The structure of near misses and occupational accidents in the polish construction industry

Near misses are referred to in literature as precursors of occupational accidents. These events, and their relationships with occupational accidents in various economic sectors have been the subject of research in several countries around the world. In Poland, there has not been a lot of research with regards to near misses in the construction industry, and the published materials are of a very general nature. This article aims to fill the existing research gap regarding the relationship between near misses and occupational accidents in the Polish construction industry. The aim of the research presented in the article was to identify the qualitative and quantitative structure of hazardous events in the construction industry, and to estimate the a posteriori probability of the occurrence of such events. The research was carried out on the basis of information obtained from the hazardous event registration system from a large Polish enterprise that carried out construction works in Poland in the years 2015-2022. Identified dangerous events in the construction industry were divided into two generic groups, i.e. occupational accidents and near misses. Within each group, eight categories of hazardous events were identified, and subcategories were defined within each category. The power of each set and subset of events was then calculated. The posterior probability of the occurrence of events classified into individual sets was estimated using Bayes' theorem. Cross-validation of the obtained results was performed. Conclusions resulting from the conducted analyzes were formulated. The most common category of the analyzed dangerous events in the construction industry is "being hit by objects"; "being run over/falling over" and "work environment". Knowledge of the most common causes of near misses will allow actions that aim to reduce the number of occupational accidents to be determined.

Establishment-level occupational safety analytics: Challenges and opportunities

In occupational safety and health, big data and analytics show promise for the prediction and prevention of workplace injuries. Advances in computing power and analytical methods have allowed companies to reveal insights from the "big" data that previously would have gone undetected. Despite the promise, occupational safety has lagged behind other industries, such as supply chain management and healthcare, in terms of exploiting the potential of analytics and much of the data collected by organizations goes unanalyzed. The purpose of the present paper is to argue for the broader application of establishment-level safety analytics. This is accomplished by defining the terms, describing previous research, outlining the necessary components required, and describing knowledge gaps and future directions. The knowledge gaps and future directions for research in establishment-level analytics are categorized into readiness for analytics, analytics methods, technology integration, data culture, and impact of analytics.

Promoting farming sustainability: The effects of age, training, history of accidents and social-psychological variables on the adoption of on-farm safety behaviors

INTRODUCTION

Occupational safety and health (OSH) have a remarkable impact on the sustainability of firms and organizations. However, the sustainability perspective has often focused primarily on environmental and economic concerns, leaving key social and workplace aspects, such as OSH, underemphasized. The link between all these aspects is particularly relevant in agriculture.

METHOD

In the present study we analyzed the paths by which the worker's age, participation in safety training, and previous history of accidents and near misses can influence the adoption of safety behaviors in agriculture through the mediation of attitudes towards safety and perceived behavioral control. Three hundred and ten Italian agricultural operators were administered an ad-hoc questionnaire.

RESULTS

Having attended safety training courses, having been exposed to previous accidents and near misses, and age showed a positive association with the adoption of on-farm safety behaviors, through the mediation of perceived behavioral control. In more detail, participation in training courses and age showed a positive association with perceived behavioral control, while the previous history of accidents and near misses showed a negative association with behavioral control. In turn, perceived behavioral control was positively associated with the adoption of safety behaviors.

CONCLUSIONS

The present study focused on the chain of events leading to the adoption of on-farm safety behaviors, which can prevent an accidents, pointing out the more critical variables and the level at which they intervene, identifying possible areas of targeted interventions. Practical applications: Implications for the development of targeted interventions may deal with: (a) training activities increasing farm operators' sense of control over their safety, (b) older farmers involvement in mentoring initiatives, and (c) systematic recording and use of previous history of accidents and near misses as inputs for training activities to discuss their implications for on-farm safety.

Second-order problem solving: Nurses' perspectives on learning from near misses

OBJECTIVES

Near misses happen more frequently than actual errors, and highlight system vulnerabilities without causing any harm, thus provide a safe space for organizational learning. Second-order problem solving behavior offers a new perspective to better understand how nurses promote learning from near misses to improve organizational outcomes. This study aimed to explore frontline nurses' perspectives on using second-order problem solving behavior in learning from near misses to improve patient safety.

METHODS

A qualitative exploratory study design was employed. This study was conducted in three tertiary hospitals in east China from June to November 2015. Purposive sampling was used to recruit 19 frontline nurses. Semi-structured interviews and a qualitative directed content analysis was undertaken using Crossan's 4I Framework of Organizational Learning as a coding framework.

