Category: Safety

Introduction

The Construction industry creates a very important part in the development of the economy of a country. For this to be effectively successful and beneficial to the serving population, various regulations and good codes of practice should be strictly followed. Normally, this will include good construction practices during the design, construction, and occupation phases of buildings, where professionalism is highly confidential.

Safety in buildings, therefore, is expected to be carried out in two categories which include safety during the design and construction of buildings, and during the occupation period. According to the Review of the Building (Scotland) Regulations 2004: Section 2 Fire (Domestic Buildings), the construction of buildings should be done in such a way that the possible risks are substantially reduced to manageable levels. For effective assessment of the current safety regulations, and practical situations, detailed comparisons between the existing and intended codes of practice should be done to come up with the perfect safety rules and regulations for the future.

Fire Safety arrangements during the Design and Construction Phase

Fire safety is an objective requirement to the provision of safety to the lives of the people who might be, for any reason, involved closely with the building. The target people may include the workers on-site during construction to the future occupants of the buildings in question. Currently, there are various measures that have been put in place to ensure the safety of people during the design and construction phase of buildings. According to the Review of the Building (Scotland) Regulations 2004: Section 2 Fire (Domestic Buildings), fire safety main aims are to ensure the protection of life, achievement of sustainable development, and assist the fire and rescue services. The current arrangements put in place to ensure fire safety, therefore, are as outlined below:

Fire safety standards during the design phase

During the design phase of buildings, fire safety design measures are most important in providing a safe structure and thus, proper design values should be taken into account. This has been taken care of by various codes of practice including the Fire (Scotland) Act of 2005. For structures to be safe in fire emergencies, the design should be done to ensure the structure can withstand the effect of fire for a substantial amount of time to ensure safe escape and effective fire rescue services.

In the current situation, fire has been a major drawback in the development of the Scotland government. According to Section 2 Fire (Domestic Buildings) technical handbook, there are approximately 7000 reported cases of Scottish fire, in which are approximately 60 deaths and 1700 injuries each year. With the proper and professional use of provided codes of practice, these figures can be reduced significantly.

Professional engineers, therefore, have been employed to take care of the situation through the use of provided codes of practice such as the Fire (Scotland) Act of 2005. Using design experience and building standards, engineers provide safety factors for fire in their designs which also includes the architecture of safe design. According to the Five steps to risk assessment handbook, the process involves identification of hazards, the possible victims, risk evaluation, implementation, and review of the risk.

For easy movement and escape in cases of a fire tragedy, easily accessible fire escape staircases are designed for and strategically located. This will ensure perfect movement by both the rescue team and the victims of the fire. Sometimes, a separate fire escape lift is provided specifically for the rescue group. This can then be used by this team to easily access any floor they wish to conduct their rescue services from.

Fire safety standards during the construction phase

During the construction phase, the risks of fire may be caused by the processes and services done during the construction. These risks may be due to the temporary power connections, power machinery on-site, and many other sources. In the Construction industry, these risks are prevented by the adherence of contractors to safety management. In the current situation, it is the responsibility of the contractor to take care of the risks and minimize them to a safe level. This involves the process of risk identification and solution as described in the risk handbook, where the contractor has to follow the safety precautions to fire risk management (Health and Safety Executive, pg 1-8).

In Scotland, construction fire risk assessment guides are provided in the Section 2 Fire (Domestic Buildings). These guides ensure that safe construction activity are undertaken to prevent and minimize accidental fires during the process of construction of buildings (Scottish Statutory Instruments, pg 2).

Conclusion

The fire risk prevention practices are enforced by the Government Acts to ensure that the construction parties perform as to the stipulated rules and regulations. Lack of adherence to these rules and regulations exposes a party to penalties, which, however, are not tough at the moment. The introduction of tougher rules can effectively increase the adherence to codes of practice, as the parties of construction may not want to be liable to certain charges due to their inefficiency in quality risk prevention.

Fire Safety Maintenance arrangements during the Occupation Phase

The fire safety of a completed building should be perfect at completion. This is to ensure that the safety of the occupants in the immediate and later future is guaranteed. The safety of a building at the occupation phase, however, is mostly determined at the design and construction phase. At this phase very little can be done apart from maintenance of good practices that will ensure maximum safety in the building. The current practices in Scotland that ensure safety at occupancy are as described below:

Fire safety standards during the occupation phase

During this stage, the main safety activity with regards to fire safety involves the maintenance of the fire safety standards that have already been established. These safety measures now mainly depend on the current occupants of the building. The occupants should be able to observe safety and be ready to react positively to fires.

The occupants of a building normally do not perceive themselves as being at risk of fire and moreover, are not aware of the rate at which a fire can spread (Section 2 Fire (Domestic Buildings), pg 12). In residential buildings, therefore, awareness of the risk of fire is created to ensure fire safety. For instance, fire alarms are provided at strategic positions to ensure easy access in case of accidental fires. In addition to this, it is a requirement to provide safe escape mechanisms from a building. This is efficiently done through the provision of standard fire escape staircases and or fire fighting staircases, lifts, and lobbies.

For non-domestic buildings, the causes of fires and fire deaths are minimal as compared to domestic buildings (Section 2 Fire (Non-Domestic Buildings), pg 50). The design stage is when risk assessment is done and at this time various design factors are considered. Evacuation methods, which can either be simultaneous, phased, or progressive horizontal evacuation, are currently in existence and will affect the type of fire alarm systems to be installed in buildings.

Fire safety measures at the occupation stage in both the domestic and non-domestic buildings are to be efficiently taken into account. Proper fire alarm systems should be employed depending on the type of evacuation methods in a building. The right type of alarm system will guarantee the safety of the building to a certain accepted level (Section 2 Fire (Non-Domestic Buildings), pg 12).

Effect of adoption of BS 9999 to Building Parties Liabilities

The adoption of the BS 9999 code of practice for fire safety in the design, management, and use of buildings will be a major pull forward to the government of Scotland. This is due to the well-defined codes that will provide maximum guidance to the construction parties as a team to produce good fire safety results. This is because the government will have a good check on the individual parties where they, individually, will have to face liability for their actions, whether positive or negative.

The BS 9999 critically analyses and touches on every part of the risk assessment and management starting from the implementation and design stages of the building. This, therefore, gives a perfect and clear way of undertaking the process of fire risk prevention. According to the BS 9999 codes of practice, the design of buildings for fire relies upon the sources of fire, materials and systems likely to be involved in a fire, and the likely spread of fire. Knowing this basic information leads one to an understanding of the methods in which to curb the fire risk possibilities. It gives a person the ability to read the risks and find the most appropriate way to counteract them.

BS 9999 gives a perfect solution to this as the processes to fire safety are well illustrated. A keen observation at the design stage will make one solve most of the assessed risk in a bright manner. This is so because most risks are associated and may originate from the design stage of a building. A good example occurs where the building evacuation system is put into consideration. An excellent design can be read from the initial design stage, with perfect positioning of exit and or entry mechanisms in cases of fires. The provision of firefighting staircases, lifts, and lobbies, may just be a solution to easy movement from one level to another by the firefighting team.

For many reasons, therefore, BS 9999 will act as the most satisfying code of practice for fire safety in the design, management, and use of buildings in the Scotland government.

Regulatory Effectiveness Analysis applied to current systems

The current systems of fire safety may be considered to be functionally average and the need to improve the system is paramount. The Fire Safety (Scotland) Act 2005 was provided to ensure that domestic and non-domestic buildings are designed to be fully functional and secure in terms of fire safety. The Act has been in use for a number of years of which the importance had increased dearly.

However, the system has not defined most of the practices for fire safety from the tender design stage of a building in concern. This makes it most important to introduce the BS 9999 codes of practice that are well stated. The use and implementation of the BS 9999 codes of practice in the current system in Scotland will ensure a perfect way for deciding the right practices by the construction parties. Due to the well defined codes of practice, the parties will have direct responsibilities which shall be mandatory and therefore an effective fire safety system can be obtained.

Recommendations to the Minister

In the current system of fire safety in Scotland, there are various improvements that can greatly increase the productivity in terms of designing for fire safety and maintenance of fire safety measures in the occupation phase of buildings. The safety of the possible users of new and existing buildings should be guaranteed to a specific constant. From my effectiveness regulatory analysis applied to the current systems, I therefore have recommendations to put across that will aid in decision processes weather to site the BS 9999, 2008 as a necessary document in codes of practice:

• The current systems provided for as the codes of practice are not sufficiently designed to provide for safety in buildings at all phases of building production. This therefore requires an improvement in the codes of practice or an introduction to new codes of practice to ensure future safety of occupants.
• The BS 9999, 2008 on the other hand appears to be the perfect solution to the current shortfall in the fire safety management systems since it is well designed to achieve reasonable standards of fire safety (Technical Committee FSH/14: Fire precautions in buildings, pg 4).
• The implementation of the BS 9999, 2008 into the current system shall provide the perfect move that will ensure the responsible construction parties to be liable for their decisions and activities. This will ensure all parties maintain high standards of performance just to ensure all the good practices are done right.

Therefore, it is my recommendation to the minister concerned with building regulation matters to employ and implement BS 9999, 2008 into the current system of fire safety regulations for a better fire free environment in the future.

References

Health and Safety Executive. Five steps to risk assessment INDG163(rev2) (2006): 1-8. PDF file.

Review of the Building (Scotland) Regulations 2004. Section 2 Fire (Domestic Buildings) (2010): 1-55. PDF file.

Review of the Building (Scotland) Regulations 2004. Section 2 Fire (Non-Domestic Buildings) (2010): 1-76. PDF file.

Scottish Statutory Instruments. The Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 2006 No. 475:1-17. PDF file.

Technical Committee FSH/14, Fire precautions in buildings. BSI British Standards. New York: Random, 2008. Print.

Ethics Statement

The case itself is the representation of negligence and non-observation of the key safety rules which caused the tragedy. Consequently, the ethical issues that are touched by this report are closely related to the opportunity to prevent similar accidents in the future and provide the proper control system for the companies with potentially dangerous industrial equipment.

Executive Summary

The accident revealed that the victim either did not know how to shut down the machine and how to isolate its energy, or this was simple negligence that cost life to him. The investigation included not only the chronological restoration of the events but also the operational manual of the dough-making machine. Additionally, the safety training procedure had been reviewed to reveal how the accident could take place if the workers were constantly trained, and the safety rules were explained in detail. The investigation concluded that most of the employees are immigrants, and the level of their English is different. Insufficient language skills are regarded as the key reason for the accident, as the victim could not understand all the safety rules.

Introduction

The purpose of the project is to review the accident, reveal the possible reasons that could cause this accident, and create effective safety and control rules for similar organizations to prevent similar accidents. The course of the investigation involved the study of the machine safety documentation, organizational safety rules and practices, as well as the chronology and background of the events. This is required for the proper analysis of the accident, as the instance of murder is rejected. The accident itself is closely linked with the violation of safety rules not only by employees but by employers as well. This is explained by the fact that workers have not been trained properly to shut down the machine, and did not realize the consequences of negligent machine operation.

