Perceived Implications of Non-Compliance with Safety Practices in Construction Projects: Construction Professionals’ Awareness Level

Despite the numerous implications of non-compliance with safety practices in construction projects, there are still reports of a low level of compliance with safety rules on construction sites. The study seeks to investigate the awareness level on the implications of non-compliance with safety practices among professionals in construction projects. From the existing literature, two major types of implications namely; direct and indirect cost implications of non-compliance with safety rule were investigated. Questionnaires were used to elicit information from respondents. A hypothesis that examines the differences in the level of awareness on the implications of non-compliance with safety practices among construction professionals was postulated. Kruskal-Wallis test was used to test the hypothesis. The findings show that the awareness level on the implications of non-compliance with safety practice among each professional is high and that there are significant differences in the level of awareness on six implications of non-compliance with safety practices; ‘physical injury/fatality to persons’, ‘workmen’s compensation’, ‘liability insurance premiums, ‘low morale of supervisors and workers’, ‘costs of delay’ and ‘time of cost’. The study concludes that professionals are aware of the implications of non-compliance with safety practices and their professional background affects the awareness level of six of the implications of non-compliance with safety practices. The study contributes to knowledge by identifying the six implications of non-compliance with safety practices where disparity exists in the awareness level among construction professionals. In cases where disparity exists in the awareness level among professionals, construction firms should adopt group discussion as a means of sensitization to increase awareness levels.

A Safety Prediction System for Lunar Orbit Rendezvous and Docking Mission

In view of the characteristics of the guidance, navigation and control (GNC) system of the lunar orbit rendezvous and docking (RVD), we design an auxiliary safety prediction system based on the human–machine collaboration framework. The system contains two parts, including the construction of the rendezvous and docking safety rule knowledge base by the use of machine learning methods, and the prediction of safety by the use of the base. First, in the ground semi-physical simulation test environment, feature extraction and matching are performed on the images taken by the navigation surveillance camera. Then, the matched features and the rendezvous and docking deviation are used to form training sample pairs, which are further used to construct the safety rule knowledge base by using the decision tree method. Finally, the safety rule knowledge base is used to predict the safety of the subsequent process of the rendezvous and docking based on the current images taken by the surveillance camera, and the probability of success is obtained. Semi-physical experiments on the ground show that the system can improve the level of intelligence in the flight control process and effectively assist ground flight controllers in data monitoring and mission decision-making.

Non-surgical rhinoplasty with dermal fillers

With the increase in popularity of non-surgical rhinoplasty, there is an increasing risk of complications arising from this treatment. The nose has a very complex vascularity, with frequent anatomical variations, making it difficult to create a safety rule for practicing dermal fillers. In-depth knowledge of the anatomy, as well as expert and gentle hands, are prerequisites for minimising the risks. Previous surgical rhinoplasty is a risk factor for the treatment with dermal fillers at the nose. Patient selection is of the utmost importance, and practitioners must assess the benefit versus the inherent risk for each patient. Product selection is vital for the prevention of complications, as a large number of cases of blindness derive from fat transfer techniques, and in case of a vascular occlusion affecting the retina, there is only 1 hour to recover blood circulation before the retina suffers permanent damage.

Efficacy of ATP Monitoring for Measuring Organic Matter on Postharvest Food Contact Surfaces

ABSTRACT The Food Safety Modernization Act, specifically the Produce Safety Rule, requires growers to clean and sanitize food contact surfaces to protect against produce contamination. An ATP monitoring device is a potential sanitation tool to monitor the efficacy of an on-farm cleaning and sanitation program that could help growers meet regulatory expectations mandated by the Produce Safety Rule. This ATP monitoring device uses bioluminescence to detect all ATP (found in bacteria and produce matter cells) from a swabbed surface. Because little work has been done to test the efficacy of these tools under postharvest conditions, the present study evaluated ATP measurement for postharvest food contact surface cleanliness evaluation. Concentrations of leafy greens (spinach, romaine, and red cabbage, with or without Listeria innocua) were used as organic matter applied to stainless steel, high-density polyethylene plastic, and bamboo wood coupons to represent postharvest food contact surfaces. The ATP levels on the coupons were then measured by using swabs and an ATP monitoring device. Results showed that the concentration of L. innocua and leafy greens on a food contact surface had a highly significant effect on the ATP monitoring device reading (P < 0.0001). The ATP monitoring device had a lower limit of detection for L. innocua at 4.5 log CFU per coupon. The type of leafy green on a food contact surface did not affect the ATP reading (P = 0.88). Leafy greens with added L. innocua had a higher ATP reading when compared with saline and L. innocua, demonstrating the presence of leafy green matter contributes to ATP reading when combined with L. innocua. The different food contact surfaces had different ATP response readings (P = 0.03), resulting in no detectable levels of bacteria and/or leafy green material from bamboo wood surfaces (P = 0.16). On the basis of our results, the ATP measurement is an appropriate tool to measure produce or bacterial contamination on stainless steel or high-density polyethylene plastic surfaces; however, it is not recommended for wood surfaces. HIGHLIGHTS

