Measuring safety effectiveness : literature review

Cohen (1977) reviewed the then current research on occupational safety and stated that both strong company commitment to safety, and communication between all levels of a company are the most influential factors to improving safety. Other relevant factors included careful selection of staff, and early and continuous training throughout the lifetime with the company. These continue to be important factors in OHS today. There has been a continued decrease in the injury rates since Cohen’s review within the Australian construction industry, however, the construction industry has far more injuries and ill-health than the Australian average, with one fatality occurring on average per week in the Australian Construction Industry. The Fatality rate in the building and construction industry remains three times higher than the national average, and 15% of all industry fatalities are in the building and construction industry. In addition the construction industry pays one of the highest workers’ compensation premium rates – in 2001 alone approximately 0.5% ($267 million) of revenue would have to be allocated to the direct cost of 1998/99 compensations (Office of the Federal Safety Commissioner, 2006). Based on these statistics there is a need to measure and improve safety performance within the construction industry.

AITPM Email Newsletter Volume 0907, July 2009 : President's Message

President’s Message AITPM President’s Message, July 2009 Hello fellow AITPM members, It’s now very early July so many Australians are going to experience a range of new, or increases in, fees, charges, and perhaps taxes by State and local governments. For example, Queenslanders are to be hit at the petrol pump, no longer living with the luxury of the State’s previous 8c per litre fuel subsidy, bringing general motorists’ fuel costs into line with the other States. A consolation is that they now don’t have to live with the real or perceived “price gouging” that has appeared in the past to make Queensland prices much closer than 8c to those in other States. Environmental lobbyists argue that this Government’s decision brings public transport costs closer to parity with private transport. However, my sense from sloppy petrol price elasticities is that the State’s motorists will get used to the reversal of what was a reverse tax pretty quickly, an amount which can be less than day-of-the week fluctuation. On the other hand, withholding this State revenue may help in some way the funding of the several major public transport infrastructure projects in progress; not to mention some of the cost of running the Transit Authority’s expanding service commitments. Other policy actions, such as a Federal Government review of taxation on employees’ package vehicles, which might discourage rather than encourage excess kilometres travelled, may have a greater environmental benefit. Of course, a downside is that many vehicles used so are Australian built, and discouraging fleet turnover may damage an industry which faces ever increasing uncertainty, and particularly at the present, is in need of some care and attention. I for one hope to this end that the new 4 cylinder (1.8L petrol or 2L diesel) so called “true Holden” Cruze and Toyota’s pending Camry Hybrid are both roaring successes, and will be taken up in droves as fleet and employee use vehicles. I’m not sure what drive-trains Ford and Holden plan to drop into their next full sized models but even if they’re not Australian sourced, let’s hope they coordinate the requisite performance expected by the “Aussie Battler” with suitable green credentials. I am also encouraged to see that already many Government fleet vehicles are smaller in size, but still fit for purpose. For instance, my local police station uses the Camry based Aurion as a district car. I close again in reminding everyone that AITPM’s flagship event, the 2009 AITPM National Conference, Traffic Beyond Tomorrow, is being held in Adelaide from 5 to 7 August. www.aitpm.com has all of the details about how to register, sponsor a booth, session, etc. Best regards all, Jon Bunker

