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Emerging risk models are still scarce and far from agreed upon. They are currently the focus of increasing interest in the occupational context. Consequently, frameworks that deal with emerging risk management in industrial contexts are very recent or, even still, in the development and maturation stage. Uncertainty should be considered as the main characteristic of emerging risk in this context. It is as such that the main objective of this paper is to develop a qualitative approach inspired by meta-learning lessons to the selection of strategies for emerging risk management, considering uncertainty as the main decision variable in occupational contexts. To this end, uncertainty has been integrated, as a combination of knowledge and understanding, in a theoretical framework on emerging risk. An emerging risk classification scheme has been developed with the results obtained. This scheme makes it possible to estimate the level of emerging risk and management strategies based on the combination of uncertainty and the potential consequences of emerging risk. Such approach has been applied to three case studies with different evolutionary degrees of emerging risk: exoskeletons; nanomaterials; and industrial automation. The proposed approach could be considered primarily as a qualitative tool applicable to the process of pre-assessment and communication of emerging risk. This work was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, with the title: “Analysis and Assessment of technological requirements for the design of a New and Emerging Risks standardized management SYStem (A2NERSYS)” with reference DPI2016-79824-R.

This cross-sectional study estimated computer vision syndrome (CVS) prevalence and analysed its relationship with video display terminal (VDT) exposure, as well as sociodemographic, refractive, environmental, and ergonomic characteristics in 109 presbyopic VDT workers wearing progressive addition lenses (PALs). Usual spectacles were measured with a lens analyser, and subjective refraction was performed by an optometrist. CVS was measured with the CVS-Q&copy, VDT exposure was collected. Ergonomic evaluations were conducted in a normal working posture looking at the screen. Air temperature and relative humidity were measured (thermohygrometer), and illumination was measured (luxmeter). Descriptive analysis and differences in CVS prevalence, as a function of the explanatory variables, were performed (chi-square test). Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with CVS (OR and 95% CI). The mean age was 54.0 &plusmn, 4.8 years, and 43.1% were women. The mean hours of VDT use at work was 6.5 &plusmn, 1.3 hours/day. The prevalence of CVS was 74.3%. CVS was significantly associated with women (OR 3.40, 95% CI, 1.12&ndash, 10.33), non-neutral neck posture (OR 3.27, 95% CI, 1.03&ndash, 10.41) and altered workplace lighting (OR 3.64, 95% CI, 1.22&ndash, 10.81). Providing training and information to workers regarding the importance of adequate lighting and ergonomic postures during VDT use is advised to decrease CVS and increase workplace quality of life.

The application of advanced automation technology in manufacturing process has increased manufacturing flexibility tremendously. The reasons to automate manufacturing processes include increased quality and efficiency demands, as well as improve the occupational safety and health. However, the fast pace of innovation and the rapid roll-out of new technologies and new products, as well as the creation of new jobs or modification of traditional jobs, requiring new skills, mean that a wider working population faces new risks. Thus, besides traditional occupational risks, automated manufacturing processes can generate others, referred to as “new and emerging risks” (NERs). These NERs may be linked either to the manufacturing process as a whole (system) or to specific components. This connection presents at least two complex problems in the field of occupational safety and health. Firstly, there is currently no technique aimed at identifying and characterizing these risks in order to explain the features that confer them the status of new and/or emerging. Secondly, it is not possible to study the complex interrelations between the features of the system NERs and its components. With the aim of resolving these problems, with the present work a technique in order to identify and characterize the NERs generated by a system and its components has been developed. This technique has been applied to a case study in the context of automated manufacturing processes. This work was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, with the title: “Analysis and Assessment of technological requirements for the design of a New and Emerging Risks standardized management SYStem (A2NERSYS)” with reference DPI2016-79824-R.

