the system and the domains of attraction of these attractors as a function of the system parameters is also important for nuclear technology in order to understand the fault-tolerance as well as the safety margins of the system under consideration and to insure a safemore » operation of nuclear reactors. Such a global analysis would be particularly relevant to future reactors with inherent or passive safety features that are expected to rely on natural phenomena rather than active components to achieve and maintain safe shutdown. Conventionally, failure and global analysis of dynamic systems necessitate the utilization of different methodologies which have computational limitations on the system size that can be handled. Using a Chapman-Kolmogorov interpretation of system dynamics, a theoretical basis is developed that unifies these methodologies as special cases and which can be used for a comprehensive safety and reliability analysis of dynamic systems.« less

  16. Safety of High Speed Guided Ground Transportation Systems : Intrusion Barrier Design Study

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1994-11-01

    This report presents a study on the development of anti-intrusion systems that will perform the function of preventing a derailed railroad car or an errant highway vehicle or some type of dislodged load from intruding into the operational space of th...

  17. ORAM-SENTINEL{trademark} demonstration at Fitzpatrick. Final report

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

    Lee, L.K.; Anderson, V.M.; Mohammadi, K.

    1998-06-01

    New York Power Authority, in cooperation with EPRI, installed the ORAM-SENTINEL{trademark} software at James A. Fitzpatrick (JAF) Nuclear Power Plant. This software incorporates models of safety systems and support systems that are used for defense-in-depth in the plant during outage and on-line periods. A secondary goal was to include some pre-analyzed risk results to validate the methodology for quantitative assessment of the plant risks during proposed on-line maintenance. During the past year, New York Power Authority personnel have become familiar with the formal computerized Safety Assessment process associated with on-line and outage maintenance. The report describes techniques and lessons learnedmore » during development of the ORAM-SENTINEL model at JAF. It overviews the systems important to the Safety Function Assessment Process and provides details on development of the Plant Transient Assessment process using the station emergency operating procedures. The assessment results are displayed by color (green, yellow, orange, red) to show decreasing safety conditions. The report describes use of the JAF Probabilistic Safety Assessment within the ORAM-SENTINEL code to calculate an instantaneous core damage frequency and the criteria by which this frequency is translated to a color indicator.« less

  18. Safety Assessment of Methyl Glucose Polyethers and Esters as Used in Cosmetics.

    PubMed

    Johnson, Wilbur; Heldreth, Bart; Bergfeld, Wilma F; Belsito, Donald V; Hill, Ronald A; Klaassen, Curtis D; Liebler, Daniel C; Marks, James G; Shank, Ronald C; Slaga, Thomas J; Snyder, Paul W; Andersen, F Alan

    2016-11-01

    The Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel (Panel) reviewed the safety of methyl glucose polyethers and esters which function in cosmetics as skin/hair-conditioning agents, surfactants, or viscosity increasing agents. The esters included in this assessment are mono-, di-, or tricarboxyester substituted methyl glucosides, and the polyethers are mixtures of various chain lengths. The Panel reviewed available animal and clinical data, including the molecular weights, log K ow s, and other properties in making its determination of safety on these ingredients. Where there were data gaps, similarities between molecular structures, physicochemical and biological characteristics, and functions and concentrations in cosmetics allowed for extrapolation of the available toxicological data to assess the safety of the entire group. The Panel concluded that there likely would be no significant systemic exposure from cosmetic use of these ingredients, and that these ingredients are safe in cosmetic formulations in the present practices of use and concentration. © The Author(s) 2016.

  19. PFP Public Automatic Exchange (PAX) Commercial Grade Item (CGI) Critical Characteristics

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

    WHITE, W.F.

    2000-04-04

    This document specifies the critical characteristics for Commercial Grade Items (CGI) procured for use within the safety envelope of PFP's PAX system as required by HNF-PRO-268 and HNF-PRO-1819. These are the minimum specifications that the equipment must meet in order to properly perform its safety function. There may be several manufacturers or models that meet the critical characteristics for any one item.

  20. Influence of different safety shoes on gait and plantar pressure: a standardized examination of workers in the automotive industry

    PubMed Central

    Ochsmann, Elke; Noll, Ulrike; Ellegast, Rolf; Hermanns, Ingo; Kraus, Thomas

    2016-01-01

    Objective: Working conditions, such as walking and standing on hard surfaces, can increase the development of musculoskeletal complaints. At the interface between flooring and musculoskeletal system, safety shoes may play an important role in the well-being of employees. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of different safety shoes on gait and plantar pressure distributions on industrial flooring. Methods: Twenty automotive workers were individually fitted out with three different pairs of safety shoes ( "normal" shoes, cushioned shoes, and midfoot bearing shoes). They walked at a given speed of 1.5 m/s. The CUELA measuring system and shoe insoles were used for gait analysis and plantar pressure measurements, respectively. Statistical analysis was conducted by ANOVA analysis for repeated measures. Results: Walking with cushioned safety shoes or a midfoot bearing safety shoe led to a significant decrease of the average trunk inclination (p<0.005). Furthermore, the average hip flexion angle decreased for cushioned shoes as well as midfoot bearing shoes (p<0.002). The range of motion of the knee joint increased for cushioned shoes. As expected, plantar pressure distributions varied significantly between cushioned or midfoot bearing shoes and shoes without ergonomic components. Conclusion: The overall function of safety shoes is the avoidance of injury in case of an industrial accident, but in addition, safety shoes could be a long-term preventive instrument for maintaining health of the employees' musculoskeletal system, as they are able to affect gait parameters. Further research needs to focus on safety shoes in working situations. PMID:27488038

  1. Influence of different safety shoes on gait and plantar pressure: a standardized examination of workers in the automotive industry.

    PubMed

    Ochsmann, Elke; Noll, Ulrike; Ellegast, Rolf; Hermanns, Ingo; Kraus, Thomas

    2016-09-30

    Working conditions, such as walking and standing on hard surfaces, can increase the development of musculoskeletal complaints. At the interface between flooring and musculoskeletal system, safety shoes may play an important role in the well-being of employees. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of different safety shoes on gait and plantar pressure distributions on industrial flooring. Twenty automotive workers were individually fitted out with three different pairs of safety shoes ( "normal" shoes, cushioned shoes, and midfoot bearing shoes). They walked at a given speed of 1.5 m/s. The CUELA measuring system and shoe insoles were used for gait analysis and plantar pressure measurements, respectively. Statistical analysis was conducted by ANOVA analysis for repeated measures. Walking with cushioned safety shoes or a midfoot bearing safety shoe led to a significant decrease of the average trunk inclination (p<0.005). Furthermore, the average hip flexion angle decreased for cushioned shoes as well as midfoot bearing shoes (p<0.002). The range of motion of the knee joint increased for cushioned shoes. As expected, plantar pressure distributions varied significantly between cushioned or midfoot bearing shoes and shoes without ergonomic components. The overall function of safety shoes is the avoidance of injury in case of an industrial accident, but in addition, safety shoes could be a long-term preventive instrument for maintaining health of the employees' musculoskeletal system, as they are able to affect gait parameters. Further research needs to focus on safety shoes in working situations.

  2. Toward the modelling of safety violations in healthcare systems.

    PubMed

    Catchpole, Ken

    2013-09-01

    When frontline staff do not adhere to policies, protocols, or checklists, managers often regard these violations as indicating poor practice or even negligence. More often than not, however, these policy and protocol violations reflect the efforts of well intentioned professionals to carry out their work efficiently in the face of systems poorly designed to meet the diverse demands of patient care. Thus, non-compliance with institutional policies and protocols often signals a systems problem, rather than a people problem, and can be influenced among other things by training, competing goals, context, process, location, case complexity, individual beliefs, the direct or indirect influence of others, job pressure, flexibility, rule definition, and clinician-centred design. Three candidates are considered for developing a model of safety behaviour and decision making. The dynamic safety model helps to understand the relationship between systems designs and human performance. The theory of planned behaviour suggests that intention is a function of attitudes, social norms and perceived behavioural control. The naturalistic decision making paradigm posits that decisions are based on a wider view of multiple patients, expertise, systems complexity, behavioural intention, individual beliefs and current understanding of the system. Understanding and predicting behavioural safety decisions could help us to encourage compliance to current processes and to design better interventions.

  3. The European space suit, a design for productivity and crew safety

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Skoog, A. Ingemar; Berthier, S.; Ollivier, Y.

    In order to fulfil the two major mission objectives, i.e. support planned and unplanned external servicing of the COLUMBUS FFL and support the HERMES vehicle for safety critical operations and emergencies, the European Space Suit System baseline configuration incorporates a number of design features, which shall enhance the productivity and the crew safety of EVA astronauts. The work in EVA is today - and will be for several years - a manual work. Consequently, to improve productivity, the first challenge is to design a suit enclosure which minimizes movement restrictions and crew fatigue. It is covered by the "ergonomic" aspect of the suit design. Furthermore, it is also necessary to help the EVA crewmember in his work, by giving him the right information at the right time. Many solutions exist in this field of Man-Machine Interface, from a very simple system, based on cuff check lists, up to advanced systems, including Head-Up Displays. The design concept for improved productivity encompasses following features: • easy donning/doffing thru rear entry, • suit ergonomy optimisation, • display of operational information in alpha-numerical and graphical from, and • voice processing for operations and safety critical information. Concerning crew safety the major design features are: • a lower R-factor for emergency EVA operations thru incressed suit pressure, • zero prebreath conditions for normal operations, • visual and voice processing of all safety critical functions, and • an autonomous life support system to permit unrestricted operations around HERMES and the CFFL. The paper analyses crew safety and productivity criteria and describes how these features are being built into the design of the European Space Suit System.

  4. Safety Guided Design Based on Stamp/STPA for Manned Vehicle in Concept Design Phase

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ujiie, Ryo; Katahira, Masafumi; Miyamoto, Yuko; Umeda, Hiroki; Leveson, Nancy; Hoshino, Nobuyuki

    2013-09-01

    In manned vehicles, such as the Soyuz and the Space Shuttle, the crew and computer system cooperate to succeed in returning to the earth. While computers increase the functionality of system, they also increase the complexity of the interaction between the controllers (human and computer) and the target dynamics. In some cases, the complexity can produce a serious accident. To prevent such losses, traditional hazard analysis such as FTA has been applied to system development, however it can be used after creating a detailed system because it focuses on detailed component failures. As a result, it's more difficult to eliminate hazard cause early in the process when it is most feasible.STAMP/STPA is a new hazard analysis that can be applied from the early development phase, with the analysis being refined as more detailed decisions are made. In essence, the analysis and design decisions are intertwined and go hand-in-hand. We have applied STAMP/STPA to a concept design of a new JAXA manned vehicle and tried safety guided design of the vehicle. As a result of this trial, it has been shown that STAMP/STPA can be accepted easily by system engineers and the design has been made more sophisticated from a safety viewpoint. The result also shows that the consequences of human errors on system safety can be analysed in the early development phase and the system designed to prevent them. Finally, the paper will discuss an effective way to harmonize this safety guided design approach with system engineering process based on the result of this experience in this project.

  5. Real time imaging of peripheral nerve vasculature using optical coherence angiography

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vasudevan, Srikanth; Kumsa, Doe; Takmakov, Pavel; Welle, Cristin G.; Hammer, Daniel X.

    2016-03-01

    The peripheral nervous system (PNS) carries bidirectional information between the central nervous system and distal organs. PNS stimulation has been widely used in medical devices for therapeutic indications, such as bladder control and seizure cessation. Investigational uses of PNS stimulation include providing sensory feedback for improved control of prosthetic limbs. While nerve safety has been well documented for stimulation parameters used in marketed devices, novel PNS stimulation devices may require alternative stimulation paradigms to achieve maximum therapeutic benefit. Improved testing paradigms to assess the safety of stimulation will expedite the development process for novel PNS stimulation devices. The objective of this research is to assess peripheral nerve vascular changes in real-time with optical coherence angiography (OCA). A 1300-nm OCA system was used to image vasculature changes in the rat sciatic nerve in the region around a surface contacting single electrode. Nerves and vasculature were imaged without stimulation for 180 minutes to quantify resting blood vessel diameter. Walking track analysis was used to assess motor function before and 6 days following experiments. There was no significant change in vessel diameter between baseline and other time points in all animals. Motor function tests indicated the experiments did not impair functionality. We also evaluated the capabilities to image the nerve during electrical stimulation in a pilot study. Combining OCA with established nerve assessment methods can be used to study the effects of electrical stimulation safety on neural and vascular tissue in the periphery.

  6. A probabilistic technique for the assessment of complex dynamic system resilience

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Balchanos, Michael Gregory

    In the presence of operational uncertainty, one of the greatest challenges in systems engineering is to ensure system effectiveness, mission capability and survivability for large scale, complex system architectures. Historic events such as the 2003 Northeastern Blackout, and the 2005 Hurricane Katrina, have underlined the great importance of system safety, and survivability. With safety management currently applied on a reactive basis to emerging incidents and risk challenges, there is a paradigm shift from passive, reactive and diagnosis-based approaches to the development of architectures that will autonomously manage safety and survivability through active, proactive and prognosis-based engineering solutions. The shift aims to bring safety considerations early in the engineering design process, in order to reduce retrofitting and additional safety certification costs, increase flexibility in risk management, and essentially make safety be "built-in" the design. As a possible enabling research direction, resilience engineering is an emerging discipline, pertinent to safety management, which offers alternative insights on the design of more safe and survivable system architectures. Conceptually, resilience engineering brings new perspectives on the understanding of system safety, accidents, failures, performance degradations and risk. A resilient system can "absorb" the impact of change due to unexpected disturbances, while it "adapts" to change, in order to maintain the system's physical integrity and capability to carry on with its mission. The leading hypothesis advocates that if a complex dynamic system is more resilient, then it would be more survivable, thus more effective, despite the unexpected disturbances that could affect its normal operating conditions. For investigating the impact of more resilient systems on survivability and safety, a framework for theoretical resilience estimations has been formulated. It constitutes the basis for quantitative techniques for total system resilience evaluation, based on scenario-based, dynamic system simulations. Physics-based Modeling and Simulation (M&S) is applied for dynamical system behavior analysis, which includes system performance, health monitoring, damage propagation and overall mission capability. For the development of the assessment framework and testing of a resilience assessment technique, a small-scale canonical problem has been formulated, involving a computational model of a degradable and reconfigurable spring-mass-damper SDOF system, in a multiple main and redundant spring configuration. A rule-based feedback controller is responsible for system performance recovery, through the application of different reconfiguration strategies and strategic activation of the necessary main or redundant springs. Uncertainty effects on system operation are introduced through disturbance factors, such as external forces with varying magnitude, input frequency, event duration and occurrence time. Such factors are the basis for scenario formulation, in support of a Monte Carlo simulation analysis. Case studies with varying levels of damping and different reconfiguration strategies, involve the investigation of operational uncertainty effects on system performance, mission capability, and system survivability. These studies furthermore explore uncertainty effects on resilience functions that describe the system's capacities on "restoring" mission capability, on "absorbing" the effects of changing conditions, and on "adapting" to the occurring change. The proposed resilience assessment technique or the Topological Investigation for Resilient and Effective Systems, through Increased Architecture Survivability (TIRESIAS) is then applied and demonstrated for a naval system application, in the form of a reduced scale, reconfigurable cooling network of a naval combatant. Uncertainty effects are modeled through combinations of different number of network fluid leaks. The TIRESIAS approach on the system baseline (32-control valve configuration) has allowed for the investigation of leak effects on survival times, mission capability degradations, as well as the resilience function capacities. As part of the technique demonstration, case studies were conducted for different architecture configurations, which have been generated for different total number of control valves and valve locations on the topology.

  7. Space Station environmental control and life support system distribution and loop closure studies

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Humphries, William R.; Reuter, James L.; Schunk, Richard G.

    1986-01-01

    The NASA Space Station's environmental control and life support system (ECLSS) encompasses functional elements concerned with temperature and humidity control, atmosphere control and supply, atmosphere revitalization, fire detection and suppression, water recovery and management, waste management, and EVA support. Attention is presently given to functional and physical module distributions of the ECLSS among these elements, with a view to resource requirements and safety implications. A strategy of physical distribution coupled with functional centralization is for the air revitalization and water reclamation systems. Also discussed is the degree of loop closure desirable in the initial operational capability status Space Station's oxygen and water reclamation loops.

  8. Demonstration Advanced Avionics System (DAAS) function description

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bailey, A. J.; Bailey, D. G.; Gaabo, R. J.; Lahn, T. G.; Larson, J. C.; Peterson, E. M.; Schuck, J. W.; Rodgers, D. L.; Wroblewski, K. A.

    1982-01-01

    The Demonstration Advanced Avionics System, DAAS, is an integrated avionics system utilizing microprocessor technologies, data busing, and shared displays for demonstrating the potential of these technologies in improving the safety and utility of general aviation operations in the late 1980's and beyond. Major hardware elements of the DAAS include a functionally distributed microcomputer complex, an integrated data control center, an electronic horizontal situation indicator, and a radio adaptor unit. All processing and display resources are interconnected by an IEEE-488 bus in order to enhance the overall system effectiveness, reliability, modularity and maintainability. A detail description of the DAAS architecture, the DAAS hardware, and the DAAS functions is presented. The system is designed for installation and flight test in a NASA Cessna 402-B aircraft.

  9. Selected considerations of implementation of the GNSS

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cwiklak, Janusz; Fellner, Andrzej; Fellner, Radoslaw; Jafernik, Henryk; Sledzinski, Janusz

    2014-05-01

    The article describes analysis of the safety and risk for the implementation of precise approach procedures (Localizer Performance and Vertical Guidance - LPV) with GNSS sensor at airports in Warsaw and Katowice. There were used some techniques of the identification of threats (inducing controlled flight into terrain, landing accident, mid-air collision) and evaluations methods based on Fault Tree Analysis, probability of the risk, safety risk evaluation matrix and Functional Hazard Assesment. Also safety goals were determined. Research led to determine probabilities of appearing of threats, as well as allow compare them with regard to the ILS. As a result of conducting the Preliminary System Safety Assessment (PSSA), there were defined requirements essential to reach the required level of the safety. It is worth to underline, that quantitative requirements were defined using FTA.

  10. Runway Safety Monitor Algorithm for Runway Incursion Detection and Alerting

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Green, David F., Jr.; Jones, Denise R. (Technical Monitor)

    2002-01-01

    The Runway Safety Monitor (RSM) is an algorithm for runway incursion detection and alerting that was developed in support of NASA's Runway Incursion Prevention System (RIPS) research conducted under the NASA Aviation Safety Program's Synthetic Vision System element. The RSM algorithm provides pilots with enhanced situational awareness and warnings of runway incursions in sufficient time to take evasive action and avoid accidents during landings, takeoffs, or taxiing on the runway. The RSM currently runs as a component of the NASA Integrated Display System, an experimental avionics software system for terminal area and surface operations. However, the RSM algorithm can be implemented as a separate program to run on any aircraft with traffic data link capability. The report documents the RSM software and describes in detail how RSM performs runway incursion detection and alerting functions for NASA RIPS. The report also describes the RIPS flight tests conducted at the Dallas-Ft Worth International Airport (DFW) during September and October of 2000, and the RSM performance results and lessons learned from those flight tests.

  11. Defining the methodological challenges and opportunities for an effective science of sociotechnical systems and safety.

    PubMed

    Waterson, Patrick; Robertson, Michelle M; Cooke, Nancy J; Militello, Laura; Roth, Emilie; Stanton, Neville A

    2015-01-01

    An important part of the application of sociotechnical systems theory (STS) is the development of methods, tools and techniques to assess human factors and ergonomics workplace requirements. We focus in this paper on describing and evaluating current STS methods for workplace safety, as well as outlining a set of six case studies covering the application of these methods to a range of safety contexts. We also describe an evaluation of the methods in terms of ratings of their ability to address a set of theoretical and practical questions (e.g. the degree to which methods capture static/dynamic aspects of tasks and interactions between system levels). The outcomes from the evaluation highlight a set of gaps relating to the coverage and applicability of current methods for STS and safety (e.g. coverage of external influences on system functioning; method usability). The final sections of the paper describe a set of future challenges, as well as some practical suggestions for tackling these. We provide an up-to-date review of STS methods, a set of case studies illustrating their use and an evaluation of their strengths and weaknesses. The paper concludes with a 'roadmap' for future work.

  12. A Study on Urban Road Traffic Safety Based on Matter Element Analysis

    PubMed Central

    Hu, Qizhou; Zhou, Zhuping; Sun, Xu

    2014-01-01

    This paper examines a new evaluation of urban road traffic safety based on a matter element analysis, avoiding the difficulties found in other traffic safety evaluations. The issue of urban road traffic safety has been investigated through the matter element analysis theory. The chief aim of the present work is to investigate the features of urban road traffic safety. Emphasis was placed on the construction of a criterion function by which traffic safety achieved a hierarchical system of objectives to be evaluated. The matter element analysis theory was used to create the comprehensive appraisal model of urban road traffic safety. The technique was used to employ a newly developed and versatile matter element analysis algorithm. The matter element matrix solves the uncertainty and incompatibility of the evaluated factors used to assess urban road traffic safety. The application results showed the superiority of the evaluation model and a didactic example was included to illustrate the computational procedure. PMID:25587267

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

    Fu, Dawei; Han, Baoqin, E-mail: baoqinh@ouc.edu.cn; Dong, Wen

    Highlights: {yields} We report, for the first time, the safety of carboxymethyl chitosan in blood system. {yields} CM-Chitosan has no significant effects on coagulation function of rats. {yields} CM-Chitosan has no significant effects on anticoagulation performance of rats. {yields} CM-Chitosan has no significant effects on fibrinolytic function of rats. {yields} CM-Chitosan has no significant effects on hemorheology of rats. -- Abstract: Carboxymethyl chitosan (CM-chitosan), a derivative of chitosan, was extensively studied in the biomedical materials field for its beneficial biological properties of hemostasis and stimulation of healing. However, studies examining the safety of CM-chitosan in the blood system are lacking.more » In this study CM-chitosan was implanted into the abdominal cavity of rats to determine blood indexes at different times and to evaluate the effects of CM-chitosan on the blood system of rats. Coagulation function was reflected by thrombin time (TT), prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplatin time (APTT), fibrinogen (FIB) and platelet factor 4 (PF4) indexes; anti-coagulation performance was assessed by the index of antithrombinIII (ATIII); fibrinolytic function was reflected by plasminogen (PLG) and fibrin degradation product (FDP) indexes; and blood viscosity (BV) and plasma viscosity (PV) indexes reflected hemorheology. Results showed that CM-chitosan has no significant effects on the blood system of rats, and provides experimental basis for CM-chitosan to be applied in the field of biomedical materials.« less

  14. Creating an Oversight Infrastructure for Electronic Health Record-Related Patient Safety Hazards

    PubMed Central

    Singh, Hardeep; Classen, David C.; Sittig, Dean F.

    2013-01-01

    Electronic health records (EHRs) have potential quality and safety benefits. However, reports of EHR-related safety hazards are now emerging. The Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for Health Information Technology (HIT) recently sponsored an Institute of Medicine committee to evaluate how HIT use affects patient safety. In this paper, we propose the creation of a national EHR oversight program to provide dedicated surveillance of EHR-related safety hazards and to promote learning from identified errors, close calls, and adverse events. The program calls for data gathering, investigation/analysis and regulatory components. The first two functions will depend on institution-level EHR safety committees that will investigate all known EHR-related adverse events and near-misses and report them nationally using standardized methods. These committees should also perform routine safety self-assessments to proactively identify new risks. Nationally, we propose the long-term creation of a centralized, non-partisan board with an appropriate legal and regulatory infrastructure to ensure the safety of EHRs. We discuss the rationale of the proposed oversight program and its potential organizational components and functions. These include mechanisms for robust data collection and analyses of all safety concerns using multiple methods that extend beyond reporting; multidisciplinary investigation of selected high-risk safety events; and enhanced coordination with other national agencies in order to facilitate broad dissemination of hazards information. Implementation of this proposed infrastructure can facilitate identification of EHR-related adverse events and errors and potentially create a safer and more effective EHR-based health care delivery system. PMID:22080284

  15. A USNRC perspective on the use of commercial-off-shelf software (COTS) in advanced reactors

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

    Stewart, J.C.

    1997-12-01

    The use of commercially available digital computer systems and components in safety critical systems (nuclear power plant, military, and commercial applications) is increasing rapidly. While this paper focuses on the software aspects of the application most of these continents are applicable to the hardware aspects as well. Commercial dedication (the process of assuring that a commercial grade item will perform its intended safety function) has demonstrated benefits in cost savings and a wide base of user experience, however, care must be taken to avoid difficulties with some aspects of the dedication process such as access to vendor development information, configurationmore » management long term support, and system integration.« less

  16. JEN-1 Reactor Control System; SISTEMA DE CONTROL DEL REACTOR JEN-1

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

    Cantillo, M.F.; Nuno, C.M.; Andreu, J.L.M.

    1963-01-01

    ABS>The JEN-1 3Mw power swimming pool reactor electrical control circuits are described. Start-up, power generation in the core, and shutdown are controlled by the reactor control system. This control system guarantees in each moment the safety conditions during reactor operation. Each circuit was represented by a scheme, complemented with a description of its function, components, and operation theory. Components described include: scram circuit; fission counter control circuit; servo control circuit; control circuit of safety sheets; control circuits of primary, secondary, and clean-up pump motors and tower fan motor; primary valve motor circuit; center cubicle alarm circuit; and process alarm circuit.more » (auth)« less

  17. Addressing Unison and Uniqueness of Reliability and Safety for Better Integration

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Huang, Zhaofeng; Safie, Fayssal

    2015-01-01

    For a long time, both in theory and in practice, safety and reliability have not been clearly differentiated, which leads to confusion, inefficiency, and sometime counter-productive practices in executing each of these two disciplines. It is imperative to address the uniqueness and the unison of these two disciplines to help both disciplines become more effective and to promote a better integration of the two for enhancing safety and reliability in our products as an overall objective. There are two purposes of this paper. First, it will investigate the uniqueness and unison of each discipline and discuss the interrelationship between the two for awareness and clarification. Second, after clearly understanding the unique roles and interrelationship between the two in a product design and development life cycle, we offer suggestions to enhance the disciplines with distinguished and focused roles, to better integrate the two, and to improve unique sets of skills and tools of reliability and safety processes. From the uniqueness aspect, the paper identifies and discusses the respective uniqueness of reliability and safety from their roles, accountability, nature of requirements, technical scopes, detailed technical approaches, and analysis boundaries. It is misleading to equate unreliable to unsafe, since a safety hazard may or may not be related to the component, sub-system, or system functions, which are primarily what reliability addresses. Similarly, failing-to-function may or may not lead to hazard events. Examples will be given in the paper from aerospace, defense, and consumer products to illustrate the uniqueness and differences between reliability and safety. From the unison aspect, the paper discusses what the commonalities between reliability and safety are, and how these two disciplines are linked, integrated, and supplemented with each other to accomplish the customer requirements and product goals. In addition to understanding the uniqueness in reliability and safety, a better understanding of unison and commonalities will further help in understanding the interaction between reliability and safety. This paper discusses the unison and uniqueness of reliability and safety. It presents some suggestions for better integration of the two disciplines in terms of technical approaches, tools, techniques, and skills to enhance the role of reliability and safety in supporting a product design and development life cycle. The paper also discusses eliminating the redundant effort and minimizing the overlap of reliability and safety analyses for an efficient implementation of the two disciplines.

  18. Quality and Safety Implications of Emergency Department Information Systems

    PubMed Central

    Farley, Heather L.; Baumlin, Kevin M.; Hamedani, Azita G.; Cheung, Dickson S.; Edwards, Michael R.; Fuller, Drew C.; Genes, Nicholas; Griffey, Richard T.; Kelly, John J.; McClay, James C.; Nielson, Jeff; Phelan, Michael P.; Shapiro, Jason S.; Stone-Griffith, Suzanne; Pines, Jesse M.

    2013-01-01

    The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009 and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services “meaningful use” incentive programs, in tandem with the boundless additional requirements for detailed reporting of quality metrics, have galvanized hospital efforts to implement hospital-based electronic health records. As such, emergency department information systems (EDISs) are an important and unique component of most hospitals’ electronic health records. System functionality varies greatly and affects physician decisionmaking, clinician workflow, communication, and, ultimately, the overall quality of care and patient safety. This article is a joint effort by members of the Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Section and the Informatics Section of the American College of Emergency Physicians. The aim of this effort is to examine the benefits and potential threats to quality and patient safety that could result from the choice of a particular EDIS, its implementation and optimization, and the hospital’s or physician group’s approach to continuous improvement of the EDIS. Specifically, we explored the following areas of potential EDIS safety concerns: communication failure, wrong order–wrong patient errors, poor data display, and alert fatigue. Case studies are presented that illustrate the potential harm that could befall patients from an inferior EDIS product or suboptimal execution of such a product in the clinical environment. The authors have developed 7 recommendations to improve patient safety with respect to the deployment of EDISs. These include ensuring that emergency providers actively participate in selection of the EDIS product, in the design of processes related to EDIS implementation and optimization, and in the monitoring of the system’s ongoing success or failure. Our recommendations apply to emergency departments using any type of EDIS: custom-developed systems, best-of-breed vendor systems, or enterprise systems. PMID:23796627

  19. The development and application of electronic information system for safety administration of newborns in the rooming-in care.

    PubMed

    Wang, Fang; Dong, Jian-Cheng; Chen, Jian-Rong; Wu, Hui-Qun; Liu, Man-Hua; Xue, Li-Ly; Zhu, Xiang-Hua; Wang, Jian

    2015-01-01

    To independently research and develop an electronic information system for safety administration of newborns in the rooming-in care, and to investigate the effects of its clinical application. By VS 2010 SQL SERVER 2005 database and adopting Microsoft visual programming tool, an interactive mobile information system was established, with integrating data, information and knowledge with using information structures, information processes and information technology. From July 2011 to July 2012, totally 210 newborns from the rooming-in care of the Obstetrics Department of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University were chosen and randomly divided into two groups: the information system monitoring group (110 cases) and the regular monitoring group (100 cases). Incidence of abnormal events and degree of satisfaction were recorded and calculated. ① The wireless electronic information system has four main functions including risk scaling display, identity recognition display, nursing round notes board and health education board; ② statistically significant differences were found between the two groups both on the active or passive discovery rate of abnormal events occurred in the newborns (P<0.05) and the satisfaction degree of the mothers and their families (P<0.05); ③ the system was sensitive and reliable, and the wireless transmission of information was correct and safety. The system is with high practicability in the clinic and can ensure the safety for the newborns with improved satisfactions.

  20. Medical systems and malware.

    PubMed

    Kusche, Kristopher P

    2004-01-01

    No longer just an information technology issue, network security requires a multifaceted, multidisciplinary approach to ensuring critical equipment functionality, data security, and patient safety. This article provides insight into the threat of malware and ways to deal with it.

  1. Design for Reliability and Safety Approach for the NASA New Launch Vehicle

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Safie, Fayssal, M.; Weldon, Danny M.