Research

The quantitative aspect of the accident involves numerous parameters and values of the investigation. In fact, the work with potentially dangerous machinery may require increased attention and additional insurance actions and tests. Hence, the 54-year aged worker could not have the sufficient attention level, and his health condition could be far from norms. The fatal error was the left of the switch on auto position. This cause the automating turning on of the blade system, while the employee was inside the elevator hopper. The co-worker, one of the Chinese employees, helped the victim to clean the machine and had to raise the dough bowl for cleaning this part of the machinery.

Everything happened within several minutes, when the co-worker prepared to clean the bowl and asked the victim to pass him the keys. When the power switch was turned on, the auto detector considered that the elevator is loaded, and the blade was launched. Hence, the double negligence cost a life.

Considering the fact that the victim had been working for the company for five years, he should know the basic safety rules, as the company arranged safety training annually. On the other hand, the co-worker did not have sufficient language knowledge, and the company did not care about interpreters for the training process.

Actually, the power of the blade motor is sufficient for making deadly injuries. And the 3/4 HP of the electrical motor became more than sufficient for decapitating the victim. The cutting cycle of the blade is 20-30 seconds, hence, the chances of the victim could be large enough if the blade was at the beginning of the cycle, nevertheless, the victim had only several seconds for saving his life, and the co-worker had not realized his mistake until he heard the noise from the victims side.

Examples of quantitative information are closely linked with the parameters of the machine. Actually, the safety system is not effective enough, and the fact that the manufacturer decided to refuse from equipping machines with an automatic regime emphasizes the system in general is ineffective. Hence, the manual regime of the machine is the safest at the moment.

Discussion

Considering the mistakes of the investigation, it should be stated that the actual importance of the research is closely linked with the necessity to restore the chronology of the events. In fact, the case reminds murder, as the investigation report does not emphasize whether there were witnesses of the accident in the room and whether someone is able to confirm the co-workers testimony. In general, all the facts and statements of the accident have been revealed; however, the actual statement of the accident is rather detailed. The research in the future should pay attention to the safety rule observation by other workers, and their knowledge of the safety measures required for working with similar machinery. (Lutz, 19)

The initial position of the switchers is included in report, however, it is not stated whether the co-worker checked these positions before elevating the bowl. If he did, this would be murder; if he did not, this is culpable negligence. (Lutz, 11) Consequently, the research could be improved seriously if it is applied to solving the problem in the future. The improvements are related to assessing the knowledge level of the other workers, examination of all the workers for their ability to operate machinery they have access to, and increase of the requirements for the employers that own potentially dangerous machinery.

Trade-offs

In comparison with other similar cases, the investigation commission did not check the safety rules that existed before the accident. In fact, it is evident that the workers were not prevented from getting into the point of operation, however, the other ways of cleaning and sanitation serving are not known.

Hence, the commission had to contact the manufacturer and arrange the training campaign for the employers who own similar machines. The essence of the case is that the recommendations had been given, while the ways of implementing these recommendations are unknown. Moreover, the manufacturer had to provide detailed instructions and reminders for the machine. Reminders and warnings are not the most effective solution, however, the chances of the accident could be lower. (OR-FACE; Oregon OSHA; TRIS)

As for the design of the system, it should be constructed with the proper differentiation whether a working material (dough) is inside, or any other object. The sensor may react to the weight of the object that is inside (as a man is heavier than the portion of the dough, there would be no difficulties in implementing this system), and the system would notify overload, if a working personnel is inside. Another sensor may be optical, and react if something is inserted into the machinery that exceeds the normal sizes of the dough portion.

The safety cover should be implemented for sanitary and cleaning works. If it is open, the sensors would not allow the system to turn on, and, independently of the position of the switchers, the blades would stay motionless. Moreover, the sensor should give the signal to blade motor for the blades were placed at the beginning of the cutting cycle, or turned away from the production line. If these principles were observed, turning the system on would cause fewer fatal injuries. (Occupational Health Brach; Graham 45; Braddee, 31)

Another aspect of the construction that may be implemented is the electronic protection of the switching mechanism. Hence, if the machinery is to be cleaned, or any other maintenance works are planned, the machine is turned off. Turning on may be possible only after the input of a specific combination of numbers on the num pad. The combination may be personal for anyone who has access to operate the machinery.

Optical, electronic and weight safety rules are not the overindulgences if lives are endangered. The improved safety rules may violate the manufacturing standards and tempos, however, the observation of these rules may prevent fatalities and excess expenses for the employer. (Higgins, Casini, 33)

As for the PPE usage, this may be the type of improvement. Considering the fact that cleaning and sanitation of the machinery may be featured with essential difficulties, though, the innovative cleaning technique had not been offered, the personal protection devices of every worker may include radio beacons that are inbuilt in working badges or cleaning instruments. If the system registers a radio signal inside the machine, the safety system is turned on. Ultra short waves may be used for this purpose.

Another PPE that is required, had been used by the victim and co-worker. The safety measures that are associated with the accident are not linked with the PPE usage. If the workers were subjected to the jeopardy of blunt trauma, the PPE would be useful. Additional PPE is not required, as the safety reasoning should be focused on the emergency power-off switcher.

Recommendations

Safety recommendations have been stated by the FACE commission, and the recommendations for the construction changes are provided in the Trade-offs chapter. In fact, the actual importance of the changes is stipulated by the fact that technologies develop, and the machinery manufacturers should be the most interested parties in the cases where human life safety is endangered. It is a pity, however most safety rules are written with bloody inks, and the cost of the safety manuals are human lives and injuries. (SHARP)

The recommendations that may be given to employers and employees are to take care of their lives and the lives of co-workers. The recommendations for the investigators are associated with the deeper study of the reasons, as the current case does not presuppose the study of the safety measures accepted within the company, there is no conclusion whether this was the ignoring of the safety rules or simple misunderstanding of the key requirements. The co-worker did not know English properly, and this could be the key reason for his not knowing the safety measurements.

Another option is to perform the entire isolation and de-energizing of the line before the sanitation and maintenance work. This will be helpful for ensuring the workers safety, as well as protection from the accidental turning on the system. This option is the most reliable, that is why it was chosen for specifying in the report. As for the matters of reliability and safety of the machinery, it should be emphasized that unconcern is the largest problem in similar cases, hence, it may cost lives and concerns for others.

Conclusion

The alternatives of the investigation process are associated with studying the motifs of the co-worker. Nothing is stated on the matters of intentional murder, as the details are given neither confirm nor reject the version of the murder. However, as for the matters of recommendations and safety policy changes, the investigators have done great work, and all the details of the accident have been disclosed. Hence, any alternatives are required. The actual importance of the safety recommendations, provided by the investigation commission is based on the importance of observing the protection measures, as well as implementing the insurance measures.

Oral Presentation

The work examines the analyzed accident which happened in a food industry company, engaged in pizza dough manufacturing. The 54-year old Taiwanese male suffered from the imperfect safety system of a dough-making machine. The unlocked blade of the dough dividing mechanism caused his partial decapitation and instant death.

The investigation commission revealed that the co-worker had to elevate the dough bowl for cleaning it, and turn the elevator. This launched the blade while the neck of the victim was under the blade. Another aspect of the investigation is the study of the safety training, though, the commission did not pay attention to whether warning and safety reminders had been available on the machinery and near the switchers. Additionally, the manufacturers cleaning recommendations are not reviewed.

The paper offers the improvement of the safety measures as well as the construction of the machinery for avoiding similar accidents. As for the alternatives of the investigation offered, nothing important has been missed, hence, the alternatives are not required. In fact, the commission had to pay attention to some additional details, while the actual investigation course was helpful enough for defining the key mistakes as well as violations of the rules.

Works Cited

Braddee, Ronald. Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Report: Volunteer Fire Chief Dies in Motor Vehicle Incident While Responding to a Fire Alarm in Maryland. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. 30. 2010. Web.

Graham, Jerry. Internal Control Plans and Worker Safety Planning Tool. Research Board Business Office. 2006. Web.

Higgins, David. N., Casini, Victor. J., The Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation programs role in the prevention of occupational fatalities. Injury Prevention 2001;7(Suppl I):i2733. Web.

Lutz, Vernon. Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Report: Volunteer Fire Fighter Dies When Struck By a Bus While Working Along an Interstate Highway in Illinois. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. 12. 2009. Web.

Lutz, Vernon. Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Report: Volunteer Lieutenant Dies After Falling From a Bridge While Attending to a Motor Vehicle Crash in Arkansas. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. 10. 2009. Web.

Occupational Health Brach Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Program (FACE), 2010. Web.

OR-FACE. Salesman killed when forklift falls off truck loading ramp. Oregon Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation. 2010. Web.

Oregon OSHA. Young Workers Stay Alive on the Job! Oregon Health & Science University. 2010. Web.

SHARP. Fatality Data Summaries. Safety & Heath assessment & Research for Prevention, 2010. Web.

TRIS. Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Report for New Jersey: Worker Killed in Compressed Air Explosion at a Tire Retread Plant. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. 8; 2002. Web.

Introduction

The increase in population coupled with ever-growing social-economic activities has led to an incredible increase in the number of automobiles on our roads. Because of this, there has been a steady increase in the number of road accidents particularly in metropolitan cities of the Middle East and Gulf countries. The growing number of road crashes is imposing substantial economic and social loads on the affected parties, and a range of indirect and direct financial implications.

On the positive side, a good road network is vital for economic development. Good road networks have numerous benefits namely; cheap transport cost, people spending less time on road and more working, cheap maintenance cost of vehicles and generally low rate of accidents. On the other hand, poor road infrastructure will discourage investors as the cost of transport will be high, there is high rate of road carnage, and all this will have negative impact on the economy. In this paper, we will look at road safety in the Middle East and Gulf countries, global statistics, types of road crashes, causes of road accidents and solutions to road crashes.

According to the World Bank Group report, more than 1.17 million lives are lost on road worldwide annually. Most of these deaths, approximately 70 percent take place in developing countries. Sixty-five percent of deaths involve pedestrians and 35 percent of pedestrian deaths are children. Over 10 million are crippled or injured each year (World Bank Group 1). Judging by these statistics, if nothing is done in developing nations to curb this menace, it is projected that as a minimum 6 million further lives will be lost and 60 million will be wounded in the next 10 years to come.

Who is to blame for this growing rate of road accidents in developing nations and particularly in Middle East and Gulf countries? Is it drivers? No, we cannot point accusing fingers at the drivers only without factoring in some other contributing factors. Habitually, road repairs are restricted to putting in place drainage amenities and filling potholes, and not including replacement of missing guard rails, road markings, traffic signs, and other security attributes crucial to creating secure road network. If the road is not up to standard, no matter how careful road users are, there will significant accidents (Jacobs and Aeron-Thomas 3).

