Sithembile L Mabila, Jessica H Murray, Shauna L Stahlman, Alexis A McQuistan, Edward A Sheriff
{"title":"Incidence of Occupational Injuries Among Military Working Dog Handlers, 2016-2023.","authors":"Sithembile L Mabila, Jessica H Murray, Shauna L Stahlman, Alexis A McQuistan, Edward A Sheriff","doi":"10.1002/ajim.23707","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ajim.23707","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study examines the incidence of injuries among active component service members in Military Working Dog (MWD) handler occupations compared to three other active component occupational groups.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A retrospective cohort study was conducted with a total of 2,524,092 active component service members including, 3935 MWD handlers, 2025 veterinary personnel, 113,413 military police, and 2,404,719 all other active component service members (ACSM). Incidence rate and incident rate ratios of injuries were determined.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>MWD handlers had the second highest rates of injuries (14,194.42 injuries per 10,000 p-yrs.) with veterinary personnel having the highest rate of injuries (17,320.11 injuries per 10,000 p-yrs.). Military police (11,521.71 injuries per 10,000 p-yrs.) and other ACSM (11,708.60 injuries per 10,000 p-yrs.) had similar incidence rates. Risk for injury was highest among women and older service members.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This study is among the first investigations into MWD handlers' occupational health outcomes. These results suggest the importance of continued MWD handler health assessment.</p>","PeriodicalId":7873,"journal":{"name":"American journal of industrial medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143045542","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Isabel Cuervo, Sherry L Baron, Deysi Flores, Ana Gonzalez, Homero Harari
{"title":"A Qualitative Analysis of Immigrant Latinx Housecleaners' Experiences of How Power Relations With \"Employers\" Influence Working Conditions in New York City: The Safe and Just Cleaners Study.","authors":"Isabel Cuervo, Sherry L Baron, Deysi Flores, Ana Gonzalez, Homero Harari","doi":"10.1002/ajim.23705","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ajim.23705","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Housecleaning work has been characterized as precarious employment with unstable work hours, arbitrary and low pay and benefits, and exposures to chemical, physical, and psychosocial stressors. Understanding how interpersonal power dynamics between workers and clients, a component of precarious work, contributes to work exposures can inform and improve prevention programs.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We used reflexive thematic analysis of data from seven focus groups with Latinx immigrant housecleaners in New York City to explore workers' experience of interpersonal power dynamics with their clients-whom they referred to as their \"employers\"-and its influences on working conditions.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Employer direction and monitoring varied and mostly reduced workers' autonomy to choose products, sometimes leading workers to complete tasks in more hazardous ways. Housecleaners reported using larger quantities of products, products with stronger scents, and more physical exertion to increase the efficiency of their cleaning, to complete tasks quickly, and to please their clients. Allotted time, tasks, and pay were interconnected, often resulting in negative reports about health and well-being. As immigrants, they also experienced discrimination and intimidation, which compounded their anxiety due to their employment insecurity. Nevertheless, participants learned and navigated high variance in employers' cleaning preferences and attempted to take control over the conduct of their work, when possible, and sometimes expressed self-advocacy.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Housecleaners' precarious employment arrangements affect how they navigate interpersonal relationships with employers, which impairs their working conditions and occupational exposures. Improvements in labor and social protections, such as designing supportive policies and training for workers and employers, are needed to improve working conditions.</p>","PeriodicalId":7873,"journal":{"name":"American journal of industrial medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143045541","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ryan F Hoy, Dunya Tomic, StellaMay Gwini, Christina Dimitriadis, Michael Abramson, Alex Collie, Hayley Barnes, Deborah C Glass, Fiona Hore-Lacy, Natasha Kinsman, Malcolm R Sim, Karen Walker-Bone
{"title":"The Rapid Rise of Silicosis in Victoria, Australia Associated With Artificial Stone Countertop Industry Work.","authors":"Ryan F Hoy, Dunya Tomic, StellaMay Gwini, Christina Dimitriadis, Michael Abramson, Alex Collie, Hayley Barnes, Deborah C Glass, Fiona Hore-Lacy, Natasha Kinsman, Malcolm R Sim, Karen Walker-Bone","doi":"10.1002/ajim.23704","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ajim.23704","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The fabrication and installation of artificial (engineered) stone countertops is a relatively new cause of silicosis. Our aim was to investigate silicosis rates in Victoria, Australia, and the association with stone countertop industry work.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Workers' compensation claims for silicosis from January 1, 1991 to December 31, 2022 were analyzed across 8-year time periods. Incidence rates per 100,000 persons were calculated by time period, age, and sex. Additionally, incident silicosis cases were reported to a clinical registry by respiratory physicians from May 1, 2019 to December 31, 2022, and analyzed by referral source and occupational history.