Browsing by Subject "Occupational safety"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Options for Automated Speed Enforcement Pilot Projects in Minnesota Work and School Zones
    (Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2014-05) Douma, Frank; Munnich, Lee; Garry, Thomas
    Studies have shown that automated speed enforcement (ASE), when deployed in certain settings, increases roadway safety. Minnesota is one of the 36 states that do not use ASE. This is despite public opinion polling in Minnesota showing overwhelming public support for ASE in certain locations. This gap in Minnesota between (i) the safety benefits and strong public support for ASE in certain settings and (ii) state policy led to this study. The purpose of the study was to investigate scenarios for an ASE pilot project in Minnesota. Work and school zones were selected as the target deployment location given the polling showing strong public support for ASE there and the experiences in other states showing that ASE is effective in reducing speeding in these areas. The aim of this study was to develop a pilot project blueprint to inform policymakers about the potential for such a project. The study included data and legal analysis, a literature review, and stakeholder engagement.
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    Review of Workplace Wellness Program Options to Reduce Musculoskeletal Disorders in Laborious Work
    (Minnesota Department of Transportation Research Services Section, 2011-01) Loushine, Todd William; Trepanier, Myriam; Feyen, Robert
    The primary cause of injury to field workers who perform laborious tasks is over-exertion. Due to changing environmental and situational conditions for field workers, it is difficult to apply engineering controls to reduce exposure to over-exertion or strain that contributes to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). Workplace health promotion and wellness programs are meant to provide employees with opportunities to learn about lifestyle changes to improve their overall health and wellness status. The goal of this project was to create a reference guide for the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) that addresses the different components of a workplace health and wellness promotion program. Results indicate that to be successful, health promotion and wellness should be considered a process instead of a program or initiative. First, management commitment and leadership must be established along with involvement of key stakeholders (such as healthcare providers, workers compensation, etc.). Second, a joint management-worker committee needs to be formed to define how health promotion and wellness can be aligned with organizational goals, policies, and measures, and to assess the needs of workers. The committee needs guidance from a health promotion and wellness expert. Before implementation, baseline measures of health conditions, worker perceptions, and injury/illness and workers compensation data need to be established and periodically monitored to ensure progress. Establishing health promotion and wellness into the culture of the organization, careful planning by a well-represented committee, and evaluation on the performance of the program using a variety of measures, are keys to success.
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    Visual Warning System for Worker Safety on Roadside Workzones
    (Minnesota Department of Transportation, 2016-08) Banaeiyan, Nazanin; uz Zaman, Attiq; Hayee, M.Imran
    Growing traffic on US roadways and heavy construction machinery on road construction sites pose a critical safety threat to construction workers. This report summarizes the design and development of a worker safety system using Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) to specifically address the workers’ safety for the workers working around the heavy machinery. The proposed system has dual objectives. First objective is to improve workers’ safety by providing visual guidance to the operators of the construction vehicles about the workers’ presence in the vicinity. This visual guidance keeps the operators of the heavy machinery well informed about the whereabouts of the workers in close proximity while operating the heavy vehicle. The second objective of the proposed system is to improve the work-zone traffic mobility by dynamically posting suitable speed limits and other warning messages on the DSRC-equipped variable message signs (VMSs) depending on the workers’ presence in an active work-zone to appropriately warn the drivers of the passing-by vehicles. A prototype was developed and field tests were conducted to demonstrate and evaluate the performance of the proposed system. The evaluation test results show that the system can successfully show the presence of workers around a construction vehicle on an Android tablet with acceptable distance (1.5 – 2 m) and direction (15 – 20 degrees) accuracies. Furthermore, the test results show that a DSRC-equipped VMS can successfully post a suitable speed limit corresponding to the presence of workers in its vicinity.