Most road accident victims in growing nationals are not however motorized automobile occupants, but bicyclists, non-motorized automobile inhabitants, motorcyclists, and pedestrians. This is indeed a worrying trend especially with high statistics indicating motorcyclists and pedestrians as leading victims of road crashes. See Figure 1.

To realize the extent of the road accident problem, it is prudent to compare the number of road crashes, and victims to geographical location and other indicative data and then evaluate this association among nations. Organizations such as the International Road Federation, Abu Dhabi Municipalities, Road Association of Engineers in the Middle East and Gulf Region and the International Association of Traffic and Safety Sciences have carried out research on road safety and economical implications presented data as seen in Tables 2 and 3. However, the availability of the data on road usage is scarce. Analysis of the number of victims per 10,000 vehicles is enough to give us an insight into road carnage (World Bank Group 2).

Road Crashes

In the Middle East and Gulf countries, the number of road accidents has been on the rise with youngsters of age bracket 17 to 25 years contributing to about 26% of total severe causalities and deaths. Approximately 1 in 4 victims in a period of the past 5 years have involved a driver under the age of 25 years of age (Richardson 3). Road crashes are fundamentally caused by unacceptable interactions between automobiles, roadway characteristics and/or other road users.

The circumstance that leads to unacceptable interactions or exchanges may perhaps be the consequence of the multifaceted interchange of various contributing factors for instance traffic characteristics, pavement distinctiveness, geometric attributes, automobile design, road users actions, environmental features and drivers personalities. Therefore, the entire system of road crashes is an intricate occurrence.

Stakeholders have dedicated their energies to the area of road crashes and traffic wellbeing features in general. In the Middle East and Gulf Countries, works have been undertaken on accident characteristics, accident forecasting, better roadway, and vehicular design for the improvement of road safety in different traffic and roadway conditions(Chakraborty and Roy 4). We will discuss in detail causes of accidents such as driver, vehicle, the environment, and the relationship between them.

Human Factors (Road Users)

Human beings tend to blame something or someone else whenever an accident occurs. Studies done in different parties of the world have concluded that approximately 80 percent of drivers caught up in automobile crashes alleged that the other driver possibly would have done something to avoid the crash. Many contributing factors may lead to driver-causing crashes. For instance, a driver will lose focus probably by an incoming call on their cell phones. While talking on the cell phone when driving, chances are high that the driver will ram in another vehicle, hit a pedestrian, or sway away from road and hit a tree as a result of divided attention. In rare cases do we witness crashes as a result of Act of God, like a tree falling on a vehicle (Smart Motorists 2).

All over the media, we see campaigns against overspeeding motorists, which is a leading cause of crashes. According to Smart Motorist, the force experienced by the human body in a collision increase exponentially with speed (4). Drivers especially youngsters and those driving public service vehicles, speed intentionally whereas they know the potential danger involved in doing this. The risks are further increased when roads are not well marked by traffic signs. Additionally, when a driver is speeding, he/she will easily knock a crossing pedestrian as opposed to those driving at an average speed.

As asserted by Smart Motorist, current automobiles are engineered to very secure benchmarks, and the surroundings they are driven in is engineered to minimize the injuries suffered during an accident (Smart Motorist 5). However, the most daunting task is to transform belligerent driver deeds and self-centered mindsets.

Additionally, aggressive behaviors such as drivers failure to observe road signs and signals, dangerous or numerous lane changes impaired driving, following closely another vehicle, and refusing to give the right of way to another motorist. However, it should also be noted that some accidents are maybe beyond control of some drivers. Take an example where a speeding or careless driver will unfortunately hit a driver driving carefully and thereby causing unnecessary death and destruction of property.

Equipment Failure

Car manufacturers are obligated to engineer automobiles that meet certain minimum-security benchmarks and this has been largely achieved. Unfortunately, cases of a tire bursting and/or tread division, brake failure, and steering/suspension malfunction have been reported to cause accidents. However, combined sum for the entire accident cases reported, automobile malfunction takes only less than 5 percent (International Federation of Red Cross 3).

Basically, when a vehicle is in motion especially when at high speed, should brake develop a malfunction, the driver will no longer have control of the vehicle and consequently, the automobile will either hit any vehicle ahead of it, may roll, or collide with any vehicle coming from the opposite direction.

With technological advances, radial tires are considered secure as compared to older types. However, under inflation, the most frequent cause of tire failure is considered the main culprit in the recent Firestone tire-failure fatalities. Uneven or worn-out tires are the next most serious problem and can also lead to tire failure (Richardson 5). Irregular or exhausted tires have been cited as another leading cause of automobile failure. If the tire is worn out, there will be not enough friction between the road and the tire and therefore breaking will be very difficult no matter how perfect the road is engineered. Jagged wear comes about by inappropriately tire equilibrium, out of order or skewed suspension (Agustin 3).

Car suspensions help keep tires in touch with the road predictably and steadily. Even a competent driver is helpless in cases where suspension or navigation system experiences a malfunction. Such malfunctions are disastrous, in particular at high speeds and on a potholed road.

Road Designs

In some cases, motorists have blamed road designs for road crashes. Authorities in the Middle East and Gulf countries have spent time and millions of money filling potholes, putting road barriers, guardrails, and railroad crossings to enhance road safety. Civil engineers and government provide custom-made designs to meet specific local conditions with special attention focusing on; traffic management tools whereby speed limit symbols, pedestrian crossing, traffic lights, roundabouts and turning lane, speed bumps, road identification symbols, behavioral management gadgets among others (Agustin 4).

Stormy environment can worsen existing vulnerability and occasionally produce fresh road surfaces such as snow and ice. When it rains, the road becomes slippery and when this is coupled with poor road banking, it makes the situation even worse.

Poor Road Maintenance

Roadway maintenance timetables and course of actions differ significantly from country to country and city to city, so countrywide benchmarks do not actually exist. Some impending roadway upholding deficiencies that may lead to road crashes include:

• Dull road symbols, and symbols covered by plants
• fragments on the road
• The roadway is under construction but is poorly marked to give enough warning to motorists. But sometimes this has been blamed on drivers who ignore those symbols and continue to drive at high speeds

Types of Road Crashes

Road crashes occur in different ways and the way it occurs is related to the degree of damage that will occur. Some of the types of road crashes include red-light runner crash, rear-end crash and head-on collision each with varying severity depending on speed that we vehicles were traveling at.

Red Light Runner Crash

This is whereby one driver fails to observe red lights near intersections and/or roundabouts and drives on when he/she is supposed to stop while the other observing green light drives on and therefore crashes somewhere in the middle of an intersection or roundabout. Sometimes red-light running crashes are never intentional for example if in road junctions where there is a horizontal road curve or the crossroad has a downgrade or upgrade distance the halting view may be constrained by possible sight hindrances around the junction.

If those driving are not in a position to notice signal altering and probable contradictory automobile, they have a bigger probability of running a red light and colliding. It has emerged that traffic dynamics such as number of lanes, crash time, weather, highway character, day of week, urban or rural location, speed limit, driver age, alcohol or drug use, physical defect, and vehicle type were significantly associated with the risk of red-light running crashes(Yan, Radwan and Birriel 1).

The severity of the accident depends on factors us as the speed of the collision, the angle of collision, and the types of collision. If the vehicles involved in a crash were in high momentum, then the chances are high that the crash may lead to instant loss of life and complete damage of the vehicles. On the other hand, if speeds were low, there might be minor injuries with less destruction of vehicles involved. Take for instance; if a big truck, in this scenario, hit a small car there are high chances of serious injuries if not death and a high degree of property destruction.

Rear-end Collision

This is road crash whereby a vehicle crashes into or hits the motor vehicle in front or ahead of it, normally as a resulting following the other vehicle closely(tailgating), brake failure, or panic stops. Typical cases occur when suddenly the first car slows down probably to give a pedestrian time to cross while the second vehicle does not have adequate space to brake and thereby hitting it from behind.

In most cases, the severity of such crashes is small (whiplash) but in severe instances, lasting damages such as herniation possibly will arise and generally, those in the first class are the highly affected. In terms of vehicle damage, it depends on the speed at which the second vehicle was moving at with high speeds causing more damage. Additionally, if one car is huge than the other, then the smaller car will be damaged to a higher degree.

Head-on Collision Crash

Statistically, this kind of collision has the worst outcomes due to the speed of vehicles involved in collision. In most cases, lives are lost or permanent damages prevail in such crashes. This kind of crash occurs when one motor vehicle unintentionally drifts into the lane of an approaching vehicle. Nevertheless, the core reason occasionally lies in a navigation overcorrection after veering to the side of the road as opposed to the center (Sabnal 2). In some cases, there has been steering wheel failure or swaying of vehicle particular when it rains due to decrease in friction force and risks are multiplied if the was moving at thrilling speed.

Secondly, a head-on collision is caused by a miscalculation by drivers when overtaking. As the driver tries to overtake, they invade into oncoming cars lane and thereby causing a head-on collision.

Solution of Crashes

Appreciating that over 80 percent of road crashes are caused by pure human error is a major step towards preventing further loss of lives. First, drivers should be encouraged to observe speed limits and never to go below or further than recommended speed restrictions so that risks of being hit or hitting another vehicle are reduced. If a driver over speeds, he/she faces a higher probability of losing grip on the vehicle and will either collide with an oncoming vehicle or roll. To stop these, stiffer penalties must be introduced in the Middle East and Gulf Countries to those found flouting traffic rules with a possibility of revoking their driving licenses.

Secondly, road safety education should be done in these nations. Pedestrians also contribute significantly to road accidents and consequently all stakeholders must take the initiative of educating them. On the other hand, drivers are encouraged to be trained by qualified institutions only, to be equipped with necessary skills. It has been noted with deep concern that, motorbike is nowadays the leading cause of accidents and this is attributed to training. Most of them never attend formal training. Law enforcers must ensure that those without valid driving licenses are banned and even if they have valid licenses but flout rules, they should be taken for refresher courses.

Driving under influence of alcohol and/drug must be stopped at all costs as this reduces the drivers driving skills and concentration by 95 percent. Citizens are encouraged to take with them friends who will drive them once they are drunk or use public vehicles. Since traffic police have adequate machinery to deal with this, they should be more vigilant and deal with those found driving risking their lives and the lives of other road users (Jacobs and Aeron-Thomas 13).

We cannot rule out poor road conditions, faded/unclear road symbols, and unmarked roads under construction as contributing factors to road crashes in Gulf and Middle East countries. Government authorities charged with road maintenance responsibilities must ensure that all potholes are filled; road bumps are clearly marked and erected where they are supposed to be. Where we have road intersections, traffic lights must be installed at an angle clear to all motorists to prevent run red crashes.