    2007-01-01

    The United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is in the midst of a space exploration program intended for sending crew and cargo to the international Space Station (ISS), to the moon, and beyond. This program is called Constellation. As part of the Constellation program, NASA is developing new launch vehicles aimed at significantly increase safety and reliability, reduce the cost of accessing space, and provide a growth path for manned space exploration. Achieving these goals requires a rigorous process that addresses reliability, safety, and cost upfront and throughout all the phases of the life cycle of the program. This paper discusses the "Design for Reliability and Safety" approach for the NASA new crew launch vehicle called ARES I. The ARES I is being developed by NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in support of the Constellation program. The ARES I consists of three major Elements: A solid First Stage (FS), an Upper Stage (US), and liquid Upper Stage Engine (USE). Stacked on top of the ARES I is the Crew exploration vehicle (CEV). The CEV consists of a Launch Abort System (LAS), Crew Module (CM), Service Module (SM), and a Spacecraft Adapter (SA). The CEV development is being led by NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC). Designing for high reliability and safety require a good integrated working environment and a sound technical design approach. The "Design for Reliability and Safety" approach addressed in this paper discusses both the environment and the technical process put in place to support the ARES I design. To address the integrated working environment, the ARES I project office has established a risk based design group called "Operability Design and Analysis" (OD&A) group. This group is an integrated group intended to bring together the engineering, design, and safety organizations together to optimize the system design for safety, reliability, and cost. On the technical side, the ARES I project has, through the OD&A environment, implemented a probabilistic approach to analyze and evaluate design uncertainties and understand their impact on safety, reliability, and cost. This paper focuses on the use of the various probabilistic approaches that have been pursued by the ARES I project. Specifically, the paper discusses an integrated functional probabilistic analysis approach that addresses upffont some key areas to support the ARES I Design Analysis Cycle (DAC) pre Preliminary Design (PD) Phase. This functional approach is a probabilistic physics based approach that combines failure probabilities with system dynamics and engineering failure impact models to identify key system risk drivers and potential system design requirements. The paper also discusses other probabilistic risk assessment approaches planned by the ARES I project to support the PD phase and beyond.

  2. Feedback from incident reporting: information and action to improve patient safety.

    PubMed

    Benn, J; Koutantji, M; Wallace, L; Spurgeon, P; Rejman, M; Healey, A; Vincent, C

    2009-02-01

    Effective feedback from incident reporting systems in healthcare is essential if organisations are to learn from failures in the delivery of care. Despite the wide-scale development and implementation of incident reporting in healthcare, studies in the UK suggest that information concerning system vulnerabilities could be better applied to improve operational safety within organisations. In this article, the findings and implications of research to identify forms of effective feedback from incident reporting are discussed, to promote best practices in this area. The research comprised a mixed methods review to investigate mechanisms of effective feedback for healthcare, drawing upon experience within established reporting programmes in high-risk industry and transport domains. Systematic searches of published literature were undertaken, and 23 case studies describing incident reporting programmes with feedback were identified for analysis from the international healthcare literature. Semistructured interviews were undertaken with 19 subject matter experts across a range of domains, including: civil aviation, maritime, energy, rail, offshore production and healthcare. In analysis, qualitative information from several sources was synthesised into practical requirements for developing effective feedback in healthcare. Both action and information feedback mechanisms were identified, serving safety awareness, improvement and motivational functions. The provision of actionable feedback that visibly improved systems was highlighted as important in promoting future reporting. Fifteen requirements for the design of effective feedback systems were identified, concerning: the role of leadership, the credibility and content of information, effective dissemination channels, the capacity for rapid action and the need for feedback at all levels of the organisation, among others. Above all, the safety-feedback cycle must be closed by ensuring that reporting, analysis and investigation result in timely corrective actions that effectively address vulnerabilities in existing work systems. Limited research evidence exists concerning the issue of effective forms of safety feedback within healthcare. Much valuable operational knowledge resides in safety management communities within high-risk industries. Multiple means of feeding back recommended actions and safety information may be usefully employed to promote safety awareness, improve clinical processes and promote future reporting. Further work is needed to establish best practices for feedback systems in healthcare that effectively close the safety loop.

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

    MITCHELL,GERRY W.; LONGLEY,SUSAN W.; PHILBIN,JEFFREY S.

    This Safety Analysis Report (SAR) is prepared in compliance with the requirements of DOE Order 5480.23, Nuclear Safety Analysis Reports, and has been written to the format and content guide of DOE-STD-3009-94 Preparation Guide for U. S. Department of Energy Nonreactor Nuclear Safety Analysis Reports. The Hot Cell Facility is a Hazard Category 2 nonreactor nuclear facility, and is operated by Sandia National Laboratories for the Department of Energy. This SAR provides a description of the HCF and its operations, an assessment of the hazards and potential accidents which may occur in the facility. The potential consequences and likelihood ofmore » these accidents are analyzed and described. Using the process and criteria described in DOE-STD-3009-94, safety-related structures, systems and components are identified, and the important safety functions of each SSC are described. Additionally, information which describes the safety management programs at SNL are described in ancillary chapters of the SAR.« less

  4. A closer look at associations between hospital leadership walkrounds and patient safety climate and risk reduction: a cross-sectional study.

    PubMed

    Schwendimann, René; Milne, Judy; Frush, Karen; Ausserhofer, Dietmar; Frankel, Allan; Sexton, J Bryan

    2013-01-01

    Leadership walkrounds (WRs) are widely used in health care organizations to improve patient safety. This retrospective, cross-sectional study evaluated the association between WRs and caregiver assessments of patient safety climate and patient safety risk reduction across 49 hospitals in a nonprofit health care system. Linear regression analyses using units' participation in WRs were conducted. Survey results from 706 hospital units revealed that units with ≥ 60% of caregivers reporting exposure to at least 1 WR had a significantly higher safety climate, greater patient safety risk reduction, and a higher proportion of feedback on actions taken as a result of WRs compared with those units with <60% of caregivers reporting exposure to WRs. WR participation at the unit level reflects a frequency effect as a function of units with none/low, medium, and high leadership WR exposure.

  5. Reactor Operations Monitoring System

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

    Hart, M.M.

    1989-01-01

    The Reactor Operations Monitoring System (ROMS) is a VME based, parallel processor data acquisition and safety action system designed by the Equipment Engineering Section and Reactor Engineering Department of the Savannah River Site. The ROMS will be analyzing over 8 million signal samples per minute. Sixty-eight microprocessors are used in the ROMS in order to achieve a real-time data analysis. The ROMS is composed of multiple computer subsystems. Four redundant computer subsystems monitor 600 temperatures with 2400 thermocouples. Two computer subsystems share the monitoring of 600 reactor coolant flows. Additional computer subsystems are dedicated to monitoring 400 signals from assortedmore » process sensors. Data from these computer subsystems are transferred to two redundant process display computer subsystems which present process information to reactor operators and to reactor control computers. The ROMS is also designed to carry out safety functions based on its analysis of process data. The safety functions include initiating a reactor scram (shutdown), the injection of neutron poison, and the loadshed of selected equipment. A complete development Reactor Operations Monitoring System has been built. It is located in the Program Development Center at the Savannah River Site and is currently being used by the Reactor Engineering Department in software development. The Equipment Engineering Section is designing and fabricating the process interface hardware. Upon proof of hardware and design concept, orders will be placed for the final five systems located in the three reactor areas, the reactor training simulator, and the hardware maintenance center.« less

  6. A Model for the Departmental Quality Management Infrastructure Within an Academic Health System.

    PubMed

    Mathews, Simon C; Demski, Renee; Hooper, Jody E; Biddison, Lee Daugherty; Berry, Stephen A; Petty, Brent G; Chen, Allen R; Hill, Peter M; Miller, Marlene R; Witter, Frank R; Allen, Lisa; Wick, Elizabeth C; Stierer, Tracey S; Paine, Lori; Puttgen, Hans A; Tamargo, Rafael J; Pronovost, Peter J

    2017-05-01

    As quality improvement and patient safety come to play a larger role in health care, academic medical centers and health systems are poised to take a leadership role in addressing these issues. Academic medical centers can leverage their large integrated footprint and have the ability to innovate in this field. However, a robust quality management infrastructure is needed to support these efforts. In this context, quality and safety are often described at the executive level and at the unit level. Yet, the role of individual departments, which are often the dominant functional unit within a hospital, in realizing health system quality and safety goals has not been addressed. Developing a departmental quality management infrastructure is challenging because departments are diverse in composition, size, resources, and needs.In this article, the authors describe the model of departmental quality management infrastructure that has been implemented at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. This model leverages the fractal approach, linking departments horizontally to support peer and organizational learning and connecting departments vertically to support accountability to the hospital, health system, and board of trustees. This model also provides both structure and flexibility to meet individual departmental needs, recognizing that independence and interdependence are needed for large academic medical centers. The authors describe the structure, function, and support system for this model as well as the practical and essential steps for its implementation. They also provide examples of its early success.

  7. Developing a patient-led electronic feedback system for quality and safety within Renal PatientView.

    PubMed

    Giles, Sally J; Reynolds, Caroline; Heyhoe, Jane; Armitage, Gerry

    2017-03-01

    It is increasingly acknowledged that patients can provide direct feedback about the quality and safety of their care through patient reporting systems. The aim of this study was to explore the feasibility of patients, healthcare professionals and researchers working in partnership to develop a patient-led quality and safety feedback system within an existing electronic health record (EHR), known as Renal PatientView (RPV). Phase 1 (inception) involved focus groups (n = 9) and phase 2 (requirements) involved cognitive walkthroughs (n = 34) and 1:1 qualitative interviews (n = 34) with patients and healthcare professionals. A Joint Services Expert Panel (JSP) was convened to review the findings from phase 1 and agree the core principles and components of the system prototype. Phase 1 data were analysed using a thematic approach. Data from phase 1 were used to inform the design of the initial system prototype. Phase 2 data were analysed using the components of heuristic evaluation, resulting in a list of core principles and components for the final system prototype. Phase 1 identified four main barriers and facilitators to patients feeding back on quality and safety concerns. In phase 2, the JSP agreed that the system should be based on seven core principles and components. Stakeholders were able to work together to identify core principles and components for an electronic patient quality and safety feedback system in renal services. Tensions arose due to competing priorities, particularly around anonymity and feedback. Careful consideration should be given to the feasibility of integrating a novel element with differing priorities into an established system with existing functions and objectives. © 2016 European Dialysis and Transplant Nurses Association/European Renal Care Association.

  8. Cryptographically supported NFC tags in medication for better inpatient safety.

    PubMed

    Özcanhan, Mehmet Hilal; Dalkılıç, Gökhan; Utku, Semih

    2014-08-01

    Reliable sources report that errors in drug administration are increasing the number of harmed or killed inpatients, during healthcare. This development is in contradiction to patient safety norms. A correctly designed hospital-wide ubiquitous system, using advanced inpatient identification and matching techniques, should provide correct medicine and dosage at the right time. Researchers are still making grouping proof protocol proposals based on the EPC Global Class 1 Generation 2 ver. 1.2 standard tags, for drug administration. Analyses show that such protocols make medication unsecure and hence fail to guarantee inpatient safety. Thus, the original goal of patient safety still remains. In this paper, a very recent proposal (EKATE) upgraded by a cryptographic function is shown to fall short of expectations. Then, an alternative proposal IMS-NFC which uses a more suitable and newer technology; namely Near Field Communication (NFC), is described. The proposed protocol has the additional support of stronger security primitives and it is compliant to ISO communication and security standards. Unlike previous works, the proposal is a complete ubiquitous system that guarantees full patient safety; and it is based on off-the-shelf, new technology products available in every corner of the world. To prove the claims the performance, cost, security and scope of IMS-NFC are compared with previous proposals. Evaluation shows that the proposed system has stronger security, increased patient safety and equal efficiency, at little extra cost.

  9. Understanding safety and production risks in rail engineering planning and protection.

    PubMed

    Wilson, John R; Ryan, Brendan; Schock, Alex; Ferreira, Pedro; Smith, Stuart; Pitsopoulos, Julia

    2009-07-01

    Much of the published human factors work on risk is to do with safety and within this is concerned with prediction and analysis of human error and with human reliability assessment. Less has been published on human factors contributions to understanding and managing project, business, engineering and other forms of risk and still less jointly assessing risk to do with broad issues of 'safety' and broad issues of 'production' or 'performance'. This paper contains a general commentary on human factors and assessment of risk of various kinds, in the context of the aims of ergonomics and concerns about being too risk averse. The paper then describes a specific project, in rail engineering, where the notion of a human factors case has been employed to analyse engineering functions and related human factors issues. A human factors issues register for potential system disturbances has been developed, prior to a human factors risk assessment, which jointly covers safety and production (engineering delivery) concerns. The paper concludes with a commentary on the potential relevance of a resilience engineering perspective to understanding rail engineering systems risk. Design, planning and management of complex systems will increasingly have to address the issue of making trade-offs between safety and production, and ergonomics should be central to this. The paper addresses the relevant issues and does so in an under-published domain - rail systems engineering work.

  10. Final Report - Regulatory Considerations for Adaptive Systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wilkinson, Chris; Lynch, Jonathan; Bharadwaj, Raj

    2013-01-01

    This report documents the findings of a preliminary research study into new approaches to the software design assurance of adaptive systems. We suggest a methodology to overcome the software validation and verification difficulties posed by the underlying assumption of non-adaptive software in the requirementsbased- testing verification methods in RTCA/DO-178B and C. An analysis of the relevant RTCA/DO-178B and C objectives is presented showing the reasons for the difficulties that arise in showing satisfaction of the objectives and suggested additional means by which they could be satisfied. We suggest that the software design assurance problem for adaptive systems is principally one of developing correct and complete high level requirements and system level constraints that define the necessary system functional and safety properties to assure the safe use of adaptive systems. We show how analytical techniques such as model based design, mathematical modeling and formal or formal-like methods can be used to both validate the high level functional and safety requirements, establish necessary constraints and provide the verification evidence for the satisfaction of requirements and constraints that supplements conventional testing. Finally the report identifies the follow-on research topics needed to implement this methodology.

  11. Nursing Information Systems Requirements: A Milestone for Patient Outcome and Patient Safety Improvement.

    PubMed

    Farzandipour, Mehrdad; Meidani, Zahra; Riazi, Hossein; Sadeqi Jabali, Monireh

    2016-12-01

    Considering the integral role of understanding users' requirements in information system success, this research aimed to determine functional requirements of nursing information systems through a national survey. Delphi technique method was applied to conduct this study through three phases: focus group method modified Delphi technique and classic Delphi technique. A cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate the proposed requirements within 15 general hospitals in Iran. Forty-three of 76 approved requirements were clinical, and 33 were administrative ones. Nurses' mean agreements for clinical requirements were higher than those of administrative requirements; minimum and maximum means of clinical requirements were 3.3 and 3.88, respectively. Minimum and maximum means of administrative requirements were 3.1 and 3.47, respectively. Research findings indicated that those information system requirements that support nurses in doing tasks including direct care, medicine prescription, patient treatment management, and patient safety have been the target of special attention. As nurses' requirements deal directly with patient outcome and patient safety, nursing information systems requirements should not only address automation but also nurses' tasks and work processes based on work analysis.

  12. The nuts and bolts of pills and portions: the functions of a drug safety working group.

    PubMed

    Nath, Noleen S; Jones, Ellen H; Stride, Peter; Premaratne, Manuja; Thaker, Darshit; Lim, Ivan

    2011-11-01

    Hospitalised patients commonly experience adverse drug events (ADEs) and medication errors. Runciman reported that ADEs in hospitals account for 20% of reported adverse events and contribute to 27% of deaths where death followed an adverse event. Hughes recommends multidisciplinary hospital drug committees to assess performance and raise standards. The new Code of Conduct of the Medical Board of Australia recommends participation in systems for surveillance and monitoring of adverse events, and to improve patient safety. We describe the functions and role of a Drug Safety Working Group (DSWG) in a suburban hospital, which aims to audit and promote a culture of prescribing and medication administration that is prudent and cautious to minimise the risk of harm to patients. We believe that regular prescription monitoring and feedback to Resident Medical Officers (RMOs) improves medication management in our hospital.

  13. The safety and immunogenicity of influenza vaccine in children with asthma in Mexico.

    PubMed

    Pedroza, Alvaro; Huerta, José G; Garcia, Maria de la Luz; Rojas, Arsheli; López-Martínez, Irma; Penagos, Martín; Franco-Paredes, Carlos; Deroche, Christele; Mascareñas, Cesar

    2009-07-01

    The morbidity and mortality associated with influenza is substantial in children with asthma. There are no available data on the safety and immunogenicity of influenza vaccine in children with asthma in Latin America. Furthermore, it is unclear if influenza vaccination may cause asthma exacerbations. We conducted a placebo-controlled trial to investigate the safety and immunogenicity of an inactivated trivalent split virus influenza vaccine in children with asthma in Mexico. We also measured the impact of influenza vaccination on pulmonary function tests in this population. The inactivated influenza vaccine was immunogenic and safe in terms of local and systemic side effects compared to placebo. We observed no significant impact on pulmonary function tests among vaccine recipients. Given the significant morbidity associated with influenza in children, strategies to promote increased influenza vaccination coverage in this high-risk group in Latin America and elsewhere are urgently needed.

  14. Federal Emergency Management and Homeland Security Organization: Historical Developments and Legislative Options

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2006-06-01

    nuclear disaster warning systems,” and “preparedness and planning to reduce the consequences of major terrorist incidents.” In addition, the order...assistance functions,” in addition to dam safety, “natural and nuclear disaster warning systems,” and “the coordination of preparedness and planning to

  15. Anaerobic Digestion II. Sludge Treatment and Disposal Course #166. Instructor's Guide [and] Student Workbook.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Arasmith, E. E.

    This lesson is the second of a two-part series on anaerobic digestion. Topics discussed include classification of digester by function, roof design, and temperature range, mixing systems, gas system components, operational control basics, and general safety considerations. The lesson includes an instructor's guide and student workbook. The…

  16. A sustainable city environment through child safety and mobility-a challenge based on ITS?

    PubMed

    Leden, Lars; Gårder, Per; Schirokoff, Anna; Monterde-i-Bort, Hector; Johansson, Charlotta; Basbas, Socrates

    2014-01-01

    Our cities should be designed to accommodate everybody, including children. We will not move toward a more sustainable society unless we accept that children are people with transportation needs, and 'bussing' them around, or providing parental limousine services at all times, will not lead to sustainability. Rather, we will need to make our cities walkable for children, at least those above a certain age. Safety has two main aspects, traffic safety and personal safety (risk of assault). Besides being safe, children will also need an urban environment with reasonable mobility, where they themselves can reach destinations with reasonable effort; else they will still need to be driven. This paper presents the results of two expert questionnaires focusing on the potential safety and mobility benefits to child pedestrians of targeted types of intelligent transportation systems (ITS). Five different types of functional requests for children were identified based on previous work. The first expert questionnaire was structured to collect expert opinions on which ITS solutions or devices would be, and why, the most relevant ones to satisfy the five different functional requests of child pedestrians. Based on the first questionnaire, fifteen problem areas were defined. In the second questionnaire, the experts ranked the fifteen areas, and prioritized related ITS services, according to their potential for developing ITS services beneficial to children. Several ITS systems for improving pedestrian quality are discussed. ITS services can be used when a pedestrian route takes them to a dangerous street, dangerous crossing point or through a dangerous neighborhood. An improvement of safety and other qualities would lead to increased mobility and a more sustainable way of living. Children would learn how to live to support their own health and a sustainable city environment. But it will be up to national, regional and local governments, through their ministries and agencies and public works departments, to promote, fund, and possibly mandate such systems. It is clear that we need to offer an acceptable level of convenience, efficiency, comfort, safety and security to pedestrians but it is less clear if society will prioritize resources toward this. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Application of reliability-centered-maintenance to BWR ECCS motor operator valve performance

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

    Feltus, M.A.; Choi, Y.A.

    1993-01-01

    This paper describes the application of reliability-centered maintenance (RCM) methods to plant probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) and safety analyses for four boiling water reactor emergency core cooling systems (ECCSs): (1) high-pressure coolant injection (HPCI); (2) reactor core isolation cooling (RCIC); (3) residual heat removal (RHR); and (4) core spray systems. Reliability-centered maintenance is a system function-based technique for improving a preventive maintenance program that is applied on a component basis. Those components that truly affect plant function are identified, and maintenance tasks are focused on preventing their failures. The RCM evaluation establishes the relevant criteria that preserve system function somore » that an RCM-focused approach can be flexible and dynamic.« less

  18. Design criteria for a self-actuated shutdown system to ensure limitation of core damage. [LMFBR

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

    Deane, N.A.; Atcheson, D.B.

    1981-09-01

    Safety-based functional requirements and design criteria for a self-actuated shutdown system (SASS) are derived in accordance with LOA-2 success criteria and reliability goals. The design basis transients have been defined and evaluated for the CDS Phase II design, which is a 2550 MWt mixed oxide heterogeneous core reactor. A partial set of reactor responses for selected transients is provided as a function of SASS characteristics such as reactivity worth, trip points, and insertion times.

  19. Regulator Loss Functions and Hierarchical Modeling for Safety Decision Making.

    PubMed

    Hatfield, Laura A; Baugh, Christine M; Azzone, Vanessa; Normand, Sharon-Lise T

    2017-07-01

    Regulators must act to protect the public when evidence indicates safety problems with medical devices. This requires complex tradeoffs among risks and benefits, which conventional safety surveillance methods do not incorporate. To combine explicit regulator loss functions with statistical evidence on medical device safety signals to improve decision making. In the Hospital Cost and Utilization Project National Inpatient Sample, we select pediatric inpatient admissions and identify adverse medical device events (AMDEs). We fit hierarchical Bayesian models to the annual hospital-level AMDE rates, accounting for patient and hospital characteristics. These models produce expected AMDE rates (a safety target), against which we compare the observed rates in a test year to compute a safety signal. We specify a set of loss functions that quantify the costs and benefits of each action as a function of the safety signal. We integrate the loss functions over the posterior distribution of the safety signal to obtain the posterior (Bayes) risk; the preferred action has the smallest Bayes risk. Using simulation and an analysis of AMDE data, we compare our minimum-risk decisions to a conventional Z score approach for classifying safety signals. The 2 rules produced different actions for nearly half of hospitals (45%). In the simulation, decisions that minimize Bayes risk outperform Z score-based decisions, even when the loss functions or hierarchical models are misspecified. Our method is sensitive to the choice of loss functions; eliciting quantitative inputs to the loss functions from regulators is challenging. A decision-theoretic approach to acting on safety signals is potentially promising but requires careful specification of loss functions in consultation with subject matter experts.

  20. Identification of emergent off-nominal operational requirements during conceptual architecting of the more electric aircraft

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Armstrong, Michael James

    Increases in power demands and changes in the design practices of overall equipment manufacturers has led to a new paradigm in vehicle systems definition. The development of unique power systems architectures is of increasing importance to overall platform feasibility and must be pursued early in the aircraft design process. Many vehicle systems architecture trades must be conducted concurrent to platform definition. With an increased complexity introduced during conceptual design, accurate predictions of unit level sizing requirements must be made. Architecture specific emergent requirements must be identified which arise due to the complex integrated effect of unit behaviors. Off-nominal operating scenarios present sizing critical requirements to the aircraft vehicle systems. These requirements are architecture specific and emergent. Standard heuristically defined failure mitigation is sufficient for sizing traditional and evolutionary architectures. However, architecture concepts which vary significantly in terms of structure and composition require that unique failure mitigation strategies be defined for accurate estimations of unit level requirements. Identifying of these off-nominal emergent operational requirements require extensions to traditional safety and reliability tools and the systematic identification of optimal performance degradation strategies. Discrete operational constraints posed by traditional Functional Hazard Assessment (FHA) are replaced by continuous relationships between function loss and operational hazard. These relationships pose the objective function for hazard minimization. Load shedding optimization is performed for all statistically significant failures by varying the allocation of functional capability throughout the vehicle systems architecture. Expressing hazards, and thereby, reliability requirements as continuous relationships with the magnitude and duration of functional failure requires augmentations to the traditional means for system safety assessment (SSA). The traditional two state and discrete system reliability assessment proves insufficient. Reliability is, therefore, handled in an analog fashion: as a function of magnitude of failure and failure duration. A series of metrics are introduced which characterize system performance in terms of analog hazard probabilities. These include analog and cumulative system and functional risk, hazard correlation, and extensions to the traditional component importance metrics. Continuous FHA, load shedding optimization, and analog SSA constitute the SONOMA process (Systematic Off-Nominal Requirements Analysis). Analog system safety metrics inform both architecture optimization (changes in unit level capability and reliability) and architecture augmentation (changes in architecture structure and composition). This process was applied for two vehicle systems concepts (conventional and 'more-electric') in terms of loss/hazard relationships with varying degrees of fidelity. Application of this process shows that the traditional assumptions regarding the structure of the function loss vs. hazard relationship apply undue design bias to functions and components during exploratory design. This bias is illustrated in terms of inaccurate estimations of the system and function level risk and unit level importance. It was also shown that off-nominal emergent requirements must be defined specific to each architecture concept. Quantitative comparisons of architecture specific off-nominal performance were obtained which provide evidence to the need for accurate definition of load shedding strategies during architecture exploratory design. Formally expressing performance degradation strategies in terms of the minimization of a continuous hazard space enhances the system architects ability to accurately predict sizing critical emergent requirements concurrent to architecture definition. Furthermore, the methods and frameworks generated here provide a structured and flexible means for eliciting these architecture specific requirements during the performance of architecture trades.

  1. [Alcohol and work: the role of the company physician in the occupational health and safety management systems].

    PubMed

    Patussi, V; Muran, A

    2010-01-01

    The organization of safety in the working places and the increasing attention to behaviours and life styles of workers that may lead to increasing occupational risks are the pick innovative aspects of the recent changes in our country's legislation about occupational safety. In this organization, the role of the company physician is becoming more and more important and his work of evaluation beginning with the knowledge both of the working places and of the workers's lifestyles, is irreplaceable. His role in organizing the managing standards of occupational safety and health cannot be limited to health supervision but must be an essential element in risk assessment in the prevision of workplaces and of safe working conditions, in workers training and information, in organizing the control system of each business. The present paper examines--referring to the current regulation--the duties and functions of a company physician when facing the problems concerning the working risks tied to alcohol assumption.

  2. Improvements in Transportation Fire Safety Data Bases

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1981-12-01

    The existing statistical data bases for transportation system accidents have been designed primarily to fulfill the modal administrative reporting functions. As such, the data collected are of a very broad nature and of limited use in the identificat...

  3. Identification of high-level functional/system requirements for future civil transports

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Swink, Jay R.; Goins, Richard T.

    1992-01-01

    In order to accommodate the rapid growth in commercial aviation throughout the remainder of this century, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is faced with a formidable challenge to upgrade and/or modernize the National Airspace System (NAS) without compromising safety or efficiency. A recurring theme in both the Aviation System Capital Investment Plan (CIP), which has replaced the NAS Plan, and the new FAA Plan for Research, Engineering, and Development (RE&D) rely on the application of new technologies and a greater use of automation. Identifying the high-level functional and system impacts of such modernization efforts on future civil transport operational requirements, particularly in terms of cockpit functionality and information transfer, was the primary objective of this project. The FAA planning documents for the NAS of the 2005 era and beyond were surveyed; major aircraft functional capabilities and system components required for such an operating environment were identified. A hierarchical structured analysis of the information processing and flows emanating from such functional/system components were conducted and the results documented in graphical form depicting the relationships between functions and systems.

  4. In situ medical simulation investigation of emergency department procedural sedation with randomized trial of experimental bedside clinical process guidance intervention.

    PubMed

    Siegel, Nathan A; Kobayashi, Leo; Dunbar-Viveiros, Jennifer A; Devine, Jeffrey; Al-Rasheed, Rakan S; Gardiner, Fenwick G; Olsson, Krister; Lai, Stella; Jones, Mark S; Dannecker, Max; Overly, Frank L; Gosbee, John W; Portelli, David C; Jay, Gregory D

    2015-06-01

    Patient safety during emergency department procedural sedation (EDPS) can be difficult to study. Investigators sought to delineate and experimentally assess EDPS performance and safety practices of senior-level emergency medicine residents through in situ simulation. Study sessions used 2 pilot-tested EDPS scenarios with critical action checklists, institutional forms, embedded probes, and situational awareness questionnaires. An experimental informatics system was separately developed for bedside EDPS process guidance. Postgraduate year 3 and 4 subjects completed both scenarios in randomized order; only experimental subjects were provided with the experimental system during second scenarios. Twenty-four residents were recruited into a control group (n = 12; 6.2 ± 7.4 live EDPS experience) and experimental group (n = 12; 11.3 ± 8.2 live EDPS experience [P = 0.10]). Critical actions for EDPS medication selection, induction, and adverse event recognition with resuscitation were correctly performed by most subjects. Presedation evaluations, sedation rescue preparation, equipment checks, time-outs, and documentation were frequently missed. Time-outs and postsedation assessments increased during second scenarios in the experimental group. Emergency department procedural sedation safety probe detection did not change across scenarios in either group. Situational awareness scores were 51% ± 7% for control group and 58% ± 12% for experimental group. Subjects using the experimental system completed more time-outs and scored higher Simulation EDPS Safety Composite Scores, although without comprehensive improvements in EDPS practice or safety. Study simulations delineated EDPS and assessed safety behaviors in senior emergency medicine residents, who exhibited the requisite medical knowledge base and procedural skill set but lacked some nontechnical skills that pertain to emergency department microsystem functions and patient safety. The experimental system exhibited limited impact only on in-simulation time-out compliance.

  5. Safety evaluation of tangeretin and the effect of using emulsion-based delivery system: Oral acute and 28-day sub-acute toxicity study using mice.

    PubMed

    Ting, Yuwen; Chiou, Yi-Shiou; Jiang, Yike; Pan, Min-Hsiung; Lin, Zhengyu; Huang, Qingrong

    2015-08-01

    Polymethoxyflavones, found widely in the peel of citrus fruits, is an emerging group of bioactive compounds with wide arrays of disease prevention functionalities. To understand the potential oral toxicity, tangeretin, being one of the most abundant polymethoxyflavones from natural sources, was used as model compound for the safety evaluation. Acute oral toxicity study was conducted using both male and female mice giving 1000, 2000, or 3000mg/kgbody weight (bw) of tangeretin in oil suspension from single gavage administration. No evidence of death was observed during 14-day post-administration period. Alterations of the hepatic cell and clinical chemistry profile increased dose dependently and exhibited distinct injury recovery pattern among different sexes. To determine the potential safety concern related to emulsification, the sub-acute toxicity of tangeretin in emulsion was evaluated and compared with un-processed oil suspension when conducting the sub-acute toxicity study over 28days. In the sub-acute study, emulsion system did not induce a significant increase of toxicity response. However, the daily low-dose application of tangeretin showed U-shaped dose-response pattern in regard to hepatic alteration. The result from this study can serve as a good safety reference for future application of polymethoxyflavone as a functional ingredient in food. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Runway Safety Monitor Algorithm for Single and Crossing Runway Incursion Detection and Alerting

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Green, David F., Jr.

    2006-01-01

    The Runway Safety Monitor (RSM) is an aircraft based algorithm for runway incursion detection and alerting that was developed in support of NASA's Runway Incursion Prevention System (RIPS) research conducted under the NASA Aviation Safety and Security Program's Synthetic Vision System project. The RSM algorithm provides warnings of runway incursions in sufficient time for pilots to take evasive action and avoid accidents during landings, takeoffs or when taxiing on the runway. The report documents the RSM software and describes in detail how RSM performs runway incursion detection and alerting functions for NASA RIPS. The report also describes the RIPS flight tests conducted at the Reno/Tahoe International Airport (RNO) and the Wallops Flight Facility (WAL) during July and August of 2004, and the RSM performance results and lessons learned from those flight tests.

