Risk control in many areas in society is based on known danger and avoidance of predicted acciden... more Risk control in many areas in society is based on known danger and avoidance of predicted accidents. Between accidents as predicted and accidents as they actually occur, there is a gap however. This gap hides a multitude of relevant safety information which might therefore not be considered in safety management systems, risk inventories and accident scenarios. Hence, it might help to pay attention to the gap of "invisible" phenomena and mechanisms and study the concept of "invisibility". Wondering about the role of invisibility in this respect, the authors explore literature using a scoping review approach, in search of invisibility concepts: ways in which full or partial invisibility exists in a variety of areas relevant to safety. Some 202 of such concepts are found. They can be grouped into 22 frequently found types of invisibility, each capable of hiding relevant safety information. Using a theoretical object-path-observer model, deconstruction of invisibilit...
Abstract Misunderstandings due to language problems are emerging as an underlying causal factor i... more Abstract Misunderstandings due to language problems are emerging as an underlying causal factor in a wide variety of occupational accidents. Implicated in this are language proficiency and literacy, but also readability of instructions. Coupled to these is the fact that the global workforce holds more migrant workers than ever before, and there are a growing number of multi-lingual shop floor environments, especially in the transportation and health care sectors. The term ‘language problem related accident’ (LPRA) is proposed here. This article reviews LPRA trends in industry, especially in the process industry and construction industry. Proposals are made about how to better manage the safety risks associated with LPRAs. LPRA information was gathered via a literature survey using search-terms related to LPRAs. This search included the governmental resources in Europe, the USA, Australia, several Far East countries, and Africa. Both the information found and the difficulties encountered while gathering this information were analysed and validated by interviews with experts. Causal information about LPRAs is partial at best: 21 access difficulties are identified. Their resolution will create opportunities for further safety improvement. The main proposals made here relate to public information systems, company safety management, regulatory inspections, accident investigation activities and safety science research.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Transparency about health and safety risks is a complex societal, moral, ethical and political co... more Transparency about health and safety risks is a complex societal, moral, ethical and political concept. Full transparency does not come natural for any of the key stakeholder groups: organizations, authorities and the people. If safety information is not sufficiently shared between them, people and the environment can be harmed. The authors explored the literature on transparency in sharing health and safety information. The findings show that such transparency as a subject is abundant in the literature but the exchange of information is far from complete in practice. Health and safety information is shared both via internal flows within each stakeholder group and via external flows between them. All three main stakeholders in pursuit of true safety for their own reasons, building trust via sharing of health and safety information, require improvement in transparency and a safety information broker between them. This constitutes a smart transparency and information exchange framewor...
Taalproblemen veroorzaken onveiligheid op het werk. Deze studie inventariseert welk wetenschappel... more Taalproblemen veroorzaken onveiligheid op het werk. Deze studie inventariseert welk wetenschappelijk onderzoek in een aantal economische sectoren is gedaan. Deze studie laat zien dat wetenschappelijk onderzoek naar 'taal en veiligheid' nog pril is en meer aandacht op de wetenschappelijke onderzoeksagenda verdient.
A large European airline has adopted the operational readiness concept as a means to manage chang... more A large European airline has adopted the operational readiness concept as a means to manage change in their systems and processes. Aviation is a highly competitive market. Increasingly, commercial viability depends on operational innovation. It is equally critical to sustain high levels of safety. These are assumed by passengers and demanded by regulators. In 2012, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) introduced new regulations. These have spurred aviation companies to find new ways to manage safety. The airline is using operational readiness to:
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2021
Some organisations, and some individual humans, violate moral and ethical rules, whether or not t... more Some organisations, and some individual humans, violate moral and ethical rules, whether or not they are written down in laws or codes of conduct. Corporate transgressions, as this behaviour is called, occur because of the actions of those in charge, usually bright and dedicated people. Immoral and unethical conduct can adversely affect the safety of workers, the general public and the environment. A scoping review method for a literature search is used to explore morality and ethics in relation to health and safety management. Our findings show that controlling the risks associated with misconduct and corporate transgression is not usually seen as a responsibility allocated to safety systems but is left to general management and corporate governance. The moral and ethical principles, however, can be applied in safety management systems to prevent misconduct and transgression-related safety risks. Our results show that ethical leadership, ethical behaviour, sustaining an ethical cli...