Besides traditional occupational risks (TR), industrial processes can generate other risks described by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) as “new and emerging risks” (NER). The basic definition of NER is that of “any occupational risk that is both new and increasing”, existing several studies carried out by the EU-OSHA where the set of the above mentioned risks is identified and analyzed, both general and specific. However, as demonstrated in recent studies, the direct use of this set of NER in risk assessment techniques, generally applied in industrial processes and in particular those characterized by advanced technology, may result in the identification of TR instead of NER, mainly due to the fact that they have been defined without following a risk reference model. In order to solve this problem, a risk model that improves and complements the EU-OSHA’s NER definition has been developed with the abovementioned investigations. However, this model has two limitations. First, the model does not contemplate the possibility of considering independently the new risks (NR) and increasing risks (IR). Second, this model does not allow monitoring NER evolution over time, therefore it is not currently possible to determine, in general, the temporary validity of such risks. Thus, the main objective of this work is to develop a theoretical framework for the modeling of the NER that allows its monitoring through the technology lifecycle (TLC), especially in industrial processes. To develop this framework, first it has been carried out an analysis of the limitations previously mentioned as well as the related literature. In this way, a theoretical context that allows to justify and argue properly the development of three new models for the NER, NR and IR has been set up. These named models allow, on the one hand, characterizing and differentiating the new qualities from the increasing qualities associated to risk. On the other hand, these models allow defining a set of risk typologies. These typologies have been associated with risk evolutionary phases likely to be integrated into the TLC, especially of a given industrial process, allowing monitoring over time of its NER.

Occupational exposure to vibrations, regulated by Directive 2002/44/EC, is currently on the rise. This situation makes it necessary to increase knowledge of the exposure, considering amongst other factors, its nature as an emerging risk. To do so, a methodology has been developed for application in manufacturing environments. This has been designed by combining the principles of the DMRA Technique with a theoretical framework of new and emerging risks established from recent research. This methodology grades the Emerging Risk Level (ERL) on 9 levels, from ‘not at all significant’ (ERL=1) to “fully significant” (ERL=9). This methodology has been applied to hand-arm vibrations generated by using an electric disc grinder. Thirty-two entries from the National Institute of Safety and Health at Work (INSHT) ‘Vibra’ database have been considered for this. The main findings indicate that 55% and 36% of cases give rise to ‘moderately significant’ (ERL=7) and ‘very significant’ (ERL=8) emerging risk, respectively. This work was funded by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of Spain, title: “Analysis and Assessment of technological requirements for the design of a New Emerging Risks standardized management SYStem (A2NERSYS)” with reference DPI2016-79824-R.

Objectives The objective of this study was to compare mortality rates for the main causes of death and the most frequent sites of cancer in firefighters and all other occupations. Methods Mortality was calculated from a longitudinal study conducted between 2001 and 2011 following a total of 9.5 million men aged 20–64 years old who were in employment in 2001. The age-standardized mortality rate for firefighters was calculated for cancer and other causes of death and compared with that for all other occupations using the mortality rate ratio (MRR). Results No differences were observed between firefighters and all other occupations for overall mortality [MRR = 0.99, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.91–1.07] or for mortality from cancer in general (MRR = 1.00, 95% CI: 0.89–1.12). No significant differences were observed in mortality by site of cancer, except for mortality from cancer of larynx (MRR = 1.77, 95% CI: 1.01–3.09) and hypopharynx (MRR = 2.96, 95% CI: 1.31–6.69), which presented a higher magnitude in firefighters. Neither was any significant differences observed between the two groups in mortality due to cardiovascular, respiratory, or digestive diseases or in mortality due to external causes. Conclusions Exposure to carcinogens combined with a possible failure to use respiratory protection when fighting fires may be responsible for excess mortality from laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancer in firefighters. In the future, more research is needed on the health of firefighters and strengthening preventive policies for these workers.

Tert-Butylthiol (TBT) and tetrahydrothiophene (THT) are odorant substances added to natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas to help their detection by the human smell. In this research, TBT and THT are incorporated into a holographic polymer-dispersed liquid crystal and their influence in the main holographic characteristics of the photopolymer are studied in order to open the way towards the design of a holographic sensor to detect natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas. This work was supported by ‘Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades’ (before ‘Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad’), Spain, under projects FIS2017-82919-R (MINECO/AEI/FEDER, UE) and FIS2015-66570-P (MINECO/FEDER), and by Generalitat Valenciana, Spain, under project PROMETEO II/2015/015.