  7. Causation mechanisms in car-to-vulnerable road user crashes: implications for active safety systems.

    PubMed

    Habibovic, Azra; Davidsson, Johan

    2012-11-01

    Vulnerable road users (VRUs), such as pedestrians and bicyclists, are often involved in crashes with passenger cars. One way to prevent these crashes is to deploy active safety systems that support the car drivers and/or VRUs. However, to develop such systems, a thorough understanding of crash causation mechanisms is required. The aim of this study is to identify crash causation mechanisms from the perspective of the VRUs, and to explore the implications of these mechanisms for the development of active safety systems. Data originate from the European project SafetyNet, where 995 crashes were in-depth investigated using the SafetyNet Accident Causation System (SNACS). To limit the scope, this study analyzed only intersection crashes involving VRUs. A total of 56 VRU crashes were aggregated. Results suggest that, while 30% of the VRUs did not see the conflict car due to visual obstructions in the traffic environment, 70% of the VRUs saw the car before the collision, but still misunderstood the traffic situation and/or made an inadequate plan of action. An important implication that follows from this is that, while detection of cars is clearly an issue that needs to be addressed, it is even more important to help the VRUs to correctly understand traffic situation (e.g., does the driver intend to slow down, and if s/he does, is it to let the VRU cross or for some other reason?). The former issue suggests a role for various cooperative active safety systems, as the obstacles are generally impenetrable with regular sensors. The latter issue is less straightforward. While various systems can be proposed, such as providing gap size estimation and reducing the car speed variability, the functional merits of each such a system need to be further investigated. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. The Evaluation of the Safety Benefits of Combined Passive and On-Board Active Safety Applications

    PubMed Central

    Page, Yves; Cuny, Sophie; Zangmeister, Tobias; Kreiss, Jens-Peter; Hermitte, Thierry

    2009-01-01

    One of the objectives of the European TRACE project (TRaffic Accident Causation in Europe, 2006–2008) was to estimate the proportion of injury accidents that could be avoided and/or the proportion of injury accidents where the severity could be mitigated for on-the-market safety applications, if 100 % of the car fleet would be equipped with them. We have selected for evaluation the Electronic Stability Control (ESC) and the Emergency Brake Assist (EBA) applications. As for passive safety systems, recent cars are designed to offer overall safety protection. Car structure, load limiters, front airbags, side airbags, knee airbags, pretensioners, padding and non aggressive structures in the door panel, the dashboard, the windshield, the seats, and the head rest also contribute to applying more protection. The whole safety package is very difficult to evaluate separately, one element independently segmented from the others. We decided to consider evaluating the effectivenessof the whole passive safety package, This package,, for the sake of simplicity, was the number of stars awarded at the Euro NCAP testing. The challenges were to compare the effectiveness of some safety configuration SC I, with the effectiveness of a different safety configuration SC II. A safety configuration is understood as a package of safety functions. Ten comparisons have been carried out such as the evaluation of the safety benefit of a fifth star given that the car has four stars and an EBA. The main outcome of this analysis is that any addition of a passive or active safety function selected in this analysis is producing increased safety benefits. For example, if all cars were five stars fitted with EBA and ESC, instead of four stars without ESC and EBA, injury accidents would be reduced by 47.2% for severe injuries and 69.5% for fatal injuries. PMID:20184838

  9. 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

  10. Quantitative evolutionary design

    PubMed Central

    Diamond, Jared

    2002-01-01

    The field of quantitative evolutionary design uses evolutionary reasoning (in terms of natural selection and ultimate causation) to understand the magnitudes of biological reserve capacities, i.e. excesses of capacities over natural loads. Ratios of capacities to loads, defined as safety factors, fall in the range 1.2-10 for most engineered and biological components, even though engineered safety factors are specified intentionally by humans while biological safety factors arise through natural selection. Familiar examples of engineered safety factors include those of buildings, bridges and elevators (lifts), while biological examples include factors of bones and other structural elements, of enzymes and transporters, and of organ metabolic performances. Safety factors serve to minimize the overlap zone (resulting in performance failure) between the low tail of capacity distributions and the high tail of load distributions. Safety factors increase with coefficients of variation of load and capacity, with capacity deterioration with time, and with cost of failure, and decrease with costs of initial construction, maintenance, operation, and opportunity. Adaptive regulation of many biological systems involves capacity increases with increasing load; several quantitative examples suggest sublinear increases, such that safety factors decrease towards 1.0. Unsolved questions include safety factors of series systems, parallel or branched pathways, elements with multiple functions, enzyme reaction chains, and equilibrium enzymes. The modest sizes of safety factors imply the existence of costs that penalize excess capacities. Those costs are likely to involve wasted energy or space for large or expensive components, but opportunity costs of wasted space at the molecular level for minor components. PMID:12122135

  11. Improving Safety through Human Factors Engineering.

    PubMed

    Siewert, Bettina; Hochman, Mary G

    2015-10-01

    Human factors engineering (HFE) focuses on the design and analysis of interactive systems that involve people, technical equipment, and work environment. HFE is informed by knowledge of human characteristics. It complements existing patient safety efforts by specifically taking into consideration that, as humans, frontline staff will inevitably make mistakes. Therefore, the systems with which they interact should be designed for the anticipation and mitigation of human errors. The goal of HFE is to optimize the interaction of humans with their work environment and technical equipment to maximize safety and efficiency. Special safeguards include usability testing, standardization of processes, and use of checklists and forcing functions. However, the effectiveness of the safety program and resiliency of the organization depend on timely reporting of all safety events independent of patient harm, including perceived potential risks, bad outcomes that occur even when proper protocols have been followed, and episodes of "improvisation" when formal guidelines are found not to exist. Therefore, an institution must adopt a robust culture of safety, where the focus is shifted from blaming individuals for errors to preventing future errors, and where barriers to speaking up-including barriers introduced by steep authority gradients-are minimized. This requires creation of formal guidelines to address safety concerns, establishment of unified teams with open communication and shared responsibility for patient safety, and education of managers and senior physicians to perceive the reporting of safety concerns as a benefit rather than a threat. © RSNA, 2015.

  12. Collision Avoidance Functional Requirements for Step 1. Revision 6

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2006-01-01

    This Functional Requirements Document (FRD) describes the flow of requirements from the high level operational objectives down to the functional requirements specific to cooperative collision avoidance for high altitude, long endurance unmanned aircraft systems. These are further decomposed into performance and safety guidelines that are backed up by analysis or references to various documents or research findings. The FRD should be considered when establishing future policies, procedures, and standards pertaining to cooperative collision avoidance.

  13. Chemical research projects office functions accomplishments programs. [applied research in the fields of polymer chemistry and polymeric composites with emphasis on fire safety

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Heimbuch, A. H.; Parker, J. A.

    1975-01-01

    Basic and applied research in the fields of polymer chemistry, polymeric composites, chemical engineering, and biophysical chemistry is summarized. Emphasis is placed on fire safety and human survivability as they relate to commercial and military aircraft, high-rise buildings, mines and rapid transit transportation. Materials systems and other fire control systems developed for aerospace applications and applied to national domestic needs are described along with bench-scale and full-scale tests conducted to demonstrate the improvements in performance obtained through the utilization of these materials and fire control measures.

  14. Support of Helicopter 'Free Flight' Operations in the 1996 Olympics

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Branstetter, James R.; Cooper, Eric G.

    1996-01-01

    The microcosm of activity surrounding the 1996 Olympic Games provided researchers an opportunity for demonstrating state-of-the art technology in the first large-scale deployment of a prototype digital communication/navigation/surveillance system in a confined environment. At the same time it provided an ideal opportunity for transportation officials to showcase the merits of an integrated transportation system in meeting the operational needs to transport time sensitive goods and provide public safety services under real-world conditions. Five aeronautical CNS functions using a digital datalink system were chosen for operational flight testing onboard 91 aircraft, most of them helicopters, participating in the Atlanta Short-Haul Transportation System. These included: GPS-based Automatic Dependent Surveillance, Cockpit Display of Traffic Information, Controller-Pilot Communications, Graphical Weather Information (uplink), and Automated Electronic Pilot Reporting (downlink). Atlanta provided the first opportunity to demonstrate, in an actual operating environment, key datalink functions which would enhance flight safety and situational awareness for the pilot and supplement conventional air traffic control. The knowledge gained from such a large-scale deployment will help system designers in development of a national infrastructure where aircraft would have the ability to navigate autonomously.

  15. 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...

  16. Evaluation of earthquake and tsunami on JSFR

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

    Chikazawa, Y.; Enuma, Y.; Kisohara, N.

    2012-07-01

    Evaluation of earthquake and tsunami on JSFR has been analyzed. For seismic design, safety components are confirmed to maintain their functions even against recent strong earthquakes. As for Tsunami, some parts of reactor building might be submerged including component cooling water system whose final heat sink is sea water. However, in the JSFR design, safety grade components are independent from component cooling water system (CCWS). The JSFR emergency power supply adopts a gas turbine system with air cooling, since JSFR does not basically require quick start-up of the emergency power supply thanks to the natural convection DHRS. Even in casemore » of long station blackout, the DHRS could be activated by emergency batteries or manually and be operated continuously by natural convection. (authors)« less

  17. Development of an effective risk management system in a teaching hospital.

    PubMed

    Adibi, Hossein; Khalesi, Nader; Ravaghi, Hamid; Jafari, Mahdi; Jeddian, Ali Reza

    2012-09-21

    Unsafe health care provision is a main cause of increased mortality rate amongst hospitalized patients all over the world. A system approach to medical error and its reduction is crucial that is defined by clinical and administrative activities undertaken to identify, evaluate, and reduce the risk of injury. The aim of this study was to develop and implement a risk management system in a large teaching hospital in Iran, especially of the basis of WHO guidelines and patient safety context. WHO draft guideline and patient safety reports from different countries were reviewed for defining acceptable framework of risk management system. Also current situation of mentioned hospital in safety matter and dimensions of patient safety culture was evaluated using HSOPSC questionnaire of AHRQ. With adjustment of guidelines and hospital status, the conceptual framework was developed and next it was validated in expert panel. The members of expert panel were selected according to their role and functions and also their experiences in risk management and patient safety issues. The validated framework consisted of designating a leader and coordinator core, defining communications, and preparing the infrastructure for patient safety education and culture-building. That was developed on the basis of some values and commitments and included reactive and proactive approaches. The findings of reporting activities demonstrated that at least 3.6 percent of hospitalized patients have experienced adverse events and 5.3 percent of all deaths in the hospital related with patient safety problems. Beside the average score of 12 dimensions of patient safety culture was 46.2 percent that was considerably low. The "non-punitive responses to error" had lowest positive score with 21.2 percent. It is of paramount importance for all health organizations to lay necessary foundations in order to identify safety risks and improve the quality of care. Inadequate participation of staff in education, reporting and analyzing, underreporting and uselessness of aggregated data, limitation of human and financial resources, punitive directions and management challenges for solutions were the main executive problems which could affect the effectiveness of system.

  18. 10 CFR Appendix A to Part 851 - Worker Safety and Health Functional Areas

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Worker Safety and Health Functional Areas A Appendix A to Part 851 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY WORKER SAFETY AND HEALTH PROGRAM Pt. 851, App. A Appendix A to Part 851—Worker Safety and Health Functional Areas This appendix establishes the mandatory requirements...

  19. Application of Framework for Integrating Safety, Security and Safeguards (3Ss) into the Design Of Used Nuclear Fuel Storage Facility

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

    Badwan, Faris M.; Demuth, Scott F

    Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy, Fuel Cycle Research and Development develops options to the current commercial fuel cycle management strategy to enable the safe, secure, economic, and sustainable expansion of nuclear energy while minimizing proliferation risks by conducting research and development focused on used nuclear fuel recycling and waste management to meet U.S. needs. Used nuclear fuel is currently stored onsite in either wet pools or in dry storage systems, with disposal envisioned in interim storage facility and, ultimately, in a deep-mined geologic repository. The safe management and disposition of used nuclear fuel and/or nuclear waste is amore » fundamental aspect of any nuclear fuel cycle. Integrating safety, security, and safeguards (3Ss) fully in the early stages of the design process for a new nuclear facility has the potential to effectively minimize safety, proliferation, and security risks. The 3Ss integration framework could become the new national and international norm and the standard process for designing future nuclear facilities. The purpose of this report is to develop a framework for integrating the safety, security and safeguards concept into the design of Used Nuclear Fuel Storage Facility (UNFSF). The primary focus is on integration of safeguards and security into the UNFSF based on the existing Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approach to addressing the safety/security interface (10 CFR 73.58 and Regulatory Guide 5.73) for nuclear power plants. The methodology used for adaptation of the NRC safety/security interface will be used as the basis for development of the safeguards /security interface and later will be used as the basis for development of safety and safeguards interface. Then this will complete the integration cycle of safety, security, and safeguards. The overall methodology for integration of 3Ss will be proposed, but only the integration of safeguards and security will be applied to the design of the UNFSF. The framework for integration of safeguards and security into the UNFSF will include 1) identification of applicable regulatory requirements, 2) selection of a common system that share dual safeguard and security functions, 3) development of functional design criteria and design requirements for the selected system, 4) identification and integration of the dual safeguards and security design requirements, and 5) assessment of the integration and potential benefit.« less

  20. Space Station flight telerobotic servicer functional requirements development

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Oberright, John; Mccain, Harry; Whitman, Ruth I.

    1987-01-01

    The Space Station flight telerobotic servicer (FTS), a flight robotic system for use on the first Space Station launch, is described. The objectives of the FTS program include: (1) the provision of an alternative crew EVA by supporting the crew in assembly, maintenance, and servicing activities, and (2) the improvement of crew safety by performing hazardous tasks such as spacecraft refueling or thermal and power system maintenance. The NASA/NBS Standard Reference Model provides the generic, hierarchical, structured functional control definition for the system. It is capable of accommodating additional degrees of machine intelligence in the future.

  1. Handbook of clinical nursing practice

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

    Asheervath, J.; Blevins, D.R.

    Written in outline format, this reference will help nurses further their understanding of advanced nursing procedures. Information is provided on the physiological, psychological, environmental, and safety considerations of nursing activities associated with diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Special consideration is given to the areas of pediatric nursing, nursing assessment, and selected radiologic and nuclear medicine procedures for each system. Contents: Clinical Introduction. Clinical Nursing Practice: Focus on Basics. Focus on Cardiovascular Function. Focus on Respiratory Function. Focus on Gastrointestinal Function. Focus on Renal and Genito-Urological Function. Focus on Neuro-Skeletal and Muscular Function. Appendices.

  2. Analyzing Distributed Functions in an Integrated Hazard Analysis

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Morris, A. Terry; Massie, Michael J.

    2010-01-01

    Large scale integration of today's aerospace systems is achievable through the use of distributed systems. Validating the safety of distributed systems is significantly more difficult as compared to centralized systems because of the complexity of the interactions between simultaneously active components. Integrated hazard analysis (IHA), a process used to identify unacceptable risks and to provide a means of controlling them, can be applied to either centralized or distributed systems. IHA, though, must be tailored to fit the particular system being analyzed. Distributed systems, for instance, must be analyzed for hazards in terms of the functions that rely on them. This paper will describe systems-oriented IHA techniques (as opposed to traditional failure-event or reliability techniques) that should be employed for distributed systems in aerospace environments. Special considerations will be addressed when dealing with specific distributed systems such as active thermal control, electrical power, command and data handling, and software systems (including the interaction with fault management systems). Because of the significance of second-order effects in large scale distributed systems, the paper will also describe how to analyze secondary functions to secondary functions through the use of channelization.

  3. Investigation of the Performance of Safety Systems for Protection of the Elderly

    PubMed Central

    Augenstein, J.; Digges, K; Bahouth, G.; Dalmotas, D.; Perdeck, E.; Stratton, J.

    2005-01-01

    This study investigates injury occurrence for belted occupants as a function of age. An analysis of NASS/CDS 1997–2003 data was conducted to determine crash involvement rates and injury rates for front seat occupants versus mean occupant age. In frontal and near-side crashes, the average age of MAIS 3+ belted front seat occupants injured in crashes less severe than 15 mph is of the order of 50 years. The average age of the population exposed to crashes less severe than 15 mph is under 40 years old. The crash exposure and frequency if injuries to the elderly were both found to be the highest in low severity crashes. The chest is the most frequent body region injured for the elderly. These findings suggest the need for more benign safety systems to protect the elderly in low severity crashes. Design of safety systems for the elderly should give priority to reducing the chest loading in low severity frontal and near-side crashes. PMID:16179159

  4. The system of technical diagnostics of the industrial safety information network

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Repp, P. V.

    2017-01-01

    This research is devoted to problems of safety of the industrial information network. Basic sub-networks, ensuring reliable operation of the elements of the industrial Automatic Process Control System, were identified. The core tasks of technical diagnostics of industrial information safety were presented. The structure of the technical diagnostics system of the information safety was proposed. It includes two parts: a generator of cyber-attacks and the virtual model of the enterprise information network. The virtual model was obtained by scanning a real enterprise network. A new classification of cyber-attacks was proposed. This classification enables one to design an efficient generator of cyber-attacks sets for testing the virtual modes of the industrial information network. The numerical method of the Monte Carlo (with LPτ - sequences of Sobol), and Markov chain was considered as the design method for the cyber-attacks generation algorithm. The proposed system also includes a diagnostic analyzer, performing expert functions. As an integrative quantitative indicator of the network reliability the stability factor (Kstab) was selected. This factor is determined by the weight of sets of cyber-attacks, identifying the vulnerability of the network. The weight depends on the frequency and complexity of cyber-attacks, the degree of damage, complexity of remediation. The proposed Kstab is an effective integral quantitative measure of the information network reliability.

  5. Defining the methodological challenges and opportunities for an effective science of sociotechnical systems and safety

    PubMed Central

    Waterson, Patrick; Robertson, Michelle M.; Cooke, Nancy J.; Militello, Laura; Roth, Emilie; Stanton, Neville A.

    2015-01-01

    An important part of the application of sociotechnical systems theory (STS) is the development of methods, tools and techniques to assess human factors and ergonomics workplace requirements. We focus in this paper on describing and evaluating current STS methods for workplace safety, as well as outlining a set of six case studies covering the application of these methods to a range of safety contexts. We also describe an evaluation of the methods in terms of ratings of their ability to address a set of theoretical and practical questions (e.g. the degree to which methods capture static/dynamic aspects of tasks and interactions between system levels). The outcomes from the evaluation highlight a set of gaps relating to the coverage and applicability of current methods for STS and safety (e.g. coverage of external influences on system functioning; method usability). The final sections of the paper describe a set of future challenges, as well as some practical suggestions for tackling these. Practitioner Summary: We provide an up-to-date review of STS methods, a set of case studies illustrating their use and an evaluation of their strengths and weaknesses. The paper concludes with a ‘roadmap’ for future work. PMID:25832121

  6. Cardioband system as a treatment for functional mitral regurgitation.

    PubMed

    Ferrero Guadagnoli, Adolfo; De Carlo, Carlotta; Maisano, Francesco; Ho, Edwin; Saccocci, Matteo; Cuevas, Oscar; Luciani, Marco; Kuwata, Shingo; Nietlispach, Fabian; Taramasso, Maurizio

    2018-06-07

    Are the current data on the Cardioband in the clinical area enough to consider it a tool for mitral regurgitation treatment? Severe secondary mitral valve insufficiency frequently affects high-risk surgical patients. The Cardioband system is a novel percutaneous surgical-like device for direct annuloplasty. It is implanted into the beating heart by transvenous femoral access, with minimal impact on hemodynamic and cardiac function during implantation. So far, it has demonstrated safety and feasibility in high-risk patients with functional mitral regurgitation; it has imparted significant annular reduction and regurgitation improvements. In well-selected patients, it could be an option for mitral valve repair. Areas covered: This is a bibliographic review based on scientific publications and medical congress reports. It includes the most current information related to Cardioband in mitral regurgitation. Expert commentary: This novel, less-invasive and effective tool is an option for the open repair or replacement of the mitral valve in high-risk surgical patients. Although the current results of Cardioband are promising, more data and longer follow-up times are necessary to confirm its safety and efficacy and to evaluate the durability of the results.

  7. Response, Emergency Staging, Communications, Uniform Management, and Evacuation (R.E.S.C.U.M.E.) : report on functional and performance requirements, and high-level data and communication needs.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1995-06-01

    INTELLIGENT VEHICLE INITIATIVE OR IVI ABSTRACT THE GOAL OF THE TRAVTEK CAMERA CAR STUDY WAS TO FURNISH A DETAILED EVALUATION OF DRIVING AND NAVIGATION PERFORMANCE, SYSTEM USABILITY, AND SAFETY FOR THE TRAVTEK SYSTEM. TO ACHIEVE THIS GOAL, AN INSTRUME...

  8. Transportation safety data and analysis : Volume 2, Calibration of the highway safety manual and development of new safety performance functions.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2011-03-01

    This report documents the calibration of the Highway Safety Manual (HSM) safety performance function (SPF) : for rural two-lane two-way roadway segments in Utah and the development of new models using negative : binomial and hierarchical Bayesian mod...

  9. 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

  10. Model Based Mission Assurance: Emerging Opportunities for Robotic Systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Evans, John W.; DiVenti, Tony

    2016-01-01

    The emergence of Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) in a Model Based Engineering framework has created new opportunities to improve effectiveness and efficiencies across the assurance functions. The MBSE environment supports not only system architecture development, but provides for support of Systems Safety, Reliability and Risk Analysis concurrently in the same framework. Linking to detailed design will further improve assurance capabilities to support failures avoidance and mitigation in flight systems. This also is leading new assurance functions including model assurance and management of uncertainty in the modeling environment. Further, the assurance cases, a structured hierarchal argument or model, are emerging as a basis for supporting a comprehensive viewpoint in which to support Model Based Mission Assurance (MBMA).

  11. Extended GTST-MLD for aerospace system safety analysis.

    PubMed

    Guo, Chiming; Gong, Shiyu; Tan, Lin; Guo, Bo

    2012-06-01

    The hazards caused by complex interactions in the aerospace system have become a problem that urgently needs to be settled. This article introduces a method for aerospace system hazard interaction identification based on extended GTST-MLD (goal tree-success tree-master logic diagram) during the design stage. GTST-MLD is a functional modeling framework with a simple architecture. Ontology is used to extend the ability of system interaction description in GTST-MLD by adding the system design knowledge and the past accident experience. From the level of functionality and equipment, respectively, this approach can help the technician detect potential hazard interactions. Finally, a case is used to show the method. © 2011 Society for Risk Analysis.

  12. 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.

  13. Under the radar: community safety nets for AIDS-affected households in sub-Saharan Africa.

    PubMed

    Foster, G

    2007-01-01

    Safety nets are mechanisms to mitigate the effects of poverty on vulnerable households during times of stress. In sub-Saharan Africa, extended families, together with communities, are the most effective responses enabling access to support for households facing crises. This paper reviews literature on informal social security systems in sub-Saharan Africa, analyses changes taking place in their functioning as a result of HIV/AIDS and describes community safety net components including economic associations, cooperatives, loan providers, philanthropic groups and HIV/AIDS initiatives. Community safety nets target households in greatest need, respond rapidly to crises, are cost efficient, based on local needs and available resources, involve the specialized knowledge of community members and provide financial and psycho-social support. Their main limitations are lack of material resources and reliance on unpaid labour of women. Changes have taken place in safety net mechanisms because of HIV/AIDS, suggesting the resilience of communities rather than their impending collapse. Studies are lacking that assess the value of informal community-level transfers, describe how safety nets assist the poor or analyse modifications in response to HIV/AIDS. The role of community safety nets remains largely invisible under the radar of governments, non-governmental organizations and international bodies. External support can strengthen this system of informal social security that provides poor HIV/AIDS-affected households with significant support.

  14. Calculation of the state of safety (SOS) for lithium ion batteries

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cabrera-Castillo, Eliud; Niedermeier, Florian; Jossen, Andreas

    2016-08-01

    As lithium ion batteries are adopted in electric vehicles and stationary storage applications, the higher number of cells and greater energy densities increases the risks of possible catastrophic events. This paper shows a definition and method to calculate the state of safety of an energy storage system based on the concept that safety is inversely proportional to the concept of abuse. As the latter increases, the former decreases to zero. Previous descriptions in the literature are qualitative in nature but don't provide a numerical quantification of the safety of a storage system. In the case of battery testing standards, they only define pass or fail criteria. The proposed state uses the same range as other commonly used state quantities like the SOC, SOH, and SOF, taking values between 0, completely unsafe, and 1, completely safe. The developed function combines the effects of an arbitrary number of subfunctions, each of which describes a particular case of abuse, in one or more variables such as voltage, temperature, or mechanical deformation, which can be detected by sensors or estimated by other techniques. The state of safety definition can be made more general by adding new subfunctions, or by refining the existing ones.

  15. Information technology in pharmacovigilance: Benefits, challenges, and future directions from industry perspectives.

    PubMed

    Lu, Zhengwu

    2009-01-01

    Risk assessment during clinical product development needs to be conducted in a thorough and rigorous manner. However, it is impossible to identify all safety concerns during controlled clinical trials. Once a product is marketed, there is generally a large increase in the number of patients exposed, including those with comorbid conditions and those being treated with concomitant medications. Therefore, postmarketing safety data collection and clinical risk assessment based on observational data are critical for evaluating and characterizing a product's risk profile and for making informed decisions on risk minimization. Information science promises to deliver effective e-clinical or e-health solutions to realize several core benefits: time savings, high quality, cost reductions, and increased efficiencies with safer and more efficacious medicines. The development and use of standard-based pharmacovigilance system with integration connection to electronic medical records, electronic health records, and clinical data management system holds promise as a tool for enabling early drug safety detections, data mining, results interpretation, assisting in safety decision making, and clinical collaborations among clinical partners or different functional groups. The availability of a publicly accessible global safety database updated on a frequent basis would further enhance detection and communication about safety issues. Due to recent high-profile drug safety problems, the pharmaceutical industry is faced with greater regulatory enforcement and increased accountability demands for the protection and welfare of patients. This changing climate requires biopharmaceutical companies to take a more proactive approach in dealing with drug safety and pharmacovigilance.

  16. [Explore method about post-marketing safety re-evaluation of Chinese patent medicines based on HIS database in real world].

    PubMed

    Yang, Wei; Xie, Yanming; Zhuang, Yan

    2011-10-01

    There are many kinds of Chinese traditional patent medicine used in clinical practice and many adverse events have been reported by clinical professionals. Chinese patent medicine's safety problems are the most concerned by patients and physicians. At present, many researchers have studied re-evaluation methods about post marketing Chinese medicine safety inside and outside China. However, it is rare that using data from hospital information system (HIS) to re-evaluating post marketing Chinese traditional patent medicine safety problems. HIS database in real world is a good resource with rich information to research medicine safety. This study planed to analyze HIS data selected from ten top general hospitals in Beijing, formed a large HIS database in real world with a capacity of 1 000 000 cases in total after a series of data cleaning and integrating procedures. This study could be a new project that using information to evaluate traditional Chinese medicine safety based on HIS database. A clear protocol has been completed as for the first step for the whole study. The protocol is as follows. First of all, separate each of the Chinese traditional patent medicines existing in the total HIS database as a single database. Secondly, select some related laboratory tests indexes as the safety evaluating outcomes, such as routine blood, routine urine, feces routine, conventional coagulation, liver function, kidney function and other tests. Thirdly, use the data mining method to analyze those selected safety outcomes which had abnormal change before and after using Chinese patent medicines. Finally, judge the relationship between those abnormal changing and Chinese patent medicine. We hope this method could imply useful information to Chinese medicine researchers interested in safety evaluation of traditional Chinese medicine.

  17. Health, safety, and environmental management system operation in contracting companies: A case study.

    PubMed

    Nassiri, Parvin; Yarahmadi, Rasoul; Gholami, Pari Shafaei; Hamidi, Abdolamir; Mirkazemi, Roksana

    2016-05-03

    Systematic and cooperative interactions among parent industry and contractors are necessary for a successful health, safety, and environmental management system (HSE-MS). This study was conducted to evaluate the HSE-MS performance in contracting companies in one of the petrochemical industries in Iran during 2013. Managers of parent and contracting companies participated in this study. The data collection forms included 7 elements of an integrated HSE-MS (leadership and commitment; policy and strategic objectives; organization, resources, and documentation; evaluation and risk management; planning; implementation and monitoring; auditing and reviewing). The results showed that mean percentage of the total scores in seven elements of HSE-MS was 85.7% and 87.0% based on self-report and report of parent company, respectively. In conclusion, this study showed that HSE-MS was desirably functioning; however, improvement to ensure health and safety of workers is still required.

  18. ReactorHealth Physics operations at the NIST center for neutron research.

    PubMed

    Johnston, Thomas P

    2015-02-01

    Performing health physics and radiation safety functions under a special nuclear material license and a research and test reactor license at a major government research and development laboratory encompasses many elements not encountered by industrial, general, or broad scope licenses. This article reviews elements of the health physics and radiation safety program at the NIST Center for Neutron Research, including the early history and discovery of the neutron, applications of neutron research, reactor overview, safety and security of radiation sources and radioactive material, and general health physics procedures. These comprise precautions and control of tritium, training program, neutron beam sample processing, laboratory audits, inventory and leak tests, meter calibration, repair and evaluation, radioactive waste management, and emergency response. In addition, the radiation monitoring systems will be reviewed including confinement building monitoring, ventilation filter radiation monitors, secondary coolant monitors, gaseous fission product monitors, gas monitors, ventilation tritium monitor, and the plant effluent monitor systems.

  19. Identification of Patient Safety Risks Associated with Electronic Health Records: A Software Quality Perspective.

    PubMed

    Virginio, Luiz A; Ricarte, Ivan Luiz Marques

    2015-01-01

    Although Electronic Health Records (EHR) can offer benefits to the health care process, there is a growing body of evidence that these systems can also incur risks to patient safety when developed or used improperly. This work is a literature review to identify these risks from a software quality perspective. Therefore, the risks were classified based on the ISO/IEC 25010 software quality model. The risks identified were related mainly to the characteristics of "functional suitability" (i.e., software bugs) and "usability" (i.e., interface prone to user error). This work elucidates the fact that EHR quality problems can adversely affect patient safety, resulting in errors such as incorrect patient identification, incorrect calculation of medication dosages, and lack of access to patient data. Therefore, the risks presented here provide the basis for developers and EHR regulating bodies to pay attention to the quality aspects of these systems that can result in patient harm.

  20. Failure Modes Effects and Criticality Analysis, an Underutilized Safety, Reliability, Project Management and Systems Engineering Tool

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mullin, Daniel Richard

    2013-09-01

    The majority of space programs whether manned or unmanned for science or exploration require that a Failure Modes Effects and Criticality Analysis (FMECA) be performed as part of their safety and reliability activities. This comes as no surprise given that FMECAs have been an integral part of the reliability engineer's toolkit since the 1950s. The reasons for performing a FMECA are well known including fleshing out system single point failures, system hazards and critical components and functions. However, in the author's ten years' experience as a space systems safety and reliability engineer, findings demonstrate that the FMECA is often performed as an afterthought, simply to meet contract deliverable requirements and is often started long after the system requirements allocation and preliminary design have been completed. There are also important qualitative and quantitative components often missing which can provide useful data to all of project stakeholders. These include; probability of occurrence, probability of detection, time to effect and time to detect and, finally, the Risk Priority Number. This is unfortunate as the FMECA is a powerful system design tool that when used effectively, can help optimize system function while minimizing the risk of failure. When performed as early as possible in conjunction with writing the top level system requirements, the FMECA can provide instant feedback on the viability of the requirements while providing a valuable sanity check early in the design process. It can indicate which areas of the system will require redundancy and which areas are inherently the most risky from the onset. Based on historical and practical examples, it is this author's contention that FMECAs are an immense source of important information for all involved stakeholders in a given project and can provide several benefits including, efficient project management with respect to cost and schedule, system engineering and requirements management, assembly integration and test (AI&T) and operations if applied early, performed to completion and updated along with system design.