Onvoldoende taalvaardigheid leidt tot misverstanden, fouten en ergernis. Iedereen is het erover e... more Onvoldoende taalvaardigheid leidt tot misverstanden, fouten en ergernis. Iedereen is het erover eens dat iemand met een ziekte zijn zorgverlener moet kunnen begrijpen. Hoewel het begrijpelijk maken van medische bijsluiters al weer een aantal jaren bij wet is geregeld, is daarmee de kous niet af. Minder bekend is dat er tussen hulpverleners onderling ook taalproblemen voorkomen. De ‘zwarte piet’ wordt helaas nog vaak bij de patient en zijn gebrek aan vaardigheden gelegd. Er is hier voor organisaties in de zorg nog veel werk te verzetten: het bewustzijn rond taalproblemen vergroten en ze oplossen. Het begin ligt bij gebruik maken van (inter)nationaal al bekende goede praktijken.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
The positive reception of Wang and Burris’ photovoice method, published in 1997, has led to a pro... more The positive reception of Wang and Burris’ photovoice method, published in 1997, has led to a proliferation of ways in which professionals deploy photovoice in a widening range of application fields, e.g., public health, social development and phenomenological research of human experiences. A scoping review method is used to obtain an overview of current photovoice designs and of application examples in the health and safety domain. The results show a variety of method designs. Our findings indicate that all of the photovoice designs are composed from different combinations of eleven process steps. Five generic objectives cover the range of application examples found in our literature study. We therefore condensed the variety into five generic photovoice designs for: (a) communication, (b) education, (c) exploration, (d) awareness, and (e) empowerment purposes. We propose this for use in a classification system. The potential for application of these photovoice designs in safety man...
Samenvatting Taalproblemen veroorzaken onveiligheid op het werk. Deze studie inventariseert welk ... more Samenvatting Taalproblemen veroorzaken onveiligheid op het werk. Deze studie inventariseert welk wetenschappelijk onderzoek in een aantal economische sectoren is gedaan en welk stadium van risico beheersing zij behandelen. Niet in alle sectoren is onderzoek gedaan naar taalproblemen als ongeval oorzaak. Het risico door taalproblemen is daarmee deels onbekend en dus onbeheerst. Inzicht ontbreekt in zowel de aard van dit type gevaar als in de omvang van het effect in de zorg-, agro-, transport-en de bouwsector. De zorg sector is een bijzonder geval omdat daar door aanwezigheid en interactie van en met patiënten slachtoffers van ongevallen door taalproblemen te verwachten zijn. In de transport en diensten sector speelt een vergelijkbaar registratieprobleem met slachtoffers onder het publiek. In de transport-en agro sectoren zijn maatregelen genomen zonder analyse van het risico. Deze studie laat zien dat wetenschappelijk onderzoek naar 'taal en veiligheid' nog pril is en meer a...
Goede praktijken bij taalproblemen in de zorg T aalproblemen komen in alle sectoren in de maatsch... more Goede praktijken bij taalproblemen in de zorg T aalproblemen komen in alle sectoren in de maatschappij voor, ook in de zorg. Ze heb-ben diverse oorzaken en elk daarvan vergt een eigen aanpak. Ze leiden via onbegrip en via onbekendheid met risico's tot fouten, schade en letsel. Er zijn drie hoofdgroepen in taalpro-blemen te onderscheiden: ■ De eerste is de meertalige werksituatie waarin men elkaars taal niet, of slechts be-perkt, begrijpt. Het aantal talen op een werkplek kan zo groot zijn dat er geen ge-meenschappelijke taal meer voorhanden is. De communicatie en daarmee ook de coör-dinatie op de werkvloer lijden hier onder. 1 ■ De tweede is laaggeletterdheid. Niet alleen spreken maar ook lezen en schrijven op de werkplek waren door de toegenomen inzet van schriftelijke instructies en computers nog nooit tevoren zo belangrijk als nu. De problemen met lezen en schrijven van de Nederlandse taal zijn omvangrijk en hard-nekkig. Vanaf 15 jaar is rond 2% analfabeet. Maar liefst 1,5 mi...