Finally, road and car engineers must deliver standard roads and vehicles respectively. Some cases of equipment failure have been reported and the government must deal with this. Governments must step efforts to ensure only those vehicles meeting minimum standards are allowed on the road. Additionally, regular checks must be done on those vehicles already registered to weed out faulty ones. When awarding tender for road construction, all those companies must be properly evaluated to ensure that qualified contractors who will deliver quality work are the only ones awarded.

Conclusion

Generally, road crashes are high in Gulf, Middle East and third world countries as compared to occurrence in developed countries. Road crashes are mainly caused by human factors, equipment failure, poor road conditions, and substandard road design. Of the listed factors, the human factor takes about 75 percent of the causes of road accidents.

The degree of severity of an accident varies depending on contributing factors as speed of collision, type of crash and type of vehicles involved. A head-on collision is the worst as compared to run red or rear-end road crash. Middle East and Gulf countries governments have stepped up efforts to curb road carnage by increasing stiffer regulations, educating its citizens, upgrading road networks among other preventing measures.

Works Cited

Agustin, Ivonne. Knowing the causes and solutions to road accidents. Middle East Road Safety Journal, 7.1 (2009).

International Federation of Red Cross. Road safety. New York: Prentice Hall, 2010.

Jacobs, Dan and Aeron-Thomas, Amy. A review of global road accident fatalities. Road Safety Management Journal, 10.5(2009): 1-15.

Richardson, Peter. Road safety crash statistics. Lothian & Borders Police Road Safety Unit Journal, 7.2 (2004):1-19.

Sabnal, Junice. Road accident: head-on collision.Road accidents in Gulf Countries Journal, 34.7 (2007):1-19.

Smart Motorist. Red light running crashes are on the increase. Washington: Natl. Acad., 2009.

World Bank Group. What causes accidents? New York: United Nations, 2008. Print.

Yan, Xuedong V., Radwan, Essam, and Birriel, Elizabeth. Analysis of red light running crashes based on quasi-induced exposure and multiple logistic regression method. Transport Research Record Journal, 1908.3 (2005):1-10.

Abstract

This paper addresses the responsibilities of upholding safety and reducing injuries in housekeeping. The paper argues that housekeepers have an individual responsibility to ensure that they uphold safe work practices. The paper further indicates that employers have a responsibility to provide the housekeeping employees with protective gear and safe working environments.

Employers also have a responsibility to train their housekeeping employees about relevant safety practices. The paper concludes by noting that regardless of how safety practices are enforced in the workplace, injuries cannot be completely reduced since housekeepers are exposed to heavy workloads, which brings about cumulative trauma injuries.

Introduction

Housekeeping jobs are physically demanding and stressful. Studies conducted in the housekeepers work environment found out that workers stand the risk of suffering from musculoskeletal injuries due to the repetitive lifting of items (Liladrie, 2010). Additionally, studies indicate that in addition to heavy lifting, housekeeping jobs involve repetitive reaching and pulling (Cheng & Chan, 2009).

Such actions can be damaging to the skeletal or muscular anatomy of the workers. In addition to lifting and carrying heavy objects, housekeepers are also exposed to chemicals, body fluids, cleaning detergents, electricity and steam. All the aforementioned items and substances pose a risk to the wellbeing of individual housekeepers if not well handled.

This paper provides a detailed discussion that addresses housekeeping safety and injury prevention. The paper borrows insight from a wide range of literature sources and notes that housekeeping employees need to be educated on matters related to reducing their exposure to risk.

Hospitality service providers also have an obligation to ensure that their employees are given roles that they can handle without over-exertion. In other words, the paper champions a case of dual responsibility for both employees and employers, in order to enhance housekeepers safety.

Hazard Analysis

Cleaning chemicals are present in the most basic cleaning agents. Although such cleaning agents are vital in ensuring that a housekeeper does his cleaning duties effectively and without much strain, they also contain hazardous chemicals. Walker (2011) identifies the potential hazard areas on the human body as injuries to the eyes and face.

Additionally, housekeepers risk inhaling chemical fumes or getting burns or irritation from chemicals. To uphold safety and prevent injuries, Walker (2011) suggests that housekeepers should wear protective garments while working; this includes face shields where necessary, respirators, gloves, long sleeved aprons and goggles.

Body fluids can also transmit infections if not well-handled. The Canadian Centre for Occupation Health and Safety (CCOHS) (2014) recommends that housekeepers should use disposable gloves when cleaning body fluids. Additionally, the housekeeper should use cleaning devices that prevent direct contact with the body fluids. Such devices include shovels or brooms. CCOHS (2014) further recommends for housekeepers to wash hands after cleaning and change gloves after each cleaning.

Walker (2011) notes that housekeepers need to practice situational awareness when doing their jobs because sometimes the body fluids may not be too obvious. Additionally, used needles, razors or other sharp objects may risk the housekeepers safety when not seen in good time. The general rule for injuries according to Walker (2011) is to report them immediately and get the necessary medical attention in the soonest time possible.

The risks of inhaling dust or chemicals and sustaining foot injuries from sharp objects that had been dropped on the floor are also present in most housekeeping job environments. Walker (2011) further identifies trauma as a possible hazard that can be caused by chemicals, hard surfaces or being hit by projectiles. To reduce the housekeepers vulnerability to such hazards, Walker (2011) recommends that all housekeeping staff should wear safety shoes while working.

Additionally, they should wear gloves and long pants in order to reduce the risk of chemicals splashing on their skins. The use of a dust mask or a respirator is also necessary when using inhalable chemicals or when working in dusty environments. Finally, every housekeeper needs to practice situational awareness in order to reduce the risk of trauma (e.g. from being hit by projectiles or coming into contact with hazardous chemicals).

Hazards posed by lifting or carrying objects include trauma (especially to the spine) and injuries to the feet. Walker (2011) recommends that housekeepers should wear protective clothing such as toe and metatarsal guards, and should also practice situational awareness.

For example, a housekeeper should know that a wet floor increases the risk of falling, and as such, should avoid lifting or carrying heavy objects on such a floor. If anything, the housekeeper should move objects before cleaning the floor, or if any moving needs to be done after cleaning, the housekeeper should wait until the floor is completely dry.

Electricity seemingly has the greatest range of hazards for housekeepers. According to Walker (2011), housekeepers can suffer electrical shock, foot injuries and trauma when handling electrical appliances. The risk of fire is also present whenever the housekeeper is using electrical appliances. To reduce the risk of electrical shock, Walker (2011) recommends that housekeepers should read the manufacturers instruction on all appliances.

Additionally, the housekeeper should learn how to properly switch on and switch off an electrical appliance. To reduce the risk of fire, Walker (2011) argues that housekeepers should learn to identify all fire hazards and combustibles. Additionally, housekeepers should learn to avoid using electricity near combustible items.

Finally, housekeepers should know where the nearest fire extinguisher is, and should also know how to use it in case of fire. To avoid electricity-related trauma, housekeepers need to practice situational awareness. Additionally, they should use protective gear (e.g. wearing shoes) always, and should know some of the basic precautions to observe when handling electrical items (e.g. never handling electrical sockets with wet hands).

Other possible hazards in a housekeepers job involve steam cleaning. The most basic steam cleaners expose the housekeepers to the risk of fire, eye injury, hand injury and trauma. To manage such risks, Walker (2011) recommends that the housekeeping staff should avoid smoking while using the steam cleaner.

Additionally, the housekeeper should not work near open flames. Finally, the housekeeper should know the location of the nearest fire extinguisher in addition to knowing how to use it. To avoid eye injuries, Walker (2011) recommends the use of a full face shield. Managing the risk of hand injuries requires housekeepers to wear gloves and also practice situational awareness.

Finally, managing trauma-related risks require the housekeeping staff to ensure that the rotating parts of the steamer are in good working condition before commencing work. Additionally, the housekeeper should wear protective clothing, and should practice situational awareness (Walker, 2011).

The Importance of Personal Wellness

A study conducted by Cheng and Chan (2009) reveals that nobody is better able to prevent injuries in housekeeping than the housekeeper himself.

Considering that not all housekeeping staff have the knowledge on personal wellness, Cheng and Chan (2009) recommend that all employers should ideally offer their housekeeping employees relevant health education and training. Employers also need to ensure that the development of relevant skills is fostered among employees.

Cheng and Chan (2009) further argue that individual housekeepers need to understand the importance of safety practices and injury prevention in the workplace. Once employees understand the critical nature of safety practices, they can appreciate any advice or protective items given to them by the management.

For example, Cheng and Chan (2009) indicate that stretching exercises are important for housekeepers who reach out to pick items, or bend down to lift objects. However, only housekeeping employees who understand the importance of such activities would embrace them when advised to do so by their employer or manager. The rest would perceive stretching exercises as an additional and perhaps unnecessary physical activity on their part.

The Employers Responsibility

Just like the individual housekeeping staff, employers also have a responsibility towards the enhancement of housekeeper safety and injury prevention. Gosner and Weiss (2008) indicate that the first responsibility for an employer is to identify the riskiest housekeeping activities.

The second responsibility on the employers part is to develop risk management strategies, which should eliminate risks that can be done away with, or mitigate those that cannot be completely eradicated. Next, the employer should train managers on how best to manage the identified risks, after which, the managers should teach the housekeeping staff about the same.

The management staff should be charged with the responsibility of creating awareness about specific risks (Gonser & Weiss, 2008). The employer should also charge his managers with the responsibility of ensuring that risk mitigation strategies are implemented consistently because as DaRos (2011) says, such strategies are only effective if they are carried out consistently (p. 20).

The employer further needs to identify individual housekeeping behaviours and attitudes for each of his employees. As DaRos (2011) notes, behaviours and attitudes are developed over time and changing any negligent or distractive behaviour that employees may have requires consistent and long-term education precipitated at every level of an operation (p. 22).

To succeed in any form of behaviour or attitude modification in the interest of fostering safety in housekeeping practices, Ficca (2003) argues that the employer and his managers must communicate clearly to the housekeeping staff. Additionally, the management must engage employees through well-defined safety objectives, measuring outcomes, and appreciating housekeeping employees who have superb safety records.

Writing about the same issue, Gonser and Weiss (2008) recommend that managers should engage employees directly in matters related to risk avoidance and mitigation. The two authors indicate that personal engagements make the risks more real for most housekeeping staff hence increasing the possibility that they will practice the mitigation measures keenly.

On their part, Cheng and Chan (2009) found out that companies that taught their housekeeping staff effective ways to handle risky materials and situations registered lower workplace injuries compared to companies that did not offer any training.

Cheng and Chan (2009) further found that housekeepers also benefit from ergonomics training and job-specific education. Such training enhances the risk perception of the housekeepers and enables them develop coping strategies, which in the end reduce their risk exposure and workplace injuries.

Safety Behaviours

Williams (2010) observes that there is a behavioural aspect in safety and that most injuries in the workplace are partly due to risky behaviours by the employee. He cites the A (activators), B (behaviour) and C (consequences) model, which posit that activators get our attention to behave in a certain way (Williams, 2010, p. 72).