RESULTS

Second-order problem solving behavior, based on the 4I Framework of Organizational Learning, was referred to as being a leader in exposing near misses, pushing forward the cause analysis within limited capacity, balancing the active and passive role during improvement project, and promoting the continuous improvement with passion while feeling low-powered.

CONCLUSIONS

4I Framework of Organizational Learning can be an underlying guide to enrich frontline nurses' role in promoting organizations to learn from near misses. In this study, nurses displayed their pivotal role in organizational learning from near misses by using second-order problem solving. However, additional knowledge, skills, and support are needed to maximize the application of second-order problem solving behavior when near misses are recognized.

Registered nurses' experiences of near misses in ambulance care - A critical incident technique study

BACKGROUND

In hospitals, potentially harmful near misses occur daily exposing patients to adverse events and safety risks. The same applies to ambulance care, but it is unclear what the risks are and why near misses arise.

AIM

To explore registered nurses' experiences and behaviours associated with near misses where patient safety in the ambulance service was jeopardized.

METHODS

Based on critical incident technique, a retrospective and descriptive design with individual qualitative interviews was used. Ten men and five women from the Swedish ambulance service participated.

RESULTS

Seventy-three critical incidents of near misses constituted four main areas: Drug management; Human-technology interactions; Assessment and care and Patient protection actions. Incidents were found in drug management with incorrect drug mixing and dosage. In human-technology interactions, near misses were found in handling of electrocardiography, mechanical chest compression devices and other equipment. Misjudgement and delayed treatment were found in patient assessments and care measures while patient protection actions failed in transport safety, hygiene and local area knowledge.

CONCLUSIONS

Experiencing near misses led to stress, guilt and shame. The typical behaviour in response to near misses was to immediately correct the action. Occasionally, however, the near miss was not discovered until later without causing any harm.

The attitudes of nursing students and clinical instructors towards reporting irregular incidents in the medical clinic

Despite efforts to increase patient safety, medical incidents and near misses occur daily. Much is still unknown about this phenomenon, especially due to underreporting. This study examined why nursing students and clinical instructors underreport medical events, and whether they believe that changes within their institutions could increase reporting. 103 third- and fourth-year nursing students and 55 clinical instructors completed a validated questionnaire. The results showed that about one-third of the instructors and one-half of the nursing students believed that circumstances and lack of awareness, and fear of consequences, lead to underreporting. Both nursing students and clinical instructors ranked "fear of consequences" as the main reason for not reporting, yet students ranked this higher than their instructors. Moreover, both groups believed that incident reporting could be increased following changes in the clinical field, mainly by increasing awareness and knowledge. A large percentage of participants also wrote that they do not report errors that are the result of circumstances and lack of awareness, mainly fear of consequences. Therefore, hospitals and academic institutions may need to create a more accepting organizational climate. Moreover, institutions that allow incident reports to be submitted anonymously and that take educational (not disciplinary) action, may increase incident reporting.

Contributing factors to outpatient pharmacy near miss errors: a Malaysian prospective multi-center study

Background Detecting errors before medication dispensed or 'near misses' is a crucial step to combat the incidence of dispensing error. Despite this, no published evidence available in Malaysia relating to these issues. Objective To determine the incidence of medication labeling and filling errors, frequency of each type of the errors and frequency of the contributing factors at the final stage before dispensing. Setting Six Penang public funded hospitals outpatient pharmacies. Methods A prospective multicentre study, over 8 week's period. Pharmacists identified and recorded the details of either medication labeling and/or filling error at the final stage of counter-checking before dispensing. Besides, the contributing factors for each error were determined and recorded in data collection form. Descriptive analysis was used to explain the study data. Main outcome measure The incidence of near misses. Results A total of 187 errors (near misses) detected, with 59.4% (n = 111) were medication filling errors and 40.6% (n = 76) were labeling errors. Wrong drug (n = 44, 39.6%) was identified as the highest type of filling errors while incorrect dose (n = 34, 44.7%) was identified as the highest type of labeling errors. Distracted and interrupted work environment was reported to lead the highest labeling and filling errors, followed by lack of knowledge and skills for filling errors and high workload for labeling errors. Conclusion The occurrence of near misses related to medication filling and labelling errors is substantial at outpatient pharmacy in Penang public funded hospitals. Further research is warranted to evaluate the intervention strategies needed to reduce the near misses.

