Passenger Railroad Facility Safety Audit as Revenue Protection

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl M. Berkowitz ◽  
Louis D. Rubenstein
Keyword(s):  
Financial Resources ◽  
Safety Hazards ◽  
Safety Issues ◽  
Rail System ◽  
Pedestrian Accidents ◽  
Grade Crossings ◽  
Railroad Stations ◽  
Passenger Railroad ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Serious Injuries

Thousands of slip, trip, missteps and fall accidents and train collisions occur each year at railroad stations, terminals, and grade crossings resulting in serious injuries causing a significant drain of financial resources. This paper provides guidance in identifying common safety hazards and easy ways to reduce or eliminate these dangers. This paper will cover a variety of safety issues, which are commonly present in a railroad environment. It also provides estimates regarding the cost of railroad related pedestrian accidents. More than 95 percent of injuries on rail system injuries are minor. The top one percent of injury claims can account for 20 percent of the total claims’ cost.

REVIEWING THE USEFULNESS OF BIM ADOPTION IN IMPROVING SAFETY ENVIRONMENT OF CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

2016 ◽  
Vol 78 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Haleh Sadeghi ◽  
Saeed Reza Mohandes ◽  
Abdul Rahim Abdul Hamid ◽  
Christopher Preece ◽  
Ali Hedayati ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Construction Industry ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Information Modeling ◽  
Safety Equipment ◽  
Safety Hazards ◽  
Comprehensive Review ◽  
Safety Issues ◽  
The Past ◽  
Building Information ◽  
Serious Injuries

Construction industry has always been beset with injuries and fatalities happened resulting from overlooking pertinent safety rules and regulations. In this regard, Building Information Modeling (BIM) has recently grabbed many practitioners’ attention as a fruitful panacea in order to improve the safety issues of projects. Despite the fact that some studies have been conducted with regard to the usefulness of utilizing BIM in construction projects so as to minimize the accidents occurred in this sector, it is a great moot why there has not been any comprehensive review research scrutinizing the use of BIM in eliminating the safety hazards based on the past undertaken studies. Thus, the authors of this research have aimed at investigating in a great detail how the adoption of BIM in construction projects can bring about significant advantages. From the observations emerged, this conclusion can be drawn that BIM operation in construction industry, particularly prior to the construction stage, would considerably diminish the occurrence of accidents pertaining to safety matters emanating from improving the practitioners’ perception of projects through modeling the diverse safety equipment, and foremost, identifying the potential hazards that may contribute to serious injuries.

scholarly journals Duodenoscope Medical Device Reports Associated with Patient Infection, Patient Exposure, or Device Contamination

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. s196-s197
Author(s):  
Jian Connell ◽  
Shanil Haugen ◽  
Ann Ferriter
Keyword(s):  
Medical Device ◽  
The United States ◽  
Risk Of Infection ◽  
Patient Exposure ◽  
Safety Issues ◽  
Device User ◽  
Infection Patient ◽  
Device Use ◽  
Serious Injuries ◽  
Patient Infection

Background: Each year, the FDA receives more than a million reports of suspected device-associated deaths, serious injuries, and malfunctions. Medical device reports (MDRs) are submitted to the FDA by mandatory reporters (manufacturers, importers, and device user facilities) and voluntary reporters such as healthcare professionals, patients, and consumers. The FDA uses MDRs to monitor device performance, including monitoring reports of infection or device contamination to detect potential device-related safety issues and to share this information in public communications. In this analysis, the FDA presents MDRs for duodenoscopes, which are a type of flexible endoscope that have been associated with infections in patients. Methods: For this analysis, we searched the MDR database for duodenoscope reports submitted between January 2015 and July 1, 2019. MDRs were classified into clinical risk categories based on the MDR’s text narratives as patient infection (indicated the presence of infection in patients potentially transmitted by the device), patient exposure (indicated a contaminated device has been used in a patient, but the MDR lacks clear mention of patient infection), or device contamination (indicated that the device was contaminated, but no mention of device use in patients or patient infection). Results: Overall, 1,115 duodenoscope reports related to a patient infection, patient exposure, or device contamination for devices marketed inside and outside the United States were received from January 2015 to mid-2019. Among them, 79 MDRs were received for deaths in patient infection, patient exposure, or device contamination reports. The number of reported infections decreased from 247 MDRs in 2015 to 55 MDRs in the first half of 2019. Furthermore, the number of reported deaths decreased from 25 MDRs in 2015 to 2 MDRs reported in the first half of 2019. Conclusions: The MDR data indicate a decrease in the number of reported infections. The decrease in infections suggests that efforts to reduce the risk of infection from duodenoscopes have yielded improvements; however, additional improvements are necessary to further decrease the risk of infection.Funding: NoneDisclosures: None

Tools to Identify Safety Issues for a Corridor Safety-Improvement Program

2000 ◽  
Vol 1717 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerome P. Breyer
Keyword(s):  
Relational Databases ◽  
Safety Evaluation ◽  
Highway Safety ◽  
New Paradigm ◽  
Safety Hazards ◽  
Improvement Program ◽  
Satellite Systems ◽  
Safety Issues ◽  
Advanced Technologies ◽  
Safety Improvement

