Defining risk acceptance criteria in occupational settings: A case study in the furniture industrial sector

The use of appropriate acceptance criteria in the risk assessment process for occupational accidents is an important issue but often overlooked in the literature, particularly when new risk assessment methods are proposed and discussed. In most cases, there is no information on how or by whom they were defined, or even how companies can adapt them to their own circumstances. Bearing this in mind, this study analysed the problem of the definition of risk acceptance criteria for occupational settings, defining the quantitative acceptance criteria for the specific case study of the Portuguese furniture industrial sector. The key steps to be considered in formulating acceptance criteria were analysed in the literature review. By applying the identified steps, the acceptance criteria for the furniture industrial sector were then defined. The Cumulative Distribution Function (CDF) for the injury statistics of the industrial sector was identified as the maximum tolerable risk level. The acceptable threshold was defined by adjusting the CDF to the Occupational, Safety & Health (OSH) practitioners’ risk acceptance judgement. Adjustments of acceptance criteria to the companies’ safety cultures were exemplified by adjusting the Burr distribution parameters. An example of a risk matrix was also used to demonstrate the integration of the defined acceptance criteria into a risk metric. This work has provided substantial contributions to the issue of acceptance criteria for occupational accidents, which may be useful in overcoming the practical difficulties faced by authorities, companies and experts.

Risk acceptance in the furniture sector: Analysis of acceptance level and relevant influence factors

Risk acceptance has been broadly discussed in relation to hazardous risk activities and/or technologies. A better understanding of risk acceptance in occupational settings is also important; however, studies on this topic are scarce. It seems important to understand the level of risk that stakeholders consider sufficiently low, how stakeholders form their opinion about risk, and why they adopt a certain attitude toward risk. Accordingly, the aim of this study is to examine risk acceptance in regard to occupational accidents in furniture industries. The safety climate analysis was conducted through the application of the Safety Climate in Wood Industries questionnaire. Judgments about risk acceptance, trust, risk perception, benefit perception, emotions, and moral values were measured. Several models were tested to explain occupational risk acceptance. The results showed that the level of risk acceptance decreased as the risk level increased. High-risk and death scenarios were assessed as unacceptable. Risk perception, emotions, and trust had an important influence on risk acceptance. Safety climate was correlated with risk acceptance and other variables that influence risk acceptance. These results are important for the risk assessment process in terms of defining risk acceptance criteria and strategies to reduce risks.

Spectrum-based energy leak localization

Dissertação de Mestrado em Engenharia Informática

Nutritional status and food intake at workplace as health indicators for industrial workers

This study aimed to verify the correlation among the nutritional composition of the food consumed in the work environment, the energy expenditure and the nutritional status of workers from different sectors (administration and production) in different industries. The anthropometric data, in addition to the energy expenditure and food intake at lunch were evaluated for 292 workers, all of them included in the Brazilian Worker Food Program (also called PAT). The food consumption was assessed from the direct observation of the meal, for five consecutive days. The obtained data were analyzed by Pearson correlation test and by a Principal Components Analysis. Prevalence of overweight was detected in the studied population, according to the Body Mass Index (BMI). A statistically significant difference was found in terms of the energy expenditure of physical activity and daily energy expenditure in relation to gender and the working sector. The obtained results indicate that there is significant positive correlation (p < 0.01) between the following variables: body weight and BMI (r = 0.84), weight and daily energy expenditure (DEE) (r = 0.52), BMI and DEE (r = 0.27), DEE and energy (r = 0.38), and energy and lipid intake (r = 0.50). These findings seems to indicate the importance of ensuring an adequate balance of nutrients at meals, due to the heterogeneity of workers, in particular in the case of those workers who perform tasks or functions requiring less energy expenditure.

Development of bioplastics from agro-wastes

Poster

Análise e melhoria da produtividade numa empresa do sector de componentes de automóveis

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia e Gestão Industrial

Produção de bioplásticos a partir de agro-resíduos

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia de Materiais

Estudo, conceção e desenvolvimento de um equipamento industrial para colocação automática de produtos alimentares em cuvetes

Dissertação de mestrado em Engenharia Mecânica

Carbon materials as new generation of new electron shuttles for the anaerobic degradation of environmental xenobiotics

Tese de Doutoramento em Engenharia Química e Biológica

Os contornos das políticas sociais de apoio alimentar no Concelho de Braga

Dissertação de mestrado em Estudos da Criança (área de especialização em Intervenção Psicossocial com Crianças, Jovens e Famílias)

A new sector of Via XVII Necropolis in Bracara Augusta: the High Empire phase

Between 2008 and 2009 a preventive excavation supervised by the Unit of Archaeology of the University of Minho was conducted in an area with approximately 5000 square meters allowing the identification of a wide sector of the Via XVII necropolis, which is one of the five roman necropolises known to have existed in Bracara Augusta. The findings enabled us to define a typological framework related with incinerations, to understand the internal organization of the necropolis and recover the ritual marks of the funerary practices between the first century BC and the second century AD.

Valorization of agro-industrial wastes towards the production of rhamnolipids

In this work, oil mill wastewater (OMW), a residue generated during olive oil extraction, was evaluated as an inducer of rhamnolipid production. Using a medium containing as sole ingredients corn steep liquor (10%, v/v), sugarcane molasses (10%, w/v) and OMW (25%, v/v), Pseudomonas aeruginosa #112 produced 4.5 and 5.1 g of rhamnolipid per liter in flasks and reactor, respectively, with critical micelle concentrations as low as 13 mg/l. Furthermore, in the medium supplemented with OMW, a higher proportion of more hydrophobic rhamnolipid congeners was observed comparing with the same medium without OMW. OMW is a hazardous waste which disposal represents a serious environmental problem; therefore, its valorization as a substrate for the production of added-value compounds such as rhamnolipids is of great interest. This is the first report of rhamnolipid production using a mixture of these three agro-industrial by-products, which can be useful for the sustainable production of rhamnolipids.