According to Williams (2010) activators can shape desirable or undesirable behaviours. For example, time pressure could be an activator that discourages a housekeeper from dressing in protective clothing when working. However, proper training or supervisory presence could also act as activators, which make the housekeeper reconsider wearing protective clothing when attending his duties.

Even though a housekeeper may want to behave in a certain way (e.g. ignore wearing protective garments because of the time pressure), the ABC model suggests that the possible consequences may trigger a completely different behaviour. For example, if by not wearing protective garments the housekeeper risks falling and losing his mobility, he will choose to wear his protective clothes however long it takes.

This model is relevant in housekeeping because most employees do not perceive the consequences of some of their actions as serious. A person may, for example, decide to carry something on a wet floor without consciously acknowledging that sliding on the same floor may cause him to fracture his leg or dislocate a joint. A seemingly innocent oversight on their part would thus make them spend days recuperating. Absence from work impacts the employer negatively since he would need to find a short-term replacement employee.

While explaining that human beings are naturally inclined to risk-taking, Williams (2010) notes that it is the responsibility of the companys management to ensure that behaviour-based safety (BBS) practices exist. BBS is a safety model that encourages organisations to have an identifiable safety culture.

The safety culture is championed by the supervisory personnel who ensure that every employee abides by the safety rules. The model further encourages safety training and encourages people (most especially colleagues) to speak out when a safety breach has occurred. In the housekeeping profession, for example, housekeepers should keep an eye on what their colleagues do, offer advice where necessary and alert the supervisors if there is a continuous violation of safety practices.

Communication is also critical in ensuring that safety is upheld in the workplace, and that injuries are reduced. Williams (2010) observes employees often fail to speak up when they observe their co-workers risky behaviours even though they want to (p. 98). Failure to speak up or even warn others has been found to increase risk-taking and in some cases has led to serious injuries.

Williams (2010) therefore recommends that every employer needs to teach his employees the importance of peer feedback and praise. In other words, people who work together need to warn or praise each other depending on their behaviours. In recognition that not everyone will take feedback directed at them well, Williams (2010) suggests that each employer needs to train his employees on how to deal with difficult people.

Discussion

This paper has established that the duty to reduce injuries and increase safety in housekeeping is a shared responsibility between individual housekeepers and their employers. The paper has also used information from different authors to show the different responsibilities that individuals have, and the responsibilities of an employer.

From the above section, it is clear that the biggest responsibility for safety and the reduction of injuries is held by the employer. The employer needs to train, communicate with, and supervise his housekeeping staff in order to ensure that they uphold safe work practices. On their part, the housekeeping staff members have a responsibility to utilise the knowledge obtained from training, and put on the protective gear provided by the employer.

Statistics provided by Vossenas (2009) indicate that in Canada and the US, hotel workers (most especially housekeepers) have a 5.8 percent injury rate compared to the services sector rate of 4.2 percent. The same report indicates that housekeepers in both countries register a 10.4 percent rate of injury, which is almost double of what is registered among the non-housekeepers.

Vossenas (2009) also notes that of all injuries reported among housekeepers in the US and Canada, strains and sprains were the most common with a 44 percent occurrence rate. The two forms of injuries were linked to the nature of housekeeping jobs, which include pushing heavy carts, cleaning overhead showers, stuffing duvets, and lifting heavy mattresses.

The frequency of such injuries has also been linked to increased workloads, which include the fact that most employers (especially hotels) allocate housekeepers specific room numbers which they have to clean. Notably, housekeepers are required to combine quality and quantity while attending their cleaning chores, and often times, the complexity of cleaning specific rooms is not considered. Consequently, housekeepers are always pressed for time since they have to meet their room quotas within an allocated period.

With the foregoing in mind, it is important to note that regardless of how much safety behaviours are encouraged, the possibility that complete safety and injury reduction will be attained with the current workload is almost minimal. The importance of situational awareness has been underscored in this paper severally. However, and as Williams (2010) observes, situational awareness is hard to practice if one is always in a hurry to finish one duty and start another.

Arguably, the only way that safety practices can be embraced by the housekeepers, hence resulting in a reduction of injuries, is if such practices are embraced by both individual workers and the employers. The employers, however, cannot claim to foster safe working environments if they overburden the employees. Notably, while the impact of too much work may not be seen in the short term, such work exposes housekeepers to cumulative trauma injuries such as wrist pain, back pain and shoulder and neck pain.

Conclusion

The responsibility for establishing and maintaining a safe workplace arguably lies with the employers. However, it is also the responsibility of individual housekeepers to ensure that they embrace safety practices while at work and that they do not engage in risk-taking practices that compromise their health and welfare.

Notably, housekeepers can also enhance peer safety by ensuring that they speak out when one of their colleagues engage in unsafe practices. As noted herein, heavy workload is one reason that housekeepers suffer cumulative trauma injuries. Unless such workloads are addressed, housekeepers will continue sustaining injuries, regardless of the short-term safety practices they adopt.

References

Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS). (2014). Sanitation and infection control. Web.

Cheng, A., & Chan, E. (2009). The effect of individual job coaching and use of health threat in a job-specific occupational health education program on prevention of work-related musculoskeletal back injury. Journal of Occupational & Environmental Medicine, 51(12), 1413-1421.

DaRos, J. (2011). Preventing workplace injuries commonly sustained by hotel guestroom attendants. UNLV Theses/Dissertations/Professional Papers/Capstones, 1097, 1-38.

Ficca, M. (2003). Injury prevention in the occupational setting. Athletic Therapy Today, 8(3), 6-8.

Gonser, B., & Weiss, B. (2008). Scalable: injury prevention. Industrial Engineer, 40(3), 26-31.

Liladrie, S. (2010). Do not disturb/please clean room: Hotel housekeepers in greater Toronto. Race & Class, 52(1), 57-69.

Vossenas, P. (2009). Why housekeeping is dangerous work.

Walker, J.F. (2011). Job hazard/safety analysis for the housekeeper. Web.

Williams, J. (2010). Keeping people safe: the human dynamics of injury prevention. London: Government Institutes Publishers.

Abstract

This paper provides a proposal of an additional course in Safety Engineering and explains the importance of this course and the topics it will cover. The suggestions and information for the course were taken from reliable sources; the research showed that valid information for the Safety Engineering course will be highly useful for the students interested in Industrial Engineering.

The Ten-Week schedule proposed in the paper is based on the contents of the textbook selected for the course and designed to cover all the most important aspects of Safety Engineering. The paper proves the use and meaning of this subject objectively and globally and elaborates on its contents from the pedagogical point of view.

Introduction

Safety is a highly important issue in any field and during any work process. There is a probability of having an accident at any work place. Such accidents normally may bring complications and difficulties to the work process. Possible consequences of accidents can be of different types. Accidents may result in the delay in the work process, it may negatively affect the reputation of the whole organization, it may include victims, besides, people touched by the accident may react differently, which will cause law suits for the company.

One accident is able to destroy the harmony and balance for the whole organization and create multiple kinds of discomforts. Besides, accidents will definitely cause the loss of income in that way or another. This is why the meaning and importance of safety engineering in any field cannot and should not be underestimated. The profession of a safety engineer is connected with lots of responsibilities, precision, tension and attention (Spellman, Whiting, 6).

The process needs to be monitored and watched very carefully all the time. Safety engineers are responsible for such aspects of the work process as safety and health training, injury prevention, collecting the statistics and data, making a research, learning the chances and causes of various types of accidents.

Safety engineers are involved into case studies and investigations. Accidents that may happen at the work place are not only connected to the equipment and the ways it is being operated, the areas of safety engineering also include such spheres as computer and data security and violence at the workplace.

There is a lot to manage for a safety engineering professional. All of these aspects are crucial in the modern world that is filled with dangerous equipment, heavy machinery, chemicals, pressure and stress. Proper and well-educated safety management can and will save many human lives. This is why this discipline is necessary in the course of engineering.

Background

The history of safety counts thousands of years and goes back to ancient times when our forefathers all around the world were making the first connections between the health problems of people working in different area and the kinds of occupations they were involved into daily. The first researchers were trying to find out ways and methods of avoiding or at least minimizing the risk of the dangerous and unwanted outcomes.

Since ancient times people learnt to understand the impacts unsafe workplaces make on the workers and the importance of organized measures created to protect the working process and the health of the employees. In 1600s the first safely laws and insurances were put into action in Britain. The first policies were worked out and the first inspection programs were launched in the most dangerous workplaces.

In the beginning of 1900 the United States of America started their first, which obliged the employers to compensate their workers for the injuries they received at the workplace and during the work (Morrison, par. 1). In 1970s the first standards for OSHA were employed, these standards were designed to organize the basic requirements for safety measures and health protection at the workplaces in the United States.

These days the safety policy is very developed, it covers many areas and cases, it is based on multiple of precedents and centuries of experience, this policy is complicated and it is being changed and developed and extended every day to be able to match the world that is developing with very high speed.

Course Information

Description

The course IE 381 called Safety Management is designed to introduce the students, who have chosen to study industrial engineering to such important part of industrial engineering and maintenance and management of safety.

Together with courses IE 367 Production Planning and Control, IE 368 Facility Design and Operations Management and IE 380 The Responsible Engineer this course will teach about analysis and evaluation of the quality of different areas of the work process, responsibilities of the profession of an industrial engineer, the meaning of social and environmental effects engineering is able to create and importance of high quality training and proper education for a professional in this sphere.

The course contains such topics as introduction and historical perspective of safety engineering, safety terminology, regulatory requirements, recognizing, evaluation and controlling of safety at the workplace, fundamental engineering concepts, management aspects, industrial hygiene and accident investigations, injury prevention and personal protective equipment, hazard safety, office communication, fire safety, pressure vessels, rigging safety, noise hazards, radiation safety, computer and data security, workplace violence, motor vehicle safety, safety and health training, safety inspections.

This course will cover multiple necessary subjects in order to allow the students to learn to understand the meaning of safety engineering, its tasks and the way it operates. It involves such disciplines as history, terminology, case studies and industrial engineering.

The course is designed to inform the students about the most common and most dangerous issues of the contemporary engineering and allow them approach them, address them and work out solutions, see the mechanics of very importance processes, that have to be researched and studied carefully because good professionals working in the sphere of safety engineering will always been needed.

This curse if offered for several reasons. First of all the course of safety engineering is a very useful aspect of understanding of the broad area of industrial engineering, it also provides the learners with knowledge about the sphere of industrial engineering and its mechanisms. The course elaborates about the responsibilities of an engineer and shows the seriousness and importance of this profession.

Besides, this course and its contents are the great learning tools, which will provide the students with the development of their abilities to evaluate predict and recognize various factors. The course teaches about the process of investigation of accidents, which is very useful and supplies an opportunity to demonstrate critical thinking and analysis skills, which are necessary for people choosing the profession of an industrial engineer.

