scholarly journals Prioritization of Noise Control Solutions in an Oil Refinery Using the Noise Control Priority Index

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Seyed Mahdi Mousavi ◽  
Mahsa Jahadi Naeini ◽  
Mojtaba Haghighat ◽  
Saeid Yazdanirad
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Noise Control ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Weighting Factor ◽  
Pressure Level ◽  
Oil Refinery ◽  
Noise Emission ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Priority Index ◽  
Spherical Reservoir

Background: It is essential to decide on where to allocate available resources and identify priorities in noise control. Objectives: This study was performed to prioritize noise control solutions in various units of an oil refinery using the noise control priority index (NCPI). Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in an oil refinery in 2019. The standard of ISO 91612 was applied in the first stage to assess workplaces and determine the values of the noise pressure level (SPL). The activity of stations and the duration of workers’ presence in these stations were determined via interviews with the supervisors and senior personnel of each unit. The NCPI value in various units was determined using three variables, including the number of exposed people, exposure duration, and the weighting factor related to the sound pressure level (SPL). Finally, units were prioritized based on the final NCPI value. Results: Totally, 10 units were assessed based on the ISO9612 standard. The results revealed that 8.09% of the assessed stations were in the safe zone, 62.24% in the warning zone, and 29.66% in the hazard zone. The highest noise emission was related to the NTA unit (98 dB), and the lowest noise emission was observed in the spherical reservoir unit (84 dB). The NTA unit with 12 workers had the highest noise control priority index (1.25) among the units. Conclusions: The NCPI index makes it possible to appropriately prioritize noise control solutions in various industrial units and also implement technical and noise control plans in the oil and gas industries.

scholarly journals Factors Affecting Performance of Permit to Work System: A Case Study in an Oil Refinery

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seyed Mahdi Mousavi ◽  
Ali Karimi ◽  
Seyed Abolfazl Zakerian ◽  
Mahsa Jahadi Naeini
Keyword(s):  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Hazard Identification ◽  
Oil Refinery ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Process Industries ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Oil Refineries ◽  
Work System ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Work In Process

Background: Permit to Work system is a documented system to control activities that are inherently hazardous and may cause incidents. The aim of this study was to evaluate performance of Permit to Work (PTW) system in an oil refinery. Methods: The Study was a cross-sectional study that was done during 2019 in one of the oil refineries in southern Iran. A total number of 125 participants who were experts that were working in an oil refinery and were in charge of Permit to work (PTW) issuing, were selected based on census method and were entered into the study. The instrument of this study was a questionnaire about evaluating performance of Permit to work system, which was completed by the participants after explaining the aim of the study and training them how to complete it. In order to data analysis SEPPTW software was applied. Results: The results showed that the performance of Permit to work system in the studied refinery is generally in the moderate level (41.2 score). Also, in the field of hazard identification and risk assessment, the performance of Permit to work system was poor, but its performance in the field of coordination and informing was at a good level. Conclusion: Identifying the weak points and causes of defect in Permit to work system can result in increased levels of Permit to work system, and then reduced incidents from work related to permit to work in process industries.

scholarly journals Atmospheric Benzene and Determination of Trans, Trans-Muconic Acid of Workers at Oil Sites in Pointe-Noire

2021 ◽  
pp. 82-90
Author(s):  
Ebenguela Ebatetou Ataboho ◽  
Josué Richard Ntsimba Nsemi ◽  
Donatien Moukassa
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Medical Surveillance ◽  
Muconic Acid ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Oil And Gas Production ◽  
Risk Of Exposure ◽  
Production Company