Actual safety performance of the Malaysian offshore oil platforms: Correlations between the leading and lagging indicators

INTRODUCTION

This study establishes the correlations between performance of a set of key safety factors and the actual lagging performance of oil platforms in Malaysia, hence the relevance of the key safety factors in evaluating and predicting the safety performance of oil and gas platforms. The key factors are crucial components of a safety performance evaluation framework and each key safety factor corresponds to a list of underlying safety indicators.

METHOD

In this study, participating industrial practitioners rated the compliance status of each indicator using a numbering system adapted from the traffic light system, based on the actual performance of 10 oil platforms in Malaysia. Safety scores of the platforms were calculated based on the ratings and compared with the actual lagging performance of the platforms. Safety scores of two platforms were compared with the facility status reports' findings of the respective platforms.

RESULTS

The platforms studied generally had good performance. Total recordable incident rates of the platforms were found to show significant negative correlations with management and work engagement on safety, compliance score for number of incident and near misses, personal safety, and management of change. Lost time injury rates, however, correlated negatively with hazard identification and risk assessment. The safety scores generally agreed with findings of the facility status reports with substandard process containment found as a contributor of hydrocarbon leaks.

CONCLUSIONS

This study proves the criterion validity of the safety performance evaluation framework and demonstrates its usability for benchmarking and continuous improvement of safety practices on the Malaysian offshore oil and gas platforms.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

This study reveals the applicability of the framework and the potential of extending safety reporting beyond the few conventional lagging safety performance indicators used. The study also highlights the synergy between correlating safety factors to streamline safety management on offshore platforms.

Voices carry: Effects of verbal and physical aggression on injuries and accident reporting

Recent years have witnessed a staggeringly high number of workplace aggressive behaviors as well as employee accidents and injuries. Exposure to workplace aggression is associated with a host of negative psychological, emotional, and physiological outcomes, yet research relating workplace aggression to employee safety outcomes is lacking. This study aims to examine the association between exposure to workplace physical and verbal aggression with workplace injuries and underreporting of accidents and near misses. Furthermore, deriving from social exchange theory, we attempt to reveal an underlying mechanism in the association between workplace aggression and underreporting of accidents and near misses. Finally, borrowing from aggression research on intimate relationships, we compare the relative importance of exposure to physical and verbal aggression on workplace injuries and underreporting. Using survey data from 364 public transportation personnel, we found that both verbal and physical aggression significantly predict workplace injuries as well as underreporting. Moreover, mediation analyses found that the relationship between verbal and physical aggression and underreporting was largely explained by an increase in negative reporting attitudes (rather than decreases in safety knowledge or motivation). Compared to exposure to physical aggression, exposure to verbal aggression best predicted employee underreporting of accidents and near misses. However, physical aggression was a better predictor of injuries than verbal aggression. Given these findings, organizational leaders should strive to foster a safe working environment by minimizing interpersonal mistreatment and increasing employee attitudes for reporting accidents.

The Effect of Losses Disguised as Wins and Near Misses in Electronic Gaming Machines: A Systematic Review

Near misses and losses disguised as wins have been of interest to gambling researchers and policymakers for many years (e.g., Griffiths in J Gambl Stud 9(2):101-120, 1993). This systematic literature review describes the behavioural, psychological, and psychobiological effects of near misses and losses disguised as wins (LDWs) in an effort to evaluate their precise influence on the player and to highlight areas requiring further investigation. A systematic search for relevant studies was conducted using Scopus, PubMed, PsycINFO, ProQuest Sociology databases, and the Gambling Research Exchange Ontario Knowledge Repository. A total of 51 (from an initial pool of 802) experimental peer-reviewed studies using human participants were found between 1991 and 2015. The systematic review revealed that near misses motivate continued play, but have varying effects on the emotional state or betting behaviour of the player. Near miss events were also shown to be associated with elevated skin conductance levels and diffuse activity across the brain, most consistently in areas processing reinforcement and reward. Re-examination of the studies of near misses events after classifying the type of game feedback suggested that the effectiveness of near misses is related to the phenomenology of a near miss itself rather than as a response to auditory or visual feedback provided by a slot machine. In contrast to near misses, the presence of LDWs was found to relate to an overestimation of how much a player is actually winning and was consistently viewed as an exciting event. The effect of LDWs appears to be driven by the presence of visuals and sounds most often associated with a true win. Practical implications and directions for future research are also discussed.