A study into the permeability and compressibility of Australian bagasse pulp

This is an experimental study into the permeability and compressibility properties of bagasse pulp pads. Three experimental rigs were custom-built for this project. The experimental work is complemented by modelling work. Both the steady-state and dynamic behaviour of pulp pads are evaluated in the experimental and modelling components of this project. Bagasse, the fibrous residue that remains after sugar is extracted from sugarcane, is normally burnt in Australia to generate steam and electricity for the sugar factory. A study into bagasse pulp was motivated by the possibility of making highly value-added pulp products from bagasse for the financial benefit of sugarcane millers and growers. The bagasse pulp and paper industry is a multibillion dollar industry (1). Bagasse pulp could replace eucalypt pulp which is more widely used in the local production of paper products. An opportunity exists for replacing the large quantity of mainly generic paper products imported to Australia. This includes 949,000 tonnes of generic photocopier papers (2). The use of bagasse pulp for paper manufacture is the main application area of interest for this study. Bagasse contains a large quantity of short parenchyma cells called ‘pith’. Around 30% of the shortest fibres are removed from bagasse prior to pulping. Despite the ‘depithing’ operations in conventional bagasse pulp mills, a large amount of pith remains in the pulp. Amongst Australian paper producers there is a perception that the high quantity of short fibres in bagasse pulp leads to poor filtration behaviour at the wet-end of a paper machine. Bagasse pulp’s poor filtration behaviour reduces paper production rates and consequently revenue when compared to paper production using locally made eucalypt pulp. Pulp filtration can be characterised by two interacting factors; permeability and compressibility. Surprisingly, there has previously been very little rigorous investigation into neither bagasse pulp permeability nor compressibility. Only freeness testing of bagasse pulp has been published in the open literature. As a result, this study has focussed on a detailed investigation of the filtration properties of bagasse pulp pads. As part of this investigation, this study investigated three options for improving the permeability and compressibility properties of Australian bagasse pulp pads. Two options for further pre-treating depithed bagasse prior to pulping were considered. Firstly, bagasse was fractionated based on size. Two bagasse fractions were produced, ‘coarse’ and ‘medium’ bagasse fractions. Secondly, bagasse was collected after being processed on two types of juice extraction technology, i.e. from a sugar mill and from a sugar diffuser. Finally one method of post-treating the bagasse pulp was investigated. The effects of chemical additives, which are known to improve freeness, were also assessed for their effect on pulp pad permeability and compressibility. Pre-treated Australian bagasse pulp samples were compared with several benchmark pulp samples. A sample of commonly used kraft Eucalyptus globulus pulp was obtained. A sample of depithed Argentinean bagasse, which is used for commercial paper production, was also obtained. A sample of Australian bagasse which was depithed as per typical factory operations was also produced for benchmarking purposes. The steady-state pulp pad permeability and compressibility parameters were determined experimentally using two purpose-built experimental rigs. In reality, steady-state conditions do not exist on a paper machine. The permeability changes as the sheet compresses over time. Hence, a dynamic model was developed which uses the experimentally determined steady-state permeability and compressibility parameters as inputs. The filtration model was developed with a view to designing pulp processing equipment that is suitable specifically for bagasse pulp. The predicted results of the dynamic model were compared to experimental data. The effectiveness of a polymeric and microparticle chemical additives for improving the retention of short fibres and increasing the drainage rate of a bagasse pulp slurry was determined in a third purpose-built rig; a modified Dynamic Drainage Jar (DDJ). These chemical additives were then used in the making of a pulp pad, and their effect on the steady-state and dynamic permeability and compressibility of bagasse pulp pads was determined. The most important finding from this investigation was that Australian bagasse pulp was produced with higher permeability than eucalypt pulp, despite a higher overall content of short fibres. It is thought this research outcome could enable Australian paper producers to switch from eucalypt pulp to bagasse pulp without sacrificing paper machine productivity. It is thought that two factors contributed to the high permeability of the bagasse pulp pad. Firstly, thicker cell walls of the bagasse pulp fibres resulted in high fibre stiffness. Secondly, the bagasse pulp had a large proportion of fibres longer than 1.3 mm. These attributes helped to reinforce the pulp pad matrix. The steady-state permeability and compressibility parameters for the eucalypt pulp were consistent with those found by previous workers. It was also found that Australian pulp derived from the ‘coarse’ bagasse fraction had higher steady-state permeability than the ‘medium’ fraction. However, there was no difference between bagasse pulp originating from a diffuser or a mill. The bagasse pre-treatment options investigated in this study were not found to affect the steady-state compressibility parameters of a pulp pad. The dynamic filtration model was found to give predictions that were in good agreement with experimental data for pads made from samples of pretreated bagasse pulp, provided at least some pith was removed prior to pulping. Applying vacuum to a pulp slurry in the modified DDJ dramatically reduced the drainage time. At any level of vacuum, bagasse pulp benefitted from chemical additives as quantified by reduced drainage time and increased retention of short fibres. Using the modified DDJ, it was observed that under specific conditions, a benchmark depithed bagasse pulp drained more rapidly than the ‘coarse’ bagasse pulp. In steady-state permeability and compressibility experiments, the addition of chemical additives improved the pad permeability and compressibility of a benchmark bagasse pulp with a high quantity of short fibres. Importantly, this effect was not observed for the ‘coarse’ bagasse pulp. However, dynamic filtration experiments showed that there was also a small observable improvement in filtration for the ‘medium’ bagasse pulp. The mechanism of bagasse pulp pad consolidation appears to be by fibre realignment. Chemical additives assist to lubricate the consolidation process. This study was complemented by pulp physical and chemical property testing and a microscopy study. In addition to its high pulp pad permeability, ‘coarse’ bagasse pulp often (but not always) had superior physical properties than a benchmark depithed bagasse pulp.

