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Introduction: Industrial firefighting (IFF) constitutes a high-risk occupation within the domain of process industries. Firefighting teams serve as the operational component of the incident command team. This study aims to assess the alignment of physical fitness assessments conducted in selected Iranian process industrial firefighting settings and to scrutinize the extent of compliance with The U.S. National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) requirements by analyzing the resultant percentages of similarity in test outcomes. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was undertaken across 14 Iranian process companies, encompassing two refinery companies and 12 petrochemical companies, employing a census sampling approach. The study’s benchmark was NFPA1582-2018. Data analysis was performed utilizing SPSS 27 software. This investigation focused on assessing the percentage of essential parallels within five distinct groups, along with their corresponding sub-components, in alignment with the tests and elements stipulated in the NFPA standard. Results: Most of the selected companies (58%) lacked a cohesive program or established standard to assess the fitness of their firefighting personnel. Among the subset of companies (42%) that did employ an evaluation standard, in the majority of instances, a minimal proportion (less than 20%) underwent individualized assessments in line with the components outlined in NFPA 1582-2018 for physical fitness evaluation tests. Conclusion: Given that 58% of the surveyed process companies in this study lacked a cohesive fitness assessment program and 42% demonstrated limited compliance with NFPA 1582-2018 in the assessed components, this issue underscores the critical need to evaluate the components quality and conduct a technical needs assessment. Developing adaptable and suitable components aligned with the work conditions prevalent in the process industry becomes imperative. Additionally, there must be existed a legal mandate for the pertinent ministry to implement an integrated framework. This scenario necessitates that process companies reevaluate their approaches concerning the selection and oversight of their firefighting personnel.

This study aimed to propose a novel method for dynamic risk assessment using a Bayesian network (BN) based on fuzzy data to decrease uncertainty compared to traditional methods by integrating Interval Type-2 Fuzzy Sets (IT2FS) and Z-numbers. A bow-tie diagram was constructed by employing the System Hazard Identification, Prediction, and Prevention (SHIPP) approach, the Top Event Fault Tree, and the Barriers Failure Fault Tree. The experts then provided their opinions and confidence levels on the prior probabilities of the basic events, which were then quantified utilizing the IT2FS and combined using the Z-number to reduce the uncertainty of the prior probability. The posterior probability of the critical basic events (CBEs) was obtained using the beta distribution based on recorded data on their requirements and failure rates over five years. This information was then fed into the BN. Updating the BN allowed calculating the posterior probability of barrier failure and consequences. Spherical tanks were used as a case study to demonstrate and confirm the significant benefits of the methodology. The results indicated that the overall posterior probability of Consequences after the failure probability of barriers displayed an upward trend over the 5-year period. This rise in IT2FS-Z calculation outcomes exhibited a shallower slope compared to the IT2FS mode, attributed to the impact of experts' confidence levels in the IT2FS-Z mode. These differences became more evident by considering the 10-4 variance compared to the 10-5. This study offers industry managers a more comprehensive and reliable understanding of achieving the most effective accident prevention performance.

Background and Objective: Emergency evacuation planning is one of the most central protective measures in emergency situations. Determination of the emergency muster points is one of the principal requirements of emergency evacuation planning. In this regard, this study aimed to represent a framework for determining emergency muster points in process industries. Materials and Methods: After examining various texts, the effective criteria for determining emergency muster points were identified, and the relative weight of each criterion was calculated using the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) method. Finally, the fuzzy technique for order preference by the similarity of an ideal solution (FTOPSIS) method was utilized to prioritize and determine optimal emergency muster points. Results: According to the calculations by the FAHP method, from the total 12 criteria surveyed in this study, the first eight criteria from any factors with the highest weight were introduced as the most significant factors. The criteria of external factors affected relative weights, dis-tances from the hazard centers, prevailing wind conditions, nature of probable scenarios, and the presence of vulnerable groups. On the other hand, the criteria of internal factors included the potential impact of the accident, easy accessibility, visibility, and monitoring, as well as travel time. Conclusion: Identification and evaluation of emergency muster points shall be made based on distances from the hazard centers, prevailing wind conditions, nature of probable scenarios, presence of vulnerable groups, the potential impact of the accident, easy accessibility, visibility, and monitoring, as well as travel time.