A general framework of the emerging risks linked with advanced manufacturing processes and technologies is showed. For this, the systemic and occupational nature of said risks is considered. To achieve this general objective, the chapter is organized in two parts. In the first part, a theoretical basis is developed. This theoretical basis is configured by an explanation of the emerging risk concept, as well as by the development of an overview of advanced manufacturing processes and technologies. In the second part, contents and tools of practical application are exposed. To do this, the main emerging risks are shown first. Among the fields of application of these risks, some of the most important cross-cutting manufacturing technologies have been selected. One of the main risk governance frameworks is shown. Subsequently, this framework is deployed with two of its main applications on emerging risks: the management and characterization of the risk.

The accident rate in the EU-28 region of the European Union showed a value of 2 fatal accidents per 100,000 people in 2019 that mainly affect construction (24%), manufacturing (19%) and logistics (19%). To manage situations that affect occupational risk at work, a review of existing tools is first carried out taking into account three prevention, simultaneity and immediacy characteristics. As a result, a new dynamic methodology called Statistical Risk Control (SRC) based on Bayesian inference, control charts and analysis of the hidden Markov chain is presented. The objective is to detect a situation outside the limits early enough to allow corrective actions to reduce the risk before an accident occurs. A case is developed in a medium-density fiberboard (MDF) manufacturing plant, in which five inference models based on Poisson, exponential and Weibull distributions and risk parameters following gamma and normal distributions have been tested. The results show that the methodology offers all three characteristics, together with a better understanding of the evolution of the operators in the plant and the safety barriers in the scenario under study. This research was funded by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of Spain, with reference DPI2016-79824-R.

Industry 4.0 in the contemporary operating context carries important sources of complexity. This context generates both traditional risks and emerging risks that must be managed. The management of these risks includes both industrial risks and occupational risks, since they are heavily interlinked. The human factor can be considered the main link between both types of risks. Thus, understanding risks originating from human errors and organizational weaknesses as causes of accidents and other disruptions in complex systems requires elaborating sophisticated modeling approaches. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to propose an organizational and human performance approach to improve the emerging risk management linked to the complex systems, like as Human-Machine Interactions (HMI) and Human-Robot Interaction (HRI). To fulfill this objective, we first introduce the concept of emerging risk linked to human factor. Then, we introduce the concept of emerging risk management in the Industry 4.0 context. Under this complex context, we expose the concept considering the current models of risk management. Finally, we discuss how enhancing human and organizational performance can be achieved through risk management in complex systems linked to Industry 4.0. Therefore, we conclude that while Industry 4.0 brings numerous advantages, it must contend with emerging risks and challenges associated with organizational and human factors. These emerging risks include industrial risks as well as occupational risks. Moreover, the human factor aspect of Industry 4.0 is directly linked to industrial emerging and occupational emerging via context of operations. To cope with these new challenges, it is necessary to develop new approaches. One of such approaches is Complex System Governance. This approach is discussed along with the need for adequate organizational and human performance models dealing with, for example, experience from other domains such as nuclear, space, aviation, and petrochemical. This work was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, with the title “Analysis and Assessment of technological requirements for the design of a New and Emerging Risks standardized management SYStem (A2NERSYS)” with reference DPI2016-79824-R.

It is important to evaluate the risks in industrial parks and their processes due to the consequences of major accidents and especially the domino effect. Scientific works present a wide possibility of models to deal with these situations. In this work, based on the information extracted from the scientific literature, six groups of risk methodologies are defined, analyzed, and characterized with methods that cover the standards, preventive, probabilistic, traditional, modern, and dynamic evaluation that are applied or could be used in industrial parks. It also tries to achieve the objective of determining which are more appropriate if the possible situations and causes that can produce an accident are taken into account, identifying and evaluating them with characteristics of simultaneity and immediacy, determining the probability of an accident occurring with sufficient advance in time to avoid it under the use of a working operational procedure. There is no definitive methodology, and it is necessary that they complement each other, but considering the proposed objective, the integrated application of traditional methodologies together with the management of safety barriers, the dynamic evaluation of risks, and the inclusion of machine learning systems could fulfill the proposed objective. This work was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, with the title: “Analysis and Assessment of technological requirements for the design of a New and Emerging Risks standardized management SYStem (A2NERSYS)” with reference DPI2016-79824-R.