Relative income, happiness, and utility : an explanation for the Easterlin paradox and other puzzles

The well-known Easterlin paradox points out that average happiness has remained constant over time despite sharp rises in GNP per head. At the same time, a micro literature has typically found positive correlations between individual income and individual measures of subjective well-being. This paper suggests that these two findings are consistent with the presence of relative income terms in the utility function. Income may be evaluated relative to others (social comparison) or to oneself in the past (habituation). We review the evidence on relative income from the subjective well-being literature. We also discuss the relation (or not) between happiness and utility, and discuss some nonhappiness research (behavioral, experimental, neurological) related to income comparisons. We last consider how relative income in the utility function can affect economic models of behavior in the domains of consumption, investment, economic growth, savings, taxation, labor supply, wages, and migration.

A ‘cost-per-wear’ model based on contact lens replacement frequency

Purpose: The aim was to construct and advise on the use of a cost-per-wear model based on contact lens replacement frequency, to form an equitable basis for cost comparison. ---------- Methods: The annual cost of professional fees, contact lenses and solutions when wearing daily, two-weekly and monthly replacement contact lenses is determined in the context of the Australian market for spherical, toric and multifocal prescription types. This annual cost is divided by the number of times lenses are worn per year, resulting in a ‘cost-per-wear’. The model is presented graphically as the cost-per-wear versus the number of times lenses are worn each week for daily replacement and reusable (two-weekly and monthly replacement) lenses.---------- Results: The cost-per-wear for two-weekly and monthly replacement spherical lenses is almost identical but decreases with increasing frequency of wear. The cost-per-wear of daily replacement spherical lenses is lower than for reusable spherical lenses, when worn from one to four days per week but higher when worn six or seven days per week. The point at which the cost-per-wear is virtually the same for all three spherical lens replacement frequencies (approximately AUD$3.00) is five days of lens wear per week. A similar but upwardly displaced (higher cost) pattern is observed for toric lenses, with the cross-over point occurring between three and four days of wear per week (AUD$4.80). Multifocal lenses have the highest price, with cross-over points for daily versus two-weekly replacement lenses at between four and five days of wear per week (AUD$5.00) and for daily versus monthly replacement lenses at three days per week (AUD$5.50).---------- Conclusions: This cost-per-wear model can be used to assist practitioners and patients in making an informed decision in relation to the cost of contact lens wear as one of many considerations that must be taken into account when deciding on the most suitable lens replacement modality.