  1. Multi-objective decoupling algorithm for active distance control of intelligent hybrid electric vehicle

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Luo, Yugong; Chen, Tao; Li, Keqiang

    2015-12-01

    The paper presents a novel active distance control strategy for intelligent hybrid electric vehicles (IHEV) with the purpose of guaranteeing an optimal performance in view of the driving functions, optimum safety, fuel economy and ride comfort. Considering the complexity of driving situations, the objects of safety and ride comfort are decoupled from that of fuel economy, and a hierarchical control architecture is adopted to improve the real-time performance and the adaptability. The hierarchical control structure consists of four layers: active distance control object determination, comprehensive driving and braking torque calculation, comprehensive torque distribution and torque coordination. The safety distance control and the emergency stop algorithms are designed to achieve the safety and ride comfort goals. The optimal rule-based energy management algorithm of the hybrid electric system is developed to improve the fuel economy. The torque coordination control strategy is proposed to regulate engine torque, motor torque and hydraulic braking torque to improve the ride comfort. This strategy is verified by simulation and experiment using a forward simulation platform and a prototype vehicle. The results show that the novel control strategy can achieve the integrated and coordinated control of its multiple subsystems, which guarantees top performance of the driving functions and optimum safety, fuel economy and ride comfort.

  2. Towards Measurement of Confidence in Safety Cases

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Denney, Ewen; Paim Ganesh J.; Habli, Ibrahim

    2011-01-01

    Arguments in safety cases are predominantly qualitative. This is partly attributed to the lack of sufficient design and operational data necessary to measure the achievement of high-dependability targets, particularly for safety-critical functions implemented in software. The subjective nature of many forms of evidence, such as expert judgment and process maturity, also contributes to the overwhelming dependence on qualitative arguments. However, where data for quantitative measurements is systematically collected, quantitative arguments provide far more benefits over qualitative arguments, in assessing confidence in the safety case. In this paper, we propose a basis for developing and evaluating integrated qualitative and quantitative safety arguments based on the Goal Structuring Notation (GSN) and Bayesian Networks (BN). The approach we propose identifies structures within GSN-based arguments where uncertainties can be quantified. BN are then used to provide a means to reason about confidence in a probabilistic way. We illustrate our approach using a fragment of a safety case for an unmanned aerial system and conclude with some preliminary observations

  3. Patient safety and health policy: a history and review.

    PubMed

    Small, Stephen D; Barach, Paul

    2002-12-01

    Policy initiatives on many fronts have converged to improve patient safety. A major tension that characterizes this process is the attempt to achieve a balance between learning and control in complex systems with technical, social, and organizational components. Efforts to improve learning are marked by better information flow, discovery, flexibility in thinking, embracing of failures as learning opportunities, and core incentives to promote voluntary participation of all stakeholders in the process. Efforts to improve accountability are traditionally marked by public disclosure, meeting of certain widely disseminated standards, availability of performance measures, exposure to legal liability, and compliance with mandated directives (statutes, regulations, accreditation requirements). In some sense, these directions are mutually exclusive. Although a more collaborative regulatory-improvement model would be helpful in creating an industrywide safety culture, it is likely that learning and accountability functions will follow separate tracks. An exception would be policy that stimulates organizations to comply with regulation by showing how well and by what methods they are learning and how others can profit from these experiences. Any approach to improving patient safety should, at a minimum, include a nonpunitive in-depth mechanism for reporting incidents, postincident evaluations for identification of system changes to prevent subsequent occurrences, and state-guaranteed legislative protection from discovery for all aspects of information gathered to improve patient safety. Nonpunitive approaches have yielded useful results in other industries [43]. State and federal courts, state licensing boards, and accrediting bodies such as JCAHO all function to maintain accountability and standards; however, the very fear of existing legal liability or its misapplication are the greatest hurdles to pioneering patient-safety efforts. The health care system needs to transform the existing culture of blame and punishment that suppresses information about errors and adverse events into a culture of safety that focuses on openness and information sharing to improve health care and prevent adverse outcomes. Education and leadership will be most important to creating and sustaining a strong safety culture and arguably the most important defense against preventable harms. Safety culture cannot be legislated, just as the old adage states that it is easier to pull rather than push a piece of spaghetti. Given the imbalances and inefficiencies of market forces in health care, perverse incentives that have strengthened resistance to change, and secrecy when it comes to adverse event information, however, it is likely that policy initiatives will continue to play an important role in the transformation of the industry to more highly reliable, safer levels of care.

  4. A Model-Based Approach to Support Validation of Medical Cyber-Physical Systems.

    PubMed

    Silva, Lenardo C; Almeida, Hyggo O; Perkusich, Angelo; Perkusich, Mirko

    2015-10-30

    Medical Cyber-Physical Systems (MCPS) are context-aware, life-critical systems with patient safety as the main concern, demanding rigorous processes for validation to guarantee user requirement compliance and specification-oriented correctness. In this article, we propose a model-based approach for early validation of MCPS, focusing on promoting reusability and productivity. It enables system developers to build MCPS formal models based on a library of patient and medical device models, and simulate the MCPS to identify undesirable behaviors at design time. Our approach has been applied to three different clinical scenarios to evaluate its reusability potential for different contexts. We have also validated our approach through an empirical evaluation with developers to assess productivity and reusability. Finally, our models have been formally verified considering functional and safety requirements and model coverage.

  5. A Model-Based Approach to Support Validation of Medical Cyber-Physical Systems

    PubMed Central

    Silva, Lenardo C.; Almeida, Hyggo O.; Perkusich, Angelo; Perkusich, Mirko

    2015-01-01

    Medical Cyber-Physical Systems (MCPS) are context-aware, life-critical systems with patient safety as the main concern, demanding rigorous processes for validation to guarantee user requirement compliance and specification-oriented correctness. In this article, we propose a model-based approach for early validation of MCPS, focusing on promoting reusability and productivity. It enables system developers to build MCPS formal models based on a library of patient and medical device models, and simulate the MCPS to identify undesirable behaviors at design time. Our approach has been applied to three different clinical scenarios to evaluate its reusability potential for different contexts. We have also validated our approach through an empirical evaluation with developers to assess productivity and reusability. Finally, our models have been formally verified considering functional and safety requirements and model coverage. PMID:26528982

  6. Civil Uses of Remotely Piloted Aircraft

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Aderhold, J. R.; Gordon, G.; Scott, G. W.

    1976-01-01

    The technology effort is identified and assessed that is required to bring the civil uses of RPVs to fruition and to determine whether or not the potential market is real and economically practical, the technologies are within reach, the operational problems are manageable, and the benefits are worth the cost. To do so, the economic, technical, and environmental implications are examined. The time frame is 1980-85. Representative uses are selected; detailed functional and performance requirements are derived for RPV systems; and conceptual system designs are devised. Total system cost comparisons are made with non-RPV alternatives. The potential market demand for RPV systems is estimated. Environmental and safety requirements are examined, and legal and regulatory concerns are identified. A potential demand for 2,000-11,000 RPV systems is estimated. Typical cost savings of 25-35% compared to non-RPV alternatives are determined. There appear to be no environmental problems, and the safety issue appears manageable.

  7. The adaptive safety analysis and monitoring system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tu, Haiying; Allanach, Jeffrey; Singh, Satnam; Pattipati, Krishna R.; Willett, Peter

    2004-09-01

    The Adaptive Safety Analysis and Monitoring (ASAM) system is a hybrid model-based software tool for assisting intelligence analysts to identify terrorist threats, to predict possible evolution of the terrorist activities, and to suggest strategies for countering terrorism. The ASAM system provides a distributed processing structure for gathering, sharing, understanding, and using information to assess and predict terrorist network states. In combination with counter-terrorist network models, it can also suggest feasible actions to inhibit potential terrorist threats. In this paper, we will introduce the architecture of the ASAM system, and discuss the hybrid modeling approach embedded in it, viz., Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) to detect and provide soft evidence on the states of terrorist network nodes based on partial and imperfect observations, and Bayesian networks (BNs) to integrate soft evidence from multiple HMMs. The functionality of the ASAM system is illustrated by way of application to the Indian Airlines Hijacking, as modeled from open sources.

  8. Authorization basis supporting documentation for plutonium finishing plant

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

    King, J.P., Fluor Daniel Hanford

    1997-03-05

    The identification and definition of the authorization basis for the Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP) facility and operations are essential for compliance to DOE Order 5480.21, Unreviewed Safety Questions. The authorization basis, as defined in the Order, consists of those aspects of the facility design basis, i.e., the structures, systems and components (SSCS) and the operational requirements that are considered to be important to the safety of operations and are relied upon by DOE to authorize operation of the facility. These facility design features and their function in various accident scenarios are described in WHC-SD-CP-SAR-021, Plutonium Finishing Plant Final Safety Analysismore » Report (FSAR), Chapter 9, `Accident Analysis.` Figure 1 depicts the relationship of the Authorization Basis to its components and other information contained in safety documentation supporting the Authorization Basis. The PFP SSCs that are important to safety, collectively referred to as the `Safety Envelope` are discussed in various chapters of the FSAR and in WHC-SD-CP-OSR-010, Plutonium Finishing Plant Operational Safety Requirements. Other documents such as Criticality Safety Evaluation Reports (CSERS) address and support some portions of the Authorization Basis and Safety Envelope.« less

  9. A Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulation Platform for the Verification and Validation of Safety Control Systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rankin, Drew J.; Jiang, Jin

    2011-04-01

    Verification and validation (V&V) of safety control system quality and performance is required prior to installing control system hardware within nuclear power plants (NPPs). Thus, the objective of the hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) platform introduced in this paper is to verify the functionality of these safety control systems. The developed platform provides a flexible simulated testing environment which enables synchronized coupling between the real and simulated world. Within the platform, National Instruments (NI) data acquisition (DAQ) hardware provides an interface between a programmable electronic system under test (SUT) and a simulation computer. Further, NI LabVIEW resides on this remote DAQ workstation for signal conversion and routing between Ethernet and standard industrial signals as well as for user interface. The platform is applied to the testing of a simplified implementation of Canadian Deuterium Uranium (CANDU) shutdown system no. 1 (SDS1) which monitors only the steam generator level of the simulated NPP. CANDU NPP simulation is performed on a Darlington NPP desktop training simulator provided by Ontario Power Generation (OPG). Simplified SDS1 logic is implemented on an Invensys Tricon v9 programmable logic controller (PLC) to test the performance of both the safety controller and the implemented logic. Prior to HIL simulation, platform availability of over 95% is achieved for the configuration used during the V&V of the PLC. Comparison of HIL simulation results to benchmark simulations shows good operational performance of the PLC following a postulated initiating event (PIE).

  10. Vehicle Integrated Prognostic Reasoner (VIPR) 2010 Annual Final Report

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hadden, George D.; Mylaraswamy, Dinkar; Schimmel, Craig; Biswas, Gautam; Koutsoukos, Xenofon; Mack, Daniel

    2011-01-01

    Honeywell's Central Maintenance Computer Function (CMCF) and Aircraft Condition Monitoring Function (ACMF) represent the state-of-the art in integrated vehicle health management (IVHM). Underlying these technologies is a fault propagation modeling system that provides nose-to-tail coverage and root cause diagnostics. The Vehicle Integrated Prognostic Reasoner (VIPR) extends this technology to interpret evidence generated by advanced diagnostic and prognostic monitors provided by component suppliers to detect, isolate, and predict adverse events that affect flight safety. This report describes year one work that included defining the architecture and communication protocols and establishing the user requirements for such a system. Based on these and a set of ConOps scenarios, we designed and implemented a demonstration of communication pathways and associated three-tiered health management architecture. A series of scripted scenarios showed how VIPR would detect adverse events before they escalate as safety incidents through a combination of advanced reasoning and additional aircraft data collected from an aircraft condition monitoring system. Demonstrating VIPR capability for cases recorded in the ASIAS database and cross linking them with historical aircraft data is planned for year two.

  11. The SAFER guides: empowering organizations to improve the safety and effectiveness of electronic health records.

    PubMed

    Sittig, Dean F; Ash, Joan S; Singh, Hardeep

    2014-05-01

    Electronic health records (EHRs) have potential to improve quality and safety of healthcare. However, EHR users have experienced safety concerns from EHR design and usability features that are not optimally adapted for the complex work flow of real-world practice. Few strategies exist to address unintended consequences from implementation of EHRs and other health information technologies. We propose that organizations equipped with EHRs should consider the strategy of "proactive risk assessment" of their EHR-enabled healthcare system to identify and address EHR-related safety concerns. In this paper, we describe the conceptual underpinning of an EHR-related self-assessment strategy to provide institutions a foundation upon which they could build their safety efforts. With support from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), we used a rigorous, iterative process to develop a set of 9 self-assessment tools to optimize the safety and safe use of EHRs. These tools, referred to as the Safety Assurance Factors for EHR Resilience (SAFER) guides, could be used to self-assess safety and effectiveness of EHR implementations, identify specific areas of vulnerability, and create solutions and culture change to mitigate risks. A variety of audiences could conduct these assessments, including frontline clinicians or care teams in different practices, or clinical, quality, or administrative leaders within larger institutions. The guides use a multifaceted systems-based approach to assess risk and empower organizations to work with internal or external stakeholders (eg, EHR developers) on optimizing EHR functionality and using EHRs to drive improvements in the quality and safety of healthcare.

  12. Asymptotic safety of higher derivative quantum gravity non-minimally coupled with a matter system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hamada, Yuta; Yamada, Masatoshi

    2017-08-01

    We study asymptotic safety of models of the higher derivative quantum gravity with and without matter. The beta functions are derived by utilizing the functional renormalization group, and non-trivial fixed points are found. It turns out that all couplings in gravity sector, namely the cosmological constant, the Newton constant, and the R 2 and R μν 2 coupling constants, are relevant in case of higher derivative pure gravity. For the Higgs-Yukawa model non-minimal coupled with higher derivative gravity, we find a stable fixed point at which the scalar-quartic and the Yukawa coupling constants become relevant. The relevant Yukawa coupling is crucial to realize the finite value of the Yukawa coupling constants in the standard model.

  13. Aviation behavioral technology program cockpit human factors research plan

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1985-01-15

    The safety, reliability, and efficiency of the National Airspace System depend : upon the men and women who operate and use it. Aviation human factors : research is the study of how these people function in the performance of their : jobs as pilots, ...

  14. Aviation Behavioral Technology Program: Cockpit Human Factors Research Plan

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1985-01-15

    The safety, reliability, and efficiency of the National Airspace System depend upon the men and women who operate and use it. Aviation human factors research is the study of how these people function in the performance of their jobs as pilots, cont...

  15. Review of Occupational Health and Safety Organization in Expanding Economies: The Case of Southern Africa.

    PubMed

    Moyo, Dingani; Zungu, Muzimkhulu; Kgalamono, Spoponki; Mwila, Chimba D

    2015-01-01

    Globally, access to occupational health and safety (OHS) by workers has remained at very low levels. The organization and implementation of OHS in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Botswana has remained at suboptimal levels. Inadequacy of human resource capital, training, and education in the field of OHS has had a major negative impact on the improvement of worker access to such services in expanding economies. South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Botswana have expanding economies with active mining and agricultural activities that pose health and safety risks to the working population. A literature review and country systems inquiry on the organization of OHS services in the 4 countries was carried out. Because of the infancy and underdevelopment of OHS in southern Africa, literature on the status of this topic is limited. In the 4 countries under review, OHS services are a function shared either wholly or partially by 3 ministries, namely Health, Labor, and Mining. Other ministries, such as Environment and Agriculture, carry small fragments of OHS function. The 4 countries are at different stages of OHS legislative frameworks that guide the practice of health and safety in the workplace. Inadequacies in human resource capital and expertise in occupational health and safety are noted major constraints in the implementation and compliance to health and safety initiatives in the work place. South Africa has a more mature system than Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Botswana. Lack of specialized training in occupational health services, such as occupational medicine specialization for physicians, has been a major drawback in Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Botswana. The full adoption and success of OHS systems in Southern Africa remains constrained. Training and education in OHS, especially in occupational medicine, will enhance the development and maturation of occupational health in southern Africa. Capacitating primary health services with basic occupational health knowledge would be invaluable in bridging the current skills deficit. Introducing short courses and foundational tracks in occupational medicine for general medical practitioners would be invaluable. Copyright © 2015 Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Structural analysis of a rehabilitative training system based on a ceiling rail for safety of hemiplegia patients.

    PubMed

    Kim, Kyong; Song, Won Kyung; Chong, Woo Suk; Yu, Chang Ho

    2018-04-17

    The body-weight support (BWS) function, which helps to decrease load stresses on a user, is an effective tool for gait and balance rehabilitation training for elderly people with weakened lower-extremity muscular strength, hemiplegic patients, etc. This study conducts structural analysis to secure user safety in order to develop a rail-type gait and balance rehabilitation training system (RRTS). The RRTS comprises a rail, trolley, and brain-machine interface. The rail (platform) is connected to the ceiling structure, bearing the loads of the RRTS and of the user and allowing locomobility. The trolley consists of a smart drive unit (SDU) that assists the user with forward and backward mobility and a body-weight support (BWS) unit that helps the user to control his/her body-weight load, depending on the severity of his/her hemiplegia. The brain-machine interface estimates and measures on a real-time basis the body-weight (load) of the user and the intended direction of his/her movement. Considering the weight of the system and the user, the mechanical safety performance of the system frame under an applied 250-kg static load is verified through structural analysis using ABAQUS (6.14-3) software. The maximum stresses applied on the rail and trolley under the given gravity load of 250 kg, respectively, are 18.52 MPa and 48.44 MPa. The respective safety factors are computed to be 7.83 and 5.26, confirming the RRTS's mechanical safety. An RRTS with verified structural safety could be utilized for gait movement and balance rehabilitation and training for patients with hemiplegia.

  17. Simulation analysis of adaptive cruise prediction control

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Li; Cui, Sheng Min

    2017-09-01

    Predictive control is suitable for multi-variable and multi-constraint system control.In order to discuss the effect of predictive control on the vehicle longitudinal motion, this paper establishes the expected spacing model by combining variable pitch spacing and the of safety distance strategy. The model predictive control theory and the optimization method based on secondary planning are designed to obtain and track the best expected acceleration trajectory quickly. Simulation models are established including predictive and adaptive fuzzy control. Simulation results show that predictive control can realize the basic function of the system while ensuring the safety. The application of predictive and fuzzy adaptive algorithm in cruise condition indicates that the predictive control effect is better.

  18. Patient and nurse safety: how information technology makes a difference.

    PubMed

    Simpson, Roy L

    2005-01-01

    The Institute of Medicine's landmark report asserted medical error is seldom the fault of individuals, but the result of faulty healthcare policy/procedure systems. Numerous studies have shown that information technology can shore up weak systems. For nursing, information technology plays a key role in protecting patients by eliminating nursing mistakes and protecting nurses by reducing their negative exposure. However, managing information technology is a function of managing the people who use it. This article examines critical issues that impact patient and nurse safety, both physical and professional. It discusses the importance of eliminating the culture of blame, the requirements of process change, how to implement technology in harmony with the organization and the significance of vision.

  19. Development of Flight Safety Prediction Methodology for U. S. Naval Safety Center. Revision 1

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1970-02-01

    Safety Center. The methodology develoned encompassed functional analysis of the F-4J aircraft, assessment of the importance of safety- sensitive ... Sensitivity ... ....... . 4-8 V 4.5 Model Implementation ........ ......... . 4-10 4.5.1 Functional Analysis ..... ........... . 4-11 4. 5. 2 Major...Function Sensitivity Assignment ........ ... 4-13 i 4.5.3 Link Dependency Assignment ... ......... . 4-14 4.5.4 Computer Program for Sensitivity

  20. The roles and functions of safety professionals in Taiwan: Comparing the perceptions of safety professionals and safety educators.

    PubMed

    Wu, Tsung-Chih

    2011-10-01

    The perspectives of both internal and external members have to be considered when developing safety curricula. This study discusses perceptional differences between safety educators (SEs) and safety professionals (SPs) regarding the function of SPs. The findings will serve as a reference framework for the establishment of core safety competencies and the development of safety curricula for SPs. 248 respondents, including both SEs and SPs, completed self-administered questionnaires, which included the 45-item safety function scale (SFS). Nine factors were extracted from the scale using exploratory factor analysis (EFA), namely inspection and research, regulatory tasks, emergency procedures and settlement of damage, management and financial affairs, culture change, problem identification and analysis, developing and implementing solutions, knowledge management, and training and communications. Descriptive statistical results indicated that SPs and SEs hold differing views on the rank of the frequency of safety functions. MANOVA results indicated that SPs' perceptions of developing and implementing solutions, training and communications, inspection and research, and management and financial affairs were significantly higher than that of SEs. On the other hand, SE's perceptions regarding participation in regulatory tasks were significantly higher than those of SPs. Based on these results, the author suggests that a clear communication channel should be established between universities and industry to reduce the gap between the perceptions of SEs and SPs. The results of the study are statistically and practically significant. In addition to serving as a reference for the development of safety curricula, the results are also conducive to the establishment of SP roles and functions. Ultimately the development of more suitable safety curricula would open up employment competition for students who graduate from safety-related programs. SPs, on the other hand, can correctly recognize their roles and functions so as to realize the safety expectations invested in them by organizations. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Expanding AirSTAR Capability for Flight Research in an Existing Avionics Design

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Laughter, Sean A.

    2012-01-01

    The NASA Airborne Subscale Transport Aircraft Research (AirSTAR) project is an Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) test bed for experimental flight control laws and vehicle dynamics research. During its development, the test bed has gone through a number of system permutations, each meant to add functionality to the concept of operations of the system. This enabled the build-up of not only the system itself, but also the support infrastructure and processes necessary to support flight operations. These permutations were grouped into project phases and the move from Phase-III to Phase-IV was marked by a significant increase in research capability and necessary safety systems due to the integration of an Internal Pilot into the control system chain already established for the External Pilot. The major system changes in Phase-IV operations necessitated a new safety and failsafe system to properly integrate both the Internal and External Pilots and to meet acceptable project safety margins. This work involved retrofitting an existing data system into the evolved concept of operations. Moving from the first Phase-IV aircraft to the dynamically scaled aircraft further involved restructuring the system to better guard against electromagnetic interference (EMI), and the entire avionics wiring harness was redesigned in order to facilitate better maintenance and access to onboard electronics. This retrofit and harness re-design will be explored and how it integrates with the evolved Phase-IV operations.

  2. A system dynamics approach for modeling construction workers' safety attitudes and behaviors.

    PubMed

    Shin, Mingyu; Lee, Hyun-Soo; Park, Moonseo; Moon, Myunggi; Han, Sangwon

    2014-07-01

    Construction accidents are caused by an unsafe act (i.e., a person's behavior or activity that deviates from normal accepted safe procedure) and/or an unsafe condition (i.e., a hazard or an unsafe mechanical or physical environment). While there has been dramatic improvement in creating safer construction environments, relatively little is known regarding the elimination of construction workers' unsafe acts. To address this deficiency, this paper aims to develop a system dynamics (SD)-based model of construction workers' mental processes that can help analyze the feedback mechanisms and the resultant dynamics regarding the workers' safety attitudes and safe behaviors. The developed model is applied to examine the effectiveness of three safety improvement policies: incentives for safe behaviors, and increased levels of communication and immersion in accidents. Application of the model verifies the strong potential of the developed model to provide a better understanding of how to eliminate unsafe acts, and to function as a robust test-bed to assess the effectiveness of safety programs or training sessions before their implementation. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. An immunologically relevant rodent model demonstrates safety of therapy using a tumour-specific IgE.

    PubMed

    Josephs, Debra H; Nakamura, Mano; Bax, Heather J; Dodev, Tihomir S; Muirhead, Gareth; Saul, Louise; Karagiannis, Panagiotis; Ilieva, Kristina M; Crescioli, Silvia; Gazinska, Patrycja; Woodman, Natalie; Lomardelli, Cristina; Kareemaghay, Sedigeh; Selkirk, Christopher; Lentfer, Heike; Barton, Claire; Canevari, Silvana; Figini, Mariangela; Downes, Noel; Dombrowicz, David; Corrigan, Christopher J; Nestle, Frank O; Jones, Paul S; Gould, Hannah J; Blower, Philip J; Tsoka, Sophia; Spicer, James F; Karagiannis, Sophia N

    2018-04-13

    Designing biologically informative models for assessing the safety of novel agents, especially for cancer immunotherapy, carries substantial challenges. The choice of an in vivo system for studies on IgE antibodies represents a major impediment to their clinical translation, especially with respect to class-specific immunological functions and safety. Fcε receptor expression and structure are different in humans and mice, so that the murine system is not informative when studying human IgE biology. By contrast, FcεRI expression and cellular distribution in rats mirrors that of humans. We are developing MOv18 IgE, a human chimeric antibody recognizing the tumour-associated antigen folate receptor alpha. We created an immunologically congruent surrogate rat model likely to recapitulate human IgE-FcεR interactions, and engineered a surrogate rat IgE equivalent to MOv18. Employing this model, we examined in vivo safety and efficacy of anti-tumour IgE antibodies. In immunocompetent rats, rodent IgE restricted growth of syngeneic tumours in the absence of clinical, histopathological or metabolic signs associated with obvious toxicity. No physiological or immunological evidence of a 'cytokine-storm' or allergic response was seen, even at 50 mg/kg weekly doses. IgE treatment was associated with elevated serum concentrations of TNFα, a mediator previously linked with IgE-mediated anti-tumour and anti-parasitic functions, alongside evidence of substantially elevated tumoural immune cell infiltration and immunological pathway activation in tumour-bearing lungs. Our findings indicate safety of MOv18 IgE, in conjunction with efficacy and immune activation, supporting the translation of this therapeutic approach to the clinical arena. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

  4. Verification and Validation Challenges for Adaptive Flight Control of Complex Autonomous Systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Nguyen, Nhan T.

    2018-01-01

    Autonomy of aerospace systems requires the ability for flight control systems to be able to adapt to complex uncertain dynamic environment. In spite of the five decades of research in adaptive control, the fact still remains that currently no adaptive control system has ever been deployed on any safety-critical or human-rated production systems such as passenger transport aircraft. The problem lies in the difficulty with the certification of adaptive control systems since existing certification methods cannot readily be used for nonlinear adaptive control systems. Research to address the notion of metrics for adaptive control began to appear in the recent years. These metrics, if accepted, could pave a path towards certification that would potentially lead to the adoption of adaptive control as a future control technology for safety-critical and human-rated production systems. Development of certifiable adaptive control systems represents a major challenge to overcome. Adaptive control systems with learning algorithms will never become part of the future unless it can be proven that they are highly safe and reliable. Rigorous methods for adaptive control software verification and validation must therefore be developed to ensure that adaptive control system software failures will not occur, to verify that the adaptive control system functions as required, to eliminate unintended functionality, and to demonstrate that certification requirements imposed by regulatory bodies such as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) can be satisfied. This presentation will discuss some of the technical issues with adaptive flight control and related V&V challenges.

  5. Integrated Application of Active Controls (IAAC) technology to an advanced subsonic transport project. ACT/Control/Guidance System study, volume 1

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1982-01-01

    The active control technology (ACT) control/guidance system task of the integrated application of active controls (IAAC) technology project within the NASA energy efficient transport program was documented. The air traffic environment of navigation and air traffic control systems and procedures were extrapolated. An approach to listing flight functions which will be performed by systems and crew of an ACT configured airplane of the 1990s, and a determination of function criticalities to safety of flight, are the basis of candidate integrated ACT/Control/Guidance System architecture. The system mechanizes five active control functions: pitch augmented stability, angle of attack limiting, lateral/directional augmented stability, gust load alleviation, and maneuver load control. The scope and requirements of a program for simulating the integrated ACT avionics and flight deck system, with pilot in the loop, are defined, system and crew interface elements are simulated, and mechanization is recommended. Relationships between system design and crew roles and procedures are evaluated.

  6. Efficacies of roadway safety improvements across functional subclasses of rural two-lane highways.

    PubMed

    Labi, Samuel

    2011-08-01

    Highway crash occurrence is a leading cause of unnatural deaths, and highway agencies continually seek to identify engineering measures to reduce crashes and to assess the efficacy of such measures. Most past studies on the effectiveness of roadway improvements in terms of crash reduction considered all rural two-lane sections as a single category of roads. However, it may be hypothesized that the differences in the mobility and accessibility characteristics that are reflected in (and due to) the different design standards between different functional subclasses in the rural two-lane highway system can lead to differences in efficacies of safety improvements at these subclasses. This paper investigates the efficacy of roadway improvements, in terms of crash reduction, at the various subclasses of rural two-lane highways. An empirical analysis of safety performance at each of the three subclasses of rural two-lane highways was carried out using the negative binomial modeling technique. For each subclass, crash prediction models were developed separately for the three levels of crash severity: property-damage only, injury, and fatal/injury. The crash factors that were considered include lane width, shoulder width, pavement surface friction, pavement condition, and horizontal and vertical alignments. After having developed the safety performance functions, the effectiveness (in terms of the extent of crash reduction, for different levels of crash severity) of highway safety enhancements at each highway subclass were determined using the theoretical concepts established in past literature. These enhancements include widening lanes, widening shoulders, enhancing pavement surface friction, and improving the vertical or horizontal alignment. The study found that there is empirical evidence to justify the decomposition of the family of rural two-lane roads into its constituent subclasses for purposes of analyzing the effectiveness of safety enhancement projects and thus to avoid underestimation or overestimation of benefits of safety improvements at this class of highways. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. AP1000{sup R} nuclear power plant safety overview for spent fuel cooling

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

    Gorgemans, J.; Mulhollem, L.; Glavin, J.

    2012-07-01

    The AP1000{sup R} plant is an 1100-MWe class pressurized water reactor with passive safety features and extensive plant simplifications that enhance construction, operation, maintenance, safety and costs. The AP1000 design uses passive features to mitigate design basis accidents. The passive safety systems are designed to function without safety-grade support systems such as AC power, component cooling water, service water or HVAC. Furthermore, these passive features 'fail safe' during a non-LOCA event such that DC power and instrumentation are not required. The AP1000 also has simple, active, defense-in-depth systems to support normal plant operations. These active systems provide the first levelmore » of defense against more probable events and they provide investment protection, reduce the demands on the passive features and support the probabilistic risk assessment. The AP1000 passive safety approach allows the plant to achieve and maintain safe shutdown in case of an accident for 72 hours without operator action, meeting the expectations provided in the U.S. Utility Requirement Document and the European Utility Requirements for passive plants. Limited operator actions are required to maintain safe conditions in the spent fuel pool via passive means. In line with the AP1000 approach to safety described above, the AP1000 plant design features multiple, diverse lines of defense to ensure spent fuel cooling can be maintained for design-basis events and beyond design-basis accidents. During normal and abnormal conditions, defense-in-depth and other systems provide highly reliable spent fuel pool cooling. They rely on off-site AC power or the on-site standby diesel generators. For unlikely design basis events with an extended loss of AC power (i.e., station blackout) or loss of heat sink or both, spent fuel cooling can still be provided indefinitely: - Passive systems, requiring minimal or no operator actions, are sufficient for at least 72 hours under all possible pool heat load conditions. - After 3 days, several different means are provided to continue spent fuel cooling using installed plant equipment as well as off-site equipment with built-in connections. Even for beyond design basis accidents with postulated pool damage and multiple failures in the passive safety-related systems and in the defense-in-depth active systems, the AP1000 multiple spent fuel pool spray and fill systems provide additional lines of defense to prevent spent fuel damage. (authors)« less

  8. Next level of board accountability in health care quality.

    PubMed

    Pronovost, Peter J; Armstrong, C Michael; Demski, Renee; Peterson, Ronald R; Rothman, Paul B

    2018-03-19

    Purpose The purpose of this paper is to offer six principles that health system leaders can apply to establish a governance and management system for the quality of care and patient safety. Design/methodology/approach Leaders of a large academic health system set a goal of high reliability and formed a quality board committee in 2011 to oversee quality and patient safety everywhere care was delivered. Leaders of the health system and every entity, including inpatient hospitals, home care companies, and ambulatory services staff the committee. The committee works with the management for each entity to set and achieve quality goals. Through this work, the six principles emerged to address management structures and processes. Findings The principles are: ensure there is oversight for quality everywhere care is delivered under the health system; create a framework to organize and report the work; identify care areas where quality is ambiguous or underdeveloped (i.e. islands of quality) and work to ensure there is reporting and accountability for quality measures; create a consolidated quality statement similar to a financial statement; ensure the integrity of the data used to measure and report quality and safety performance; and transparently report performance and create an explicit accountability model. Originality/value This governance and management system for quality and safety functions similar to a finance system, with quality performance documented and reported, data integrity monitored, and accountability for performance from board to bedside. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first description of how a board has taken this type of systematic approach to oversee the quality of care.

