Making algorithms safe for workers: occupational risks associated with work managed by artificial intelligence

2021 ◽  
pp. 102425892110350
Author(s):  
Adrián Todolí-Signes
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Health Hazards ◽  
Risk Prevention ◽  
Occupational Risks ◽  
Technological Management

It is increasingly common for companies to use artificial intelligence mechanisms to manage work. This study examines the health hazards caused by these new forms of technological management. Occupational risks can be reduced if they are taken into account when programming an algorithm. This study confirms the need for algorithms to be correctly programmed, taking account of these occupational risks. In the same way as supervisors have to be trained in risk prevention to be able to perform their work, the algorithm must be programmed to weigh up the occupational risks – and when such features do not exist, steps must be taken to prevent the algorithm being used to direct workers. The algorithm must assess all (known) factors posing a risk to workers’ health and safety. It therefore seems necessary to incorporate a mandatory risk assessment performed by specialists in the programming of algorithms so that all ascertained risks can be taken into account.

scholarly journals Plan de Seguridad y Salud a través de un manual y capacitación para atender la normatividad de la STPS y disminuir los riesgos de trabajo en el primer semestre de 2020, en una empresa maquiladora de calzado de la ciudad de León, Gto.

2020 ◽  
pp. 5-10
Author(s):  
Alejandra Guadalupe Ortiz-Aguirre ◽  
Miguel Ángel Rivera-Cisneros ◽  
Sandra Ruiz Esparza-Ochoa ◽  
Claudia Sánchez-Soto
Keyword(s):  
Human Capital ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Risk Prevention ◽  
Strategic Objectives ◽  
Occupational Risks ◽  
Production Processes ◽  
Safety And Health ◽  
Safety Plan ◽  
The City ◽  
And Training

This article presents the results of an investigation that was applied to a footwear assembly company in the city of León, Guanajuato, in which an occupational health and safety plan was designed through a manual and training for the staff to comply with the Official Mexican Standards (NOM) of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security (STPS) and reduce work risks. Occupational Risk Prevention is the discipline that seeks to promote the safety and health of workers by identifying, evaluating and controlling the dangers and risks associated with production processes, as well as promoting the development of activities and measures to prevent occupational risks , thus strengthening the strategic objectives for the development of human capital within the organization.

scholarly journals Training Competences in Industrial Risk Prevention with Lego® Serious Play®: A Case Study

Safety ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto Cerezo-Narváez ◽  
Antonio Córdoba-Roldán ◽  
Andrés Pastor-Fernández ◽  
Francisco Aguayo-González ◽  
Manuel Otero-Mateo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Students ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Industrial Sector ◽  
Risk Prevention ◽  
Protection Measures ◽  
Industrial Engineer ◽  
Occupational Risks ◽  
Student Teams ◽  
Technical Solutions ◽  
Industrial Risk

This paper proposes the use of the Lego® Serious Play® (LSP) methodology as a facilitating tool for the introduction of competences for Industrial Risk Prevention by engineering students from the industrial branch (electrical, electronic, mechanical and technological engineering), presenting the results obtained in the Universities of Cadiz and Seville in the academic years 2017–2019. Current Spanish legislation does not reserve any special legal attribution, nor does it require specific competence in occupational risk prevention for the regulated profession of a technical industrial engineer (Order CIN 351:2009), and only does so in a generic way for that of an industrial engineer (Order CIN 311:2009). However, these universities consider the training in occupational health and safety for these future graduates as an essential objective in order to develop them for their careers in the industry. The approach is based on a series of challenges proposed (risk assessments, safety inspections, accident investigations and fire protection measures, among others), thanks to the use of “gamification” dynamics with Lego® Serious Play®. In order to carry the training out, a set of specific variables (industrial sector, legal and regulatory framework, business organization and production system), and transversal ones (leadership, teamwork, critical thinking and communication), are incorporated. Through group models, it is possible to identify dangerous situations, establish causes, share and discuss alternative proposals and analyze the economic, environmental and organizational impact of the technical solutions studied, as well as take the appropriate decisions, in a creative, stimulating, inclusive and innovative context. In this way, the theoretical knowledge which is acquired is applied to improve safety and health at work and foster the prevention of occupational risks, promoting the commitment, effort, motivation and proactive participation of the student teams.

scholarly journals Zero-Risk Interpretation in the Level of Preventive Action Method Implementation for Health and Safety in Construction Sites

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (7) ◽  
pp. 3534
Author(s):  
Antonio José Carpio-de los Pinos ◽  
María de las Nieves González-García ◽  
Ligia Cristina Pentelhão ◽  
J. Santos Baptista
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Evaluation Criteria ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Preventive Action ◽  
Construction Sites ◽  
Occupational Risks ◽  
Safety Risks ◽  
Perception Of Health

Risk assessment is a legal obligation for all companies in most countries worldwide. It aims to control the quality of working conditions and avoid externalizing the consequences of accidents and resulting costs to society. This work discusses the need for an adequate interpretation of the zero-risk concept from a technical-preventive perspective to assess occupational risks in construction sites. A critical analysis of several risk assessment methodologies was carried out, focusing on the evaluation criteria of little or no-risk situations. The verification of the results was made through a case study. The perception of health and safety risks by workers is very different from that of the evaluators. Often, when workers identify a situation as low-risk or even zero-risk, the evaluator assesses the same context as maximum risk. Given the workers’ and the evaluators’ responses, the Preventive Action Method establishes a new parameter, the Environment Congruence. This parameter is based on the perception of the preventive environment and gives more importance to the evaluators’ decision. When preventive action is optimal, the risk is low in all preventive observation settings. In conclusion, this study justifies the non-nullity of the risk and the difficulty of assessing zero-risk in construction sites. Therefore, evaluations with qualitative and quantitative non-risk approaches should be discarded.