Fair flow control of ABR service by per-VC virtual queuing

In this paper, a rate-based flow control scheme based upon per-VC virtual queuing is proposed for the Available Bit Rate (ABR) service in ATM. In this scheme, each VC in a shared buffer is assigned a virtual queue, which is a counter. To achieve a specific kind of fairness, an appropriate scheduler is applied to the virtual queues. Each VC's bottleneck rate (fair share) is derived from its virtual cell departure rate. This approach of deriving a VC's fair share is simple and accurate. By controlling each VC with respect to its virtual queue and queue build-up in the shared buffer, network congestion is avoided. The principle of the control scheme is first illustrated by max–min flow control, which is realised by scheduling the virtual queues in round-robin. Further application of the control scheme is demonstrated with the achievement of weighted fairness through weighted round robin scheduling. Simulation results show that with a simple computation, the proposed scheme achieves the desired fairness exactly and controls network congestion effectively.

In-depth analysis of the J.A.C.K. model

The Texas Transportation Commission (“the Commission”) is responsible for planning and making policies for the location, construction, and maintenance of a comprehensive system of highways and public roads in Texas. In order for the Commission to carry out its legislative mandate, the Texas Constitution requires that most revenue generated by motor vehicle registration fees and motor fuel taxes be used for constructing and maintaining public roadways and other designated purposes. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) assists the Commission in executing state transportation policy. It is the responsibility of the legislature to appropriate money for TxDOT’s operation and maintenance expenses. All money authorized to be appropriated for TxDOT’s operations must come from the State Highway Fund (also known as Fund 6, Fund 006, or Fund 0006). The Commission can then use the balance in the fund to fulfill its responsibilities. However, the value of the revenue received in Fund 6 is not keeping pace with growing demand for transportation infrastructure in Texas. Additionally, diversion of revenue to nontransportation uses now exceeds $600 million per year. As shown in Figure 1.1, revenues and expenditures of the State Highway Fund per vehicle mile traveled (VMT) in Texas have remained almost flat since 1993. In the meantime, construction cost inflation has gone up more than 100%, effectively halving the value of expenditure.

Evaluation of TxDOT’s J.A.C.K. model for revenue and expenditure projections

This research report documents work conducted by the Center for Transportation (CTR) at The University of Texas at Austin in analyzing the Joint Analysis using the Combined Knowledge (J.A.C.K.) program. This program was developed by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to make projections of revenues and expenditures. This research effort was to span from September 2008 to August 2009, but the bulk of the work was completed and presented by December 2008. J.A.C.K. was subsequently renamed TRENDS, but for consistency with the scope of work, the original name is used throughout this report.

Communications materials on methods of development of revenue and cost estimates to non-technical audiences

This CDROM includes PDFs of presentations on the following topics: "TXDOT Revenue and Expenditure Trends;" "Examine Highway Fund Diversions, & Benchmark Texas Vehicle Registration Fees;" "Evaluation of the JACK Model;" "Future highway construction cost trends;" "Fuel Efficiency Trends and Revenue Impact"

Maintenance optimisation of a multi-state series-parallel system considering economic dependence and state-dependent inspection intervals

This paper presents a maintenance optimisation method for a multi-state series-parallel system considering economic dependence and state-dependent inspection intervals. The objective function considered in the paper is the average revenue per unit time calculated based on the semi-regenerative theory and the universal generating function (UGF). A new algorithm using the stochastic ordering is also developed in this paper to reduce the search space of maintenance strategies and to enhance the efficiency of optimisation algorithms. A numerical simulation is presented in the study to evaluate the efficiency of the proposed maintenance strategy and optimisation algorithms. The simulation result reveals that maintenance strategies with opportunistic maintenance and state-dependent inspection intervals are more cost-effective when the influence of economic dependence and inspection cost is significant. The study further demonstrates that the optimisation algorithm proposed in this paper has higher computational efficiency than the commonly employed heuristic algorithms.