This course fulfills the students need for knowledge and development of thinking, capacity to see the problems know the ways to solve them.

The course will meet both professional and academic needs of the students, it will provide the learners with a lot of useful information and the basis for further research in this area, it also will widen the students understanding of the profession of an industrial engineer and give them an opportunity to select better ways to express themselves as professional and choose the most suitable area of industrial engineering for the future. The course is designed to fulfill the major core.

Outcomes

The course will provide several learning outcomes and organize the students knowledge in order to give them the opportunity to apply it during the process of studies and use them while attending other classes. The outcomes the course of Safety Engineering is going to provide are:

• Knowledge  the course will supply the learners with necessary information of the established sphere, it will also bring awareness of the modern problems and ways of dealing with them, the course will cover the background of the subject and its history, follow contemporary tendencies and look at the precedents and accidents in order to show how all these spheres of knowledge are interrelated.
• Application  the course will provide a chance to apply the received knowledge to investigate cases and find gaps in the safety systems, it will elaborate on the methods of forming safety and health teaching programs, working out solutions for different kinds of issues.
• Thinking  the course will assist with the development of critical thinking and evaluation skills, responsible decision making on the basis of the information provided.
• Learning  one of the tasks of the course is to create an opportunity for the students to learn independently without being controlled and directed by the instructor. This outcome includes independent reading, critical thinking and comprehension of the information provided within the course and given by the outside sources.
• Communication  the course provides the learners with the ability to widen their professional vocabulary due to suggested terminology, which will allow the future professionals to understand and speak about specific problems and intellectual matters.
• Inquiry  the knowledge offered by this course will let the students develop their personal intellectual inquiry and curiosity for the subject and its further research, recognize and evaluate various aspects of it, view the problems from the point of view of an educated professional.

Resources

There is a wide range of resources suitable for this course. The students willing to expand their understanding of various aspects of safety engineering and research it from different points of view and perspectives will be able to do that through various sources of information provided by the internet, literature, articles and journals covering multiple topics that may interest the curious reader. For the deeper understanding the students may use the book called Reliability and Safety Engineering by Verma, Ajit and Karanki.

It presents the mathematical side of quality, probability and reliability of the equipment and the work process in general. The authors of Reliability and Safety Engineering provide the readers with formulas, axioms and algebraic approach towards the mechanisms of safety engineering (Verma, Ajit and Karanki, 6). This book is filled with theoretical information as well as practical demonstrations and applications. For more theoretical knowledge the students may visit the official websites of American Society of Safety Engineers.

There is a lot of information about this sphere of engineering on this resource. The website provides the readers with social information, publications, professional affairs, history of the organizations, press releases and the latest news of the field (The American Society of Safety Engineers, par. 1). Textbook proposed for this course is written by Spellman and Whiting and called Safety Engineering: Principles and Practices.

This book suggests wide range of information covering the most important aspects of safety engineering  its history and background, the widely used terms and professional language, the spheres that safety engineering covers, different types of accidents that may happen at the workplaces, methods of investigation, recognition and evaluation of safety standards and errors, organization of safety and health trainings, safety inspections and data collection and analysis.

The proposed course of Safety Engineering will be based on this book.

Ten-Week Schedule

Each of the topics is based on the book by Spellman and Whiting and will be covering around fifty pages of reading. In the end of each section there are review questions about the topic covered in it. The questions are designed to sum up and complete the students work on the reading and reinforce the newly received knowledge.

The course has a great range of themes and covers many important contemporary problems, the students will be involved into a learning process that allows viewing the subject from various angles and exploring different sides of it. The program is designed to make the students develop different types of thinking and memory.

Conclusion

The course in safety engineering is highly important for students intending to pursue the profession in the field of industrial engineering. This base of knowledge is necessary for a person involved into working in any area of engineering. The information provided by this course is broad and detailed, it allows the learners conduct their own research and explore the sphere of safety engineering deeper, it also give the students an opportunity to see the organizational sides of the process of industrial engineering.

This course presents the field of safety engineering as a very productive way of improvement of income and management in any organization, because the employees that feel safe and protected at their workplace bring better results. The course is specialized on developing various ways of thinking and analysis.

The students will be encouraged to apply critical thinking during this course, they will be trained to evaluate and recognize the issues, react to them and suggest ways of resolutions, search for reasons and causes of various accidents, investigate cases and explore various tendencies, which lead to negative or positive outcomes. The course in safety engineering is designed to fulfill the students need for knowledge and research.

The literature provided in the course is various and contains different types of information, that covers the topics from all sides, suggests theoretical and practical approaches, application of precise calculation and logical thinking, exploration of philosophical and historical issues, social factors and human behavior.

To my mind, this course is necessary for the program because it has many layers and sides, it is able to provide the learners with all the necessary opportunities to develop their professional skills and improve their understanding of the subject.

Works Cited

Morrison, Charles. A History of Safety. 2007. Web.

Spellman, Frnak R., Nancy Whiting. Safety Engineering: Principles and Practices. Lanham, Maryland: Government Institutes, 2004. Print.

The American Society of Safety Engineers. ASSE. 2014. Web.

Verma, Ajit Kumar, Ajit, Srividiya and Durga Rao Karanki. Reliability and Safety Engineering. New York, New York: Springer, 2010. Print.

The main points identified by the article are that older drivers make more mistakes as they age, as they cannot maintain the same reflexes they had in their youth. Not having quick reflexes is a significant handicap in driving where a split second decision can determine the outcome of an incident. Older drivers are affected by the loss of vision and as such misjudge distances.

Loss of clear vision manifests when they drive at night and lights dazzle them. To ensure drivers efficiency, they need to be subjected to regular tests to assess their alertness and the tests should increase in frequency as they age. Current laws allow for seniors driver retest after every five years but, there is a strong opinion that the period needs to be reduced.

My reflection on that based on the story and past experiences is that driving is an involving activity that demands total attention as any lapse of concentration can be detrimental. As human beings age, their cognition, sight, and ability to analyze situations decline. The driving skills change since muscles and vision degenerate that in turn herald the dawn of slower reaction reflexes (Prebble 128).

Elderly drivers are at times the better drivers as they have enough experience and are more unlikely involved in accidents but when they do, they come out the worse for it. After falls, motor related accidents are the cause of most fatalities in persons aged over sixty-five years old (Powell 63). The demographics show that as the years pass, the problem will continue growing higher as one in every five drivers will be above the retirement age. Such a scenario is a stark contrast to one in every eleven drivers past the age of 65 in American roads.

Previous studies on elderly drivers have shown that there is an enormous portion of the group that succumbs to memory losses (dementia) more making them error-prone and highly susceptible to accidents. Having dementia incapacitates drivers resulting in very many narrow escapes as their rates of processing what they see lags.

A study by Alexander Pollatsek revealed one interesting bit about elderly drivers; they scanned the horizons as keenly as young drivers did, but they rarely shifted their gaze from straight ahead (Cervelli 198). The straight gaze ahead would probably explain why the bulk of their mistakes occurred at intersections where the traffic comes from different directions.

Wholesome condemnation based on age would be a wrong approach. Teenagers are as prone to accidents as the elderly are yet there has not been any concerted effort to raise the age of driving (Finley 4). Very many excellent drivers are over the retirement period. Their experiences come in handy when making their judgment call (Gerdes 47-49).

What is needed is a closer medical scrutiny to establish those whose health is failing and need to delegate driving roles and those who can still soldier on. Aging drivers have difficulty driving at night, merging into traffic, are impaired when changing lanes and are affected to a significant degree by prescription drugs (Boehme 153). They should be allowed to drive themselves for as long as there is an accompanying caregiver who can notice when their driving becomes an issue and alert the authorities for possible license revocation.

Senior drivers who can visibly attest to the fact that their driving skills have deteriorated can redeem themselves by ensuring that they do not get tired at the wheel. Additionally they should not drive in bad weather and should avoid complex interchanges that would involve alertness from all directions. By doing so, they can continue to have the privilege of being their independent drivers.

Works Cited

Boehme, Michael L. Roads, and Drivers. Hauppauge: Nova Science Publishers, 2010. Print.

Cervelli, Ezio C. Older Drivers: The Age Factor in Traffic Safety. Washington, D.C.: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 2009. Print.

Finley, Melisa D. Sign and Pavement Marking Visibility from the Perspective of Commercial Vehicle Drivers. College Station, Tex.: Texas Transportation Institute, Texas A & M U System. 2002. Print.

Gerdes, Louise I. Transportation. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. Print.

Powell, Michael. The Guide for Guys: An Extremely Useful Manual for Old Boys and Young Men. New York: Sterling, 2008. Print.

Prebble, Stuart. Grumpy Old Drivers: The Official Handbook. London: Orion, 2008. Print.

Workplace safety and compliance with OSHA regulations

SMART TECH puts a particular emphasis on ensuring workplace safety. The company has worked out a consistent safety plan that targets the following objectives: ensuring housekeeping compliance that makes at least 90%, holding monthly meetings to discuss the safety problems and alternative solutions, reporting and examining all the incidents in a timely manner, involving high-qualified safety professionals, and organizing relevant audits.

In order to comply with the OSHA regulations, the corporate safety strategy relies upon a series of principles. First and foremost, it considers critical to ensure consistent safety communication  otherwise stated, the company sees to the fact that all the employees are aware of the safety requirements and standards. Secondly, it is assumed important that all the employees perform their contribution to improving the safety.

Thus, they are welcomed to share their vision of the situation, report the current flaws and provide alternative solutions that the management is obliged to consider. In addition, the management makes significant efforts to establish the safety recognition. In other words, it is considered crucial that employees are motivated to maintain the relevant safety and seek to improve it. Therefore, the safety principles are communicated to the employees through team talks and discussions. Moreover, a special focus is put on the timely safety reports. Thus, the company collaborates closely with external parties such as safety officers and relies upon their expert assessment (McKinnon, 2013).

It should be pointed out that the company realizes that an efficient safety policy implies additional costs and reduced productivity. In the meantime, it believes that in a long-term perspective, workplace safety is likely to be beneficial as it will help to avoid turnover, maintain the employees loyalty and enhance their commitment. Therefore, the company admits its obligation to pay workplace compensation in case of an incident and cover the expenses for work-related injuries and illnesses. Therefore, from the financial perspective, the company regards effective safety policy as a way to reduce the cost of injuries (Hopwood & Thompson, 2006, p.45).

SMART TECH Safety Training Manual

General Safety

• Ensure that the floors are clean and not slippery.
• Report all the items that need to be fixed or repaired immediately.
• Workplace smoking and alcohol consumption are forbidden.
• Equipment should not be placed in hallways and corridors.
• It is restricted to use chairs as ladders.
• Power tools should not be left on the floor or other surfaces where they might create a hazard.

Employees Responsibilities

• Study the OSHA requirements carefully.
• Follow the OSHA standards as well as the corporate safety rules while performing any activity at the workplace.
• Report all the hazardous incidents, potentially dangerous breakdowns, and other risky conditions to the Safety Department.
• Report any job-related accidents to the management.