The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) recognizes that a new paradigm in highway safety evaluation was brought about by the advent of advanced technologies such as photo log, geographic information systems (GIS), and global-positioning satellite systems. Whereas these technologies are known to serve distinct singular purposes in a highway agency, ADOT has endeavored to explore the possibilities of integrating these technologies for the purpose of providing an all-encompassing perspective of crash history and roadside characteristics in a multimedia display of GIS maps and related photo imagery. The research provides the account of an analytic tool-development process aimed at improving the recognition of highway safety hazards. These hazards might otherwise be apparent if not for the relative complexity of existing relational databases and spatial GIS infrastructure at ADOT. Previous methods of mining data from the ADOT crash databases were limited in functionality as well as in reliability. By promoting the “visualization” of highway safety conditions, the advanced technologies open a wealth of new opportunities in identifying problematic roadside conditions and crash histories. This is expected to lead to an improved economy of implementing safety improvements that are designed properly to mitigate the “real” conditions that can be identified. The research is a companion to the larger, FHWA-sponsored research into establishing a corridor safety-improvement program for Arizona (FHWA Report FHWA-AZ 98-458).

scholarly journals Awareness of the cost of psychotropic medication among doctors: a service evaluation

2010 ◽  
Vol 34 (9) ◽  
pp. 364-366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dhananjay Kumar Singh ◽  
Shakil Khawaja ◽  
Ishaq Pala ◽  
Jaleel Khaja ◽  
Ray Krishnanu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cost Effective ◽  
Service Evaluation ◽  
Financial Resources ◽  
Clinical Implications ◽  
North East ◽  
The North ◽  
Old Age Psychiatry ◽  
Level Of Knowledge ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Structured Questionnaire

Aims and methodCost-effective prescribing is an increasingly important aspect of our practice. A service evaluation was carried out to assess the level of awareness and knowledge of different aspects of cost-effective prescribing among doctors working in the North East London Foundation Trust. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to benchmark knowledge against six standards.ResultsThe survey was completed by 71% of doctors working in adult or old age psychiatry. A total of 2% of doctors stated that they should always take into consideration the price of the drug when prescribing and only 5% of doctors claimed to know the price of medications they prescribe most frequently.Clinical implicationsStrategies to improve the poor level of knowledge and awareness in this area of clinical practice would be of benefit in making the best use of limited financial resources without any detriment to patient care.

scholarly journals RISK OF OVERINVESTMENT IN MUNICIPALITIES

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 63-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Łukasz Satoła
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Public Services ◽  
Financial Resources ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Business Activity ◽  
Benefit Analysis ◽  
Resources Management ◽  
Public Resources ◽  
Cost And Benefit Analysis ◽  
The Cost

This article describes investment activities of self-government territorial units. Its aim is to present the importance of investments for the provision of public services by municipalities. The opinions of the respondents about the causes of excessive or misguided investments and the ways of reducing their scale were presented. Surveys were conducted in 2015 and the temporal scope of the analysis is 2009–2014. The importance of investments for the provision of public services, shaping the living conditions of inhabitants, and conducting business activity were described. Based on that, overinvestment was identified as a negative trend in public resources management. The most frequent causes of excessive investment are megalomania of the municipality authorities and their desire to gain the support of the inhabitants (voters). Another important aspect is the lack of sufficient social control in the decision-making process regarding investment tasks execution. It was also demonstrated that overinvestment is due to the purpose of spending financial resources, not to the relative amount of investment expenses. Among the actions preventing excessive or misguided investments, the cost and benefit analysis was indicated the most often. Using strategic planning tools is also beneficial for the effectiveness of investing in self-government.

Injuries and the Cost of Falls Among Older Adults—How Pharmacists Can Help

2009 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 344-345 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald Limona
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Medical Expenditures ◽  
Public Health Issue ◽  
Considerable Morbidity ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Serious Injuries ◽  
Care Costs

Fall-related injuries are a serious public health issue among older adults. In addition to having a significant impact on our economy, these injuries are associated with considerable morbidity. Each year, 1 out of every 3 adults aged 65 and older fall; of these adults, 10% to 20% sustain serious injuries such as fractures or head traumas. Such injuries account for about 6% of medical expenditures for adults 65 years and older. Pharmacist interventions can prevent falls, thereby improving the quality of life of these older adults, preserving their independence, and significantly reducing health care costs.

scholarly journals Economics of high-rise construction: the feasibility of skyscrapers building in the Russian cities

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 ◽  
pp. 03056 ◽  
Author(s):  
Artur Petrov ◽  
Daria Petrova
Keyword(s):  
Population Density ◽  
Financial Resources ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Economic Aspects ◽  
High Rise ◽  
The World ◽  
Moscow City ◽  
Business Entities ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Regions Of Russia

The article considers the economic aspects of constructing high-rise buildings in the world and in Russia. Data on the number of high-rise buildings in Russian cities with a million population are presented. It is proved that interest in high-rise construction in Russia has been formed only in Moscow and partly in St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg. The analysis showed that the reason for this is the expensiveness of high-rise construction. According to the enlarged macro-calculation, the cost of building 1 m2of the area of the Federation Towers complex (Moscow City) is about 2710 $/m2. Practically a possibility of return on investments in the foreseeable time interval exists only in Moscow. For the regions of Russia this task is rather complicated. Population density in regional Russian cities is quite low, business entities do not have the necessary financial resources for investing in high-rise construction, and investments from abroad absent.