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Over 32 years, there were 536 workers' compensation claims for silicosis (98.9% male, median age 40 years). In total, 482 (89.9%) were received between 2015 and 2022, a 27-fold increase from the previous 8-year period. The incidence rate for silicosis claims in the adult population increased from 0.12 per 100,000 in 1991-1998 to 2.38 per 100,000 in 2015-2022. In the clinical registry there were 210 incident cases between 2019 and 2022; 97% worked in the countertop industry, 95% with artificial stone. Almost all (89%) cases had been referred following participation in a government screening program for stone countertop industry workers.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>There has been a major rise in compensation claims for silicosis in Victoria. Active screening of stone countertop workers led to the diagnosis of almost all registered incident silicosis cases. This underscores the risk to stone countertop workers and highlights the potential for under-recognition of silicosis without screening at-risk workers, especially in countries where artificial stone has become popular.</p>","PeriodicalId":7873,"journal":{"name":"American journal of industrial medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142998802","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Emily Q. Ahonen, Megan R. Winkler, Kim Bosmans, Virginia Gunn, Mireia Julià
{"title":"Could Better-Quality Employment Improve Population Health? Findings From a Scoping Review of Multi-Dimensional Employment Quality Research and a Proposed Research Direction","authors":"Emily Q. Ahonen, Megan R. Winkler, Kim Bosmans, Virginia Gunn, Mireia Julià","doi":"10.1002/ajim.23695","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ajim.23695","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Background</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Precarious employment, a specific part of the conceptual spectrum of employment quality (EQ), has been established as an important risk to individual and population health and well-being when compared to a standard employment circumstance. There remains a need, however, to explore whether and how EQ might be used as a tool to not only protect but also advance population health and well-being.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The purposes of this scoping review were to assess the analytic treatment of the multiple dimensions of EQ and the stances researchers take to characterize the state of knowledge of EQ that supports the idea that better EQ is a health-promoting factor. Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods primary studies that included at least three of the seven conceptually-informed EQ dimensions were eligible. Studies were assessed for EQ dimensions represented, how dimensions were treated analytically, the pathogenic, ambivalent, or salutogenic stances used by investigators, and what each might tell us about how to leverage aspects of better-quality employment to improve population health.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>A total of 78 studies were included; 54 of these treated EQ dimensions in an interrelated way. Of the analytically interrelated studies, none had an explicit salutogenic stance. Some evidence suggests that a handful of EQ types might present an equal or reduced risk of poor health than the standard employment relationship, frequently used as a historic gold standard.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Conclusion</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Research with a salutogenic stance might build our understanding of whether and how employment could be used to advance our collective well-being.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":7873,"journal":{"name":"American journal of industrial medicine","volume":"68 3","pages":"225-249"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ajim.23695","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142998801","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Imelda S. Wong, Drew Dawson, Sudha Pandalai, Madeline Sprajcer
{"title":"What Control Measures Should I Use? Applying the Total Worker Health Hierarchy of Controls to Manage Workplace Fatigue","authors":"Imelda S. Wong, Drew Dawson, Sudha Pandalai, Madeline Sprajcer","doi":"10.1002/ajim.23689","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ajim.23689","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Increased fatigue risk has been associated with safety-critical events such as work-related injuries. While control measures are needed to reduce these risks, the wide range and complexities of fatigue risk management strategies can make it difficult for organizations to prioritize efforts given limited resources and time. Given these challenges, the aims of this commentary are two-fold. The first is to conceptualize fatigue risk management strategies within the <i>Total Worker Health</i> (TWH) Hierarchy of Controls, a conceptual framework used to prioritize strategies to advance worker safety, health, and wellbeing. As an extension to the traditional Hierarchy of Controls, the TWH version presents strategies in order of effectiveness, ranging from “eliminate,” “substitute,” “redesign,” “educate,” and “encourage” categories. The second aim of this paper is to use the TWH Hierarchy of Controls to identify control measures which reflect the level of fatigue risk for adverse safety and health outcomes.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":7873,"journal":{"name":"American journal of industrial medicine","volume":"68 3","pages":"217-224"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142982517","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Anthony D LaMontagne, Christopher Lockwood, Andrew Mackinnon, David Henry, Laura Cox, Neil R Hall, Tania L King
