The Work Zone Analysis System: A Tool to Evaluate Worker Exposure Around Hazardous Equipment

Details

• Personal Author:
  Schiffbauer, William H.
• Description:
  Worker injuries and fatalities in industrial work zones are a major concern to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Highway workers (SIC 1611) are at great risk from passing motorists and construction vehicles. The Mine Safety and Health Administration maintains a database that has identified a high number of mine workers killed or disabled as a result of working near vehicles. Surface drilling operations have been investigated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to determine how many workers have lost or have had their hearing impaired by working close to drill rigs. Dust exposure in industrial work environments has also been heavily investigated. NIOSH has developed a research tool called a Work Zone Analysis System (WZAS), which can greatly enhance data collecting and analysis in efforts to mitigate the aforementioned hazards. The basic components of the WZAS are differential mode GPS receivers, machine vision processors, wired and wireless video links (ground and airborne), proximity determination devices, and data analysis tools. The WZAS is housed in a mobile trailer, which includes power, a 58-ft mast, a satellite internet dish, and numerous other features. The WZAS will enable NIOSH researchers to perform detailed task analyses of outside work environments. This information will help identify what remedial actions could benefit worker safety. Expected outcome variables include incidence of workers-on-foot (WOF) within vehicle blind spots, amount of time a WOF is in a blind spot or within a specified distance of a vehicle, number of WOFs in proximity to operating vehicles, amount of time a vehicle backs up per hour of operation, process operational efficiency, intervention feasibility, areas of exposures to high noise levels, and areas of exposures to high dust levels. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Dust Noise Noise, Occupational Occupational Health Safety Workplace
• Keywords:
  Accident Prevention Dust Exposure Hazards Highway Workers Injuries Injury Prevention Noise Levels Vehicles Work Environment
• Series:
  Mining Publications
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary ; Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; Pennsylvania
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  PRL - Pittsburgh Research Laboratory
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  51
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20023705
• Citation:
  NOIRS 2003: Abstracts of the National Occupational Injury Research Symposium, October 28-30, 2003, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh, PA: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 2003 Oct; :51
• Contact Point Address:
  NIOSH Pittsburgh Research Laboratory, P.O. Box 18070, Pittsburgh, PA 15236
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2004
• NORA Priority Area:
  Disease and Injury: Traumatic Injuries
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  1611 - Highway and street construction - (SIC)
• Source Full Name:
  NOIRS 2003: Abstracts of the National Occupational Injury Research Symposium, October 28-30, 2003, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:6b93fa3570850962caaaecf68075dbcf23a8409c2851c7ee52867fdf174ccb352a20ced06517a6cc37b4997e2d84e3069193fa63803d99436a4cca274bc39763
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/220726/cdc_220726_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 14.99 KB ]