Trans, trans-muconic acid is generally considered a useful biomarker of exposure to benzene that occurs naturally in crude oil. Objective: To estimate exposure of benzene to workers in an oil and gas production company. Materials and Methods: Firstly, it was a descriptive, cross-sectional study which consisted of benzene atmospheric quantification in a sample individual measurements of a homogeneous exposure group of workers. Secondly, urinary assays of trans, trans-muconic acid have been performed at the end of the shift in the selected workers. Results: A total of 79 (47.88%) workers agreed to participate in the study. Seventeen atmospheric samples were usable and 79 urinary assays at the end of the shift were carried out. The average benzene concentration for all sites was 10 times lower than the regulatory average exposure value (1 ppm=3.25 mg/m3):average: 0.122pp, median: 0.053ppm and range: 0.019-1.448 ppm. All 79 urinary assays of trans, trans-muconic acid were below the biological exposure index (<500 µg/g creatinine) with an average of 37.34 µg/g creatinine, a median of 30 µg/g creatinine, and an extent from 10 to 150 µg/g creatinine. Conclusion: Airborne benzene concentrations were below company limits. The same was true for the urinary assays of trans, trans-muconic acid. Overall, therefore, exposure to benzene is low in this company. However, there is a need to maintain regular medical surveillance as the risk of exposure is ongoing.

scholarly journals Visit patterns at primary care centres and individual blood pressure level – a cross-sectional study

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Ödesjö ◽  
S. Adamsson Eryd ◽  
S. Franzén ◽  
P. Hjerpe ◽  
K. Manhem ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Primary Care ◽  
Blood Pressure Level ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Pressure Level ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional

Suicidal Behaviors Among Adolescents – The Role of School and Home Environment

Crisis ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 168-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanan El-Sayed Badr
Keyword(s):  
Suicide Ideation ◽  
Physical Violence ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Weighting Factor ◽  
Suicidal Behaviors ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
School Based ◽  
Life Threatening ◽  
Mental Health Programs

Abstract. Aim: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of suicidal behaviors (ideation, planning, and attempts) among adolescents aged 13–16, and to identify psychosocial correlates of suicidal behaviors. Method: The 2010 Kuwait Global School-Based Student Health Survey (GSHS) cross-sectional study employed a two-stage cluster sample design targeting a representative sample of 2,672 students. A weighting factor was applied to make inferences to all students of the same age. Students' suicidal behaviors were the focus of this paper. Results: The prevalence rates of suicide ideation, planning, and attempts were 20.0% (95% CI = 18.5–21.6%), 14.0% (95% CI = 12.7–15.4%), and 18.1% (95% CI = 16.6–19.5%), respectively. About 26% of adolescents reported at least one suicidal behavior, while 8.5% experienced all three suicidal behaviors. Multivariate analysis revealed that girls, smoking, physical violence, feeling lonely, exposure to bullying at school, and having nonempathetic parents were significant correlates of the experience of suicidal behaviors among adolescents. Moreover, suicidal ideation stood out as a predictor of attempting suicide more than suicidal planning in both the total population and separately by gender. Conclusion: The prevalence of suicidal behaviors was alarmingly high among Kuwaiti adolescents. Adverse school and home environments strongly contributed to such behaviors. School-based mental health programs are necessary to reduce these life-threatening behaviors in Kuwait.

scholarly journals Evaluation of the productivity of hospital-based researchers: comparative study between the h-index and the h(fa)-index

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Sebo ◽  
Sylvain de Lucia
Keyword(s):  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Weighting Factor ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Rater Agreement ◽  
Evaluation Tool ◽  
University Hospitals ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
H Index ◽  
Relative Contribution ◽  
Two Indices

AbstractThe h-index is often used to evaluate researchers and to measure their respective contributions to the scientific community. However, it does not take into account the relative contribution of each author to the articles. We aimed to assess the added value of the h(fa)-index, an index introducing a weighting factor for the first author. This cross-sectional study was conducted in March 2020 in Switzerland. We selected all hospital-based senior physicians practicing internal medicine or family medicine in the six university hospitals. Using Web of Science, we retrieved the h-index and computed the h(fa)-index of all physicians with a non-zero h-index. We used Spearman coefficients to examine the correlation between the two indices and Cohen’s kappa to determine the inter-rater agreement. 244 physicians were included in the study (men: 63%). They had a median h-index of 3 (IQR 11) and a median h(fa) index of 4.5 (IQR 14). The correlation between the two indices was very high (rho 0.98, p-value < 0.001). However, the inter-rater agreement was only moderate (Kappa 0.59 [95% CI 0.56–0.64]). The h(fa)-index was able to correct the categorization of the researchers in about 1/3 of the cases (agreement 63.4%). Although it is very challenging to evaluate researchers with a unique indicator, these data suggest that the h(fa)-index could be a better evaluation tool of researchers’ productivity.

