Profiling contextual factors which influence safety in heavy vehicle industries

A significant proportion of worker fatalities within Australia result from truck-related incidents. Truck drivers face a number of health and safety concerns. Safety culture, viewed here as the beliefs, attitudes and values shared by an organisation’s workers, which interact with their surrounding context to influence behaviour, may provide a valuable lens for exploring safety-related behaviours in heavy vehicle operations. To date no major research has examined safety culture within heavy vehicle industries. As safety culture provides a means to interpret experiences and generate behaviour, safety culture research should be conducted with an awareness of the context surrounding safety. The current research sought to examine previous health and safety research regarding heavy vehicle operations to profile contextual factors which influence health and safety. A review of 104 peer-reviewed papers was conducted. Findings of these papers were then thematically analysed. A number of behaviours and scenarios linked with crashes and non-crash injuries were identified, along with a selection of health outcomes. Contextual factors which were found to influence these outcomes were explored. These factors were found to originate from government departments, transport organisations, customers and the road and work environment. The identified factors may provide points of interaction, whereby culture may influence health and safety outcomes.

Dancing through the Air (parts one and 2) - Spirit of Akasha

Recording for ARIA nominated Film Soundtrack for Spirit of Akasha. Recorded, Mixed, and Co-produced by Phil Graham. Published by Warner Music Australia

Evolving a synergistic approach to road safety : an appraisal of the project management, stakeholder engagement and change facilitation (PSC) approach by means of two case studies

Existing research and best practice were utilized to develop the Project Management, Stakeholder Engagement and Change Facilitation (PSC) approach to road safety infrastructure projects. Two case studies involving Queensland Transport and Main Roads demonstrated that use of the PSC has potential to create synergies for projects undertaken by multi-disciplinary road safety groups, and to complement Safe System projects and philosophy. The case studies were the North West Road Safety Alliance project, and the implementation of Road Safety Audit policy, and utilised a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods including interviews and surveys.

A national satellite-based land-use regression model for air pollution exposure assessment in Australia

Land-use regression (LUR) is a technique that can improve the accuracy of air pollution exposure assessment in epidemiological studies. Most LUR models are developed for single cities, which places limitations on their applicability to other locations. We sought to develop a model to predict nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations with national coverage of Australia by using satellite observations of tropospheric NO2 columns combined with other predictor variables. We used a generalised estimating equation (GEE) model to predict annual and monthly average ambient NO2 concentrations measured by a national monitoring network from 2006 through 2011. The best annual model explained 81% of spatial variation in NO2 (absolute RMS error=1.4 ppb), while the best monthly model explained 76% (absolute RMS error=1.9 ppb). We applied our models to predict NO2 concentrations at the ~350,000 census mesh blocks across the country (a mesh block is the smallest spatial unit in the Australian census). National population-weighted average concentrations ranged from 7.3 ppb (2006) to 6.3 ppb (2011). We found that a simple approach using tropospheric NO2 column data yielded models with slightly better predictive ability than those produced using a more involved approach that required simulation of surface-to-column ratios. The models were capable of capturing within-urban variability in NO2, and offer the ability to estimate ambient NO2 concentrations at monthly and annual time scales across Australia from 2006–2011. We are making our model predictions freely available for research.

Biological monitoring and Biological Limit Values (BLV): the strategy of the European Union

Occupational standards concerning allowable concentrations of chemical compounds in the ambient air of workplaces have been established in several countries worldwide. With the integration of the European Union (EU), there has been a need of establishing harmonised Occupational Exposure Limits (OEL). The European Commission Directive 95/320/EC of 12 July 1995 has given the tasks to a Scientific Committee for Occupational Exposure Limits (SCOEL) to propose, based on scientific data and where appropriate, occupational limit values which may include the 8-h time-weighted average (TWA), short-term limits/excursion limits (STEL) and Biological Limit Values (BLVs). In 2000, the European Union issued a list of 62 chemical substances with Occupational Exposure Limits. Of these, 25 substances received a "skin" notation, indicating that toxicologically significant amounts may be taken up via the skin. For such substances, monitoring of concentrations in ambient air may not be sufficient, and biological monitoring strategies appear of potential importance in the medical surveillance of exposed workers. Recent progress has been made with respect to formulation of a strategy related to health-based BLVs.

European aspects of standard setting in occupational hygiene and medicine

Occupational standards concerning the allowable concentrations of chemical compounds in the ambient air of workplaces have been established in several countries at national levels. With the integration of the European Union, a need exists for establishing harmonized Occupational Exposure Limits. For analytical developments, it is apparent that methods for speciation or fractionation of carcinogenic metal compounds will be of increasing practical importance for standard setting. Criteria of applicability under field conditions, cost-effectiveness, and robustness are practical driving forces for new developments. When the European Union issued a list of 62 chemical substances with Occupational Exposure Limits in 2000, 25 substances received a 'skin' notation. The latter indicates that toxicologically significant amounts may be taken up via the skin. Similar notations exist on national levels. For such substances, monitoring concentrations in ambient air will not be sufficient; biological monitoring strategies will gain further importance in the medical surveillance of workers who are exposed to such compounds. Proceedings in establishing legal frameworks for a biological monitoring of chemical exposures within Europe are paralleled by scientific advances in this field. A new aspect is the possibility of a differential adduct monitoring, using blood proteins of different half-life or lifespan. This technique allows differentiation between long-term mean exposure to reactive chemicals and short-term episodes, for example, by accidental overexposure. For further analytical developments, the following issues have been addressed as being particularly important: New dose monitoring strategies, sensitive and reliable methods for detection of DNA adducts, cytogenetic parameters in biological monitoring, methods to monitor exposure to sensitizing chemicals, and parameters for individual susceptibilities to chemical toxicants.

The influence of fleet safety climate on occupational driver behaviours

The concepts of traffic safety culture and climate hold considerable impact on road safety outcomes. Data sourced from four Australian organisations revealed a five factor structure that was consistent with previous research, which were: management commitment; work demands; relationships; appropriateness of rules; and communication. Correlation and regression analyses were conducted to identify which aspects of fleet safety climate were related to driver behaviours. The findings suggest that organisations may be able to reduce the likelihood of employees engaging in unsafe driving behaviours as a result of fatigue or distractions through increasing aspects of fleet safety climate, including: management commitment; level of trust; safety communication; appropriateness of work demands; and appropriateness of safety policies and procedures. To assist practitioners in enhancing fleet safety climate and managing occupational road risks, recommendations are made based on these findings, such as fostering a supportive environment of mutual responsibility.