  9. Safety of High Ground Transportation Systems - Human Factors Phase I: Function Analyses and Theoretical Considerations

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1994-10-01

    Although the speed of guided ground transportation continues to increase, the reaction : time as well as the sensory and information processing capacities of on- and off-board : operators remain constant. This report, the first of two examining criti...

  10. 10 CFR 54.4 - Scope.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... COMMISSION (CONTINUED) REQUIREMENTS FOR RENEWAL OF OPERATING LICENSES FOR NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS General Provisions § 54.4 Scope. (a) Plant systems, structures, and components within the scope of this part are— (1..., and components relied on in safety analyses or plant evaluations to perform a function that...

  11. 10 CFR 54.4 - Scope.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... COMMISSION (CONTINUED) REQUIREMENTS FOR RENEWAL OF OPERATING LICENSES FOR NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS General Provisions § 54.4 Scope. (a) Plant systems, structures, and components within the scope of this part are— (1..., and components relied on in safety analyses or plant evaluations to perform a function that...

  12. 10 CFR 54.4 - Scope.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... COMMISSION (CONTINUED) REQUIREMENTS FOR RENEWAL OF OPERATING LICENSES FOR NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS General Provisions § 54.4 Scope. (a) Plant systems, structures, and components within the scope of this part are— (1..., and components relied on in safety analyses or plant evaluations to perform a function that...

  13. 10 CFR 54.4 - Scope.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... COMMISSION (CONTINUED) REQUIREMENTS FOR RENEWAL OF OPERATING LICENSES FOR NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS General Provisions § 54.4 Scope. (a) Plant systems, structures, and components within the scope of this part are— (1..., and components relied on in safety analyses or plant evaluations to perform a function that...

  14. 10 CFR 54.4 - Scope.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... COMMISSION (CONTINUED) REQUIREMENTS FOR RENEWAL OF OPERATING LICENSES FOR NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS General Provisions § 54.4 Scope. (a) Plant systems, structures, and components within the scope of this part are— (1..., and components relied on in safety analyses or plant evaluations to perform a function that...

  15. The ICARE Method

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Henke, Luke

    2010-01-01

    The ICARE method is a flexible, widely applicable method for systems engineers to solve problems and resolve issues in a complete and comprehensive manner. The method can be tailored by diverse users for direct application to their function (e.g. system integrators, design engineers, technical discipline leads, analysts, etc.). The clever acronym, ICARE, instills the attitude of accountability, safety, technical rigor and engagement in the problem resolution: Identify, Communicate, Assess, Report, Execute (ICARE). This method was developed through observation of Space Shuttle Propulsion Systems Engineering and Integration (PSE&I) office personnel approach in an attempt to succinctly describe the actions of an effective systems engineer. Additionally it evolved from an effort to make a broadly-defined checklist for a PSE&I worker to perform their responsibilities in an iterative and recursive manner. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Systems Engineering Handbook states, engineering of NASA systems requires a systematic and disciplined set of processes that are applied recursively and iteratively for the design, development, operation, maintenance, and closeout of systems throughout the life cycle of the programs and projects. ICARE is a method that can be applied within the boundaries and requirements of NASA s systems engineering set of processes to provide an elevated sense of duty and responsibility to crew and vehicle safety. The importance of a disciplined set of processes and a safety-conscious mindset increases with the complexity of the system. Moreover, the larger the system and the larger the workforce, the more important it is to encourage the usage of the ICARE method as widely as possible. According to the NASA Systems Engineering Handbook, elements of a system can include people, hardware, software, facilities, policies and documents; all things required to produce system-level results, qualities, properties, characteristics, functions, behavior and performance. The ICARE method can be used to improve all elements of a system and, consequently, the system-level functional, physical and operational performance. Even though ICARE was specifically designed for a systems engineer, any person whose job is to examine another person, product, or process can use the ICARE method to improve effectiveness, implementation, usefulness, value, capability, efficiency, integration, design, and/or marketability. This paper provides the details of the ICARE method, emphasizing the method s application to systems engineering. In addition, a sample of other, non-systems engineering applications are briefly discussed to demonstrate how ICARE can be tailored to a variety of diverse jobs (from project management to parenting).

  16. Combination use of medicines from two classes of renin-angiotensin system blocking agents: risk of hyperkalemia, hypotension, and impaired renal function.

    PubMed

    Esteras, Raquel; Perez-Gomez, Maria Vanessa; Rodriguez-Osorio, Laura; Ortiz, Alberto; Fernandez-Fernandez, Beatriz

    2015-08-01

    European and United States regulatory agencies recently issued warnings against the use of dual renin-angiotensin system (RAS) blockade therapy through the combined use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs), angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) or aliskiren in any patient, based on absence of benefit for most patients and increased risk of hyperkalemia, hypotension, and renal failure. Special emphasis was made not to use these combinations in patients with diabetic nephropathy. The door was left open to therapy individualization, especially for patients with heart failure, when the combined use of an ARB and ACEI is considered absolutely essential, although renal function, electrolytes and blood pressure should be closely monitored. Mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists were not affected by this warning despite increased risk of hyperkalemia. We now critically review the risks associated with dual RAS blockade and answer the following questions: What safety issues are associated with dual RAS blockade? Can the safety record of dual RAS blockade be improved? Is it worth trying to improve the safety record of dual RAS blockade based on the potential benefits of the combination? Is dual RAS blockade dead? What is the role of mineralocorticoid antagonists in combination with other RAS blocking agents: RAAS blockade?

  17. Food safety concerns deriving from the use of silver based food packaging materials.

    PubMed

    Pezzuto, Alessandra; Losasso, Carmen; Mancin, Marzia; Gallocchio, Federica; Piovesana, Alessia; Binato, Giovanni; Gallina, Albino; Marangon, Alberto; Mioni, Renzo; Favretti, Michela; Ricci, Antonia

    2015-01-01

    The formulation of innovative packaging solutions, exerting a functional antimicrobial role in slowing down food spoilage, is expected to have a significant impact on the food industry, allowing both the maintenance of food safety criteria for longer periods and the reduction of food waste. Different materials are considered able to exert the required antimicrobial activity, among which are materials containing silver. However, challenges exist in the application of silver to food contact materials due to knowledge gaps in the production of ingredients, stability of delivery systems in food matrices and health risks caused by the same properties which also offer the benefits. Aims of the present study were to test the effectiveness and suitability of two packaging systems, one of which contained silver, for packaging and storing Stracchino cheese, a typical Italian fresh cheese, and to investigate if there was any potential for consumers to be exposed to silver, via migration from the packaging to the cheese. Results did not show any significant difference in the effectiveness of the packaging systems on packaged Stracchino cheese, excluding that the active packaging systems exerted an inhibitory effect on the growth of spoilage microorganisms. Moreover, silver migrated into the cheese matrix throughout the storage time (24 days). Silver levels in cheese finally exceeded the maximum established level for the migration of a non-authorised substance through a functional barrier (Commission of the European Communities, 2009). This result poses safety concerns and strongly suggests the need for more research aimed at better characterizing the new packaging materials in terms of their potential impacts on human health and the environment.

  18. Applicability of a Crack-Detection System for Use in Rotor Disk Spin Test Experiments Being Evaluated

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Abdul-Aziz, Ali; Baaklini, George Y.; Roth, Don J.

    2004-01-01

    Engine makers and aviation safety government institutions continue to have a strong interest in monitoring the health of rotating components in aircraft engines to improve safety and to lower maintenance costs. To prevent catastrophic failure (burst) of the engine, they use nondestructive evaluation (NDE) and major overhauls for periodic inspections to discover any cracks that might have formed. The lowest cost fluorescent penetrant inspection NDE technique can fail to disclose cracks that are tightly closed during rest or that are below the surface. The NDE eddy current system is more effective at detecting both crack types, but it requires careful setup and operation and only a small portion of the disk can be practically inspected. So that sensor systems can sustain normal function in a severe environment, health-monitoring systems require the sensor system to transmit a signal if a crack detected in the component is above a predetermined length (but below the length that would lead to failure) and lastly to act neutrally upon the overall performance of the engine system and not interfere with engine maintenance operations. Therefore, more reliable diagnostic tools and high-level techniques for detecting damage and monitoring the health of rotating components are very essential in maintaining engine safety and reliability and in assessing life.

  19. A new leadership role for pharmacists: a prescription for change.

    PubMed

    Burgess, L Hayley; Cohen, Michael R; Denham, Charles R

    2010-03-01

    Pharmacists can play an important role as leaders to reduce patient safety risks, optimize the safe function of medication management systems, and align pharmacy services with national initiatives that measure and reward quality performance. The objective of this article is to determine the actions that pharmacists can take to create a visible and sustainable safe medication management structure and system in the health care environment. An evidence-based literature search was performed to determine what actions successful pharmacist leaders have taken to improve patient safety. There is a growing number of quality and patient safety standards, as well as measures that focus specifically on medication use and education. Health care organizations must be made aware of the valuable resources that pharmacists provide and of the complexity of medication management. There are steps that pharmacist leaders can take to achieve these goals. The 10 steps that pharmacist leaders can take to create a visible and sustainable safe medication management structure and system are the following: 1. Identify and mitigate medication management risks and hazards to reduce preventable patient harm. 2. Establish pharmacy leadership structures and systems to ensure organizational awareness of medication safety gaps. 3. Support an organizational culture of safe medication use. 4. Ensure evidence-based medication regimens for all patients. 5. Have daily check-in calls/meetings, with the primary focus on significant safety or quality issues. 6. Establish a medication safety committee. 7. Perform medication safety walk-rounds to evaluate medication processes, and request front-line staff ’s input about medication safe practices. 8. Ensure that pharmacy staff engage in teamwork, skill building, and communication training. 9. Engage in readiness planning for implementation of health information technology (HIT). 10. Include medication history-taking and reviews upon entry into the organization; medication counseling and training during the discharge process; and follow-up after the transition to home.

  20. Cascade Distillation System Design for Safety and Mission Assurance

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Sargusingh, Miriam J.; Callahan, Michael R.

    2015-01-01

    Per the NASA Human Health, Life Support and Habitation System Technology Area 06 report "crewed missions venturing beyond Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) will require technologies with improved reliability, reduced mass, self-sufficiency, and minimal logistical needs as an emergency or quick-return option will not be feasible." To meet this need, the development team of the second generation Cascade Distillation System (CDS 2.0) opted a development approach that explicitely incorporate consideration of safety, mission assurance, and autonomy. The CDS 2.0 prelimnary design focused on establishing a functional baseline that meets the CDS core capabilities and performance. The critical design phase is now focused on incorporating features through a deliberative process of establishing the systems failure modes and effects, identifying mitigative strategies, and evaluating the merit of the proposed actions through analysis and test. This paper details results of this effort on the CDS 2.0 design.

  1. Cascade Distillation System Design for Safety and Mission Assurance

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Sarguisingh, Miriam; Callahan, Michael R.; Okon, Shira

    2015-01-01

    Per the NASA Human Health, Life Support and Habitation System Technology Area 06 report "crewed missions venturing beyond Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) will require technologies with improved reliability, reduced mass, self-sufficiency, and minimal logistical needs as an emergency or quick-return option will not be feasible".1 To meet this need, the development team of the second generation Cascade Distillation System (CDS 2.0) chose a development approach that explicitly incorporate consideration of safety, mission assurance, and autonomy. The CDS 2.0 preliminary design focused on establishing a functional baseline that meets the CDS core capabilities and performance. The critical design phase is now focused on incorporating features through a deliberative process of establishing the systems failure modes and effects, identifying mitigation strategies, and evaluating the merit of the proposed actions through analysis and test. This paper details results of this effort on the CDS 2.0 design.

  2. Information Extraction for System-Software Safety Analysis: Calendar Year 2007 Year-End Report

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Malin, Jane T.

    2008-01-01

    This annual report describes work to integrate a set of tools to support early model-based analysis of failures and hazards due to system-software interactions. The tools perform and assist analysts in the following tasks: 1) extract model parts from text for architecture and safety/hazard models; 2) combine the parts with library information to develop the models for visualization and analysis; 3) perform graph analysis on the models to identify possible paths from hazard sources to vulnerable entities and functions, in nominal and anomalous system-software configurations; 4) perform discrete-time-based simulation on the models to investigate scenarios where these paths may play a role in failures and mishaps; and 5) identify resulting candidate scenarios for software integration testing. This paper describes new challenges in a NASA abort system case, and enhancements made to develop the integrated tool set.

  3. Real-time beam monitoring in scanned proton therapy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Klimpki, G.; Eichin, M.; Bula, C.; Rechsteiner, U.; Psoroulas, S.; Weber, D. C.; Lomax, A.; Meer, D.

    2018-05-01

    When treating cancerous tissues with protons beams, many centers make use of a step-and-shoot irradiation technique, in which the beam is steered to discrete grid points in the tumor volume. For safety reasons, the irradiation is supervised by an independent monitoring system validating cyclically that the correct amount of protons has been delivered to the correct position in the patient. Whenever unacceptable inaccuracies are detected, the irradiation can be interrupted to reinforce a high degree of radiation protection. At the Paul Scherrer Institute, we plan to irradiate tumors continuously. By giving up the idea of discrete grid points, we aim to be faster and more flexible in the irradiation. But the increase in speed and dynamics necessitates a highly responsive monitoring system to guarantee the same level of patient safety as for conventional step-and-shoot irradiations. Hence, we developed and implemented real-time monitoring of the proton beam current and position. As such, we read out diagnostic devices with 100 kHz and compare their signals against safety tolerances in an FPGA. In this paper, we report on necessary software and firmware enhancements of our control system and test their functionality based on three exemplary error scenarios. We demonstrate successful implementation of real-time beam monitoring and, consequently, compliance with international patient safety regulations.

  4. Systematic Product Development of Control and Diagnosis Functionalities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stetter, R.; Simundsson, A.

    2017-01-01

    In the scientific field of systematic product development a wide range of helpful methods, guidelines and tools were generated and published in recent years. Until now little special attention was given to design guidelines aiming at supporting product development engineers to design products that allow and support control or diagnosis functions. The general trend to ubiquitous computing and the first development steps towards cognitive systems as well as a general trend toward higher product safety, reliability and reduced total cost of ownership (TCO) in many engineering fields lead to a higher importance of control and diagnosis. In this paper a first attempt is made to formulate general valid guidelines how products can be developed in order to allow and to achieve effective and efficient control and diagnosis. The guidelines are elucidated on the example of an automated guided vehicle. One main concern of this paper is the integration of control and diagnosis functionalities into the development of complete systems which include mechanical, electrical and electronic subsystems. For the development of such systems the strategies, methods and tools of systematic product development have attracted significant attention during the last decades. Today, the functionality and safety of most products is to a large degree dependent on control and diagnosis functionalities. Still, there is comparatively little research concentrating on the integration of the development of these functionalities into the overall product development processes. The paper starts with a background describing Systematic Product Development. The second section deals with the product development of the sample product. The third part clarifies the notions monitoring, control and diagnosis. The following parts summarize some insights and formulate first hypotheses concerning control and diagnosis in Systematic Product Development.

  5. Digital Systems Validation Handbook. Volume 2. Chapter 19. Pilot - Vehicle Interface

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1993-11-01

    checklists, and other status messages. Voice interactive systems are defi-ed as "the interface between a cooperative human and a machine, which involv -he...Pilot-Vehicle Interface 19-85 5.6.1 Crew Interaction and the Cockpit 19-85 5.6.2 Crew Resource Management and Safety 19-87 5.6.3 Pilot and Crew Training...systems was a "stand-alone" component performing its intended function. Systems and their cockpit interfaces were added as technological advances were

  6. Problems of collaborative work of the automated process control system (APCS) and the its information security and solutions.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Arakelyan, E. K.; Andryushin, A. V.; Mezin, S. V.; Kosoy, A. A.; Kalinina, Ya V.; Khokhlov, I. S.

    2017-11-01

    The principle of interaction of the specified systems of technological protections by the Automated process control system (APCS) and information safety in case of incorrect execution of the algorithm of technological protection is offered. - checking the correctness of the operation of technological protection in each specific situation using the functional relationship between the monitored parameters. The methodology for assessing the economic feasibility of developing and implementing an information security system.

  7. Simulation of Range Safety for the NASA Space Shuttle

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rabelo, Luis; Sepulveda, Jose; Compton, Jeppie; Turner, Robert

    2005-01-01

    This paper describes a simulation environment that seamlessly combines a number of safety and environmental models for the launch phase of a NASA Space Shuttle mission. The components of this simulation environment represent the different systems that must interact in order to determine the Expectation of casualties (E(sub c)) resulting from the toxic effects of the gas dispersion that occurs after a disaster affecting a Space Shuttle within 120 seconds of lift-off. The utilization of the Space Shuttle reliability models, trajectory models, weather dissemination systems, population models, amount and type of toxicants, gas dispersion models, human response functions to toxicants, and a geographical information system are all integrated to create this environment. This simulation environment can help safety managers estimate the population at risk in order to plan evacuation, make sheltering decisions, determine the resources required to provide aid and comfort, and mitigate damages in case of a disaster. This simulation environment may also be modified and used for the landing phase of a space vehicle but will not be discussed in this paper.

  8. Radiopharmaceuticals in nuclear medicine practice

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

    Kowalsky, R.J.; Perry, J.R.

    1987-01-01

    This book discusses the basic principles and clinical applications of radiopharmaceuticals. Topics include atomic physics as applied to radiopharmaceuticals, radionuclide generator function, nuclear pharmacy and safety, and radiopharmaceutical use in evaluating the major organ systems of the body. For each body system the author explains rationale for use, typical procedures, current agents of choice, and interpretation of results. Images, tables, and graphs illustrate normal and abnormal studies.

  9. Safeguard: Progress and Test Results for a Reliable Independent On-Board Safety Net for UAS

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Young, Steven D.; Dill, Evan T.; Hayhurst, Kelly J.; Gilabert, Russell V.

    2017-01-01

    As demands increase to use unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) for a broad spectrum of commercial applications, regulatory authorities are examining how to safely integrate them without compromising safety or disrupting traditional airspace operations. For small UAS, several operational rules have been established; e.g., do not operate beyond visual line-of-sight, do not fly within five miles of a commercial airport, do not fly above 400 feet above ground level. Enforcing these rules is challenging for UAS, as evidenced by the number of incident reports received by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This paper reviews the development of an onboard system - Safeguard - designed to monitor and enforce conformance to a set of operational rules defined prior to flight (e.g., geospatial stay-out or stay-in regions, speed limits, and altitude constraints). Unlike typical geofencing or geo-limitation functions, Safeguard operates independently of the off-the-shelf UAS autopilot and is designed in a way that can be realized by a small set of verifiable functions to simplify compliance with existing standards for safety-critical systems (e.g. for spacecraft and manned commercial transportation aircraft systems). A framework is described that decouples the system from any other devices on the UAS as well as introduces complementary positioning source(s) for applications that require integrity and availability beyond what can be provided by the Global Positioning System (GPS). This paper summarizes the progress and test results for Safeguard research and development since presentation of the design concept at the 35th Digital Avionics Systems Conference (DASC '16). Significant accomplishments include completion of software verification and validation in accordance with NASA standards for spacecraft systems (to Class B), development of improved hardware prototypes, development of a simulation platform that allows for hardware-in-the-loop testing and fast-time Monte Carlo evaluations, and flight testing on multiple air vehicles. Integration testing with NASA's UAS Traffic Management (UTM) service-oriented architecture was also demonstrated.

  10. Ultraviolet-Based Pathogen Inactivation Systems: Untangling the Molecular Targets Activated in Platelets

    PubMed Central

    Schubert, Peter; Johnson, Lacey; Marks, Denese C.; Devine, Dana V.

    2018-01-01

    Transfusions of platelets are an important cornerstone of medicine; however, recipients may be subject to risk of adverse events associated with the potential transmission of pathogens, especially bacteria. Pathogen inactivation (PI) technologies based on ultraviolet illumination have been developed in the last decades to mitigate this risk. This review discusses studies of platelet concentrates treated with the current generation of PI technologies to assess their impact on quality, PI capacity, safety, and clinical efficacy. Improved safety seems to come with the cost of reduced platelet functionality, and hence transfusion efficacy. In order to understand these negative impacts in more detail, several molecular analyses have identified signaling pathways linked to platelet function that are altered by PI. Because some of these biochemical alterations are similar to those seen arising in the context of routine platelet storage lesion development occurring during blood bank storage, we lack a complete picture of the contribution of PI treatment to impaired platelet functionality. A model generated using data from currently available publications places the signaling protein kinase p38 as a central player regulating a variety of mechanisms triggered in platelets by PI systems. PMID:29868586

  11. Probability of Loss of Assured Safety in Systems with Multiple Time-Dependent Failure Modes: Incorporation of Delayed Link Failure in the Presence of Aleatory Uncertainty.

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

    Helton, Jon C.; Brooks, Dusty Marie; Sallaberry, Cedric Jean-Marie.

    Probability of loss of assured safety (PLOAS) is modeled for weak link (WL)/strong link (SL) systems in which one or more WLs or SLs could potentially degrade into a precursor condition to link failure that will be followed by an actual failure after some amount of elapsed time. The following topics are considered: (i) Definition of precursor occurrence time cumulative distribution functions (CDFs) for individual WLs and SLs, (ii) Formal representation of PLOAS with constant delay times, (iii) Approximation and illustration of PLOAS with constant delay times, (iv) Formal representation of PLOAS with aleatory uncertainty in delay times, (v) Approximationmore » and illustration of PLOAS with aleatory uncertainty in delay times, (vi) Formal representation of PLOAS with delay times defined by functions of link properties at occurrence times for failure precursors, (vii) Approximation and illustration of PLOAS with delay times defined by functions of link properties at occurrence times for failure precursors, and (viii) Procedures for the verification of PLOAS calculations for the three indicated definitions of delayed link failure.« less

  12. A Randomized Controlled Trial to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of Cardiac Contractility Modulation.

    PubMed

    Abraham, William T; Kuck, Karl-Heinz; Goldsmith, Rochelle L; Lindenfeld, JoAnn; Reddy, Vivek Y; Carson, Peter E; Mann, Douglas L; Saville, Benjamin; Parise, Helen; Chan, Rodrigo; Wiegn, Phi; Hastings, Jeffrey L; Kaplan, Andrew J; Edelmann, Frank; Luthje, Lars; Kahwash, Rami; Tomassoni, Gery F; Gutterman, David D; Stagg, Angela; Burkhoff, Daniel; Hasenfuß, Gerd

    2018-05-05

    The authors sought to confirm a subgroup analysis of the prior FIX-HF-5 (Evaluate Safety and Efficacy of the OPTIMIZER System in Subjects With Moderate-to-Severe Heart Failure) study showing that cardiac contractility modulation (CCM) improved exercise tolerance (ET) and quality of life in patients with ejection fractions between 25% and 45%. CCM therapy for New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class III and IV heart failure (HF) patients consists of nonexcitatory electrical signals delivered to the heart during the absolute refractory period. A total of 160 patients with NYHA functional class III or IV symptoms, QRS duration <130 ms, and ejection fraction ≥25% and ≤45% were randomized to continued medical therapy (control, n = 86) or CCM (treatment, n = 74, unblinded) for 24 weeks. Peak VO 2 (primary endpoint), Minnesota Living With Heart Failure questionnaire, NYHA functional class, and 6-min hall walk were measured at baseline and at 12 and 24 weeks. Bayesian repeated measures linear modeling was used for the primary endpoint analysis with 30% borrowing from the FIX-HF-5 subgroup. Safety was assessed by the percentage of patients free of device-related adverse events with a pre-specified lower bound of 70%. The difference in peak VO 2 between groups was 0.84 (95% Bayesian credible interval: 0.123 to 1.552) ml O 2 /kg/min, satisfying the primary endpoint. Minnesota Living With Heart Failure questionnaire (p < 0.001), NYHA functional class (p < 0.001), and 6-min hall walk (p = 0.02) were all better in the treatment versus control group. There were 7 device-related events, yielding a lower bound of 80% of patients free of events, satisfying the primary safety endpoint. The composite of cardiovascular death and HF hospitalizations was reduced from 10.8% to 2.9% (p = 0.048). CCM is safe, improves exercise tolerance and quality of life in the specified group of HF patients, and leads to fewer HF hospitalizations. (Evaluate Safety and Efficacy of the OPTIMIZER System in Subjects With Moderate-to-Severe Heart Failure; NCT01381172). Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. 23 CFR 1252.5 - Procedures.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... module(s). If an employee is spending time on a combination of administration and planning functions and... allocate costs based on acutal time spent on an activity, the State highway safety agency must keep accurate time records showing the work activities for each employee. The State's record keeping system must...

  14. Safety of High Speed Guided Ground Transportation Systems: Human Factors Phase I: Function Analyses and Theoretical Considerations

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1994-10-01

    Although the speed of guided ground transportation continues to increase, the reaction : time as well as the sensory and information processing capacities of on- and off-board : operators remain constant. This report, the first of two examining criti...

  15. A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE ON ENDOCRINE DISRUPTION, WITH COMMENTS ON THE US EXPERIENCE

    EPA Science Inventory

    The last two decades have witnessed a growing concern for chemicals that have the potential to adversely affect the normal functioning of the endocrine system. The International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS) of the World Health Organization has recently reviewed the curren...

  16. 75 FR 11620 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Notice of Request for Extension of Currently Approved...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-03-11

    ..., to the extent appropriate, safety, bridge, pavement, and congestion management systems for roads...; Pavement features such as number of lanes, length, width, surface type, functional classification, and shoulder information; and pavement condition information such as roughness, distress, rutting, and surface...

  17. The electromagnetic environment of Magnetic Resonance Imaging systems. Occupational exposure assessment reveals RF harmonics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gourzoulidis, G.; Karabetsos, E.; Skamnakis, N.; Kappas, C.; Theodorou, K.; Tsougos, I.; Maris, T. G.

    2015-09-01

    Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) systems played a crucial role in the postponement of the former occupational electromagnetic fields (EMF) European Directive (2004/40/EC) and in the formation of the latest exposure limits adopted in the new one (2013/35/EU). Moreover, the complex MRI environment will be finally excluded from the implementation of the new occupational limits, leading to an increased demand for Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) surveillance. The gradient function of MRI systems and the application of the RF excitation frequency result in low and high frequency exposures, respectively. This electromagnetic field exposure, in combination with the increased static magnetic field exposure, makes the MRI environment a unique case of combined EMF exposure. The electromagnetic field levels in close proximity of different MRI systems have been assessed at various frequencies. Quality Assurance (QA) & safety issues were also faced. Preliminary results show initial compliance with the forthcoming limits in each different frequency band, but also revealed peculiar RF harmonic components, of no safety concern, to the whole range detected (20-1000MHz). Further work is needed in order to clarify their origin and characteristics.

  18. Systemic safety project selection tool.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2013-07-01

    "The Systemic Safety Project Selection Tool presents a process for incorporating systemic safety planning into traditional safety management processes. The Systemic Tool provides a step-by-step process for conducting systemic safety analysis; conside...

  19. Intelligent Vehicle Health Management

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Paris, Deidre E.; Trevino, Luis; Watson, Michael D.

    2005-01-01

    As a part of the overall goal of developing Integrated Vehicle Health Management systems for aerospace vehicles, the NASA Faculty Fellowship Program (NFFP) at Marshall Space Flight Center has performed a pilot study on IVHM principals which integrates researched IVHM technologies in support of Integrated Intelligent Vehicle Management (IIVM). IVHM is the process of assessing, preserving, and restoring system functionality across flight and ground systems (NASA NGLT 2004). The framework presented in this paper integrates advanced computational techniques with sensor and communication technologies for spacecraft that can generate responses through detection, diagnosis, reasoning, and adapt to system faults in support of INM. These real-time responses allow the IIVM to modify the affected vehicle subsystem(s) prior to a catastrophic event. Furthermore, the objective of this pilot program is to develop and integrate technologies which can provide a continuous, intelligent, and adaptive health state of a vehicle and use this information to improve safety and reduce costs of operations. Recent investments in avionics, health management, and controls have been directed towards IIVM. As this concept has matured, it has become clear the INM requires the same sensors and processing capabilities as the real-time avionics functions to support diagnosis of subsystem problems. New sensors have been proposed, in addition, to augment the avionics sensors to support better system monitoring and diagnostics. As the designs have been considered, a synergy has been realized where the real-time avionics can utilize sensors proposed for diagnostics and prognostics to make better real-time decisions in response to detected failures. IIVM provides for a single system allowing modularity of functions and hardware across the vehicle. The framework that supports IIVM consists of 11 major on-board functions necessary to fully manage a space vehicle maintaining crew safety and mission objectives: Guidance and Navigation; Communications and Tracking; Vehicle Monitoring; Information Transport and Integration; Vehicle Diagnostics; Vehicle Prognostics; Vehicle mission Planning; Automated Repair and Replacement; Vehicle Control; Human Computer Interface; and Onboard Verification and Validation. Furthermore, the presented framework provides complete vehicle management which not only allows for increased crew safety and mission success through new intelligence capabilities, but also yields a mechanism for more efficient vehicle operations. The representative IVHM technologies for computer platform using heterogeneous communication, 3) coupled electromagnetic oscillators for enhanced communications, 4) Linux-based real-time systems, 5) genetic algorithms, 6) Bayesian Networks, 7) evolutionary algorithms, 8) dynamic systems control modeling, and 9) advanced sensing capabilities. This paper presents IVHM technologies developed under NASA's NFFP pilot project and the integration of these technologies forms the framework for IIVM.

  20. Functional requirements for an intelligent RPC. [remote power controller for spaceborne electrical distribution system

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Aucoin, B. M.; Heller, R. P.

    1990-01-01

    An intelligent remote power controller (RPC) based on microcomputer technology can implement advanced functions for the accurate and secure detection of all types of faults on a spaceborne electrical distribution system. The intelligent RPC will implement conventional protection functions such as overcurrent, under-voltage, and ground fault protection. Advanced functions for the detection of soft faults, which cannot presently be detected, can also be implemented. Adaptive overcurrent protection changes overcurrent settings based on connected load. Incipient and high-impedance fault detection provides early detection of arcing conditions to prevent fires, and to clear and reconfigure circuits before soft faults progress to a hard-fault condition. Power electronics techniques can be used to implement fault current limiting to prevent voltage dips during hard faults. It is concluded that these techniques will enhance the overall safety and reliability of the distribution system.

  1. Flat-plate solar array project. Volume 6: Engineering sciences and reliability

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ross, R. G., Jr.; Smokler, M. I.

