BACKGROUND: Construction industry is among the most hazardous industries, and needs a comprehensive and simple-to-administer tool to continuously assess and promote its health and safety performance. METHODS: Through the study of various standard systems (mainly Health, Safety, and Environment Management System; Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series 180001; and British Standard, occupational health and safety management systems-Guide 8800), seven main elements were determined for the desired framework, and then, by reviewing literature, factors affecting these main elements were determined. The relative importance of each element and its related factors was calculated at organizational and project levels. The provided framework was then implemented in three construction companies, and results were compared together. RESULTS: The results of the study show that the relative importance of the main elements and their related factors differ between organizational and project levels: leadership and commitment are the most important elements at the organization level, whereas risk assessment and management are most important at the project level. CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrated that the framework is easy to administer, and by interpreting the results, the main factors leading to the present condition of companies can be determined.
Construction Industry ; Leadership ; Occupational Health* ; Risk Assessment ; Safety Management

BACKGROUND: In comparison with other industries, the construction industry still has a higher rate of fatal injuries, and thus, there is a need to apply new and innovative approaches for preventing accidents and promoting safe conditions at construction sites. METHODS: In this study, the effectiveness of a new incentive system-the surprising incentive system-was assessed. One year after the implementation of this new incentive system, behavioral changes of employees with respect to seven types of activities were observed. RESULTS: The results of this study showed that there is a significant relationship between the new incentive system and the safety performance of frontline employees. The new incentive system had a greater positive impact in the first 6 months since its implementation. In the long term, however, safety performance experienced a gradual reduction. Based on previous studies, all activities selected in this study are important indicators of the safety conditions at workplaces. However, there is a need for a comprehensive and simple-to-apply tool for assessing frontline employees' safety performance. Shortening the intervals between incentives is more effective in promoting safety performance. CONCLUSION: The results of this study proved that the surprising incentive would improve the employees' safety performance just in the short term because the surprising value of the incentives dwindle over time. For this reason and to maintain the surprising value of the incentive system, the amount and types of incentives need to be evaluated and modified annually or biannually.
Construction Industry ; Motivation*

BACKGROUND: Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems are becoming more widespread in organizations. Consequently, their effectiveness has become a core topic for researchers. This paper evaluates the performance of the Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series 18001 specification in certified companies in Iran. METHODS: The evaluation is based on a comparison of specific criteria and indictors related to occupational health and safety management practices in three certified and three noncertified companies. RESULTS: Findings indicate that the performance of certified companies with respect to occupational health and safety management practices is significantly better than that of noncertified companies. CONCLUSION: Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series 18001-certified companies have a better level of occupational health and safety; this supports the argument that Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems play an important strategic role in health and safety in the workplace.
Iran ; Occupational Health* ; Safety Management*

Background: One of the important actions for enhancing human reliability in any industry is assessing human error probability (HEP). The HEART technique is a robust tool for calculating HEP in various industries. The traditional HEART has some weaknesses due to expert judgment. For these reasons, a hybrid model is presented in this study to integrate HEART with Best-Worst Method.Materials MethodIn this study, the blasting process in an iron ore mine was investigated as a case study. The proposed HEART-BWM was used to increase the sensitivity of APOA calculation. Then the HEP was calculated using conventional HEART formula. A consistency ratio was calculated using BWM. Finally, for verification of the HEART-BWM, HEP calculation was done by traditional HEART and HEART-BWM. Results: In the view of determined HEPs, the results showed that the mean of HEP in the blasting of the iron ore process was 2.57E-01. Checking the full blast of all the holes after the blasting sub-task was the most dangerous task due to the highest HEP value, and it was found 9.646E-01. On the other side, obtaining a permit to receive and transport materials was the most reliable task, and the HEP was 8.54E-04. Conclusion The results showed a good consistency for the proposed technique. Comparing the two techniques confirmed that the BWM makes the traditional HEART faster and more reliable by performing the basic comparisons.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to examine the cohesions status of the coordination within response teams in the emergency response team (ERT) in a refinery. METHODS: For this study, cohesion indicators of social network analysis (SNA; density, degree centrality, reciprocity, and transitivity) were utilized to examine the coordination of the response teams as a whole network. The ERT of this research, which was a case study, included seven teams consisting of 152 members. The required data were collected through structured interviews and were analyzed using the UCINET 6.0 Social Network Analysis Program. RESULTS: The results reported a relatively low number of triple connections, poor coordination with key members, and a high level of mutual relations in the network with low density, all implying that there were low cohesions of coordination in the ERT. CONCLUSION: The results showed that SNA provided a quantitative and logical approach for the examination of the coordination status among response teams and it also provided a main opportunity for managers and planners to have a clear understanding of the presented status. The research concluded that fundamental efforts were needed to improve the presented situations.
Emergencies* ; Logic

PURPOSE: Firefighters are exposed to high levels of occupational risk factors, such as safety risks, chemical, ergonomic, and physical hazards that may jeopardize their lives. To overcome these hazards, firefighters must be physically, mentally, and personally fit to work. This study aimed to explore the criteria and factors affecting firefighters' resilience based on stakeholders' experiences. METHODS: This qualitative study was carried out using conventional content analysis. In total, 21 face-to-face interviews were conducted by firefighters who were experienced in the field. The interviews were carried out from July 2019 to January 2020. The data were collected using 3 unstructured interviews and then resumed by 18 semi-structured interviews. Data analysis was done using Graneheim method. RESULTS: The participants had more than 5 years of experience in the field of search and rescue. The extracted codes through data analysis were classified into 3 main categories (individual, organizational, and social factors), 9 sub-categories (mental, physical, occupational, managerial, colleagues-related, equipment-related, environmental, community-related, and family-related factors), as well as 19 sub-sub-categories and 570 codes. CONCLUSION Firefighters' personality, physical condition, behavior and psychological characteristics can affect their resilience along with organizational and management factors that play significant role in people's safety. Developing a tool for assessing resilience can help decision makers to have a real depict of firefighters' job qualifications.
Firefighters/psychology* ; Humans ; Qualitative Research