Background and Objective: Standard operating procedures (SOPs) are always considered a guide for performing tasks in industries. The present study aimed to identify the effective factors in increasing the usability of safety SOPs. Materials and Methods: In this observational-analytical study, guidelines, books, and studies in the SOPs were used to identify factors that improve their usability. These factors were assigned to four main groups. A Delphi study was conducted to investigate and ensure the effectiveness of these factors. Data analysis, including validity and reliability, was performed in SPSS software (version 22). Results: In this study, which aimed to design and develop a tool for increasing the usability of SOP, 22 factors were identified and categorized into four main groups. After the Delphi study, the content validity ratio (CVR) for the designed instrument was 0.83, the content validity index (CVI) was calculated at 0.955, and Cronbach's alpha coefficient was obtained at 0.819. Conclusion: In this study, 22 factors in four main groups were identified to be effective in increasing the usability of safety SOPs. Their effectiveness was evaluated and proven. According to this study, all procedures in the industry should be developed in a specific framework, their applicability should be examined in a specific period of time, and if necessary, they should be reviewed and amended.

Introduction: One of the essential and critical elements for efficient and effective management of emergencies is anticipation and identification of possible types of emergencies. As such, a framework for anticipating and identifying emergencies was designed and tested in two process industries in the form of a case study. Material and Methods: At first, methods for identifying emergency preparedness and their evaluation criteria were extracted and prioritized with a two-stage fuzzy approach. A fuzzy inference system was then used to calculate the weight of the experts’ opinions. To prioritize the methods, the inputs related to the second fuzzy system were estimated and the final score of the methods was calculated by entering the mentioned variables into the fuzzy system. Results: The findings pertaining to the final ranking of the methods indicated that, “list of catastrophic accidents and near-misses of the organization’s lifespan”, “MIMAH” and “risk assessment and management” had the highest scores among the identified methods with the final scores of 0.754, 0.750 and 0.725, respectively. Conclusion: Using this approach will help in more accurate identification of potential emergencies. Consequently, this will lead to the prevention of imposed damages caused by the situation as well as making the wrong investments by eliminating low-priority emergencies.

In recent decades, numerous catastrophic accidents have occurred worldwide, ranging from natural events (such as tsunamis, flooding, and earthquakes) to industrial events (such as mining and chemical process disasters). They endanger humans, the environment, organizations, and societies, as well as national security. However, there have been few attempts to propose a model for assessing the required capabilities and potential challenges in crisis management system maturity (CMSM). Accordingly, this study proposes a framework for measuring CMSM levels in complex systems. To this end, a CMSM taxonomy was developed, including aspects, dimensions, and factors influencing the CMSM. Fuzzy inference sets and fuzzy analytical hierarchy processes are then used for knowledge acquisition, quantification of the CMSM, and dealing with epistemic uncertainty. An actual complex petrochemical plant is investigated to evaluate its capabilities. The findings revealed the most significant contributing factors: the CMSM’s current capability and challenges level (score), as well as the capacity to overcome the potential crisis response challenges. Moreover, the proposed model can be used as a practical approach for various chemical-processing plants.

Introduction: Oxygen-generating central plays a vital role in the continuous performance of hospitals. Any leakage or failure in this section can not only endanger the health and safety of patients but also cause fire and explosion. Probabilistic risk assessment is a useful tool for identifying the main root causes of leakage in oxygen-generating central. This study aimed at risk assessment of an oxygen-generating central in a hospital in Hamadan using fuzzy sets theory and Bayesian networks. Material and Methods: First, all root causes supposed to contribute to oxygen leakage from any part of the oxygen-generating central were identified, and based on them a fault tree analysis (FTA) was constructed. Then, the FTA was mapped in a BN. The failure probability of root causes was calculated using fuzzy sets theory and experts’ opinions. Belief updating based on BN was utilized for subsequent analyses. Results: According to this study, ignorance of labels on the oxygen generation and distribution system is the most important root cause leading to oxygen leakage. Moreover, removing masks from patient’s faces is the main cause of oxygen leakage in patient rooms. Once leakage occurred, the presence of an ignition source can lead to fire or explosion. Conclusion: oxygen leakage can create considerable risks in hospitals. All staff should be provided with sufficient training regarding hazards of oxygen-generating and distributing systems and oxygen leakage. Particular attention should be paid to such leakages and their adverse consequence in emergency planning and hospital crisis management.