    1986-01-01

    The Flat-Plate Solar Array (FSA) Project activities directed at developing the engineering technology base required to achieve modules that meet the functional, safety, and reliability requirements of large scale terrestrial photovoltaic systems applications are reported. These activities included: (1) development of functional, safety, and reliability requirements for such applications; (2) development of the engineering analytical approaches, test techniques, and design solutions required to meet the requirements; (3) synthesis and procurement of candidate designs for test and evaluation; and (4) performance of extensive testing, evaluation, and failure analysis of define design shortfalls and, thus, areas requiring additional research and development. A summary of the approach and technical outcome of these activities are provided along with a complete bibliography of the published documentation covering the detailed accomplishments and technologies developed.

  2. Overcoming the organization-practice barrier in sports injury prevention: A nonhierarchical organizational model.

    PubMed

    Dahlström, Ö; Jacobsson, J; Timpka, T

    2015-08-01

    The organization of sports at the national level has seldom been included in scientific discussions of sports injury prevention. The aim of this study was to develop a model for organization of sports that supports prevention of overuse injuries. The quality function deployment technique was applied in seminars over a two-season period to develop a national organizational structure for athletics in Sweden that facilitates prevention of overuse injuries. Three central features of the resulting model for organization of sports at the national level are (a) diminishment of the organizational hierarchy: participatory safety policy design is introduced through annual meetings where actors from different sectors of the sporting community discuss training, injury prevention, and sports safety policy; (b) introduction of a safety surveillance system: a ubiquitous system for routine collection of injury and illness data; and (c) an open forum for discussion of safety issues: maintenance of a safety forum for participants from different sectors of the sport. A nonhierarchical model for organization of sports at the national level - facilitated by modern information technology - adapted for the prevention of overuse injuries has been developed. Further research is warranted to evaluate the new organizational model in prospective effectiveness studies. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  3. Systemic study on the safety of immuno-deficient nude mice treated by atmospheric plasma-activated water

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dehui, XU; Qingjie, CUI; Yujing, XU; Bingchuan, WANG; Miao, TIAN; Qiaosong, LI; Zhijie, LIU; Dingxin, LIU; Hailan, CHEN; Michael, G. KONG

    2018-04-01

    Cold atmospheric-pressure plasma is a new technology, widely used in many fields of biomedicine, especially in cancer treatment. Cold plasma can selectively kill a variety of tumor cells, and its biological safety in clinical trials is also very important. In many cases, the patient’s immune level is relatively low, so we first studied the safety assessment of plasma treatment in an immuno-compromised animal model. In this study, we examined the safety of immuno-deficient nude mice by oral lavage treatment of plasma-activated water, and studied the growth status, main organs and blood biochemical indexes. Acute toxicity test results showed that the maximum dose of plasma treatment for 15 min had no lethal effect and other acute toxicity. There were no significant changes in body weight and survival status of mice after 2 min and 4 min of plasma-activated water (PAW) treatment for 2 weeks. After treatment, the major organs, including heart, liver, spleen, lung and kidney, were not significantly changed in organ coefficient and tissue structure. Blood biochemical markers showed that blood neutrophils and mononuclear cells were slightly increased, and the others remained unchanged. Liver function, renal function, electrolytes, glucose metabolism and lipid metabolism were not affected by different doses of PAW treatment. The above results indicate that PAW treatment can be used to treat immuno-deficient nude mice without significant safety problems.

  4. Commercial grade item (CGI) dedication of MDR relays for nuclear safety related applications

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

    Das, R.K.; Julka, A.; Modi, G.

    1994-08-01

    MDR relays manufactured by Potter and Brumfield (P and B) have been used in various safety related applications in commercial nuclear power plants. These include emergency safety features (ESF) actuation systems, emergency core cooling systems (ECCS) actuation, and reactor protection systems. The MDR relays manufactured prior to May 1990 showed signs of generic failure due to corrosion and outgassing of coil varnish. P and B has made design changes to correct these problems in relays manufactured after May 1990. However, P and B does not manufacture the relays under any 10CFR50 Appendix B quality assurance (QA) program. They manufacture themore » relays under their commercial QA program and supply these as commercial grade items. This necessitates CGI Dedication of these relays for use in nuclear-safety-related applications. This paper presents a CGI dedication program that has been used to dedicate the MDR relays manufactured after May 1990. The program is in compliance with current Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) guidelines and applicable industry standards; it specifies the critical characteristics of the relays, provides the tests and analysis required to verify the critical characteristics, the acceptance criteria for the test results, performs source verification to qualify P and B for its control of the critical characteristics, and provides documentation. The program provides reasonable assurance that the new MDR relays will perform their intended safety functions.« less

  5. 33 CFR 96.220 - What makes up a safety management system?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... SECURITY VESSEL OPERATING REGULATIONS RULES FOR THE SAFE OPERATION OF VESSELS AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS Company and Vessel Safety Management Systems § 96.220 What makes up a safety management system? (a) The safety management system must document the responsible person's— (1) Safety and pollution prevention...

  6. Robust optical sensors for safety critical automotive applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    De Locht, Cliff; De Knibber, Sven; Maddalena, Sam

    2008-02-01

    Optical sensors for the automotive industry need to be robust, high performing and low cost. This paper focuses on the impact of automotive requirements on optical sensor design and packaging. Main strategies to lower optical sensor entry barriers in the automotive market include: Perform sensor calibration and tuning by the sensor manufacturer, sensor test modes on chip to guarantee functional integrity at operation, and package technology is key. As a conclusion, optical sensor applications are growing in automotive. Optical sensor robustness matured to the level of safety critical applications like Electrical Power Assisted Steering (EPAS) and Drive-by-Wire by optical linear arrays based systems and Automated Cruise Control (ACC), Lane Change Assist and Driver Classification/Smart Airbag Deployment by camera imagers based systems.

  7. Software Safety Risk in Legacy Safety-Critical Computer Systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hill, Janice; Baggs, Rhoda

    2007-01-01

    Safety-critical computer systems must be engineered to meet system and software safety requirements. For legacy safety-critical computer systems, software safety requirements may not have been formally specified during development. When process-oriented software safety requirements are levied on a legacy system after the fact, where software development artifacts don't exist or are incomplete, the question becomes 'how can this be done?' The risks associated with only meeting certain software safety requirements in a legacy safety-critical computer system must be addressed should such systems be selected as candidates for reuse. This paper proposes a method for ascertaining formally, a software safety risk assessment, that provides measurements for software safety for legacy systems which may or may not have a suite of software engineering documentation that is now normally required. It relies upon the NASA Software Safety Standard, risk assessment methods based upon the Taxonomy-Based Questionnaire, and the application of reverse engineering CASE tools to produce original design documents for legacy systems.

  8. Progress on Intelligent Guidance and Control for Wind Shear Encounter

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Stratton, D. Alexander

    1990-01-01

    Low altitude wind shear poses a serious threat to air safety. Avoiding severe wind shear challenges the ability of flight crews, as it involves assessing risk from uncertain evidence. A computerized intelligent cockpit aid can increase flight crew awareness of wind shear, improving avoidance decisions. The primary functions of a cockpit advisory expert system for wind shear avoidance are discussed. Also introduced are computational techniques being implemented to enable these primary functions.

  9. Optimizing Automatic Deployment Using Non-functional Requirement Annotations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kugele, Stefan; Haberl, Wolfgang; Tautschnig, Michael; Wechs, Martin

    Model-driven development has become common practice in design of safety-critical real-time systems. High-level modeling constructs help to reduce the overall system complexity apparent to developers. This abstraction caters for fewer implementation errors in the resulting systems. In order to retain correctness of the model down to the software executed on a concrete platform, human faults during implementation must be avoided. This calls for an automatic, unattended deployment process including allocation, scheduling, and platform configuration.

  10. Development of a large-scale isolation chamber system for the safe and humane care of medium-sized laboratory animals harboring infectious diseases*

    PubMed Central

    Pan, Xin; Qi, Jian-cheng; Long, Ming; Liang, Hao; Chen, Xiao; Li, Han; Li, Guang-bo; Zheng, Hao

    2010-01-01

    The close phylogenetic relationship between humans and non-human primates makes non-human primates an irreplaceable model for the study of human infectious diseases. In this study, we describe the development of a large-scale automatic multi-functional isolation chamber for use with medium-sized laboratory animals carrying infectious diseases. The isolation chamber, including the transfer chain, disinfection chain, negative air pressure isolation system, animal welfare system, and the automated system, is designed to meet all biological safety standards. To create an internal chamber environment that is completely isolated from the exterior, variable frequency drive blowers are used in the air-intake and air-exhaust system, precisely controlling the filtered air flow and providing an air-barrier protection. A double door transfer port is used to transfer material between the interior of the isolation chamber and the outside. A peracetic acid sterilizer and its associated pipeline allow for complete disinfection of the isolation chamber. All of the isolation chamber parameters can be automatically controlled by a programmable computerized menu, allowing for work with different animals in different-sized cages depending on the research project. The large-scale multi-functional isolation chamber provides a useful and safe system for working with infectious medium-sized laboratory animals in high-level bio-safety laboratories. PMID:20872984

  11. NASA Aviation Safety Program Systems Analysis/Program Assessment Metrics Review

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Louis, Garrick E.; Anderson, Katherine; Ahmad, Tisan; Bouabid, Ali; Siriwardana, Maya; Guilbaud, Patrick

    2003-01-01

    The goal of this project is to evaluate the metrics and processes used by NASA's Aviation Safety Program in assessing technologies that contribute to NASA's aviation safety goals. There were three objectives for reaching this goal. First, NASA's main objectives for aviation safety were documented and their consistency was checked against the main objectives of the Aviation Safety Program. Next, the metrics used for technology investment by the Program Assessment function of AvSP were evaluated. Finally, other metrics that could be used by the Program Assessment Team (PAT) were identified and evaluated. This investigation revealed that the objectives are in fact consistent across organizational levels at NASA and with the FAA. Some of the major issues discussed in this study which should be further investigated, are the removal of the Cost and Return-on-Investment metrics, the lack of the metrics to measure the balance of investment and technology, the interdependencies between some of the metric risk driver categories, and the conflict between 'fatal accident rate' and 'accident rate' in the language of the Aviation Safety goal as stated in different sources.

  12. Quality and safety aspects in histopathology laboratory

    PubMed Central

    Adyanthaya, Soniya; Jose, Maji

    2013-01-01

    Histopathology is an art of analyzing and interpreting the shapes, sizes and architectural patterns of cells and tissues within a given specific clinical background and a science by which the image is placed in the context of knowledge of pathobiology, to arrive at an accurate diagnosis. To function effectively and safely, all the procedures and activities of histopathology laboratory should be evaluated and monitored accurately. In histopathology laboratory, the concept of quality control is applicable to pre-analytical, analytical and post-analytical activities. Ensuring safety of working personnel as well as environment is also highly important. Safety issues that may come up in a histopathology lab are primarily those related to potentially hazardous chemicals, biohazardous materials, accidents linked to the equipment and instrumentation employed and general risks from electrical and fire hazards. This article discusses quality management system which can ensure quality performance in histopathology laboratory. The hazards in pathology laboratories and practical safety measures aimed at controlling the dangers are also discussed with the objective of promoting safety consciousness and the practice of laboratory safety. PMID:24574660

  13. Health and Safety Management for Small-scale Methane Fermentation Facilities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yamaoka, Masaru; Yuyama, Yoshito; Nakamura, Masato; Oritate, Fumiko

    In this study, we considered health and safety management for small-scale methane fermentation facilities that treat 2-5 ton of biomass daily based on several years operation experience with an approximate capacity of 5 t·d-1. We also took account of existing knowledge, related laws and regulations. There are no qualifications or licenses required for management and operation of small-scale methane fermentation facilities, even though rural sewerage facilities with a relative similar function are required to obtain a legitimate license. Therefore, there are wide variations in health and safety consciousness of the operators of small-scale methane fermentation facilities. The industrial safety and health laws are not applied to the operation of small-scale methane fermentation facilities. However, in order to safely operate a small-scale methane fermentation facility, the occupational safety and health management system that the law recommends should be applied. The aims of this paper are to clarify the risk factors in small-scale methane fermentation facilities and encourage planning, design and operation of facilities based on health and safety management.

  14. Autonomous emergency braking systems adapted to snowy road conditions improve drivers' perceived safety and trust.

    PubMed

    Koglbauer, Ioana; Holzinger, Jürgen; Eichberger, Arno; Lex, Cornelia

    2018-04-03

    This study investigated drivers' evaluation of a conventional autonomous emergency braking (AEB) system on high and reduced tire-road friction and compared these results to those of an AEB system adaptive to the reduced tire-road friction by earlier braking. Current automated systems such as the AEB do not adapt the vehicle control strategy to the road friction; for example, on snowy roads. Because winter precipitation is associated with a 19% increase in traffic crashes and a 13% increase in injuries compared to dry conditions, the potential of conventional AEB to prevent collisions could be significantly improved by including friction in the control algorithm. Whereas adaption is not legally required for a conventional AEB system, higher automated functions will have to adapt to the current tire-road friction because human drivers will not be required to monitor the driving environment at all times. For automated driving functions to be used, high levels of perceived safety and trust of occupants have to be reached with new systems. The application case of an AEB is used to investigate drivers' evaluation depending on the road condition in order to gain knowledge for the design of future driving functions. In a driving simulator, the conventional, nonadaptive AEB was evaluated on dry roads with high friction (μ = 1) and on snowy roads with reduced friction (μ = 0.3). In addition, an AEB system adapted to road friction was designed for this study and compared with the conventional AEB on snowy roads with reduced friction. Ninety-six drivers (48 males, 48 females) assigned to 5 age groups (20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, and 60-75 years) drove with AEB in the simulator. The drivers observed and evaluated the AEB's braking actions in response to an imminent rear-end collision at an intersection. The results show that drivers' safety and trust in the conventional AEB were significantly lower on snowy roads, and the nonadaptive autonomous braking strategy was considered less appropriate on snowy roads compared to dry roads. As expected, the adaptive AEB braking strategy was considered more appropriate for snowy roads than the nonadaptive strategy. In conditions of reduced friction, drivers' subjective safety and trust were significantly improved when driving with the adaptive AEB compared to the conventional AEB. Women felt less safe than men when AEB was braking. Differences between age groups were not of statistical significance. Drivers notice the adaptation of the autonomous braking strategy on snowy roads with reduced friction. On snowy roads, they feel safer and trust the adaptive system more than the nonadaptive automation.

  15. Comparing the Certification Criteria for CCHIT-Certified Ambulatory EHR with the SNUBH's EHR Functionalities

    PubMed Central

    Heo, Eun Young; Hwang, Hee; Kim, Eun Hye; Cho, Eun Young; Lee, Kee Hyuck; Kim, Tae Hun; Kim, Ki Dong; Baek, Rong Min

    2012-01-01

    Objectives This study aims to investigate the suitability of electronic health record (EHR) systems in Korea for global certification and to propose functions for future global systems by comparing and analyzing the certification criteria for Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT) Certified Ambulatory EHR with BESTCare, which is the EHR system at Seoul National University Bundang hospital. Methods Domain expert groups were formed to analyze the inclusion of BESTCare functions and the types of differences for each of the CCHIT Certified 2011 Ambulatory EHR Certification Criteria. The types of differences were divided into differences in functions (F), differences in business processes (B), and differences in government policies (P). Results Generally, the criteria that showed differences in functions pertained to the connection between the diagnosis/problem list and order, the alert and warning functions for medication-diagnosis interactions, and the reminder/instruction/notification messages related to the patient's immunization status; these absent functions were enhanced clinical decision support system (CDSS) functions related to patient safety and healthcare quality. Differences in government policies were found in the pharmacy's electronic prescription functions, while differences in business processes were found in the functions constrained by the local workflow or internal policy, which require some customization. Conclusions Functions that differed between the CCHIT certification criteria and the BESTCare system in this study should be considered when developing a global EHR system. Such a system will need to be easily customizable to adapt to various government policies and local business processes. These functions should be considered when developing a global EHR system certified by CCHIT in the future. PMID:22509474

  16. Evaluated community fire safety interventions in the United States: a review of current literature.

    PubMed

    Ta, Van M; Frattaroli, Shannon; Bergen, Gwendolyn; Gielen, Andrea Carlson

    2006-06-01

    The purpose of the study was to assess the state of fire prevention research, provide an updated synthesis of evaluated fire prevention programs, and discuss the role of fire fighters and data systems in prevention efforts. The review included all evaluations of U.S. based fire prevention interventions published between January 1998 and September 2004 and any earlier articles about U.S. fire prevention interventions not included in two prior review articles. We retrieved information from each identified study including evaluation findings, involvement of fire service personnel and use of existing data systems. We identified twelve articles: seven reported on smoke alarm interventions, three on multi-faceted programs, and two other programs. Five programs involved fire service personnel in the design, implementation, and/or evaluation, and three used existing data systems. Studies reviewed suggest that canvassing and smoke alarm installations are the most effective means of distributing alarms and increasing the functional status of distributed alarms. The functionality of smoke alarms, an issue noted in earlier reviews, remains a problem. Programs involving partnerships with fire departments have indicated success in preventing fires and deaths, improving smoke alarm ownership and functional status, and improving children's fire safety knowledge. Using existing data systems to target and to evaluate interventions was effective. In the years since prior reviews, some improvements in the rigor of evaluation designs have been made, but there is still a need for high quality evaluations that will inform fire injury prevention efforts.

  17. Treatment of Heart Failure With Associated Functional Mitral Regurgitation Using the ARTO System: Initial Results of the First-in-Human MAVERIC Trial (Mitral Valve Repair Clinical Trial).

    PubMed

    Rogers, Jason H; Thomas, Martyn; Morice, Marie-Claude; Narbute, Inga; Zabunova, Milana; Hovasse, Thomas; Poupineau, Mathieu; Rudzitis, Ainars; Kamzola, Ginta; Zvaigzne, Ligita; Greene, Samantha; Erglis, Andrejs

    2015-07-01

    MAVERIC (Mitral Valve Repair Clinical Trial) reports the safety and efficacy of the ARTO system in patients with symptomatic heart failure and functional mitral regurgitation (FMR). The ARTO system percutaneously modifies the mitral annulus to improve leaflet coaptation in FMR. The MAVERIC trial is a prospective, nonrandomized first-in-human study. Key inclusion criteria were systolic heart failure New York Heart Association functional classes II to IV, FMR grade ≥2+, left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction ≤40%, LV end-diastolic diameter >50 mm and ≤75 mm. Exclusion criteria were clinical variables that precluded feasibility of the ARTO procedure. Primary outcomes were safety (30-day major adverse events) and efficacy (MR reduction, LV volumes, and functional status). Eleven patients received the ARTO system, and there were no procedural adverse events. From baseline to 30 days, there were meaningful improvements. Effective regurgitant orifice area decreased from 30.3 ± 11.1 mm(2) to 13.5 ± 7.1 mm(2) and regurgitant volumes from 45.4 ± 15.0 ml to 19.5 ± 10.2 ml. LV end-systolic volume index improved from 77.5 ± 24.3 ml/m(2) to 68.5 ± 21.4 ml/m(2), and LV end-diastolic volume index 118.7 ± 28.6 ml/m(2) to 103.9 ± 21.2 ml/m(2). Mitral annular anteroposterior diameter decreased from 45.0 ± 3.3 mm to 38.7 ± 3.0 mm. Functional status was 81.8% New York Heart Association functional class III/IV improving to 54.6% functional class I/II. At 30 days, there were 2 adverse events: 1 pericardial effusion requiring surgical drainage; and 1 asymptomatic device dislodgement. The ARTO system is a novel transcatheter device that can be used safely with meaningful efficacy in the treatment of FMR. (Mitral Valve Repair Clinical Trial [MAVERIC]; NCT02302872). Copyright © 2015 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. NASA Glenn 1-by 1-Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel User Manual

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Seablom, Kirk D.; Soeder, Ronald H.; Stark, David E.; Leone, John F. X.; Henry, Michael W.

    1999-01-01

    This manual describes the NASA Glenn Research Center's 1 - by 1 -Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel and provides information for customers who wish to conduct experiments in this facility. Tunnel performance envelopes of total pressure, total temperature, and dynamic pressure as a function of test section Mach number are presented. For each Mach number, maps are presented of Reynolds number per foot as a function of the total air temperature at the test section inlet for constant total air pressure at the inlet. General support systems-such as the service air, combustion air, altitude exhaust system, auxiliary bleed system, model hydraulic system, schlieren system, model pressure-sensitive paint, and laser sheet system are discussed. In addition, instrumentation and data processing, acquisition systems are described, pretest meeting formats and schedules are outlined, and customer responsibilities and personnel safety are addressed.

  19. Safer Systems: A NextGen Aviation Safety Strategic Goal

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Darr, Stephen T.; Ricks, Wendell R.; Lemos, Katherine A.

    2008-01-01

    The Joint Planning and Development Office (JPDO), is charged by Congress with developing the concepts and plans for the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). The National Aviation Safety Strategic Plan (NASSP), developed by the Safety Working Group of the JPDO, focuses on establishing the goals, objectives, and strategies needed to realize the safety objectives of the NextGen Integrated Plan. The three goal areas of the NASSP are Safer Practices, Safer Systems, and Safer Worldwide. Safer Practices emphasizes an integrated, systematic approach to safety risk management through implementation of formalized Safety Management Systems (SMS) that incorporate safety data analysis processes, and the enhancement of methods for ensuring safety is an inherent characteristic of NextGen. Safer Systems emphasizes implementation of safety-enhancing technologies, which will improve safety for human-centered interfaces and enhance the safety of airborne and ground-based systems. Safer Worldwide encourages coordinating the adoption of the safer practices and safer systems technologies, policies and procedures worldwide, such that the maximum level of safety is achieved across air transportation system boundaries. This paper introduces the NASSP and its development, and focuses on the Safer Systems elements of the NASSP, which incorporates three objectives for NextGen systems: 1) provide risk reducing system interfaces, 2) provide safety enhancements for airborne systems, and 3) provide safety enhancements for ground-based systems. The goal of this paper is to expose avionics and air traffic management system developers to NASSP objectives and Safer Systems strategies.

  20. 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.

  1. 23 CFR 970.212 - Federal lands safety management system (SMS).

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... planning, design, construction, maintenance, and operations. (c) The SMS shall be designed to fit the NPS... for the collection, maintenance and reporting of a data base that includes: (i) Accident records with... standards) for low volume roads may be tailored to be consistent with the functional classification of the...

  2. 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.

  3. Transcatheter direct mitral valve annuloplasty with the Cardioband system for the treatment of functional mitral regurgitation.

    PubMed

    Taramasso, Maurizio; Inderbitzin, Devdas T; Guidotti, Andrea; Nietlispach, Fabian; Gaemperli, Oliver; Zuber, Michel; Maisano, Francesco

    2016-01-01

    Direct mitral valve annuloplasty is a transcatheter mitral valve repair approach that mimics the conventional surgical approach to treat functional mitral regurgitation. The Cardioband system (Valtech Cardio, Inc., Or-Yehuda, Israel) is delivered by a trans-septal approach and the implant is performed on the atrial side of the mitral annulus, under live echo and fluoroscopic guidance using multiple anchor elements. The Cardioband system obtained CE mark approval in October 2015, and initial clinical experiences are promising with regard to feasibility, safety and efficacy. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.

  4. Waveguide Modulator for Interference Tolerant Functional Near Infrared Spectrometer (fNIRS)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Walton, Joanne; Tin, Padetha; Mackey, Jeffrey

    2017-01-01

    Many crew-related errors in aviation and astronautics are caused by hazardous cognitive states including overstress, disengagement, high fatigue and ineffective crew coordination. Safety can be improved by monitoring and predicting these cognitive states in a non-intrusive manner and designing mitigation strategies. Measuring hemoglobin concentration changes in the brain with functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy is a promising technique for monitoring cognitive state and optimizing human performance during both space and aviation operations. A compact, wearable fNIRS system would provide an innovative early warning system during long duration missions to detect and prevent vigilance decrements in pilots and astronauts. This effort focused on developing a waveguide modulator for use in a fNIRS system.

  5. An analysis of electronic document management in oncology care.

    PubMed

    Poulter, Thomas; Gannon, Brian; Bath, Peter A

    2012-06-01

    In this research in progress, a reference model for the use of electronic patient record (EPR) systems in oncology is described. The model, termed CICERO, comprises technical and functional components, and emphasises usability, clinical safety and user acceptance. One of the functional components of the model-an electronic document and records management (EDRM) system-is monitored in the course of its deployment at a leading oncology centre in the UK. Specifically, the user requirements and design of the EDRM solution are described.The study is interpretative and forms part a wider research programme to define and validate the CICERO model. Preliminary conclusions confirm the importance of a socio-technical perspective in Onco-EPR system design.

  6. A safety vs efficiency trade-off identified in the hydraulic pathway of grass leaves is decoupled from photosynthesis, stomatal conductance and precipitation.

    PubMed

    Ocheltree, Troy W; Nippert, Jesse B; Prasad, P V Vara

    2016-04-01

    A common theme in plant physiological research is the trade-off between stress tolerance and growth; an example of this trade-off at the tissue level is the safety vs efficiency hypothesis, which suggests that plants with the greatest resistance to hydraulic failure should have low maximum hydraulic conductance. Here, we quantified the leaf-level drought tolerance of nine C4 grasses as the leaf water potential at which plants lost 50% (P50 × RR ) of maximum leaf hydraulic conductance (Ksat ), and compared this trait with other leaf-level and whole-plant functions. We found a clear trade-off between Ksat and P50 × RR when Ksat was normalized by leaf area and mass (P = 0.05 and 0.01, respectively). However, no trade-off existed between P50 × RR and gas-exchange rates; rather, there was a positive relationship between P50 × RR and photosynthesis (P = 0.08). P50 × RR was not correlated with species distributions based on precipitation (P = 0.70), but was correlated with temperature during the wettest quarter of the year (P < 0.01). These results suggest a trade-off between safety and efficiency in the hydraulic system of grass leaves, which can be decoupled from other leaf-level functions. The unique physiology of C4 plants and adaptations to pulse-driven systems may provide mechanisms that could decouple hydraulic conductance from other plant functions. © 2015 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2015 New Phytologist Trust.

  7. Assistive Device for Efficient Intravitreal Injections.

    PubMed

    Ullrich, Franziska; Michels, Stephan; Lehmann, Daniel; Pieters, Roel S; Becker, Matthias; Nelson, Bradley J

    2016-08-01

    Intravitreal therapy is the most common treatment for many chronic ophthalmic diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration. Due to the increasing worldwide demand for intravitreal injections, there exists a need to render this medical procedure more time- and cost-efficient while increasing patient safety. The authors propose a medical assistive device that injects medication intravitreally. Compared to the manual intravitreal injection procedure, an automated device has the potential to increase safety for patients, decrease procedure times, allow for integrated data storage and documentation, and reduce costs for medical staff and expensive operating rooms. This work demonstrates the development of an assistive injection system that is coarsely positioned over the patient's head by the human operator, followed by automatic fine positioning and intravitreal injection through the pars plana. Several safety features, such as continuous eye tracking and iris recognition, have been implemented. The functioning system is demonstrated through ex vivo experiments with porcine eyes. [Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging Retina. 2016;47:752-762.]. Copyright 2016, SLACK Incorporated.

  8. Formal Verification of the Runway Safety Monitor

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Siminiceanu, Radu; Ciardo, Gianfranco

    2006-01-01

    The Runway Safety Monitor (RSM) designed by Lockheed Martin is part of NASA's effort to reduce runway accidents. We developed a Petri net model of the RSM protocol and used the model checking functions of our tool SMART to investigate a number of safety properties in RSM. To mitigate the impact of state-space explosion, we built a highly discretized model of the system, obtained by partitioning the monitored runway zone into a grid of smaller volumes and by considering scenarios involving only two aircraft. The model also assumes that there are no communication failures, such as bad input from radar or lack of incoming data, thus it relies on a consistent view of reality by all participants. In spite of these simplifications, we were able to expose potential problems in the RSM conceptual design. Our findings were forwarded to the design engineers, who undertook corrective action. Additionally, the results stress the efficiency attained by the new model checking algorithms implemented in SMART, and demonstrate their applicability to real-world systems.

  9. [Design, implementation and evaluation of a management model of patient safety in hospitals in Catalonia, Spain].

    PubMed

    Saura, Rosa Maria; Moreno, Pilar; Vallejo, Paula; Oliva, Glòria; Alava, Fernando; Esquerra, Miquel; Davins, Josep; Vallès, Roser; Bañeres, Joaquim

    2014-07-01

    Since its inception in 2006, the Alliance for Patient Safety in Catalonia has played a major role in promoting and shaping a series of projects related to the strategy of the Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality, for improving patient safety. One such project was the creation of functional units or committees of safety in hospitals in order to facilitate the management of patient safety. The strategy has been implemented in hospitals in Catalonia which were selected based on criteria of representativeness. The intervention was based on two lines of action, one to develop the model framework and the other for its development. Firstly the strategy for safety management based on EFQM (European Foundation for Quality Management) was defined with the development of standards, targets and indicators to implement security while the second part involved the introduction of tools, methodologies and knowledge to the management support of patient safety and risk prevention. The project was developed in four hospital areas considered higher risk, each assuming six goals for safety management. Some of these targets such as the security control panel or system of adverse event reporting were shared. 23 hospitals joined the project in Catalonia. Despite the different situations in each centre, high compliance was achieved in the development of the objectives. In each of the participating areas the security control panel was developed. Stable structures for safety management were established or strengthened. Training in patient safety played and important role, 1415 professionals participated. Through these kind of projects not only have been introduced programs of proven effectiveness in reducing risks, but they also provide to the facilities a work system that allows autonomy in diagnosis and analysis of the different risk situations or centre specific safety issues. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Espana.

  10. Constructing a safety and security system by medical applications of a fast face recognition optical parallel correlator

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Watanabe, Eriko; Ishikawa, Mami; Ohta, Maiko; Murakami, Yasuo; Kodate, Kashiko

    2006-01-01

    Medical errors and patient safety have always received a great deal of attention, as they can be critically life-threatening and significant matters. Hospitals and medical personnel are trying their utmost to avoid these errors. Currently in the medical field, patients' record is identified through their PIN numbers and ID cards. However, for patients who cannot speak or move, or who suffer from memory disturbances, alternative methods would be more desirable, and necessary in some cases. The authors previously proposed and fabricated a specially-designed correlator called FARCO (Fast Face Recognition Optical Correlator) based on the Vanderlugt Correlator1, which operates at the speed of 1000 faces/s 2,3,4. Combined with high-speed display devices, the four-channel processing could achieve such high operational speed as 4000 faces/s. Running trial experiments on a 1-to-N identification basis using the optical parallel correlator, we succeeded in acquiring low error rates of 1 % FMR and 2.3 % FNMR. In this paper, we propose a robust face recognition system using the FARCO for focusing on the safety and security of the medical field. We apply our face recognition system to registration of inpatients, in particular children and infants, before and after medical treatments or operations. The proposed system has recorded a higher recognition rate by multiplexing both input and database facial images from moving images. The system was also tested and evaluated for further practical use, leaving excellent results. Hence, our face recognition system could function effectively as an integral part of medical system, meeting these essential requirements of safety, security and privacy.