{"title":"MATES in Manufacturing: A Cluster RCT Evaluation of a Workplace Suicide Prevention Program.","authors":"Anthony D LaMontagne, Christopher Lockwood, Andrew Mackinnon, David Henry, Laura Cox, Neil R Hall, Tania L King","doi":"10.1002/ajim.23698","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ajim.23698","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The MATES in Construction suicide prevention program was adapted to the manufacturing sector and evaluated in a pilot of the program.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Ten manufacturing worksites were randomly assigned to intervention (5 sites) and wait-list control (5 sites) conditions in a two-arm cluster randomized design. 1245 workers responded at baseline (87% response rate) and 648 at final (35% response rate). Literacy of Suicide Scale (LOSS) was assessed as a process outcome, and help-seeking intentions as the primary outcome (General Help-Seeking Questionnaire [GHSQ] score). Secondary outcomes included help sought, suicidal thoughts and likelihood of suicide attempt scores, and Kessler-6 scores. Linear mixed models for repeated measures were used in intention-to-treat (ITT) and completer analyses.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>All sites finished the trial, with intervention periods ranging from 8 to 11 months; however, none of the five intervention sites fully implemented the intervention as planned. ITT analyses showed an improvement in LOSS scores within the intervention group (0.49, 95% CI 0.13-0.49), but the mean difference in change between intervention and control included the null (0.34, 95% CI -0.10 to 0.80). The primary outcome of GHSQ scores also improved within the intervention group, but the difference in change included the null (mean difference 1.52, 95% CI -0.69 to 3.74). No secondary outcomes improved relative to control in ITT or completers analyses. Exploratory analysis of disaggregated GHSQ help sources showed greater improvement in mean difference in change for the main MATES message of seeking help from MATES Connectors.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The intervention, as implemented, was not effective at achieving the primary or secondary outcomes.</p><p><strong>Trial registration: </strong>Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry: ACTRN 12622000122752.</p>","PeriodicalId":7873,"journal":{"name":"American journal of industrial medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142969408","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ryann E Yeo, Fanni R Eros, Paul A Demers, Jeavana Sritharan
{"title":"Risk of Raynaud's Phenomenon Among Workers in the Occupational Disease Surveillance System.","authors":"Ryann E Yeo, Fanni R Eros, Paul A Demers, Jeavana Sritharan","doi":"10.1002/ajim.23700","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ajim.23700","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) is linked to occupational exposures such as vibration, cold temperature, and chemicals. However, large cohort studies examining RP by occupation and sex are scarce. To address this gap, this study aimed to assess risk of RP by both occupation and sex in a large cohort of workers in Ontario, Canada.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Workers with accepted lost-time compensation claims were linked to physician billing records to identify diagnoses of RP between 2002 and 2020. A 3-year washout (disease-free) period was applied, and follow-up was limited to 5 years. Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for diagnoses of RP, adjusted for age at start of follow-up, birth year, and stratified by sex.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 7,131 RP cases were identified among 810,739 workers. Among men, higher risks were observed for truck drivers (HR = 1.23, 95% CI = 1.08-1.41), driver-salesmen (HR = 2.54, 95% CI = 1.21-5.34), those in mining and quarrying-related cutting, handling, and loading (HR = 2.57, 95% CI = 1.29-5.15), and construction trades laboring and elemental work (HR = 1.70, 95% CI = 1.24-2.34). Among women, higher risks were observed for those working in waitressing and related (HR = 1.70, 95% CI = 1.22-2.38), food and beverage preparation (HR = 1.34, 95% CI = 1.02-1.76), and electrical equipment fabricating and assembling (HR 1.96, 95% CI = 1.08-3.55).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Study findings show elevated risks of RP among various occupations, with notable differences between men and women. These differences may be attributable to variations in potential exposures and susceptibility to RP. Findings underscore the need for large cohort studies to examine RP across various occupational groups and both sexes.</p>","PeriodicalId":7873,"journal":{"name":"American journal of industrial medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142942842","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nazia Zerin, Scott P. Breloff, Fei Dai, Robert E. Carey, Christopher M. Warren, Kevin D. Moore, Ashley L. Hawke, Erik W. Sinsel, John Z. Wu
{"title":"Phase Level Assessment of Ergonomic Intervention Effectiveness in Reducing Knee Musculoskeletal Disorder Risks During Residential Roof Shingle Installation","authors":"Nazia Zerin, Scott P. Breloff, Fei Dai, Robert E. Carey, Christopher M. Warren, Kevin D. Moore, Ashley L. Hawke, Erik W. Sinsel, John Z. Wu","doi":"10.1002/ajim.23701","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ajim.23701","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Background</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This study aimed to assess how knee savers (KSs) and knee pads (KPs) alleviate risks of knee musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among roofers during various phases of shingle installation. These phases encompass (1) reaching for shingles, (2) placing shingles, (3) grabbing a nail gun, (4) moving to the first nailing position, (5) nailing shingles, (6) replacing the nail gun, and (7) returning to an upright position.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>In a laboratory setting, nine male participants simulated the shingle installation task on a slope-adjustable roof platform (0°, 15°, and 30° slopes) under four intervention conditions: no intervention (NO); with KPs only (KP); with KSs only (KS); and with both KPs and KSs (BO). Knee flexion, abduction, adduction, and internal/external rotations were measured to assess intervention impact through statistical analysis.