Introduction: Emergencies are unforeseen and unpredictable situations. In these situations, people’s performance is affected by various factors that cause stress. People’s performance in such situations can also affect human error probability. The purpose of this study was to evaluate human error in emergency situations based on the fuzzy CREAM and Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP). Material and Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was performed in a petrochemical industry in Markazi province in 2019. The FAHP was used to prioritize emergency situations. To evaluate human error in these conditions, the weights of Common Performance Conditions (CPC) was determined using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. Human error probability was calculated using a fuzzy CREAM method in the most important emergency situations. Results: The results of the FAHP showed that “Hydrogen leak from the cylinder joints in the olefin unit” was the most important emergency. The highest relative weight was related to crew collaboration quality (0.06) in the emergency situation. Conclusion: This method can also be used to identify the important factors in human error occurrence and high weighted CPCs and plan to control them.

Introduction: In process industries, some of the primary events may result in secondary events in an industrial unit called the domino effect. Since refinery storage tanks are always at risk of fire and explosion, quantitative risk assessment is important in determining the severity and outcome of an accident, taking into account the effects of dominoes on the main industry, neighbors, and society and can play an important role in risk management. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to quantitatively evaluate the risk of condensate storage tanks taking into account the domino effect. Material and Methods: The technique used in this study was Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA), the analysis of the consequences of which was performed using PHAST (7.22) after setting goals, studying the process, identifying hazards and scenarios. Then, to determine the extent of the domino effects of the escalation vectors were matched against the threshold, and after screening, the overall vulnerability of the repositories for mapping individual risk levels was calculated. Results: In the leakage scenario, after considering the domino effects, the risk contour 10-4 to about 250 meters and the risk contour 10-5 to about 400 meters increased. Also in the catastrophic rupture scenario, the radius of risk contour of the 10-5 increased to100 m after considering the domino effects up to around damage tank. Conclusion: As can be deduced from the results, using this method can give a clear picture of the consequences of chain events and the probability of damage to nearby employees, equipment and neighbors, which is very important in risk, emergency and crisis management.

Background: The most important demand of people in disasters is health and the provision of coordinated, integrated, continuous, and accessible health services. Effective disaster management depends on anticipating and identifying disaster problems and considering the necessary facilities. The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety status and functional, structural, and non-structural preparedness of health centers in disasters. Materials and Method: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in 49 health centers of Hamadan in 2021. To collect data, standard interviews, observation, and checklist methods were used based on disaster risk assessment guidelines in the health care network system. These checklists examine the safety status of health centers in three areas of functional preparedness, structural safety, and non-structural safety. The average functional preparedness, structural and non-structural, is considered a safety score, and health centers are in one of the levels of "low" safety (0-50), "moderate" safety (50-70), and "optimal" safety (70-100). Results: According to the results in the health centers of Hamadan city, the level of functional preparedness is 56.23%, the level of non-structural safety, structural safety, and total safety are 63.96, 89.39, and 75.13%, respectively. Conclusion: According to the findings of this study, the level of non-structural and structural safety of health centers in Hamadan was at an acceptable level that can be improved, however, the level of functional preparedness was assessed at a moderate level. This could be due to a lack of coherent organization, disaster risk management, adequate budget, and knowledge.