A significant gap exists between accident scenarios as foreseen by company safety management syst... more A significant gap exists between accident scenarios as foreseen by company safety management systems and actual scenarios observed in major accidents. Its mere existence, pointing at flawed risk assessments, is leaving hazards unmitigated, threatening worker safety, putting the environment at risk and endangering company continuity. Safety managers and regulators, attempting to reduce and eventually close this gap, not only encounter the pitfalls of poor safety studies, but also the acceptance of unknown risk as a phenomenon, companies being numbed by inadequate process safety indicators, unsettled debates between paradigms on improving process safety, and inflexible recording systems in a dynamic industrial environment. The immediacy of the stagnating long term downward major accident rate trend in the Netherlands underlines the need to address these pitfalls. The main conclusion is that safety management can never be ready with hazard identification and risk assessment.Keywords: U...
Not all human experiences can be expressed in words. Arts-based expressions may be useful to qual... more Not all human experiences can be expressed in words. Arts-based expressions may be useful to qualitative researchers as they can disclose people’s experiences with health, illness and disability. These expressions, which connect with non-linguistic and unexplored realms of experience, may support researchers’ efforts to honor the complexities of their lives. In our study, we explored and identified modes of expression among those sharing their experiences in health care and wellbeing research and practice. We present an inventory of human expression types based on a hierarchical classification and a literature review. The expression types which involve modes of both verbal and non-verbal knowing, show a bounty of possible ways for researchers and others to extend their study designs beyond verbalized accounts. We contend that using non-verbal expression types can assist qualitative researchers in fostering the articulation of complex experiences. As drawing upon a variety of methods...
Risk control in many areas in society is based on known danger and avoidance of predicted acciden... more Risk control in many areas in society is based on known danger and avoidance of predicted accidents. Between accidents as predicted and accidents as they actually occur, there is a gap however. This gap hides a multitude of relevant safety information which might therefore not be considered in safety management systems, risk inventories and accident scenarios. Hence, it might help to pay attention to the gap of "invisible" phenomena and mechanisms and study the concept of "invisibility". Wondering about the role of invisibility in this respect, the authors explore literature using a scoping review approach, in search of invisibility concepts: ways in which full or partial invisibility exists in a variety of areas relevant to safety. Some 202 of such concepts are found. They can be grouped into 22 frequently found types of invisibility, each capable of hiding relevant safety information. Using a theoretical object-path-observer model, deconstruction of invisibilit...
Abstract Misunderstandings due to language problems are emerging as an underlying causal factor i... more Abstract Misunderstandings due to language problems are emerging as an underlying causal factor in a wide variety of occupational accidents. Implicated in this are language proficiency and literacy, but also readability of instructions. Coupled to these is the fact that the global workforce holds more migrant workers than ever before, and there are a growing number of multi-lingual shop floor environments, especially in the transportation and health care sectors. The term ‘language problem related accident’ (LPRA) is proposed here. This article reviews LPRA trends in industry, especially in the process industry and construction industry. Proposals are made about how to better manage the safety risks associated with LPRAs. LPRA information was gathered via a literature survey using search-terms related to LPRAs. This search included the governmental resources in Europe, the USA, Australia, several Far East countries, and Africa. Both the information found and the difficulties encountered while gathering this information were analysed and validated by interviews with experts. Causal information about LPRAs is partial at best: 21 access difficulties are identified. Their resolution will create opportunities for further safety improvement. The main proposals made here relate to public information systems, company safety management, regulatory inspections, accident investigation activities and safety science research.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Transparency about health and safety risks is a complex societal, moral, ethical and political co... more Transparency about health and safety risks is a complex societal, moral, ethical and political concept. Full transparency does not come natural for any of the key stakeholder groups: organizations, authorities and the people. If safety information is not sufficiently shared between them, people and the environment can be harmed. The authors explored the literature on transparency in sharing health and safety information. The findings show that such transparency as a subject is abundant in the literature but the exchange of information is far from complete in practice. Health and safety information is shared both via internal flows within each stakeholder group and via external flows between them. All three main stakeholders in pursuit of true safety for their own reasons, building trust via sharing of health and safety information, require improvement in transparency and a safety information broker between them. This constitutes a smart transparency and information exchange framewor...