Economics of seismic safety for earthquake-prone Himalayan province of Uttarakhand in India

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 317-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Piyoosh Rautela ◽  
Girish Chandra Joshi ◽  
Shailesh Ghildiyal
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Seismic Vulnerability ◽  
Emergency Services ◽  
Financial Resources ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Seismic Safety ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Corrective Measures ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Seismic Resilience

Purpose The purpose of this study is to estimate the cost of seismic resilience of identified vulnerable lifeline public buildings in earthquake-prone Himalayan province of Uttarakhand in India. Design/methodology/approach Built area of the identified vulnerable lifeline buildings together with prevalent rate of construction has been considered for assessing the cost of seismic resilience while improvised rapid visual screening (RVS) technique, better suited to the built environment in the region, has been used for assessing seismic vulnerability. Findings Investment of US$250.08m is assessed as being required for ensuring seismic safety of 56.3, 62.1, 52.9, 64.6, 71.9 and 61.7% surveyed buildings, respectively, of fire and emergency services, police, health, education, local administration and other departments that are to become non-functional after an earthquake and result in a major socio-political turmoil. A total amount of US$467.71m is estimated as being required for making all the buildings of these departments seismically resilient. Research limitations/implications Actual investment estimates and reconstruction/retrofitting plans have to be prepared after detailed investigations as RVS technique only provides a preliminary estimate and helps in prioritising buildings for detailed investigations. Practical implications This study is intended to provide a snapshot of the state of seismic vulnerability together with the financial resources required for corrective measures. This is to help the authorities in planning phased mobilisation of financial and technical resources for making the built environment seismically resilient. Social implications This study is to bring forth awareness on this important issue and consequent public opinion in favour of safety of public facilities to ensure allocation of appropriate financial resources together with changes in techno-legal regime for the cause of earthquake safety. At the same time, this study is to motivate masses to voluntarily assess safety of their neighbourhood and undertake corrective measures. Originality/value This study is based on primary data collected by the authors.

Cost-Sensitive Learning in Medicine

2011 ◽  
pp. 57-75
Author(s):  
Alberto Freitas ◽  
Pavel Brazdil ◽  
Altamiro Costa-Pereira
Keyword(s):  
Diagnostic Tests ◽  
False Negative ◽  
Cost Sensitive Learning ◽  
Safety Issues ◽  
Misclassification Costs ◽  
Misclassification Errors ◽  
Cost Sensitive Classification ◽  
Human Costs ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Specific Diagnostic Test

This chapter introduces cost-sensitive learning and its importance in medicine. Health managers and clinicians often need models that try to minimize several types of costs associated with healthcare, including attribute costs (e.g. the cost of a specific diagnostic test) and misclassification costs (e.g. the cost of a false negative test). In fact, as in other professional areas, both diagnostic tests and its associated misclassification errors can have significant financial or human costs, including the use of unnecessary resource and patient safety issues. This chapter presents some concepts related to cost-sensitive learning and cost-sensitive classification and its application to medicine. Different types of costs are also present, with an emphasis on diagnostic tests and misclassification costs. In addition, an overview of research in the area of cost-sensitive learning is given, including current methodological approaches. Finally, current methods for the cost-sensitive evaluation of classifiers are discussed.

scholarly journals Direct Cost of Reprocessing Cotton-woven Surgical Drapes: a Case Study

2015 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 488-494 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariana Fexina Tomé ◽  
Antônio Fernandes Costa Lima
Keyword(s):  
Human Resources ◽  
Direct Cost ◽  
Financial Resources ◽  
Average Total Cost ◽  
Descriptive Case Study ◽  
Total Cost ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Cost Of Materials ◽  
The Cost

OBJECTIVE Identify the direct cost of reprocessing double and single cotton-woven drapes of the surgical LAP package. METHOD A quantitative, exploratory and descriptive case study, performed at a teaching hospital. The direct cost of reprocessing cotton-woven surgical drapes was calculated by multiplying the time spent by professionals involved in reprocessing the unit with the direct cost of labor, adding to the cost of materials. The Brazilian currency (R$) originally used for the calculations was converted to US currency at the rate of US$0.42/R$. RESULTS The average total cost for surgical LAP package was US$9.72, with the predominance being in the cost of materials (US$8.70 or 89.65%). It is noteworthy that the average total cost of materials was mostly impacted by the cost of the cotton-woven drapes (US$7.99 or 91.90%). CONCLUSION The knowledge gained will subsidize discussions about replacing reusable cotton-woven surgical drapes for disposable ones, favoring arguments regarding the advantages and disadvantages of this possibility considering human resources, materials, as well as structural, environmental and financial resources.

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