Fate and Biofilm Formation of Wild-Type and Pressure-Stressed Pathogens of Public Health Concern in Surface Water and on Abiotic Surfaces

Since the historic outbreak near Broad Street in London, which serves as cornerstone of modern epidemiology, infectious diseases spread in surface and sub-surface water has been a persisting public health challenge. The current study investigated persistence of wild-type and pressure-stressed Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli O157:H7, and non-typhoidal Salmonella enterica serovars in surface water stored aerobically for up to 28 days at 5, 25, and 37 °C. Additionally, biofilm formation of wild-type and pressure-stressed non-typhoidal Salmonella serovars were monitored on surface of stainless steel and rubber coupons for 28 days at 25 and 37 °C. While L. monocytogenes exhibited a lower (p < 0.05) survival rate at 5 °C, relative to the two Gram-negative pathogens, at higher temperatures of 25 and 37 °C, all three pathogens exhibited similar (p ≥ 0.05) trends for survival in surface water. Both wild-type and pressure-stressed Salmonella serovars in the vast majority of tested times, temperatures, and surfaces exhibited comparable (p ≥ 0.05) persistence and biofilm formation capability. Our study thus indicates the occurrence of contamination could lead to prolonged survival of these microorganisms in low-nutrient environments and highlights the need for preventive measures such as those articulated under Produce Safety Rule of the U.S. Food Safety Modernization Act.

Visual Language-Aided Construction Fire Safety Planning Approach in Building Information Modeling

Fires pose an enormous threat to human safety and many spectacular fires in under-construction buildings were reported over the past few years. Many construction sites only rely on fire extinguishers, as under-construction buildings do not contain a permanent fire protection system. Traditional safety planning lacks a justified approach for the firefighting equipment installation planning in the construction job site. Even though many government agencies made safety regulations for firefighting equipment installations, it is still a challenge to translate and execute these rules at the job site. Currently, the construction industry is devoted to discovering all the possible applications of Building Information Modelling (BIM) technology in the entire phases of the project life cycle. BIM technology enables the presentation of facilities in 3-D and offers rule-based modeling through visual programming tools. Therefore, this paper focuses on a visual language approach for rule translation and a multi-agent-based construction fire safety planning simulation in BIM. The proposed approach includes three core modules, namely: (a) Rule Extraction and Logic Development (RELD) Module, (b) Design for Construction Fire Safety (DCFS) Module, and (c) Con-fire Safety Plan Simulation (CSPS) Module. In addition, the DCFS module further includes three submodules, named as (1) Firefighting Equipment Installation (FEI) Module, (2) Bill of Quantities (BoQs) for firefighting Equipment (BFE) Module, and (3) Escape Route Plan (ERP) Module. The RELD module converts the OSHA fire safety rule into mathematical logic, and the DCFS module presents the development of the Con-fire Safety Planning approach by translating the rules from mathematical logic into computer-readable language. The three sub-modules of the DCFS module visualize the outputs of this research work. The CSPS module uses a multi-agent simulation to verify the safety rule compliance of the portable firefighting equipment installation plan the system in a BIM environment. A sample project case study has been implemented to validate the proof of concept. It is anticipated that the proposed approach has the potential to helps the designers through its effectiveness and convenience while it could be helpful in the field for practical use.

Extending the Holding Time for Agricultural Water Testing EPA Method 1603 for Produce Growers

Agricultural water is a known vector for the transfer of foodborne pathogens onto fresh produce. Development of pre-harvest and post-harvest microbial profiles of agricultural water used by fresh produce growers, processors, and holdings is a requirement under the Food Safety Modernization Act Produce Safety Rule. One of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) approved agricultural water testing methods is US EPA Method 1603, which requires no greater than a 6-h time frame between the collection of the water sample and initiation of analysis. This 6-h timeframe is unrealistic for many produce growers due to there being few laboratories certified to conduct testing and the geographic location of the farms. Agricultural water samples (n = 101) from well water and surface water were collected from 60 different farms to determine if holding samples for 24 h yielded significantly more generic Escherichia coli (E.coli) than 6 h using EPA 1603 method. A total of 32 samples were found contaminated with generic E. coli. Of these positive samples, surface water accounted for 87.5% of the samples (n = 28). There was no significant disparity between populations of generic E. coli at 6- and 24-h sample-test time interval (p > 0.05). These results provide evidence that the sample-test time interval can be extended to 24-h time, which makes quantitative generic E. coli testing for agricultural water as mandated by the FSMA Produce Safety Rule more accessible to growers.