Taalproblemen veroorzaken onveiligheid op het werk. Deze studie inventariseert welk wetenschappel... more Taalproblemen veroorzaken onveiligheid op het werk. Deze studie inventariseert welk wetenschappelijk onderzoek in een aantal economische sectoren is gedaan. Deze studie laat zien dat wetenschappelijk onderzoek naar 'taal en veiligheid' nog pril is en meer aandacht op de wetenschappelijke onderzoeksagenda verdient.
A large European airline has adopted the operational readiness concept as a means to manage chang... more A large European airline has adopted the operational readiness concept as a means to manage change in their systems and processes. Aviation is a highly competitive market. Increasingly, commercial viability depends on operational innovation. It is equally critical to sustain high levels of safety. These are assumed by passengers and demanded by regulators. In 2012, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) introduced new regulations. These have spurred aviation companies to find new ways to manage safety. The airline is using operational readiness to:
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2021
Some organisations, and some individual humans, violate moral and ethical rules, whether or not t... more Some organisations, and some individual humans, violate moral and ethical rules, whether or not they are written down in laws or codes of conduct. Corporate transgressions, as this behaviour is called, occur because of the actions of those in charge, usually bright and dedicated people. Immoral and unethical conduct can adversely affect the safety of workers, the general public and the environment. A scoping review method for a literature search is used to explore morality and ethics in relation to health and safety management. Our findings show that controlling the risks associated with misconduct and corporate transgression is not usually seen as a responsibility allocated to safety systems but is left to general management and corporate governance. The moral and ethical principles, however, can be applied in safety management systems to prevent misconduct and transgression-related safety risks. Our results show that ethical leadership, ethical behaviour, sustaining an ethical cli...
Onvoldoende taalvaardigheid leidt tot misverstanden, fouten en ergernis. Iedereen is het erover e... more Onvoldoende taalvaardigheid leidt tot misverstanden, fouten en ergernis. Iedereen is het erover eens dat iemand met een ziekte zijn zorgverlener moet kunnen begrijpen. Hoewel het begrijpelijk maken van medische bijsluiters al weer een aantal jaren bij wet is geregeld, is daarmee de kous niet af. Minder bekend is dat er tussen hulpverleners onderling ook taalproblemen voorkomen. De ‘zwarte piet’ wordt helaas nog vaak bij de patient en zijn gebrek aan vaardigheden gelegd. Er is hier voor organisaties in de zorg nog veel werk te verzetten: het bewustzijn rond taalproblemen vergroten en ze oplossen. Het begin ligt bij gebruik maken van (inter)nationaal al bekende goede praktijken.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
The positive reception of Wang and Burris’ photovoice method, published in 1997, has led to a pro... more The positive reception of Wang and Burris’ photovoice method, published in 1997, has led to a proliferation of ways in which professionals deploy photovoice in a widening range of application fields, e.g., public health, social development and phenomenological research of human experiences. A scoping review method is used to obtain an overview of current photovoice designs and of application examples in the health and safety domain. The results show a variety of method designs. Our findings indicate that all of the photovoice designs are composed from different combinations of eleven process steps. Five generic objectives cover the range of application examples found in our literature study. We therefore condensed the variety into five generic photovoice designs for: (a) communication, (b) education, (c) exploration, (d) awareness, and (e) empowerment purposes. We propose this for use in a classification system. The potential for application of these photovoice designs in safety man...