Accident Reporting and Analysis

• It is crucial that all the workplace accidents are documented in a timely manner and reported to the management. The essential corrections cannot be implemented unless an accident is reported.
• Employees might choose any manner to report an accident, though it is generally recommended to fix it in the relevant Accident Book.
• The Accident Book should be regularly examined by the safety committee.
• All the accident evidence should be preserved and overviewed in order to improve the safety conditions.
• The Accident Book data should be monitored by both corporate duty holders and external parties.

Reference List

Hopwood, D., & Thompson, S. (2006). Workplace Safety: A Guide for Small and Midsized Companies. New York, New York: John Wiley & Sons.

McKinnon, R.C. (2013). Changing the Workplace Safety Culture. New York, New York: CRC Press.

Abstract

Carrying out audits and detecting the issues that require urgent maintenance, as well as conducting the above-mentioned maintenance procedures, is essential for not only the efficacy of the services provided by an airline company but also the safety of the passengers and the crew.

A recent case known as the Zonk air accident proves that the airline staff is prone to searching for a way of earning additional money by refusing to report on the technical issues and using the aircraft that should have been subjected to maintenance. Therefore, the existing audits system, as well as the ethical principles of airline companies, needs a major update.

Analysis of the Issue

The Zonk accident is an obviously tragic reminder of the need to comply with safety rules in the airline industry. A closer look at the facts will show that the lack of proper maintenance was obviously the key reason for the aircraft to crash. According to the details of the case, the catastrophe occurred due to the mismanagement of the safety assurance process and the companys willingness to earn additional revenues at the cost of the passengers and the pilots safety.

The fact that the new staff member, who was entirely new to the rules and, therefore, could not identify the orders that were clearly unacceptable from the perspective of passenger and staff safety, also needs to be brought up.

The fact that member was assigned with a rather complicated task, which was to be completed under very unfavorable weather conditions, proves that the airline company managers were trying to get away with their mischief. Unfortunately, their plan backfired, as the plane was unfit for any flights (Hood & Sweginnis, 2006).

Hypothesis

The idea that the company was trying to gain extra revenues by using the aircraft, which clearly needed to have been sending for maintenance, points at the fact that the airlines managers were trying to increase the revenue streak by making the staff fly the aircrafts, which had to be subjected to maintenance (Stolzer & Halford, 2012).

Therefore, it is assumed that the crash occurred was the fault of the company managers, who, not knowing the consequences well, decided to skip the maintenance procedures in order to earn additional money as a result of a rapid increase in the number of passengers for the destination in question (Krause, 2003).

Indeed, a range of details regarding the fact that the plane was in need of urgent maintenance has been discovered in the course of questioning the witnesses.

Among the key facts that serve as a solid proof for the hypothesis specified above, the fact that there was an obvious issue concerning the amount of fuel to be used for the flight, deserves to be brought up/ As the study says, the pilot needed to make certain arrangements concerning the amount of fuel used for the flight, might seem somewhat suspicious given the circumstances (i.e., the fact that the plane was in a no flight condition).

Alternative Hypotheses

It would be wrong to reject alternative solutions to a case in point without considering them first. The pilot may also have been the person to blame for the accident to happen, as he was, in fact, very sleepy, as the report claims, and, thus, could have made a range of mistakes in the process of navigating the airplane easily. The reports, however, do not contain the slightest amount of data, which may possibly point at the pilots fault, outside of the above-mentioned information concerning his sleepiness.

The supposition that the pilot could have been suffering depression and, therefore, may have either disregarded an obvious problem issue in the course of navigating the aircraft or even triggered the crash on his own. The idea of the crash being the pilots successful attempt at a suicide seems rather plausible in the light of the evidence concerning the problems that he was having in his personal life.

Regardless of the above-mentioned facts, the issue concerning the pilot going through a breakup with his girlfriend still lacks trustworthy information, as the claims of the people working with the pilot cannot be viewed as bulletproof evidence. Finally, the weather issue deserves to be viewed, yet it only adds credibility to the fact that the plane had not undergone a proper audit (Fergusson & Nelson, 2013).

Conclusion and Recommendations

Judging by the fact that the tragedy could have been avoided by running an audit on the aircraft in question properly and reporting the results accordingly, it will be legitimate to suggest that the audit system within the company should be rearranged.

First and most obvious, the reporting system should be improved so that every single detail regarding a possible malfunction should not trigger a catastrophe. Next, it is essential that the process of checking aircraft for malfunctioning should be updated, with a thorough analysis of the existing issues. Finally, a set of rigid rules should be introduced for not only managers but also new employees to comply with. Thus, it will be possible to reduce the number of accidents to a minimum.

Reference List

Fergusson, M. & Nelson, S. (2013). Aviation safety: A balanced industry approach. Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.

Hood, R. & Sweginnis, R. (2006). Aircraft accident investigation. 2nd ed. Casper, WY: Endeavor Books.

Krause, S. S. (2003). Aircraft safety: Accident investigations, analyses, & applications, second edition: accident investigations, analyses and applications. Upper Saddle River, NJ: McGraw-Hill Professional.

Stolzer, A. J. & Halford, C. D. (2012). Implementing safety management systems in aviation. Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing.

Introduction

The existence of the Internet and its rapid speed of innovation continue to bring new challenges for individuals, businesses, and governments alike. With time, cybercrimes have evolved from on-site hardware hacking to the use of cloud services and technology that allows getting access to large amounts of data in minutes. Thus, the range of cybercrimes and their damage to every person has evolved as well, endangering the information of every technology user.

Almost 40 percent of people use the Internet in some capacity, meaning that they provide some type of their data to various services, potentially exposing it to one of the most widespread cybercrimes  personal data and identity theft (Armin et al. 143). Attackers can steal data from individual users, companies and organizations, and even governmental entities, which implies that the scope of this crime can span international borders. Although the severity of data theft may have various repercussions on economics and politics, the current approach to laws and regulations does not provide a sufficient way to disrupt the chain of breaches.

Case Description

This case focuses on personal data theft and its impact on different spheres of peoples lives. First of all, it is necessary to understand the concept of stealing information and related procedures. Before the Internet, identify theft could be conducted by collecting information about a person through his/her documents, mail, and conversation. After the creation of technology, databases and serves started to receive data from users, including their emails, phone numbers, and names.

However, the rise of the Internet and corporate use of technology increased the volume of information collected and shared for everyday use. Currently, people can provide access to such data as their social security number, identification, credit card number, family status, health history, and much more. As a result, the process of stealing this information may affect individuals and businesses much more severely than before.

To evaluate the significance of this problem, it is vital to understand the outcomes of private data being stolen. Regardless of the source of this information, it is mostly used for several purposes. First of all, criminals may impersonate an individual by using his/her data to complete a financial transaction or other operations. Here, the damage may be small and temporary or severe and lasting, depending on the ability of the victim to locate the problem and mitigate its effects. Second, some sensitive information may be sold to companies which then use it to target persons with advertisements or use their data for other unethical practices (Hutchings and Holt 13). These are the two primary outcomes for individual users.

Companies may also be affected by such cybercrimes. The main possible outcome is reputational damage  a business that loses customers data is seen as untrustworthy, and clients may stop using its services or products after hearing the news. This problem leads to another one  financial losses. A firm which reputation is damaged can suffer from lower profits, a decreased stock value on the market, and additional costs for recovery and future considerations for data protection (Balan et al. 64). Balan et al. note that many companies are very reluctant to pay for cyber-defense software and specialists (64). This often leads to them having to spend more money on covering the damages than they would need to prevent a breach from happening in the first place.

Thus, financial losses from data theft can be devastating for both small and large businesses. According to Wheatley et al., the cost of one stolen piece of private data is equivalent to more than $200 (1). While this number does not present any danger by itself, the amount of data that is usually stolen during one cyber attack often includes thousands of names, personal identification details, and financial records. For instance, in 2008, the cost of one cyberattack could reach more than 1 trillion US dollars of economic damage, which is a significant loss even for a large corporation (Wheatley et al. 1).

These expenses can not only destabilize a business and turn away customers but also put a company under significant strain and lead to various problems for stakeholders and the industry as a whole. Notably, large companies suffer from such crimes more often than small ones, as they possess more information and are more interesting to attackers (Wheatley et al. 10). Therefore, data theft can reach devastating results as successful breaches expose extensive amounts of information to misuse and exploitation.

The amount of attacks and stolen information has also increased because of innovative technology. While older software required hackers to manually conduct each operation, the current rise of technology automated most processes. Some criminals can sell so-called crimeware  malicious software designed for different ways of hacking. Other innovations are related to the Internet as a whole.

The use of cloud storage, for example, has led to data breaches with massive quantities of stolen information, as cloud technologies allow companies to store much more information than a physical server and can provide access to data from virtually anywhere (Wall 532). Cloud space can also be used by hackers who automate their procedures and steal information from multiple sources with a few clicks, further increasing the possible damage of such crimes. Cybercrimes committed in the cloud present a danger that should raise concerns not only on the local but the international level as well.

The process of finding criminals who utilize such technology is difficult for authorities because of multiple reasons. First of all, criminals often use software that protects their location and device information, making tracking almost impossible. Various technologies for rerouting and creating new IP addresses also complicate the official procedure. Transactions between criminals and their potential clients may be protected as well with the help of encrypted or disappearing messages, untraceable cryptocurrencies, and closed channels of data transferring. Furthermore, as cybercrimes can be initiated from and targeted at any place in the world, some national and international concerns apply here.

Currently, the state of regulations related to cybercrimes and security offers several recommendations and laws. For example, an international cybersecurity standard ISO 27001 indicates which requirements have to be followed by organizations to provide information security for their clients and important data (Aggarwal et al. 50). This initiative attempts to systematize the variety of security controls and create a system for their implementation.

Furthermore, it encourages company management to analyze the state of their businesses and outline possible risks and vulnerabilities. The following data is needed to fulfill the next step of the regulation  the creation of a unified system for all utilized information security controls to prevent the highlighted problems from occurring. Finally, the recommendations note the significance of the ongoing monitoring and recalibration of services to maintain cybersecurity at all times and update the utilized technology on time. However, this standard along with other cybercrime laws may not be sufficient enough to prevent these crimes from occurring. Thus, an analysis of possible impacts and solutions to the problem needs to be conducted.

Case Analysis

The analysis of cybercrimes and data theft, in particular, needs to not only address its damage and outcomes but also uncover possible flaws in the current system and present some solutions and improvements needed to make the problem less significant. Currently, the impact of cybercrimes continues to evolve steadily with the innovation of technology (Wheatley et al. 10). The increasing amount of private data being stored and used for everyday activities such as shopping, working, or accessing health care also complicates the process of employing new regulatory procedures. Moreover, as more and more people engage with services and products through the Internet, the coverage of data theft crimes becomes wider as well. Thus, the influence of cybercrimes grows and creates more dangers for the world.