  11. Evaluation and review of the safety management system implementation in the Royal Thai Air Force

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chaiwan, Sakkarin

    This study was designed to determine situation and effectiveness of the safety management system currently implemented in the Royal Thai Air Force. Reviewing the ICAO's SMS and the RTAF's SMS was conducted to identify similarities and differences between the two safety management systems. Later, the researcher acquired safety statistics from the RTAF Safety Center to investigate effectiveness of its safety system. The researcher also collected data to identify other factors affecting effectiveness of the safety system during conducting in-depth interviews. Findings and Conclusions: The study shows that the Royal Thai Air Force has never applied the International Civil Aviation Organization's Safety management System to its safety system. However, the RTAF's SMS and the ICAO's SMS have been developed based on the same concepts. These concepts are from Richard H. Woods's book, Aviation safety programs: A management handbook. However, the effectiveness of the Royal Thai Air Force's safety system is in good stance. An accident rate has been decreasing regularly but there are no known factors to describe the increasing rate, according to the participants' opinion. The participants have informed that there are many issues to be resolved to improve the RTAF's safety system. Those issues are cooperation among safety center's staffs, attitude toward safety of the RTAF senior commanders, and safety standards.

  12. Integrated System Safety Program for the MX Weapon System.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1979-09-25

    Quantitative AnalIsis Of Specified Undesired Events Nuclr Safey Anisis Reports ISARI Contractor Inpu To AFWL Technical Nucler Sa An. Is FIGURE 1...Launch Includes all functions from initiation of launch se- quence to missile first motion, such as transfer from ground power to airborne power ...all credible contingency or emergency condi- tions, such as Toxic gases/fluid release, inadvertently armed ordnance, electric power loss, and destruct

  13. Software Tools for Developing and Simulating the NASA LaRC CMF Motion Base

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bryant, Richard B., Jr.; Carrelli, David J.

    2006-01-01

    The NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) Cockpit Motion Facility (CMF) motion base has provided many design and analysis challenges. In the process of addressing these challenges, a comprehensive suite of software tools was developed. The software tools development began with a detailed MATLAB/Simulink model of the motion base which was used primarily for safety loads prediction, design of the closed loop compensator and development of the motion base safety systems1. A Simulink model of the digital control law, from which a portion of the embedded code is directly generated, was later added to this model to form a closed loop system model. Concurrently, software that runs on a PC was created to display and record motion base parameters. It includes a user interface for controlling time history displays, strip chart displays, data storage, and initializing of function generators used during motion base testing. Finally, a software tool was developed for kinematic analysis and prediction of mechanical clearances for the motion system. These tools work together in an integrated package to support normal operations of the motion base, simulate the end to end operation of the motion base system providing facilities for software-in-the-loop testing, mechanical geometry and sensor data visualizations, and function generator setup and evaluation.

  14. Range Systems Simulation for the NASA Shuttle: Emphasis on Disaster and Prevention Management During Lift-Off

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rabelo, Lisa; Sepulveda, Jose; Moraga, Reinaldo; Compton, Jeppie; Turner, Robert

    2005-01-01

    This article describes a decision-making system composed of a number of safety and environmental models for the launch phase of a NASA Space Shuttle mission. The components of this distributed simulation environment represent the different systems that must collaborate to establish the Expectation of Casualties (E(sub c)) caused by a failed Space Shuttle launch and subsequent explosion (accidental or instructed) of the spacecraft shortly after liftoff. This decision-making tool employs Space Shuttle reliability models, trajectory models, a blast model, weather dissemination systems, population models, amount and type of toxicants, gas dispersion models, human response functions to toxicants, and a geographical information system. Since one of the important features of this proposed simulation environment is to measure blast, toxic, and debris effects, the clear benefits is that it can help safety managers not only estimate the population at risk, but also to help plan evacuations, make sheltering decisions, establish the resources required to provide aid and comfort, and mitigate damages in case of a disaster.

  15. Safety Assessment of Multi Purpose Small Payload Rack(MSPR)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mizutani, Yoshinobu; Takada, Satomi; Murata, Kosei; Ozawa, Daisaku; Kobayashi, Ryoji; Nakamura, Yasuhiro

    2010-09-01

    We are reporting summary of preliminary safety assessment for Multi Purpose Small Payload Rack(MSPR), which is one of the micro gravity experiment facilities that are being developed for the 2nd phase JEM utilization(JEM: Japanese Experiment Module) that will be launched on H-II Transfer Vehicle(HTV) 2nd flight in 2011. MSPR is used for multi-purpose micro-g experiment providing experimental spaces and work stations. MSPR has three experimental spaces; first, there is a space called Work Volume(WV) with capacity volume of approximately 350 litters, in which multiple resources including electricity, communication, and moving image functions can be used. Within this space, installation of devices can be done by simple, prompt attachment by Velcro and pins with high degree of flexibility. Second, there is Small Experiment Area(SEA), with capacity volume of approximately 70 litters, in which electricity, communication, and moving image functions can also be used in the same way as WV. These spaces protect experiment devices and specimens from contingent loads by the crewmembers. Third, there is Work Bench with area of 0.5 square meters, on which can be used for maintenance, inspection and data operations of installed devices, etc. This bench can be stored in the rack during contingency. Chamber for Combustion Experiment(CCE) that is planned to be installed in WV is a pressure-resistant experimental container that can be used to seal hazardous materials from combustion experiments. This CCE has double sealing design in chamber itself, which resist gas leakage under normal the temperature and pressure. Electricity, communication, moving image function can be used in the same way as WV. JAXA Phase 2 Safety Review Panel(SRP) has been held in April, 2010. For safety analysis of MSPR, hazards were identified based on Fault Tree Analysis methodology and then these hazards were classified into either eight ISS standard-type hazards or eight unique-type hazards that requires special controls based on ISS common safety assessment methodology. Safety evaluation results are reported in the Safety Assessment Report(SAR) 1). Regarding structural failure, unique hazards are especially evaluated considering not only the tolerance for launch load but also load by crewmembers or orbital loads. Regarding electrical shock, electricity design up to secondary power is evaluated in unique hazard from a view point of Electrical design suitable for high voltage(32VDC or more) circuit. Regarding rupture/leakage of pressure system, hazards of fuel supply line, waste line for combustion gas, and pressure system including CCE are evaluated. Also evaluation for contamination due to hazardous gas leakage from CCE is conducted. External propagation of fire from CCE is also evaluated. In this report, we will show the overview of the result of safety assessment and future plan toward critical design phase activity.

  16. Responding to Vaccine Safety Signals during Pandemic Influenza: A Modeling Study

    PubMed Central

    Maro, Judith C.; Fryback, Dennis G.; Lieu, Tracy A.; Lee, Grace M.; Martin, David B.

    2014-01-01

    Background Managing emerging vaccine safety signals during an influenza pandemic is challenging. Federal regulators must balance vaccine risks against benefits while maintaining public confidence in the public health system. Methods We developed a multi-criteria decision analysis model to explore regulatory decision-making in the context of emerging vaccine safety signals during a pandemic. We simulated vaccine safety surveillance system capabilities and used an age-structured compartmental model to develop potential pandemic scenarios. We used an expert-derived multi-attribute utility function to evaluate potential regulatory responses by combining four outcome measures into a single measure of interest: 1) expected vaccination benefit from averted influenza; 2) expected vaccination risk from vaccine-associated febrile seizures; 3) expected vaccination risk from vaccine-associated Guillain-Barre Syndrome; and 4) expected change in vaccine-seeking behavior in future influenza seasons. Results Over multiple scenarios, risk communication, with or without suspension of vaccination of high-risk persons, were the consistently preferred regulatory responses over no action or general suspension when safety signals were detected during a pandemic influenza. On average, the expert panel valued near-term vaccine-related outcomes relative to long-term projected outcomes by 3∶1. However, when decision-makers had minimal ability to influence near-term outcomes, the response was selected primarily by projected impacts on future vaccine-seeking behavior. Conclusions The selected regulatory response depends on how quickly a vaccine safety signal is identified relative to the peak of the pandemic and the initiation of vaccination. Our analysis suggested two areas for future investment: efforts to improve the size and timeliness of the surveillance system and behavioral research to understand changes in vaccine-seeking behavior. PMID:25536228

  17. 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

  18. Modular closed-loop control of diabetes.

    PubMed

    Patek, S D; Magni, L; Dassau, E; Karvetski, C; Toffanin, C; De Nicolao, G; Del Favero, S; Breton, M; Man, C Dalla; Renard, E; Zisser, H; Doyle, F J; Cobelli, C; Kovatchev, B P

    2012-11-01

    Modularity plays a key role in many engineering systems, allowing for plug-and-play integration of components, enhancing flexibility and adaptability, and facilitating standardization. In the control of diabetes, i.e., the so-called "artificial pancreas," modularity allows for the step-wise introduction of (and regulatory approval for) algorithmic components, starting with subsystems for assured patient safety and followed by higher layer components that serve to modify the patient's basal rate in real time. In this paper, we introduce a three-layer modular architecture for the control of diabetes, consisting in a sensor/pump interface module (IM), a continuous safety module (CSM), and a real-time control module (RTCM), which separates the functions of insulin recommendation (postmeal insulin for mitigating hyperglycemia) and safety (prevention of hypoglycemia). In addition, we provide details of instances of all three layers of the architecture: the APS© serving as the IM, the safety supervision module (SSM) serving as the CSM, and the range correction module (RCM) serving as the RTCM. We evaluate the performance of the integrated system via in silico preclinical trials, demonstrating 1) the ability of the SSM to reduce the incidence of hypoglycemia under nonideal operating conditions and 2) the ability of the RCM to reduce glycemic variability.

  19. Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) Critical Safety Software Overview

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Berthelier, D.

    2002-01-01

    The European Automated Transfer Vehicle is an unmanned transportation system designed to dock to International Space Station (ISS) and to contribute to the logistic servicing of the ISS. Concisely, ATV control is realized by a nominal flight control function (using computers, softwares, sensors, actuators). In order to cover the extreme situations where this nominal chain can not ensure safe trajectory with respect to ISS, a segregated proximity flight safety function is activated, where unsafe free drift trajectories can be encountered. This function relies notably on a segregated computer, the Monitoring and Safing Unit (MSU) ; in case of major ATV malfunction detection, ATV is then controlled by MSU software. Therefore, this software is critical because a MSU software failure could result in catastrophic consequences. This paper provides an overview both of this software functions and of the software development and validation method which is specific considering its criticality. First part of the paper describes briefly the proximity flight safety chain. Second part deals with the software functions. Indeed, MSU software is in charge of monitoring nominal computers and ATV corridors, using its own navigation algorithms, and, if an abnormal situation is detected, it is in charge of the ATV control during the Collision Avoidance Manoeuvre (CAM) consisting in an attitude controlled braking boost, followed by a Post-CAM manoeuvre : a Sun-pointed ATV attitude control during up to 24 hours on a safe trajectory. Monitoring, navigation and control algorithms principles are presented. Third part of this paper describes the development and validation process : algorithms functional studies , ADA coding and unit validations ; algorithms ADA code integration and validation on a specific non real-time MATLAB/SIMULINK simulator ; global software functional engineering phase, architectural design, unit testing, integration and validation on target computer.

  20. Pilot education and safety awareness programs

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Shearer, M.; Reynard, W. D.

    1984-01-01

    Guidelines necessary for the implementation of safety awareness programs for commuter airlines are discussed. A safety office can be viewed as fulfilling either an education and training function or a quality assurance function. Issues such as management structure, motivation, and cost limitations are discussed.

  1. Non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants have better efficacy and equivalent safety compared to warfarin in elderly patients with atrial fibrillation: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

    PubMed

    Kim, In-Soo; Kim, Hyun-Jung; Kim, Tae-Hoon; Uhm, Jae-Sun; Joung, Boyoung; Lee, Moon-Hyoung; Pak, Hui-Nam

    2018-08-01

    To evaluate the efficacy and safety of non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) in elderly patients (aged ≥75 years) with atrial fibrillation (AF), depending on dose and/or renal function. After systematically searching the databases (Medline, EMBASE, CENTRAL, SCOPUS, and Web of Science), 5 phase III randomized controlled trials and reported data according to subgroups of elderly/non-elderly AF patients, comparing any NOACs and warfarin were included. The primary efficacy and safety outcomes were stroke/systemic thromboembolism and major bleeding. (1) NOACs showed better efficacy than warfarin in elderly patients [RR 0.83 (0.69-1.00), p=0.04, I 2 =55%], but equivalent efficacy in non-elderly patients. (2) NOACs reduced major bleeding compared to warfarin in non-elderly (p<0.001) and had comparable safety to warfarin in elderly patients. (3) Even in elderly patients with moderately impaired renal function, NOACs had a safety profile comparable to that of warfarin for major bleeding if dose reduction was reached appropriately [pooled RR 0.82 (0.35-1.88), p=0.63, I 2 =63%]. (4) All-cause mortality was lower with NOACs in non-elderly patients [RR 0.89 (0.83-0.95), p=0.001, I 2 =0%], and with standard-dose NOAC group of elderly patients [RR 0.93 (0.86-1.00), p=0.04, I 2 =0%] compared to warfarin. For elderly patients (aged ≥75 years), NOACs showed better efficacy and equivalent safety compared to warfarin even in those with moderately impaired renal function. All-cause mortality was lower with standard-dose NOACs compared to warfarin in the elderly patient group. The protocol of this meta-analysis was registered on PROSPERO under CRD42016047922 (https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.asp?ID=CRD42016047922). Copyright © 2018 Japanese College of Cardiology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Human Factors Considerations for Safe Recovery from Faults In Flight Control Systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Pritchett, Amy; Belcastro, C. M. (Technical Monitor)

    2003-01-01

    It is now possible - and important - to develop systems to help resolve Flight Control System (FCS) faults. From a human factors viewpoint, it is imperative that these systems take on roles, and provide functions, that are the most supportive to the pilot, given the stress, time pressure and workload they may experience following a FCS fault. FCS fault recovery systems may provide several different functions, including alerting, control assistance, and decision aiding. The biggest human factors questions are in the role suitable for the technology, and its specific functioning to achieve that role. Specifically, for these systems to be effective, they must meet the fundamental requirements that (1) they alert pilots to problems early enough that the pilot can reasonably resolve the fault and regain control of the aircraft and that (2) if the aircraft s handling qualities are severely degraded the HMS provide the appropriate stability augmentation to help the pilot stabilize and control the aircraft. This project undertook several research steps to develop such systems, focusing on the capabilities of pilots and on realistically attainable technologies. The ability to estimate which functions are the most valuable will help steer system development in the directions that can establish the highest safety levels.

  3. Training for an effective health and safety committee in a small business setting.

    PubMed

    Crollard, Allison; Neitzel, Richard L; Dominguez, Carlos F; Seixas, Noah S

    2013-01-01

    Health and safety committees are often heralded as a key element of successful health and safety programs, and are thought to represent a means of engaging workers in health and safety efforts. While the understanding of the factors that make these committees effective is growing, there are few resources for how to assist committees in developing these characteristics. This paper describes one approach to creating and implementing a training intervention aimed at improving health and safety committee function at one multilingual worksite. Short-term impacts were evaluated via questionnaire and qualitative observations of committee function. Results indicated high satisfaction with the training as well as modest increases in participation, cooperation, role clarity, and comfort with health and safety skills among committee members. The committee also made considerable achievements in establishing new processes for effective function. Similar interventions may be useful in other workplaces to increase health and safety committee success.

  4. Albumin Dialysis for Liver Failure: A Systematic Review.

    PubMed

    Tsipotis, Evangelos; Shuja, Asim; Jaber, Bertrand L

    2015-09-01

    Albumin dialysis is the best-studied extracorporeal nonbiologic liver support system as a bridge or destination therapy for patients with liver failure awaiting liver transplantation or recovery of liver function. We performed a systematic review to examine the efficacy and safety of 3 albumin dialysis systems (molecular adsorbent recirculating system [MARS], fractionated plasma separation, adsorption and hemodialysis [Prometheus system], and single-pass albumin dialysis) in randomized trials for supportive treatment of liver failure. PubMed, Ovid, EMBASE, Cochrane's Library, and ClinicalTrials.gov were searched. Two authors independently screened citations and extracted data on patient characteristics, quality of reports, efficacy, and safety end points. Ten trials (7 of MARS and 3 of Prometheus) were identified (620 patients). By meta-analysis, albumin dialysis achieved a net decrease in serum total bilirubin level relative to standard medical therapy of 8.0 mg/dL (95% confidence interval [CI], -10.6 to -5.4) but not in serum ammonia or bile acids. Albumin dialysis achieved an improvement in hepatic encephalopathy relative to standard medical therapy with a risk ratio of 1.55 (95% CI, 1.16-2.08) but had no effect survival with a risk ratio of 0.95 (95% CI, 0.84-1.07). Because of inconsistency in the reporting of adverse events, the safety analysis was limited but did not demonstrate major safety concerns. Use of albumin dialysis as supportive treatment for liver failure is successful at removing albumin-bound molecules, such as bilirubin and at improving hepatic encephalopathy. Additional experience is required to guide its optimal use and address safety concerns. Copyright © 2015 National Kidney Foundation, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. International Cooperation in the Field of International Space Station (ISS) Payload Safety

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Grayson, C.; Sgobba, T.; Larsen, A.; Rose, S.; Heimann, T.; Ciancone, M.; Mulhern, V.

    2005-12-01

    In the frame of the International Space Station (ISS) Program cooperation, in 1998 the European Space Agency (ESA) approached the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) with the unique concept of a Payload Safety Review Panel (PSRP) "franchise" based at the European Space Technology Center (ESTEC), where the panel would be capable of autonomously reviewing flight hardware for safety. This paper will recount the course of an ambitious idea as it progressed into a fully functional reality. It will show how a panel initially conceived at NASA to serve a national programme has evolved into an international safety cooperation asset. The PSRP established at NASA began reviewing ISS payloads approximately in late 1994 or early 1995 as an expansion of the pre- existing Shuttle Program PSRP. This paper briefly describes the fundamental Shuttle safety process and the establishment of the safety requirements for payloads intending to use the Space Transportation System and ISS. The paper will also offer some historical statistics about the experiments that completed the payload safety process for Shuttle and ISS. The paper then presents the background of ISS agreements and international treaties that had to be considered when establishing the ESA PSRP. The paper will expound upon the detailed franchising model, followed by an outline of the cooperation charter approved by the NASA Associate Administrator, Office of Space Flight, and ESA Director of Manned Spaceflight and Microgravity. The paper will then address the resulting ESA PSRP implementation and its success statistics to date. Additionally, the paper presents ongoing developments with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The discussion will conclude with ideas for future developments, such to achieve a fully integrated international system of payload safety panels for ISS.

  6. International Cooperation in the Field of International Space Station (ISS) Payload Safety

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Heimann, Timothy; Larsen, Axel M.; Rose, Summer; Sgobba, Tommaso

    2005-01-01

    In the frame of the International Space Station (ISS) Program cooperation, in 1998, the European Space Agency (ESA) approached the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) with the unique concept of a Payload Safety Review Panel (PSRP) "franchise" based at the European Space Technology Center (ESTEC), where the panel would be capable of autonomously reviewing flight hardware for safety. This paper will recount the course of an ambitious idea as it progressed into a fully functional reality. It will show how a panel initially conceived at NASA to serve a national programme has evolved into an international safety cooperation asset. The PSRP established at NASA began reviewing ISS payloads approximately in late 1994 or early 1995 as an expansion of the pre-existing Shuttle Program PSRP. This paper briefly describes the fundamental Shuttle safety process and the establishment of the safety requirements for payloads intending to use the Space Transportation System and International Space Station (ISS). The paper will also offer some historical statistics about the experiments that completed the payload safety process for Shuttle and ISS. The paper 1 then presents the background of ISS agreements and international treaties that had to be taken into account when establishing the ESA PSRP. The detailed franchising model will be expounded upon, followed by an outline of the cooperation charter approved by the NASA Associate Administrator, Office of Space Flight, and ESA Director of Manned Spaceflight and Microgravity. The resulting ESA PSRP implementation and its success statistics to date will then be addressed. Additionally the paper presents the ongoing developments with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The discussion will conclude with ideas for future developments, such to achieve a fully integrated international system of payload safety panels for ISS.

  7. Traceability of Software Safety Requirements in Legacy Safety Critical Systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hill, Janice L.

    2007-01-01

    How can traceability of software safety requirements be created for legacy safety critical systems? Requirements in safety standards are imposed most times during contract negotiations. On the other hand, there are instances where safety standards are levied on legacy safety critical systems, some of which may be considered for reuse for new applications. Safety standards often specify that software development documentation include process-oriented and technical safety requirements, and also require that system and software safety analyses are performed supporting technical safety requirements implementation. So what can be done if the requisite documents for establishing and maintaining safety requirements traceability are not available?

  8. Safety Studies for Use of Adipose Tissue‐Derived Mesenchymal Stromal/Stem Cells in a Rabbit Model for Osteoarthritis to Support a Phase I Clinical Trial

    PubMed Central

    Riester, Scott M.; Denbeigh, Janet M.; Lin, Yang; Jones, Dakota L.; de Mooij, Tristan; Lewallen, Eric A.; Nie, Hai; Paradise, Christopher R.; Radel, Darcie J.; Dudakovic, Amel; Camilleri, Emily T.; Larson, Dirk R.; Qu, Wenchun; Krych, Aaron J.; Frick, Matthew A.; Im, Hee‐Jeong; Dietz, Allan B.; Smith, Jay

    2016-01-01

    Abstract Adipose‐derived mesenchymal stem cells (AMSCs) offer potential as a therapeutic option for clinical applications in musculoskeletal regenerative medicine because of their immunomodulatory functions and capacity for trilineage differentiation. In preparation for a phase I clinical trial using AMSCs to treat patients with osteoarthritis, we carried out preclinical studies to assess the safety of human AMSCs within the intra‐articular joint space. Culture‐expanded human AMSCs grown in human platelet‐lysate were delivered via intra‐articular injections into normal healthy rabbit knees and knees at risk for the development of osteoarthritis after bilateral medial anterior hemimeniscectomy. Treatment outcomes and safety were evaluated by assessing the general health, function, and behavior of the animals. Joint tissues were analyzed by x‐ray, magnetic resonance imaging, and histopathology. Intra‐articular AMSC therapy was well tolerated in this study. We did not observe adverse systemic reactions, nor did we find evidence of damage to intra‐articular joint tissues. Thus, the data generated in this study show a favorable safety profile for AMSCs within the joint space in support of a phase I clinical trial evaluating the clinical utility of AMSCs to treat osteoarthritis. Stem Cells Translational Medicine 2017;6:910–922 PMID:28297568

  9. MODIS. Volume 1: MODIS level 1A software baseline requirements

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Masuoka, Edward; Fleig, Albert; Ardanuy, Philip; Goff, Thomas; Carpenter, Lloyd; Solomon, Carl; Storey, James

    1994-01-01

    This document describes the level 1A software requirements for the moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument. This includes internal and external requirements. Internal requirements include functional, operational, and data processing as well as performance, quality, safety, and security engineering requirements. External requirements include those imposed by data archive and distribution systems (DADS); scheduling, control, monitoring, and accounting (SCMA); product management (PM) system; MODIS log; and product generation system (PGS). Implementation constraints and requirements for adapting the software to the physical environment are also included.

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

    Grabaskas, David; Brunett, Acacia J.; Passerini, Stefano

    GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) and Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne) participated in a two year collaboration to modernize and update the probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) for the PRISM sodium fast reactor. At a high level, the primary outcome of the project was the development of a next-generation PRA that is intended to enable risk-informed prioritization of safety- and reliability-focused research and development. A central Argonne task during this project was a reliability assessment of passive safety systems, which included the Reactor Vessel Auxiliary Cooling System (RVACS) and the inherent reactivity feedbacks of the metal fuel core. Both systems were examinedmore » utilizing a methodology derived from the Reliability Method for Passive Safety Functions (RMPS), with an emphasis on developing success criteria based on mechanistic system modeling while also maintaining consistency with the Fuel Damage Categories (FDCs) of the mechanistic source term assessment. This paper provides an overview of the reliability analyses of both systems, including highlights of the FMEAs, the construction of best-estimate models, uncertain parameter screening and propagation, and the quantification of system failure probability. In particular, special focus is given to the methodologies to perform the analysis of uncertainty propagation and the determination of the likelihood of violating FDC limits. Additionally, important lessons learned are also reviewed, such as optimal sampling methodologies for the discovery of low likelihood failure events and strategies for the combined treatment of aleatory and epistemic uncertainties.« less

  11. Remotely Programmed Deep Brain Stimulation of the Bilateral Subthalamic Nucleus for the Treatment of Primary Parkinson Disease: A Randomized Controlled Trial Investigating the Safety and Efficacy of a Novel Deep Brain Stimulation System.

    PubMed

    Li, Dianyou; Zhang, Chencheng; Gault, Judith; Wang, Wei; Liu, Jianmin; Shao, Ming; Zhao, Yanyan; Zeljic, Kristina; Gao, Guodong; Sun, Bomin

    2017-01-01

    Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is the most commonly performed surgery for the debilitating symptoms of Parkinson disease (PD). However, DBS systems remain largely unaffordable to patients in developing countries, warranting the development of a safe, economically viable, and functionally comparable alternative. To investigate the efficacy and safety of wirelessly programmed DBS of bilateral subthalamic nucleus (STN) in patients with primary PD. Sixty-four patients with primary PD were randomly divided into test and control groups (1:1), where DBS was initiated at either 1 month or 3 months, respectively, after surgery. Safety and efficacy of the treatment were compared between on- and off-medication states 3 months after surgery. Outcome measures included analysis of Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) scores, duration of "on" periods, and daily equivalent doses of levodopa. All patients were followed up both 6 and 12 months after surgery. Three months after surgery, significant decrease in the UPDRS motor scores were observed for the test group in the off-medication state (25.08 ± 1.00) versus the control group (4.20 ± 1.99). Bilateral wireless programming STN-DBS is safe and effective for patients with primary PD in whom medical management has failed to restore motor function. © 2017 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  12. A model study of the Haihe river passenger ferry risk based on AHP

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Du, Jinyin; Xu, Yanming; Du, Chunzhi; Jin, Zhenhua

    2017-05-01

    The core function of maritime is water safety supervision, whose emphasis and difficulty is ferry. In combination with the practical situation of Haihe river passenger ferry operation management, this paper analyzes Haihe river passenger ferry risk from four aspects "human, machinery, environment and management", and establishes the ferry risk index system. By using AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process), the ferry risk evaluation model is established. By using the ferry model, the application of Ferry Zhengyanfa7 in Tianjin Haihe river crossing is evaluated, whose safety situation is verified to be between "relatively high risk" and "high risk".

  13. 49 CFR 659.19 - System safety program plan: contents.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 7 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false System safety program plan: contents. 659.19... ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION RAIL FIXED GUIDEWAY SYSTEMS; STATE SAFETY OVERSIGHT Role of the State Oversight Agency § 659.19 System safety program plan: contents. The system safety plan shall...

  14. 49 CFR 659.19 - System safety program plan: contents.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 7 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false System safety program plan: contents. 659.19... ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION RAIL FIXED GUIDEWAY SYSTEMS; STATE SAFETY OVERSIGHT Role of the State Oversight Agency § 659.19 System safety program plan: contents. The system safety plan shall...

  15. 49 CFR 659.19 - System safety program plan: contents.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 7 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false System safety program plan: contents. 659.19... ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION RAIL FIXED GUIDEWAY SYSTEMS; STATE SAFETY OVERSIGHT Role of the State Oversight Agency § 659.19 System safety program plan: contents. The system safety plan shall...

  16. 49 CFR 659.19 - System safety program plan: contents.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 7 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false System safety program plan: contents. 659.19... ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION RAIL FIXED GUIDEWAY SYSTEMS; STATE SAFETY OVERSIGHT Role of the State Oversight Agency § 659.19 System safety program plan: contents. The system safety plan shall...

  17. 49 CFR 659.19 - System safety program plan: contents.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 7 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false System safety program plan: contents. 659.19... ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION RAIL FIXED GUIDEWAY SYSTEMS; STATE SAFETY OVERSIGHT Role of the State Oversight Agency § 659.19 System safety program plan: contents. The system safety plan shall...

  18. Autonomous Control of Space Nuclear Reactors

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Merk, John

    2013-01-01

    Nuclear reactors to support future robotic and manned missions impose new and innovative technological requirements for their control and protection instrumentation. Long-duration surface missions necessitate reliable autonomous operation, and manned missions impose added requirements for failsafe reactor protection. There is a need for an advanced instrumentation and control system for space-nuclear reactors that addresses both aspects of autonomous operation and safety. The Reactor Instrumentation and Control System (RICS) consists of two functionally independent systems: the Reactor Protection System (RPS) and the Supervision and Control System (SCS). Through these two systems, the RICS both supervises and controls a nuclear reactor during normal operational states, as well as monitors the operation of the reactor and, upon sensing a system anomaly, automatically takes the appropriate actions to prevent an unsafe or potentially unsafe condition from occurring. The RPS encompasses all electrical and mechanical devices and circuitry, from sensors to actuation device output terminals. The SCS contains a comprehensive data acquisition system to measure continuously different groups of variables consisting of primary measurement elements, transmitters, or conditioning modules. These reactor control variables can be categorized into two groups: those directly related to the behavior of the core (known as nuclear variables) and those related to secondary systems (known as process variables). Reliable closed-loop reactor control is achieved by processing the acquired variables and actuating the appropriate device drivers to maintain the reactor in a safe operating state. The SCS must prevent a deviation from the reactor nominal conditions by managing limitation functions in order to avoid RPS actions. The RICS has four identical redundancies that comply with physical separation, electrical isolation, and functional independence. This architecture complies with the safety requirements of a nuclear reactor and provides high availability to the host system. The RICS is intended to interface with a host computer (the computer of the spacecraft where the reactor is mounted). The RICS leverages the safety features inherent in Earth-based reactors and also integrates the wide range neutron detector (WRND). A neutron detector provides the input that allows the RICS to do its job. The RICS is based on proven technology currently in use at a nuclear research facility. In its most basic form, the RICS is a ruggedized, compact data-acquisition and control system that could be adapted to support a wide variety of harsh environments. As such, the RICS could be a useful instrument outside the scope of a nuclear reactor, including military applications where failsafe data acquisition and control is required with stringent size, weight, and power constraints.

  19. Information and communication technology solutions for outdoor navigation in dementia.

    PubMed

    Teipel, Stefan; Babiloni, Claudio; Hoey, Jesse; Kaye, Jeffrey; Kirste, Thomas; Burmeister, Oliver K

    2016-06-01

    Information and communication technology (ICT) is potentially mature enough to empower outdoor and social activities in dementia. However, actual ICT-based devices have limited functionality and impact, mainly limited to safety. What is an ideal operational framework to enhance this field to support outdoor and social activities? Review of literature and cross-disciplinary expert discussion. A situation-aware ICT requires a flexible fine-tuning by stakeholders of system usability and complexity of function, and of user safety and autonomy. It should operate by artificial intelligence/machine learning and should reflect harmonized stakeholder values, social context, and user residual cognitive functions. ICT services should be proposed at the prodromal stage of dementia and should be carefully validated within the life space of users in terms of quality of life, social activities, and costs. The operational framework has the potential to produce ICT and services with high clinical impact but requires substantial investment. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. System safety education focused on flight safety

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Holt, E.

    1971-01-01

    The measures necessary for achieving higher levels of system safety are analyzed with an eye toward maintaining the combat capability of the Air Force. Several education courses were provided for personnel involved in safety management. Data include: (1) Flight Safety Officer Course, (2) Advanced Safety Program Management, (3) Fundamentals of System Safety, and (4) Quantitative Methods of Safety Analysis.

  1. Performance Requirements for Emergency Responder Interoperable and Compatible Electronic Safety Equipment

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Greenberg, Paul S.