scholarly journals The Burden of Hypertension in an Oil- and Gas-Polluted Environment: A Comparative Cross-Sectional Study

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (8) ◽  
pp. 925-933 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martinsixtus C. Ezejimofor ◽  
Olalekan A. Uthman ◽  
Omosivie Maduka ◽  
Aloysius C. Ezeabasili ◽  
Arthur C. Onwuchekwa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Polluted Environment ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional

scholarly journals Assessment of Leadership Style and Safety in Oil and Gas Servicing Firms in Port Harcourt Metropolis, Nigeria

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-8
Author(s):  
Foreman Onuoha ◽  
Charles U Oyegun ◽  
John N Ugbebor
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Style ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Individual Factors ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Organizational Safety ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Junior Staff ◽  
Port Harcourt ◽  
Leaders And Followers

Introduction: Safety leadership is the process of interaction between leaders and followers, through which leaders exert their influence on followers to achieve organizational safety goals under the circumstances of organizational and individual factors. Objective: This study was aimed to assess leadership style and safety in oil and gas servicing firms in Portharcourt, Nigeria. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted  among the junior-staff of the oil servicing firms. The Taro Yamane equation was used to generate appropriate sample size of 389 respondents from 16240 workers. Data analyses was done using analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results: It was established that 230 (59%) respondents agreed that, leaders checked staff work on a regular basis to assess their progress and learning. Many respondents  (62%) averred that leaders didn’t gave any incentives for extra work. Also, 338 (87%)  respondents adduced that changes in policies were discussed with workers before they were carried out but, the input of the workers were not required, neither staff were expected to be innovative as opined by 76% respondents and leadership emphasis on the importance of quality was sustained. Albeit, workers weren’t allowed to contribute to control standards based on perception of problems.  The characteristics of leadership displayed in the companies imply the transactional type. This was because the rapport between workers and leaders wasn’t cordial. Conclusion: The study therefore strongly recommends a review of the leadership style adopted for oil and gas workers in the area, while improving on the worker/leader relationships.

scholarly journals Clinical Presentation, Management and Outcome of Staffs with COVID-19 Disease: a large tertiary Oil and Refinery Grand Hospital Study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bahram Dehghan ◽  
Ahmad abeshtan ◽  
Abdullah Sarami ◽  
Saied Saeidimehr ◽  
Elham Maraghi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Care ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Oil Refinery ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Referral Center ◽  
Specimen Collection ◽  
Polymerase Chain ◽  
Hospital Study ◽  
Detection Unit ◽  
Test Result

Abstract Objective The aim of the present study was to assess clinical characteristics, managing and controlling, and in-hospital outcome of COVID-19 among oil refinery workers in a single referral center. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted in a non-COVID single referral center from March to August 2020. At the Naft grand Hospital, the COVID-19 specimen collection and molecular detection unit was established with staff trained to collect suitable samples (sufficiently deep swabs), storage, packaging, and transportation. The diagnosis of COVID-19 infection (SARS-CoV-2) was confirmed by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay. Results Overall, 500 patients with confirmed COVID-19 infection were included, of which the most common comorbidities were hypertension (52.2%) and diabetes (45.6%). Moreover, 298 patients (59.6%) had one to three comorbidities, 148 patients (29.6%) had four to six cases, and two patients (0.4%) had seven and more comorbidities. Finally, 23 people (4.6%) have cancer and 206 people (41.2%) have other diseases. 390 (78.8%) received Kaletra, and 387 (78.02%) receive Azithromycin. Overall, PCR test result was positive in 377 (75.4%) patients, computed tomography scan (CT-scan) test was positive in 413 (82.6%) patients, and CRP test had positive result in 335 patients (67%) patients. Conclusion Most referred cases were survivors with mild to moderate symptoms, and a few of them were unfortunately non-survivor. This could be due to those people with mild COVID-19 symptoms may respond well to the treatment and institutional isolation. Thus, good and evidence-based clinical care combined with strong public health interventions will save the lives of thousands, if not millions, worldwide.

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