Higher education for capacity development or revenue maximisation? Lessons from transnational higher education programs at two Indonesian universities

HE has been changing rapidly due to globalisation that has increased the interconnectedness between nations and people throughout the world (Mok, 2012). As HE has manifested into different forms and governed by competing rationales in recent years, this paper focuses on transnational HE, which is an example of the interconnectedness of universities beyond the national borders. Indonesia is also influenced by the above changes. It took part in free-trade agreements that include HE as a sector to be liberated and accessed by international providers (Nizam, 2006). Indonesian universities found themselves bracing for the global competition for students and simultaneously having to improve their quality in order to survive amidst the growing competition. This competition gave birth to joint transnational HE programs with overseas partners among many Indonesian universities (Macaranas, 2010).

Compensation for lost services of an employee : pure economic loss and per quod action

Under the common law an employer may take action against a defendant for the loss of an employee’s services due to the act of the defendant (per quod servitium amisit - by reason of which the services were lost). The High Court has recently affirmed the existence of this ancient tort in Barclay v Penberthy [2012] HCA 40.

The potential for ethanol production from sugarcane in Australia

The Australian sugar industry processes approximately 35 million tonnes of sugarcane per year from 400 000 hectares of land. Sugar remains the principal revenue stream from sugarcane in Australia with less than 60 ML/y of fuel ethanol produced from final molasses at present. Modelling has been undertaken to estimate the potential ethanol production from the Australian sugar industry for integrated facilities producing both sugar and ethanol from the entire sugarcane resource. Although research aimed at developing commercial processes is ongoing, the use of a proportion of the bagasse and trash for ethanol production, in addition to juice and molasses fermentation, would allow significant increases in the scale of ethanol production from sugarcane in Australia, increasing total industry revenues while maintaining energy self sufficiency.

Shortfalls in malnutrition coding : a mandate for action

The International Classification of Diseases, Version 10, Australian modification (ICD-10- AM) is commonly used to classify diseases in hospital patients. ICD-10-AM defines malnutrition as “BMI < 18.5 kg/m2 or unintentional weight loss of ≥ 5% with evidence of suboptimal intake resulting in subcutaneous fat loss and/or muscle wasting”. The Australasian Nutrition Care Day Survey (ANCDS) is the most comprehensive survey to evaluate malnutrition prevalence in acute care patients from Australian and New Zealand hospitals1. This study determined if malnourished participants were assigned malnutritionrelated codes as per ICD-10-AM. The ANCDS recruited acute care patients from 56 hospitals. Hospital-based dietitians evaluated participants’ nutritional status using BMI and Subjective Global Assessment (SGA). In keeping with the ICD-10-AM definition, malnutrition was defined as BMI <18.5kg/m2, SGA-B (moderately malnourished) or SGA-C (severely malnourished). After three months, in this prospective cohort study, hospitals’ health information/medical records department provided coding results for malnourished participants. Although malnutrition was prevalent in 32% (n= 993) of the cohort (N= 3122), a significantly small number were coded for malnutrition (n= 162, 16%, p<0.001). In 21 hospitals, none of the malnourished participants were coded. This is the largest study to provide a snapshot of malnutrition-coding in Australian and New Zealand hospitals. Findings highlight gaps in malnutrition documentation and/or subsequent coding, which could potentially result in significant loss of casemix-related revenue for hospitals. Dietitians must lead the way in developing structured processes for malnutrition identification, documentation and coding.

PV string per-module maximum power point enabling converters

Many grid connected PV installations consist of a single series string of PV modules and a single DC-AC inverter. This efficiency of this topology can be enhanced with additional low power, low cost per panel converter modules. Most current flows directly in the series string which ensures high efficiency. However parallel Cúk or buck-boost DC-DC converters connected across each adjacent pair of modules now support any desired current difference between series connected PV modules. Each converter “shuffles” the desired difference in PV module currents between two modules and so on up the string. Spice simulations show that even with poor efficiency, these modules can make a significant improvement to the overall power which can be recovered from partially shaded PV strings.