    2012-01-01

    Firefighters and other emergency response personnel are presented with an increasing array of technologies to improve their health and safety. This includes real-time bidirectional communication, navigation and positional information, data on physiological and metabolic functions, as well as data on their surrounding environment. The emerging challenge is to integrate these elements into a practical system, addressing such features as power, data transfer, and inter-element coordination and communication. In many respects, NASA has addressed these aspects in the context of Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA). The EVA environment shares many common attributes with that of emergency response scenarios. A similar situation exists in terms of the need for interoperability among the various system sub-elements. A brief overview is presented on the similarities and differences in these two applications, as well as the technical approach adopted by NASA in terms of system design philosophy.

  2. A system of safety management practices and worker engagement for reducing and preventing accidents: an empirical and theoretical investigation.

    PubMed

    Wachter, Jan K; Yorio, Patrick L

    2014-07-01

    The overall research objective was to theoretically and empirically develop the ideas around a system of safety management practices (ten practices were elaborated), to test their relationship with objective safety statistics (such as accident rates), and to explore how these practices work to achieve positive safety results (accident prevention) through worker engagement. Data were collected using safety manager, supervisor and employee surveys designed to assess and link safety management system practices, employee perceptions resulting from existing practices, and safety performance outcomes. Results indicate the following: there is a significant negative relationship between the presence of ten individual safety management practices, as well as the composite of these practices, with accident rates; there is a significant negative relationship between the level of safety-focused worker emotional and cognitive engagement with accident rates; safety management systems and worker engagement levels can be used individually to predict accident rates; safety management systems can be used to predict worker engagement levels; and worker engagement levels act as mediators between the safety management system and safety performance outcomes (such as accident rates). Even though the presence of safety management system practices is linked with incident reduction and may represent a necessary first-step in accident prevention, safety performance may also depend on mediation by safety-focused cognitive and emotional engagement by workers. Thus, when organizations invest in a safety management system approach to reducing/preventing accidents and improving safety performance, they should also be concerned about winning over the minds and hearts of their workers through human performance-based safety management systems designed to promote and enhance worker engagement. Copyright © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  3. Multisensor system and artificial intelligence in housing for the elderly.

    PubMed

    Chan, M; Bocquet, H; Campo, E; Val, T; Estève, D; Pous, J

    1998-01-01

    To improve the safety of a growing proportion of elderly and disabled people in the developed countries, a multisensor system based on Artificial Intelligence (AI), Advanced Telecommunications (AT) and Information Technology (IT) has been devised and fabricated. Thus, the habits and behaviours of these populations will be recorded without disturbing their daily activities. AI will diagnose any abnormal behavior or change and the system will warn the professionals. Gerontology issues are presented together with the multisensor system, the AI-based learning and diagnosis methodology and the main functionalities.

  4. Cyberspace security system

    DOEpatents

    Abercrombie, Robert K; Sheldon, Frederick T; Ferragut, Erik M

    2014-06-24

    A system evaluates reliability, performance and/or safety by automatically assessing the targeted system's requirements. A cost metric quantifies the impact of failures as a function of failure cost per unit of time. The metrics or measurements may render real-time (or near real-time) outcomes by initiating active response against one or more high ranked threats. The system may support or may be executed in many domains including physical domains, cyber security domains, cyber-physical domains, infrastructure domains, etc. or any other domains that are subject to a threat or a loss.

  5. Racial/ethnic differences in obesity and comorbidities between safety-net- and non safety-net integrated health systems

    PubMed Central

    Balasubramanian, Bijal A.; Garcia, Michael P.; Corley, Douglas A.; Doubeni, Chyke A.; Haas, Jennifer S.; Kamineni, Aruna; Quinn, Virginia P.; Wernli, Karen; Zheng, Yingye; Skinner, Celette Sugg

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Previous research shows that patients in integrated health systems experience fewer racial disparities compared with more traditional healthcare systems. Little is known about patterns of racial/ethnic disparities between safety-net and non safety-net integrated health systems. We evaluated racial/ethnic differences in body mass index (BMI) and the Charlson comorbidity index from 3 non safety-net- and 1 safety-net integrated health systems in a cross-sectional study. Multinomial logistic regression modeled comorbidity and BMI on race/ethnicity and health care system type adjusting for age, sex, insurance, and zip-code-level income The study included 1.38 million patients. Higher proportions of safety-net versus non safety-net patients had comorbidity score of 3+ (11.1% vs. 5.0%) and BMI ≥35 (27.7% vs. 15.8%). In both types of systems, blacks and Hispanics were more likely than whites to have higher BMIs. Whites were more likely than blacks or Hispanics to have higher comorbidity scores in a safety net system, but less likely to have higher scores in the non safety-nets. The odds of comorbidity score 3+ and BMI 35+ in blacks relative to whites were significantly lower in safety-net than in non safety-net settings. Racial/ethnic differences were present within both safety-net and non safety-net integrated health systems, but patterns differed. Understanding patterns of racial/ethnic differences in health outcomes in safety-net and non safety-net integrated health systems is important to tailor interventions to eliminate racial/ethnic disparities in health and health care. PMID:28296752

  6. Addressing Uniqueness and Unison of Reliability and Safety for a Better Integration

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Huang, Zhaofeng; Safie, Fayssal

    2016-01-01

    Over time, it has been observed that Safety and Reliability have not been clearly differentiated, which leads to confusion, inefficiency, and, sometimes, counter-productive practices in executing each of these two disciplines. It is imperative to address this situation to help Reliability and Safety disciplines improve their effectiveness and efficiency. The paper poses an important question to address, "Safety and Reliability - Are they unique or unisonous?" To answer the question, the paper reviewed several most commonly used analyses from each of the disciplines, namely, FMEA, reliability allocation and prediction, reliability design involvement, system safety hazard analysis, Fault Tree Analysis, and Probabilistic Risk Assessment. The paper pointed out uniqueness and unison of Safety and Reliability in their respective roles, requirements, approaches, and tools, and presented some suggestions for enhancing and improving the individual disciplines, as well as promoting the integration of the two. The paper concludes that Safety and Reliability are unique, but compensating each other in many aspects, and need to be integrated. Particularly, the individual roles of Safety and Reliability need to be differentiated, that is, Safety is to ensure and assure the product meets safety requirements, goals, or desires, and Reliability is to ensure and assure maximum achievability of intended design functions. With the integration of Safety and Reliability, personnel can be shared, tools and analyses have to be integrated, and skill sets can be possessed by the same person with the purpose of providing the best value to a product development.

  7. Design and implementation of an identification system in construction site safety for proactive accident prevention.

    PubMed

    Yang, Huanjia; Chew, David A S; Wu, Weiwei; Zhou, Zhipeng; Li, Qiming

    2012-09-01

    Identifying accident precursors using real-time identity information has great potential to improve safety performance in construction industry, which is still suffering from day to day records of accident fatality and injury. Based on the requirements analysis for identifying precursor and the discussion of enabling technology solutions for acquiring and sharing real-time automatic identification information on construction site, this paper proposes an identification system design for proactive accident prevention to improve construction site safety. Firstly, a case study is conducted to analyze the automatic identification requirements for identifying accident precursors in construction site. Results show that it mainly consists of three aspects, namely access control, training and inspection information and operation authority. The system is then designed to fulfill these requirements based on ZigBee enabled wireless sensor network (WSN), radio frequency identification (RFID) technology and an integrated ZigBee RFID sensor network structure. At the same time, an information database is also designed and implemented, which includes 15 tables, 54 queries and several reports and forms. In the end, a demonstration system based on the proposed system design is developed as a proof of concept prototype. The contributions of this study include the requirement analysis and technical design of a real-time identity information tracking solution for proactive accident prevention on construction sites. The technical solution proposed in this paper has a significant importance in improving safety performance on construction sites. Moreover, this study can serve as a reference design for future system integrations where more functions, such as environment monitoring and location tracking, can be added. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Unmanned aircraft system sense and avoid integrity and continuity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jamoom, Michael B.

    This thesis describes new methods to guarantee safety of sense and avoid (SAA) functions for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) by evaluating integrity and continuity risks. Previous SAA efforts focused on relative safety metrics, such as risk ratios, comparing the risk of using an SAA system versus not using it. The methods in this thesis evaluate integrity and continuity risks as absolute measures of safety, as is the established practice in commercial aircraft terminal area navigation applications. The main contribution of this thesis is a derivation of a new method, based on a standard intruder relative constant velocity assumption, that uses hazard state estimates and estimate error covariances to establish (1) the integrity risk of the SAA system not detecting imminent loss of '"well clear," which is the time and distance required to maintain safe separation from intruder aircraft, and (2) the probability of false alert, the continuity risk. Another contribution is applying these integrity and continuity risk evaluation methods to set quantifiable and certifiable safety requirements on sensors. A sensitivity analysis uses this methodology to evaluate the impact of sensor errors on integrity and continuity risks. The penultimate contribution is an integrity and continuity risk evaluation where the estimation model is refined to address realistic intruder relative linear accelerations, which goes beyond the current constant velocity standard. The final contribution is an integrity and continuity risk evaluation addressing multiple intruders. This evaluation is a new innovation-based method to determine the risk of mis-associating intruder measurements. A mis-association occurs when the SAA system incorrectly associates a measurement to the wrong intruder, causing large errors in the estimated intruder trajectories. The new methods described in this thesis can help ensure safe encounters between aircraft and enable SAA sensor certification for UAS integration into the National Airspace System.

  9. Methods for identifying high collision concentrations for identifying potential safety improvements : development of advanced type 2 safety performance functions.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2016-06-30

    This research developed advanced type 2 safety performance functions (SPF) for roadway segments, intersections and ramps on the entire Caltrans network. The advanced type 2 SPFs included geometrics, traffic volume and hierarchical random effects, whi...

  10. Integration of passive driver-assistance systems with on-board vehicle systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Savchenko, V. V.; Poddubko, S. N.

    2018-02-01

    Implementation in OIAS such functions as driver’s state monitoring and high-precision calculation of the current navigation coordinates of the vehicle, modularity of the OIAS construction and the possible increase in the functionality through integration with other onboard systems has a promising development future. The development of intelligent transport systems and their components allows setting and solving fundamentally new tasks for the safety of human-to-machine transport systems, and the automatic analysis of heterogeneous information flows provides a synergistic effect. The analysis of cross-modal information exchange in human-machine transport systems, from uniform methodological points of view, will allow us, with an accuracy acceptable for solving applied problems, to form in real time an integrated assessment of the state of the basic components of the human-to-machine system and the dynamics in changing situation-centered environment, including the external environment, in their interrelations.

  11. 77 FR 37233 - Consolidated Delegation of Authority for the Office of Housing-Federal Housing Administration (FHA)

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-06-20

    ... of the accounting and financial information and systems functions; (7) The authority to prepare and... regulation of government- sponsored enterprises (GSEs) under the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety... Development to a new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, all powers and duties vested in HUD to carry out...

  12. 78 FR 63845 - Special Conditions: Embraer S.A., Model EMB-550 Airplanes; Isolation or Airplane Electronic...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-10-25

    ... the individual sending the comment (or signing the comment for an association, business, labor union... rudder, controlled by the pilot or copilot sidestick. The digital systems architecture for the Embraer... architecture is used for a diverse set of functions, including: Flight-safety related control and navigation...

  13. The use of interactive computer vision and robot hand controllers for enhancing manufacturing safety

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Marzwell, Neville I.; Jacobus, Charles J.; Peurach, Thomas M.; Mitchell, Brian T.

    1994-01-01

    Current available robotic systems provide limited support for CAD-based model-driven visualization, sensing algorithm development and integration, and automated graphical planning systems. This paper describes ongoing work which provides the functionality necessary to apply advanced robotics to automated manufacturing and assembly operations. An interface has been built which incorporates 6-DOF tactile manipulation, displays for three dimensional graphical models, and automated tracking functions which depend on automated machine vision. A set of tools for single and multiple focal plane sensor image processing and understanding has been demonstrated which utilizes object recognition models. The resulting tool will enable sensing and planning from computationally simple graphical objects. A synergistic interplay between human and operator vision is created from programmable feedback received from the controller. This approach can be used as the basis for implementing enhanced safety in automated robotics manufacturing, assembly, repair and inspection tasks in both ground and space applications. Thus, an interactive capability has been developed to match the modeled environment to the real task environment for safe and predictable task execution.

  14. The use of interactive computer vision and robot hand controllers for enhancing manufacturing safety

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Marzwell, Neville I.; Jacobus, Charles J.; Peurach, Thomas M.; Mitchell, Brian T.

    1994-02-01

    Current available robotic systems provide limited support for CAD-based model-driven visualization, sensing algorithm development and integration, and automated graphical planning systems. This paper describes ongoing work which provides the functionality necessary to apply advanced robotics to automated manufacturing and assembly operations. An interface has been built which incorporates 6-DOF tactile manipulation, displays for three dimensional graphical models, and automated tracking functions which depend on automated machine vision. A set of tools for single and multiple focal plane sensor image processing and understanding has been demonstrated which utilizes object recognition models. The resulting tool will enable sensing and planning from computationally simple graphical objects. A synergistic interplay between human and operator vision is created from programmable feedback received from the controller. This approach can be used as the basis for implementing enhanced safety in automated robotics manufacturing, assembly, repair and inspection tasks in both ground and space applications. Thus, an interactive capability has been developed to match the modeled environment to the real task environment for safe and predictable task execution.

  15. Model-Based Safety Analysis

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Joshi, Anjali; Heimdahl, Mats P. E.; Miller, Steven P.; Whalen, Mike W.

    2006-01-01

    System safety analysis techniques are well established and are used extensively during the design of safety-critical systems. Despite this, most of the techniques are highly subjective and dependent on the skill of the practitioner. Since these analyses are usually based on an informal system model, it is unlikely that they will be complete, consistent, and error free. In fact, the lack of precise models of the system architecture and its failure modes often forces the safety analysts to devote much of their effort to gathering architectural details about the system behavior from several sources and embedding this information in the safety artifacts such as the fault trees. This report describes Model-Based Safety Analysis, an approach in which the system and safety engineers share a common system model created using a model-based development process. By extending the system model with a fault model as well as relevant portions of the physical system to be controlled, automated support can be provided for much of the safety analysis. We believe that by using a common model for both system and safety engineering and automating parts of the safety analysis, we can both reduce the cost and improve the quality of the safety analysis. Here we present our vision of model-based safety analysis and discuss the advantages and challenges in making this approach practical.

  16. 10 CFR 830 Major Modification Determination for the ATR Diesel Bus (E-3) and Switchgear Replacement

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

    Noel Duckwtiz

    2011-05-01

    Near term replacement of aging and obsolescent original ATR equipment has become important to ensure ATR capability in support of NE’s long term national missions. To that end, a mission needs statement has been prepared for a non-major system acquisition which is comprised of three interdependent subprojects. The first project, subject of this determination, will replace the existent diesel-electrical bus (E-3) and associated switchgear. More specifically, INL proposes transitioning ATR to 100% commercial power with appropriate emergency backup to include: • Provide commercial power as the normal source of power to the ATR loads currently supplied by diesel-electric power. •more » Provide backup power to the critical ATR loads in the event of a loss of commercial power. • Replace obsolescent critical ATR power distribution equipment, e.g., switchgear, transformers, motor control centers, distribution panels. Completion of this and two other age-related projects (primary coolant pump and motor replacement and emergency firewater injection system replacement) will resolve major age related operational issues plus make a significant contribution in sustaining the ATR safety and reliability profile. The major modification criteria evaluation of the project pre-conceptual design identified several issues make the project a major modification: 1. Evaluation Criteria #2 (Footprint change). The addition of a new PC-4 structure to the ATR Facility to house safety-related SSCs requires careful attention to maintaining adherence to applicable engineering and nuclear safety design criteria (e.g., structural qualification, fire suppression) to ensure no adverse impacts to the safety-related functions of the housed equipment. 2. Evaluation Criteria #3 (Change of existing process). The change to the strategy for providing continuous reliable power to the safety-related emergency coolant pumps requires careful attention and analysis to ensure it meets a project primary object to maintain or reduce CDF and does not negatively affect the efficacy of the currently approved strategy. 3. Evaluation Criteria #5 (Create the need for new or revised safety SSCs). The change to the strategy for providing continuous reliable power to the safety-related emergency coolant pumps, based on the pre-conceptual design, will require the addition of two quick start diesel generators, their associated power coordination/distribution controls, and a UPS to the list of safety-related SSCs. Similarly to item 1 above, the addition of these active SSCs to the list of safety-related SSCs and replacement of the E-3 bus requires careful attention to maintaining adherence to applicable engineering and nuclear safety design criteria (e.g., seismic qualification, isolation of redundant trains from common fault failures) to ensure no adverse impacts to the safety-related functions.« less

  17. Safety performance functions for intersections : final report, December 2009.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2009-12-01

    Road safety management activities include screening the network for sites with a potential for safety improvement (Network : Screening), diagnosing safety problems at specific sites, and evaluating the safety effectiveness of implemented : countermea...

  18. 10 CFR 851.24 - Functional areas.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 4 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Functional areas. 851.24 Section 851.24 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY WORKER SAFETY AND HEALTH PROGRAM Specific Program Requirements § 851.24 Functional areas... minimum, include provisions for the following applicable functional areas in their worker safety and...

  19. 10 CFR 851.24 - Functional areas.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 4 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Functional areas. 851.24 Section 851.24 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY WORKER SAFETY AND HEALTH PROGRAM Specific Program Requirements § 851.24 Functional areas... minimum, include provisions for the following applicable functional areas in their worker safety and...

  20. 10 CFR 851.24 - Functional areas.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 4 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Functional areas. 851.24 Section 851.24 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY WORKER SAFETY AND HEALTH PROGRAM Specific Program Requirements § 851.24 Functional areas... minimum, include provisions for the following applicable functional areas in their worker safety and...

  1. 10 CFR 851.24 - Functional areas.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 4 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Functional areas. 851.24 Section 851.24 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY WORKER SAFETY AND HEALTH PROGRAM Specific Program Requirements § 851.24 Functional areas... minimum, include provisions for the following applicable functional areas in their worker safety and...

  2. 10 CFR 851.24 - Functional areas.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Functional areas. 851.24 Section 851.24 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY WORKER SAFETY AND HEALTH PROGRAM Specific Program Requirements § 851.24 Functional areas... minimum, include provisions for the following applicable functional areas in their worker safety and...

  3. 49 CFR 385.703 - Safety monitoring system.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Safety monitoring system. 385.703 Section 385.703... Safety Monitoring System for Non-North American Carriers § 385.703 Safety monitoring system. (a) General... Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSSs), and Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMRs). (b) Roadside monitoring...

  4. 49 CFR 385.103 - Safety monitoring system.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Safety monitoring system. 385.103 Section 385.103... Safety Monitoring System for Mexico-Domiciled Carriers § 385.103 Safety monitoring system. (a) General... Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSSs), and Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMRs). (b) Roadside monitoring...

  5. 49 CFR 385.703 - Safety monitoring system.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 5 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Safety monitoring system. 385.703 Section 385.703... Safety Monitoring System for Non-North American Carriers § 385.703 Safety monitoring system. (a) General... Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSSs), and Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMRs). (b) Roadside monitoring...

  6. 49 CFR 385.103 - Safety monitoring system.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 5 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Safety monitoring system. 385.103 Section 385.103... Safety Monitoring System for Mexico-Domiciled Carriers § 385.103 Safety monitoring system. (a) General... Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSSs), and Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMRs). (b) Roadside monitoring...

  7. Oak Ridge National Laboratory Health and Safety Long-Range Plan: Fiscal years 1989--1995

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

    Not Available

    1989-06-01

    The health and safety of its personnel is the first concern of ORNL and its management. The ORNL Health and Safety Program has the responsibility for ensuring the health and safety of all individuals assigned to ORNL activities. This document outlines the principal aspects of the ORNL Health and Safety Long-Range Plan and provides a framework for management use in the future development of the health and safety program. Each section of this document is dedicated to one of the health and safety functions (i.e., health physics, industrial hygiene, occupational medicine, industrial safety, nuclear criticality safety, nuclear facility safety, transportationmore » safety, fire protection, and emergency preparedness). Each section includes functional mission and objectives, program requirements and status, a summary of program needs, and program data and funding summary. Highlights of FY 1988 are included.« less

  8. Nuclear safety policy working group recommendations on nuclear propulsion safety for the space exploration initiative

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Marshall, Albert C.; Lee, James H.; Mcculloch, William H.; Sawyer, J. Charles, Jr.; Bari, Robert A.; Cullingford, Hatice S.; Hardy, Alva C.; Niederauer, George F.; Remp, Kerry; Rice, John W.

    1993-01-01

    An interagency Nuclear Safety Working Group (NSPWG) was chartered to recommend nuclear safety policy, requirements, and guidelines for the Space Exploration Initiative (SEI) nuclear propulsion program. These recommendations, which are contained in this report, should facilitate the implementation of mission planning and conceptual design studies. The NSPWG has recommended a top-level policy to provide the guiding principles for the development and implementation of the SEI nuclear propulsion safety program. In addition, the NSPWG has reviewed safety issues for nuclear propulsion and recommended top-level safety requirements and guidelines to address these issues. These recommendations should be useful for the development of the program's top-level requirements for safety functions (referred to as Safety Functional Requirements). The safety requirements and guidelines address the following topics: reactor start-up, inadvertent criticality, radiological release and exposure, disposal, entry, safeguards, risk/reliability, operational safety, ground testing, and other considerations.

  9. Common Aperture Techniques for Imaging Electro-Optical Sensors (CATIES).

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1980-02-01

    milliradians ) at the 5.33:1 zoom point. The zoom optics contain five elements with two moveable air -spaced doublets for accomplishing the zoom function...included in the electrical and optical design but due to funding limitations, system safety requirements during the testing phase and lack of long-term...determined during the system testing phase to be conducted by the Air Force. Limited electronic signal processing (split screen and video mix) was

  10. Clinical trial aims to improve outcomes for children and young adults with primary brain tumors | Center for Cancer Research

    Cancer.gov

    Central nervous system (CNS) tumors are the most common solid tumors among children and account for up to 25 percent of all childhood cancer cases. With few treatment options available at the time of recurrence or progression, this multicenter study will test the safety and efficacy of a drug that boosts the function of the immune system to fight tumors. Read more…

  11. Recent Technology of Sensing, Monitoring, Diagnosis, and Maintenance for Aged Electric Power and Energy System

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Matsumoto, Satoshi

    This paper deals with the recent topics related to sensing, monitoring, and diagnosis for electric power equipment. Moreover the risk management for such equipments has been an object of study in many terms such as economical, technical aspects, safety and rest, CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) etc. The relationship between the function of the economic engineering and the maintenance strategy for electric power system are reviewed.

  12. Does the concept of safety culture help or hinder systems thinking in safety?

    PubMed

    Reiman, Teemu; Rollenhagen, Carl

    2014-07-01

    The concept of safety culture has become established in safety management applications in all major safety-critical domains. The idea that safety culture somehow represents a "systemic view" on safety is seldom explicitly spoken out, but nevertheless seem to linger behind many safety culture discourses. However, in this paper we argue that the "new" contribution to safety management from safety culture never really became integrated with classical engineering principles and concepts. This integration would have been necessary for the development of a more genuine systems-oriented view on safety; e.g. a conception of safety in which human, technological, organisational and cultural factors are understood as mutually interacting elements. Without of this integration, researchers and the users of the various tools and methods associated with safety culture have sometimes fostered a belief that "safety culture" in fact represents such a systemic view about safety. This belief is, however, not backed up by theoretical or empirical evidence. It is true that safety culture, at least in some sense, represents a holistic term-a totality of factors that include human, organisational and technological aspects. However, the departure for such safety culture models is still human and organisational factors rather than technology (or safety) itself. The aim of this paper is to critically review the various uses of the concept of safety culture as representing a systemic view on safety. The article will take a look at the concepts of culture and safety culture based on previous studies, and outlines in more detail the theoretical challenges in safety culture as a systems concept. The paper also presents recommendations on how to make safety culture more systemic. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Neuropsychological Assessment of Driving Safety Risk in Older Adults With and Without Neurologic Disease

    PubMed Central

    Anderson, Steven W.; Aksan, Nazan; Dawson, Jeffrey D.; Uc, Ergun Y.; Johnson, Amy M.; Rizzo, Matthew

    2013-01-01

    Decline in cognitive abilities can be an important contributor to the driving problems encountered by older adults, and neuropsychological assessment may provide a practical approach to evaluating this aspect of driving safety risk. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate several commonly used neuropsychological tests in the assessment of driving safety risk in older adults with and without neurological disease. A further goal of this study was to identify brief combinations of neuropsychological tests that sample performances in key functional domains and thus could be used to efficiently assess driving safety risk. 345 legally licensed and active drivers over the age of 50, with either no neurologic disease (N=185), probable Alzheimer's disease (N=40), Parkinson's disease (N=91), or stroke (N=29), completed vision testing, a battery of 10 neuropsychological tests, and an 18 mile drive on urban and rural roads in an instrumented vehicle. Performances on all neuropsychological tests were significantly correlated with driving safety errors. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to identify 3 key cognitive domains assessed by the tests (speed of processing, visuospatial abilities, and memory), and several brief batteries consisting of one test from each domain showed moderate corrected correlations with driving performance. These findings are consistent with the notion that driving places demands on multiple cognitive abilities that can be affected by aging and age-related neurological disease, and that neuropsychological assessment may provide a practical off-road window into the functional status of these cognitive systems. PMID:22943767

  14. Neuropsychological assessment of driving safety risk in older adults with and without neurologic disease.

    PubMed

    Anderson, Steven W; Aksan, Nazan; Dawson, Jeffrey D; Uc, Ergun Y; Johnson, Amy M; Rizzo, Matthew

    2012-01-01

    Decline in cognitive abilities can be an important contributor to the driving problems encountered by older adults, and neuropsychological assessment may provide a practical approach to evaluating this aspect of driving safety risk. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate several commonly used neuropsychological tests in the assessment of driving safety risk in older adults with and without neurological disease. A further goal of this study was to identify brief combinations of neuropsychological tests that sample performances in key functional domains and thus could be used to efficiently assess driving safety risk. A total of 345 legally licensed and active drivers over the age of 50, with no neurologic disease (N = 185), probable Alzheimer's disease (N = 40), Parkinson's disease (N = 91), or stroke (N = 29), completed vision testing, a battery of 10 neuropsychological tests, and an 18-mile drive on urban and rural roads in an instrumented vehicle. Performances on all neuropsychological tests were significantly correlated with driving safety errors. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to identify 3 key cognitive domains assessed by the tests (speed of processing, visuospatial abilities, and memory), and several brief batteries consisting of one test from each domain showed moderate corrected correlations with driving performance. These findings are consistent with the notion that driving places demands on multiple cognitive abilities that can be affected by aging and age-related neurological disease, and that neuropsychological assessment may provide a practical off-road window into the functional status of these cognitive systems.

  15. Revisiting the safety of aspartame.

    PubMed

    Choudhary, Arbind Kumar; Pretorius, Etheresia

    2017-09-01

    Aspartame is a synthetic dipeptide artificial sweetener, frequently used in foods, medications, and beverages, notably carbonated and powdered soft drinks. Since 1981, when aspartame was first approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, researchers have debated both its recommended safe dosage (40 mg/kg/d) and its general safety to organ systems. This review examines papers published between 2000 and 2016 on both the safe dosage and higher-than-recommended dosages and presents a concise synthesis of current trends. Data on the safe aspartame dosage are controversial, and the literature suggests there are potential side effects associated with aspartame consumption. Since aspartame consumption is on the rise, the safety of this sweetener should be revisited. Most of the literature available on the safety of aspartame is included in this review. Safety studies are based primarily on animal models, as data from human studies are limited. The existing animal studies and the limited human studies suggest that aspartame and its metabolites, whether consumed in quantities significantly higher than the recommended safe dosage or within recommended safe levels, may disrupt the oxidant/antioxidant balance, induce oxidative stress, and damage cell membrane integrity, potentially affecting a variety of cells and tissues and causing a deregulation of cellular function, ultimately leading to systemic inflammation. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Life Sciences Institute. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  16. Formal Verification of Safety Properties for Aerospace Systems Through Algorithms Based on Exhaustive State-Space Exploration

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ciardo, Gianfranco

    2004-01-01

    The Runway Safety Monitor (RSM) designed by Lockheed Martin is part of NASA's effort to reduce aviation accidents. We developed a Petri net model of the RSM protocol and used the model checking functions of our tool SMART to investigate a number of safety properties in RSM. To mitigate the impact of state-space explosion, we built a highly discretized model of the system, obtained by partitioning the monitored runway zone into a grid of smaller volumes and by considering scenarios involving only two aircraft. The model also assumes that there are no communication failures, such as bad input from radar or lack of incoming data, thus it relies on a consistent view of reality by all participants. In spite of these simplifications, we were able to expose potential problems in the RSM conceptual design. Our findings were forwarded to the design engineers, who undertook corrective action. Additionally, the results stress the efficiency attained by the new model checking algorithms implemented in SMART, and demonstrate their applicability to real-world systems. Attempts to verify RSM with NuSMV and SPIN have failed due to excessive memory consumption.

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

    PubMed

    Jensen, Casper Bruun

    2008-03-01

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

  18. Understanding and managing the effects of battery charger and inverter aging

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gunther, W.; Aggarwal, S.

    An aging assessment of battery chargers and inverters was conducted under the auspices of the NRC's Nuclear Plant Aging Research (NPAR) Program. The intentions of this program are to resolve issues related to the aging and service wear of equipment and systems at operating reactor facilities and to assess their impact on safety. Inverters and battery chargers are used in nuclear power plants to perform significant functions related to plant safety and availability. The specific impact of a battery charger or inverter failure varies with plant configuration. Operating experience data have demonstrated that reactor trips, safety injection system actuations, and inoperable emergency core cooling systems have resulted from inverter failures; and dc bus degradation leading to diesel generator inoperability or loss of control room annunication and indication have resulted from battery and battery charger failures. For the battery charger and inverter, the aging and service wear of subcomponents have contributed significantly to equipment failures. This paper summarizes the data and then describes methods that can be used to detect battery charger and inverter degradation prior to failure, as well as methods to minimize the failure effects. In both cases, the managing of battery charger and inverter aging is emphasized.

  19. Space engine safety system

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Maul, William A.; Meyer, Claudia M.

    1991-01-01

    A rocket engine safety system was designed to initiate control procedures to minimize damage to the engine or vehicle or test stand in the event of an engine failure. The features and the implementation issues associated with rocket engine safety systems are discussed, as well as the specific concerns of safety systems applied to a space-based engine and long duration space missions. Examples of safety system features and architectures are given, based on recent safety monitoring investigations conducted for the Space Shuttle Main Engine and for future liquid rocket engines. Also, the general design and implementation process for rocket engine safety systems is presented.

  20. Safety climate and culture: Integrating psychological and systems perspectives.

    PubMed

    Casey, Tristan; Griffin, Mark A; Flatau Harrison, Huw; Neal, Andrew

    2017-07-01

    Safety climate research has reached a mature stage of development, with a number of meta-analyses demonstrating the link between safety climate and safety outcomes. More recently, there has been interest from systems theorists in integrating the concept of safety culture and to a lesser extent, safety climate into systems-based models of organizational safety. Such models represent a theoretical and practical development of the safety climate concept by positioning climate as part of a dynamic work system in which perceptions of safety act to constrain and shape employee behavior. We propose safety climate and safety culture constitute part of the enabling capitals through which organizations build safety capability. We discuss how organizations can deploy different configurations of enabling capital to exert control over work systems and maintain safe and productive performance. We outline 4 key strategies through which organizations to reconcile the system control problems of promotion versus prevention, and stability versus flexibility. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

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