Manufacturing processes involving chemical agents are evolving at great speed. In this context, managing chemical risk is especially important towards preventing both occupational accidents and major accidents. Directive 89/391/EEC and Directive 2012/18/EU, respectively, are enforced in the European Union (EU) to this end. These directives may be further complemented by the recent ISO 45001:2018 standard regarding occupational health and safety management systems. These three management systems are closely related. However, scientific literature tackles the researching of these accidents independently. Thus, the main objective of this work is to identify and analyse the links and transitional spaces between the risk management of both types of accident. Among the results obtained, three transitional spaces can be pointed out which result from the intersection of the three systems mentioned. Similarly, the intersection of these spaces gives shape to a specific transitional space defined by the individual directives linked to Directive 89/391/EEC. These results are limited from a regulatory and technical perspective. Thus, the results are a starting point towards developing models that integrate the management systems studied. This research was funded by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of Spain, title: ‘Analysis and Assessment of technological requirements for the design of a New Emerging Risks standardized management SYStem (A2NERSYS)’ with reference DPI2016-79824-R.

IntroductionFirefighters are exposed to different occupational risks in their work, some of which are carcinogenic. However, there has no studies on investigating the mortality of this group of workers in Spain. The objective of this study is to compare the mortality rate of all cancer sites in firefighters with the rest of employed workers.MethodsMortality was calculated from a longitudinal study between 2001–2011. A total of 9.5 million men aged from 20 to 64 years with employment in 2001 were followed. For all cancer sites, the standardized mortality rate (SMR) has been calculated by age per 1 00 000 person per year and the rate ratios (RT) have been estimated for firefighters versus the rest of employed workers with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI).ResultsThe overall mortality of cancer in firefighters is not statistically different from that observed in the rest of the employed workers (RT=1.00 (95% CI 0.89–1.12)). For most cancer sites, no significant differences were observed in the mortality rates between firefighters versus the rest of employed workers, the exceptions were cancers of the hypopharynx and larynx cancer, which had a higher magnitude in firefighters, whose mortality rate ratios were 2.96 (1.31–6. 69) and 1.77 (1.01–3.09), respectively.ConclusionExposure to occupational risks factors may be responsible for excess mortality from hypopharyngeal and larynx cancer in firefighters. In the future, more research is needed on the health of firefighters and strengthening preventive policies for these workers.

This work is developed in the teaching context of the subject “Technological Aspects of Safety” (ATS) as part of the University Master's Degree in Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) of the National University of Distance Education (UNED). A classification of Industrial Safety Technologies, grouped in ATS, has been developed that links basic rules applicable to the technical guides (TG) and Technical Notes Prevention (NTP) of the National Institute of Safety and Health at Work (INSHT). The TG are essential tools for the technical interpretation of associated regulations, as their updates are generally adequate, not so for the NTP, especially considering that 54% of those analyzed predate 1997 (beginning of basic regulatory development). However, the characteristics of the classification aids the design of teaching activities, focused on the analysis and knowledge of the industrial safety technologies.

Advanced manufacturing processes (AMP) are characterized by innovative variables of a technological and organizational nature which tend to change with workplaces, processes and conventional work practices, and can generate, as well as traditional occupational risks, other so-called new and emerging risks (NER). The main innovative aspect of this paper is that such risks have been analyzed applying recent specific models in the field, with the overall aim of identifying susceptible AMP of generating NER. From the results the main apparent conclusion is that there is NER of a general nature susceptible in AMP but it is not possible, in most cases, to establish direct links with specific AMP. However, it has been possible to identify among those NER a set of technological aspects with which can be established a starting point to facilitate the identification of AMP that are potential generators of NER.