scholarly journals Biological risk assessment: A challenge for occupational health and safety practitioners during the COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) Pandemic

Work ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Carlos Carvalhais ◽  
Micaela Querido ◽  
Cristiana C. Pereira ◽  
Joana Santos
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Assessment Method ◽  
Occupational Safety And Health ◽  
Risk Level ◽  
Biological Risk ◽  
Occupational Risks ◽  
Qualitative Risk Assessment ◽  
Safety And Health ◽  
Medium Risk

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 global pandemic brought several challenges to occupational safety and health practice. One of these is the need to (re)assess the occupational risks, particularly, biological risks. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this work is to promote guidance to occupational safety and health practitioners when conducting a biological risk assessment in this context. METHODS: The main steps of the biological risk assessment are explained with some inputs regarding the novelty posed by SARS-CoV-2 and an example of a qualitative risk assessment method is presented. Also, its application to two different activities was exemplified. RESULTS: In both cases, the assessment considered that vulnerable workers were working from home or in medical leave. The results showed low or medium risk level for the assessed tasks. For medium risk level, additional controls are advised, such maintain social distancing, sanitize instruments/equipment before use, use proper and well-maintained PPE (when applicable), and promote awareness sessions to spread good practices at work. Employers must be aware of their obligations regarding biological risk assessment and OSH practitioners must be prepared to screen and link the abundance of scientific evidence generated following the outbreak, with the technical practice. CONCLUSIONS: This paper could be an important contribution to OSH practice since it highlights the need to (re)assess occupational risks, especially biological risk, to ensure a safe return to work, providing technical guidance.

scholarly journals A Methodology for Harmonizing Safety and Health Scales in Occupational Risk Assessment

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (9) ◽  
pp. 4849
Author(s):  
Zuzhen Ji ◽  
Dirk Pons ◽  
John Pearse
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Assessment Method ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Public Health Perspective ◽  
Chronic Health ◽  
Risk Assessment Method

Successful implementation of Health and Safety (H&S) systems requires an effective mechanism to assess risk. Existing methods focus primarily on measuring the safety aspect; the risk of an accident is determined based on the product of severity of consequence and likelihood of the incident arising. The health component, i.e., chronic harm, is more difficult to assess. Partially, this is due to both consequences and the likelihood of health issues, which may be indeterminate. There is a need to develop a quantitative risk measurement for H&S risk management and with better representation for chronic health issues. The present paper has approached this from a different direction, by adopting a public health perspective of quality of life. We have then changed the risk assessment process to accommodate this. This was then applied to a case study. The case study showed that merely including the chronic harm scales appeared to be sufficient to elicit a more detailed consideration of hazards for chronic harm. This suggests that people are not insensitive to chronic harm hazards, but benefit from having a framework in which to communicate them. A method has been devised to harmonize safety and harm risk assessments. The result was a comprehensive risk assessment method with consideration of safety accidents and chronic health issues. This has the potential to benefit industry by making chronic harm more visible and hence more preventable.

Characteristics of forklift accidents in korean industrial sites

Work ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Kwan Woo Kim
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Older Workers ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Industrial Accidents ◽  
Work Process ◽  
Industrial Sites ◽  
Safety And Health ◽  
Intensive Education ◽  
And Training ◽  
Insurance Compensation

BACKGROUND: Although using forklifts in industrial sites contributes to productivity, many workers have been injured or killed owing to industrial accidents caused by forklifts. OBJECTIVE: This study analyzed the characteristics of forklift accidents by employment type and work process, thereby identifying the factors contributing to industrial accidents and providing recommendations to prevent accidents. METHODS: Data on 1,061 industrial forklift accidents occurring in 2018 collected from the national injury insurance compensation database were analyzed. In addition to analyzing the accident characteristics, this study performed a risk assessment per forklift work process. RESULTS: Many accidents were associated with older workers, those employed for <  6 months, and workplaces with ≤49 workers. The risk was the highest for accidents involving caught-in objects in the loading/unloading step and collision accidents in the forward- and backward-driving steps. CONCLUSIONS: Measures are needed to prevent industrial forklift accidents. First, forklift and worker movement routes must be strictly separated or controlled by a work supervisor. It is necessary to secure a time margin for workers to avoid collapsing cargo by using an appropriate tool/jig during loading/unloading. Second, guidance, inspection, and support are needed to promote employers’ safety and health awareness in workplaces with <  50 workers. Lastly, intensive education and training concerning health and safety is required for workers with less than six months of experience.

Risk Assessment of Dental Unit Waterline Contamination

2003 ◽  
Vol os10 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline L Pankhurst
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Respiratory Health ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Respiratory Pathogens ◽  
Infection Control Measures ◽  
Colony Forming Units ◽  
Assessment Approach ◽  
Dental Unit Waterlines ◽  
Mycobacterium Spp

Biofilms form rapidly on dental unit waterlines. The majority of the organisms in the biofilm are harmless environmental species, but some dental units may harbour opportunistic respiratory pathogens. This paper describes a risk assessment approach to analysing the hazard from biofilm organisms contaminating dental unit waterlines on the respiratory health of both the dental team and patients. The health risk from the respiratory pathogens Legionella spp, Mycobacterium spp and Pseudomonads was found to be low. Nevertheless, in order to satisfy water regulations and comply with health and safety legislation dentists should institute infection-control measures to maintain the dental unit water at the standard of less than 200 colony-forming units per ml of aerobic bacteria.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document