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Phase 5 (nailing shingles), one of the riskiest phases, saw reduced knee rotations, with BO and KP interventions being the most effective. Phase 6 (replacing the nail gun) exhibited notable reductions in all knee rotations, primarily due to BO intervention. Significant improvements in certain knee angles for other phases were noted, particularly with BO intervention.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Conclusions</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>BO and KP can lower knee strain by minimizing extreme knee postures and thereby reducing the risk of MSDs during the installation of shingles, especially at critical periods and on steeper slopes. This study highlights the importance of applying focused ergonomic techniques in the roofing sector to improve workers' musculoskeletal health.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":7873,"journal":{"name":"American journal of industrial medicine","volume":"68 S1","pages":"S131-S143"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142942841","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Alternative Formulations of Job Strain and Sleep Disturbances: A Longitudinal Study in the United States","authors":"Yijia Sun, Megan Guardiano, Mayumi Saiki, Jian Li","doi":"10.1002/ajim.23686","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ajim.23686","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Background</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Sleep disturbances are a major public health concern in the United States, leading to adverse health outcomes. In the working population, job strain has been identified as an important risk factor for sleep disturbances, but evidence from the United States remained limited. This study aimed to examine longitudinal associations between job strain and sleep disturbances in the United States, with a focus on the alternative formulations of job strain.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>A total of 1721 participants were drawn from two waves of the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study, with an average 9-year follow-up period. Job strain was measured using Karasek's Job-Demand-Control model and operationalized in six formulations: standard quadrant, simplified quadrant, linear, quotient, logarithm quotient, and quartile based on quotient. Generalized Estimating Equations were used to estimate longitudinal associations of alternative formulations of job strain at baseline with sleep disturbances across follow-up. Corrected Quasi-likelihood Information Criterion (QICu) was used to assess the goodness of fit.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>All approaches showed that higher job strain at baseline was significantly associated with an increase in sleep disturbances across follow-up. QICu scores indicated that continuous Demand-Control formulations (linear, quotient, logarithm quotient) had better model performance of 4602.66, 4604.28, and 4601.99, respectively. The logarithm quotient showed the best fit.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Conclusions</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Our findings imply the importance of early workplace interventions in reducing job strain to improve sleep hygiene. They further show that the continuous formulations quantifying job strain were more consistent and robust, which provides suggestions for future workplace health research in the United States.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":7873,"journal":{"name":"American journal of industrial medicine","volume":"68 3","pages":"264-272"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142942859","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Gollapalli Muralidhar, A. Vinoth, Upasana Uniyal, Krishna Nirmalya Sen
{"title":"Enhancing Construction Safety Through Workplace Surveillance and Systematic Follow-Ups","authors":"Gollapalli Muralidhar, A. Vinoth, Upasana Uniyal, Krishna Nirmalya Sen","doi":"10.1002/ajim.23703","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ajim.23703","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Background</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Globally, construction jobs are associated with serious occupational safety and health (OSH) risks. In large construction projects, managing OSH risks is challenging due to a multitude of factors, and it is important to have sound management strategies and innovative solutions to tackle these ever-evolving OSH risks. Safety surveillance plays a pivotal role in accident prevention in the construction industry. We evaluated the effectiveness of ongoing surveillance coupled with proactive management follow-up in a cross-section of 26 large construction workplaces.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Trained safety observers were deployed using a digital platform to record and report risk conditions, along with the details such as category, potential risk, responsible persons, and so forth. At the same time a predictive tool to calculate the possibility of severe adverse outcomes such as “Lost Time Incident” (LTI) or fatality was introduced. The outcomes were followed up and reviewed by the leadership teams on a regular basis.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Enhanced efforts from worksite safety observers resulted in capturing of higher number of safety lapses, which necessitated additional efforts from the line managers to take prompt corrective and preventive actions to mitigate OSH-related risks. Over the study period, the rate of risk conditions being recorded showed a gradual downward trend, as did the associated rates of recorded injuries.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Conclusion</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This study affirms the hypothesis that a structured proactive approach with active leadership involvement and prompt remedial actions can aid in significant improvement of working conditions and safety performance at construction projects.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":7873,"journal":{"name":"American journal of industrial medicine","volume":"68 S1","pages":"S98-S105"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143513508","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}