Samenvatting Taalproblemen veroorzaken onveiligheid op het werk. Deze studie inventariseert welk ... more Samenvatting Taalproblemen veroorzaken onveiligheid op het werk. Deze studie inventariseert welk wetenschappelijk onderzoek in een aantal economische sectoren is gedaan en welk stadium van risico beheersing zij behandelen. Niet in alle sectoren is onderzoek gedaan naar taalproblemen als ongeval oorzaak. Het risico door taalproblemen is daarmee deels onbekend en dus onbeheerst. Inzicht ontbreekt in zowel de aard van dit type gevaar als in de omvang van het effect in de zorg-, agro-, transport-en de bouwsector. De zorg sector is een bijzonder geval omdat daar door aanwezigheid en interactie van en met patiënten slachtoffers van ongevallen door taalproblemen te verwachten zijn. In de transport en diensten sector speelt een vergelijkbaar registratieprobleem met slachtoffers onder het publiek. In de transport-en agro sectoren zijn maatregelen genomen zonder analyse van het risico. Deze studie laat zien dat wetenschappelijk onderzoek naar 'taal en veiligheid' nog pril is en meer a...
Goede praktijken bij taalproblemen in de zorg T aalproblemen komen in alle sectoren in de maatsch... more Goede praktijken bij taalproblemen in de zorg T aalproblemen komen in alle sectoren in de maatschappij voor, ook in de zorg. Ze heb-ben diverse oorzaken en elk daarvan vergt een eigen aanpak. Ze leiden via onbegrip en via onbekendheid met risico's tot fouten, schade en letsel. Er zijn drie hoofdgroepen in taalpro-blemen te onderscheiden: ■ De eerste is de meertalige werksituatie waarin men elkaars taal niet, of slechts be-perkt, begrijpt. Het aantal talen op een werkplek kan zo groot zijn dat er geen ge-meenschappelijke taal meer voorhanden is. De communicatie en daarmee ook de coör-dinatie op de werkvloer lijden hier onder. 1 ■ De tweede is laaggeletterdheid. Niet alleen spreken maar ook lezen en schrijven op de werkplek waren door de toegenomen inzet van schriftelijke instructies en computers nog nooit tevoren zo belangrijk als nu. De problemen met lezen en schrijven van de Nederlandse taal zijn omvangrijk en hard-nekkig. Vanaf 15 jaar is rond 2% analfabeet. Maar liefst 1,5 mi...
A significant gap exists between accident scenarios as foreseen by company safety management syst... more A significant gap exists between accident scenarios as foreseen by company safety management systems and actual scenarios observed in major accidents. Its mere existence, pointing at flawed risk assessments, is leaving hazards unmitigated, threatening worker safety, putting the environment at risk and endangering company continuity. Safety managers and regulators, attempting to reduce and eventually close this gap, not only encounter the pitfalls of poor safety studies, but also the acceptance of unknown risk as a phenomenon, companies being numbed by inadequate process safety indicators, unsettled debates between paradigms on improving process safety, and inflexible recording systems in a dynamic industrial environment. The immediacy of the stagnating long term downward major accident rate trend in the Netherlands underlines the need to address these pitfalls. The main conclusion is that safety management can never be ready with hazard identification and risk assessment.Keywords: U...
Not all human experiences can be expressed in words. Arts-based expressions may be useful to qual... more Not all human experiences can be expressed in words. Arts-based expressions may be useful to qualitative researchers as they can disclose people’s experiences with health, illness and disability. These expressions, which connect with non-linguistic and unexplored realms of experience, may support researchers’ efforts to honor the complexities of their lives. In our study, we explored and identified modes of expression among those sharing their experiences in health care and wellbeing research and practice. We present an inventory of human expression types based on a hierarchical classification and a literature review. The expression types which involve modes of both verbal and non-verbal knowing, show a bounty of possible ways for researchers and others to extend their study designs beyond verbalized accounts. We contend that using non-verbal expression types can assist qualitative researchers in fostering the articulation of complex experiences. As drawing upon a variety of methods...
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