As noted above, the impact of cybercrimes on businesses may be extremely damaging to both their reputation and their financial state. Thus, enforcement of a security standard seems to be an important measure in protecting client data. However, the ever-evolving state of crimeware technology continuously presents new ways of attacking the installed protections, making the regulation ineffective because of its lack of dynamic change.

The slow speed of creating barriers that could prevent data breaches from happening does not equate to the rate at which cybercriminals develop new malware. While the latest edition of the standard covers cloud computing and related issues, its less regulated implementation allows companies to be certified without following specific controls. Other measures employed both locally and internationally address reoccurring breaches, known dangers, and overall integrity of information (Aggarwal et al. 51). However, all may fall victim to unexplored crimeware and innovative technology.

For example, the introduction of cryptocurrencies, which were first introduced to the general public in 2008 and have been gaining recognition since, poses a potential threat to the process of uncovering illegal financial transactions. Although some types of such currencies have an open system that presents some information about the operation and its participants, a number of them attempt to provide full anonymity to all processes, completely decentralizing and encrypting all aspects of a money transaction.

The lack of regulations in the sphere further increases the dangers that can come from criminals using such services for their business. Current laws are not equipped to deal with such financial operations, therefore, complicating the persecution of cybercrimes. The existence of various anonymous messengers and encrypted information transfer can also contribute to cybercrime.

The international responses to such innovations have differed from one country to another. On the state level, some nations chose to regulate citizens access to such technologies, condemning cryptocurrencies or encrypted messengers as illegal (Deeks 6). For example, Pakistan, Colombia, and Russia have attempted to impose strict regulations on the use of encrypted technologies, while China and India proposed regulations for choosing which information has to be accessible to the government at all times (Deeks 6).

Such attitudes show that some states believe in the direct connection between such decentralized services and illegal activities, including money laundering and terrorism. The process of data theft is another concern, although its impact is primarily financial. While these arguments may have a foundation, the choice to establish complete control over users information and conversations does not contribute to supporting their human rights.

Other countries such as the US may see potential in these technologies and recognize their possible benefits to personal security. For example, end-to-end encryption allows users to protect their information from cybercrimes, including data theft, as it does not transfer valuable information or store it in places that can be easily accessed with crimeware. This advantage is also seen by major corporations that collect massive amounts of data every day.

Apple and Google, for example, both realize that encryption protects peoples financial records, which limits the criminals possibility of accessing someones credit card numbers and passwords (Deeks 13). This outlook of large businesses impacts the state of affairs in the US and the world as almost all such companies are based in North America but sell products worldwide. Thus, some conflicts based on different views may arise internationally, as companies interested in keeping their place on the global market try to appeal to the governments of countries with strict regulations.

Another point of disagreement and tension may occur if cybercrime is committed on an international level, involving two or more countries as a result. As such criminals are already difficult to detect and apprehend, their residence in another state may also complicate the process of persecution and judgment. Thus, international laws for such cybercrimes need to be developed to systematize the procedure of resolving challenging cases.

However, as many nations have varying views about digital security, protective methods, and safe practices, their collaboration to design a unifying framework may be unpredictable. Similarly, the enforcement of international and national standards on companies may also put businesses in a difficult position as they attempt to navigate different state laws. The outlook of Apple, mentioned before, ever-evolving put under question by governments that want to have full access to peoples data. There, a process of monitoring information security may be more laborious if ones personal identification information is no longer encrypted due to the local laws.

As can be seen in the aforementioned issues, the crime of data theft may lead to not only economic but also political and social impacts on people and businesses. From an economic point, it may be more advantageous to keep the data encrypted as this way of protection secures information from criminals, firms, and governments, limiting all access to peoples records. The implementation of such technologies could save companies money as it could reduce the number of breaches and decrease the need to recuperate from cybercrimes. Moreover, the security of payments in these systems may also provide businesses with a more reliable transaction framework that would encourage customers to buy more products without the fear of their information being stolen.

This proposition, however, contributes to the debate about possible uses of such encrypted technology. Although it can make the information more secure than before and provide companies with a way to protect data from it being stolen, it can also be used by criminals to conduct illegal operations. Thus, encryption is viewed differently by states  both as a possible solution to and as a cause of cybercrimes. Thus, the global implementation of a unified standard for its use seems impossible at the current moment.

The political outcomes of identity theft may be connected to crimes that involve people from one country targeting data storages from another state. In this case, the process of finding and persecuting a criminal becomes an issue as it is unclear according to the laws of which country such persons need to be judged. On the one hand, the crime is committed against one country. Thus, it has the right to decide an appropriate punishment. However, the current laws of extradition do not follow one procedure as well, being different from country to country. Furthermore, the process of finding a criminal may also be challenging, as the law enforcement agencies of the affected state may not have the ability to use all their resources. Thus, various political concerns call for a reassessment of contemporary data security regulations.

The social implications of information theft relate to peoples trust for companies and governments integrity and capability to protect. The difference between total control over peoples data and their ability to use encrypted services without being judged also influence the way people share information on the Internet. It can be assumed that not all persons fully understand how companies store data. Thus, their awareness about information security may also either contribute to or prevent cybercrimes.

The social impact of information theft may lie in increasing peoples knowledge about technology. This outcome, however, is not the only one. People may also be afraid of sharing information over the Internet or becoming suspicious about companies integrity. These negative attitudes may result in both social conflicts with businesses and dissatisfaction of people with services. The use of encryption may have the same effects on people as it has on governments  some may support it while others can oppose it.

While people have some recommendations about securing their information, companies have a set of standards that they are required to follow to be certified. Nevertheless, these principles and advice are not universal for preventing all types of cybercrimes. As mentioned above, some businesses do not want to adhere to such criteria, exposing the collected data to attacks. According to Balan et al., more than 90 percent of all businesses were impacted by cybercrimes and were exposed to monetary loss as a result (67).

This rate shows that the level of compliance with protective measures may be extremely low. Another possible reason for such a high level of impact is the ineffectiveness of current rules. Regardless of which reason is more prevalent, both of them need to be addressed. New approaches should be discussed and recalibrated to include modern devices and crimeware and imposed on companies to secure peoples data.

Conclusion

The current changes in technology reveal new challenges for countries and businesses, requiring more attention to deal with cybercrimes. Such crimes have a direct connection to peoples personal information, as data theft remains one of the most widespread illegal activities in this sphere. Private data safety is an issue that needs to be discussed on many levels, including national and international. The Internet and new technologies help companies evolve in their protection of data.

However, they also contribute to new ways of committing crimes. Currently, laws and regulations are not systematized to impose a unified set of rules which would decrease the rate of cybercrimes in the world. As different countries possess their personal views about data security, encryption, and the right to privacy, there is no consensus on what can be done to stop cybercrimes from inflicting damage on peoples lives. Thus, data theft continues to have a significant impact on companies and people worldwide.

Works Cited

Aggarwal, Pooja, et al. Review on Cyber Crime and Security. International Journal of Research in Engineering and Applied Sciences, vol. 2, no. 1, 2014, pp. 48-51.

Armin, Jart, et al. 2020 Cybercrime Economic Costs: No Measure No Solution. Combatting Cybercrime and Cyberterrorism: Challenges, Trends and Priorities, edited by Babak Akhgar and Ben Brewster, Springer, 2016, pp. 135-155.

Balan, Shilpa, et al. Data Analysis of Cybercrimes in Businesses. Information Technology and Management Science, vol. 20, no. 1, 2017, pp. 64-68.

Deeks, Ashley. The International Legal Dynamics of Encryption. Hoover Institution, AEGIS Paper Series, no. 1609, 2016, pp. 1-27.

Hutchings, Alice, and Thomas J. Holt. The Online Stolen Data Market: Disruption and Intervention Approaches. Global Crime, vol. 18, no. 1, 2017, pp. 11-30.

Wall, David S. Towards a Conceptualisation of Cloud (Cyber) Crime. International Conference on Human Aspects of Information Security, Privacy, and Trust, edited by Theo Tryfonas, Springer International, 2017, pp. 529-538.

Wheatley, Spencer, et al. The Extreme Risk of Personal Data Breaches and the Erosion of Privacy. The European Physical Journal B, vol. 89, no. 1, 2016, pp. 1-17.

Negative Aspects Affecting Accident

The NTSB accident report provides details about the crash that occurred on February 14, 2014, and involved Cessna 210L, N732EJ (National Transportation Safety Board, 2014). The crash resulted in the planes destruction and the death of the pilot and his wife. Having overestimated his skills and abilities, the pilot made several crucial mistakes, whereas the operator did not carry out the dispatch procedures properly, which caused the plane to crash.

In retrospect, the plane crash could be seen as the effect of several factors combined. For instance, the fact that the pilot overestimated his ability to control the plane in an environment that could be defined as rather challenging needs to be addressed. There is evidence from the company that requested the flight that the pilot had not contacted them despite their previous agreement (National Transportation Safety Board, 2014).

Therefore, the carelessness of the pilot must be viewed as one of the factors that led to the tragedy. In addition, the mistakes made by the operator, who guided the landing, have to be seen as the primary factors that determined the tragic outcome (National Transportation Safety Board, 2014). For instance, the fact that the controller failed to coordinate the available data with the nearby facility and, thus, made the pilot make several crucial mistakes needs to be mentioned.

Future Repercussions from a Similar Issue

Future cases involving the same events like the ones described in the report are likely to entail a wide range of repercussions. The specified repercussions would imply legal responsibilities for both the pilot and the controller, as well as the rest of the staff that will ostensibly be involved in the accident. For instance, in the case of survival, a pilot would have to face repercussions for the professional misjudgment and errors made when performing their duties.

Indeed, in case of violating the companys orders and taking an extra member on his business trip to the designated area, the pilot might be sued for money that will be lost as a result of their careless actions. The lack of consideration for the weather conditions and the choice of flight strategies would also be deemed as inexcusable and requiring serious measures upon a detailed investigation. Therefore, the pilot would have to face severe legal consequences if a similar scenario is repeated, yet the pilot would not be injured or harmed in the process.

An operator that will need to guide a pilot and provide detailed information about the factors that will define the strategy for landing will also have to face the serious consequence and deal with legal responsibility for a negative outcome. The success of landing hinges on the instructions that an operator gives a pilot. Therefore, making mistakes in the process may result in the following crash, which means that the operator should also be held responsible for the outcome in case the instructions were misguiding.

The investigation of similar issues is likely to be considerably convoluted because of the lack of evidence and the presence of factors that may hinder the analysis, e.g., weather conditions that may make it difficult to understand what has happened. Therefore, the use of legal repercussions should also be viewed as a possibility once every single factor is identified and the role that every agent played in the event is identified successfully.

Reference

National Transportation Safety Board. (2014). NTSB identification: ERA14FA120. Web.