Background: The most important demand of people in disasters is health and the provision of coordinated, integrated, continuous, and accessible health services. Effective disaster management depends on anticipating and identifying disaster problems and considering the necessary facilities. The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety status and functional, structural, and non-structural preparedness of health centers in disasters. Materials and Method: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in 49 health centers of Hamadan in 2021. To collect data, standard interviews, observation, and checklist methods were used based on disaster risk assessment guidelines in the health care network system. These checklists examine the safety status of health centers in three areas of functional preparedness, structural safety, and non-structural safety. The average functional preparedness, structural and non-structural, is considered a safety score, and health centers are in one of the levels of "low" safety (0-50), "moderate" safety (50-70), and "optimal" safety (70-100). Results: According to the results in the health centers of Hamadan city, the level of functional preparedness is 56.23%, the level of non-structural safety, structural safety, and total safety are 63.96, 89.39, and 75.13%, respectively. Conclusion: According to the findings of this study, the level of non-structural and structural safety of health centers in Hamadan was at an acceptable level that can be improved, however, the level of functional preparedness was assessed at a moderate level. This could be due to a lack of coherent organization, disaster risk management, adequate budget, and knowledge.

Background and Objective: Central oxygen is one of the vital parts of hospitals responsible for supplying oxygen. Therefore, any defect in this system can result in human and financial losses. Therefore, effective risk analysis is of utmost importance in the prevention and mitigation of such potential accidents. In the light of aforementioned issues, the current study aimed to analyze the scenarios of accidents in the oxygen central unit of the hospital using Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) and Layer Of Protection Analysis (LOPA) methods. Materials and Methods: In the first step, probable errors in oxygen leakage were identified and then FTA was plotted. Dangerous scenarios in central oxygen were identified and the risks were analyzed using the semi-quantitative LOPA method. Finally, control measures were proposed to reduce oxygen leakage. and semi-quantitative LOPA method was used for risk analysis. Finally, control measures to reduce oxygen leakage were predicted Results: As evidenced by the obtained results, the most important accident scenarios include oxygen release, explosion, and fire. Independent protection layers are suitable for oxygen storage and production tanks, and the use of Independent Protection Layers (IPL) can significantly reduce the risk. The most important cause of leakage in the patient's room was due to the mask being removed from the respiratory area or the lack of fit with the patient's face. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that the independent protective layers in central oxygen are sufficient to prevent oxygen leakage. It is also necessary to use a sensor to determine the concentration of oxygen in the patient's room and a special alarm to increase the concentration of oxygen in order to reduce the risk of oxygen leakage in the environment. Furthermore, periodic training to all employees and maneuvers should be implemented in the crisis management measures in hospitals.

Background and Objective: Population growth and development of cities has several consequences, including an increase in residential fires. Residential fire is one of the most important scenarios requiring quick response which encompasses various and serious threatening risks for responding to team members. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the critical tasks of fire operation response to structural fire scenarios using Task and Training Requirements Analysis Methodology. Materials and Methods: The present study was conducted on 10 fire stations in Hamadan, Iran. Among various operational scenarios, the residential fire scenario was selected for further analysis using expert opinions. The selected scenario was analyzed in detail by Hierarchical Task Analysis. The final selected task was assessed regarding skill decay, practice effectiveness, task sensitivity, and teamwork level. Results: Out of 126 tasks for residential fire scenarios, 54 tasks encompass the most skill decay potential and 71 tasks include the highest level of team supporting activities. Considering the sensitivity and teamwork level, 9 tasks had the highest levels of vulnerabilities. Securing the incident scene in coordination with other organizations showed the highest level of vulnerability. Conclusion: Due to the variety of scenarios and tasks of firefighter teams, some duties possess higher levels of skill decay potential. Therefore, it is necessary to identify, analyze, and manage those activities through a systematic approach.

Abstract Background and aims: Managing the emergency situation is a big challenge for the process industries. Training has a substantial role the quality and success of the emergency response. Disasters regularly have devastating effects on the worldchr('39')s populations. The potential of high human casualties, heavy financial burden, environmental damage, and negative impacts on corporate reputation, highlights the importance of proper emergency management. Investigation of major industrial accidents demonstrates that organization’s unpreparedness for emergency conditions can noticeably increase consequences of an accident. Emergency management means establishing, training, and practicing plans and programs that reduce the vulnerability of the organizations to critical conditions, and help organizations to overcome these conditions more effectively with minimal costs and losses. Effective emergency management requires proper planning to increase the software and hardware readiness of the organization for critical situations. Planning processes, theoretical and practical training (maneuvers) are of key importance in software preparation. Each of the three processes of planning, training, and practicing (maneuvering) has a decisive role in the success or failure of an emergency response. In the planning phase, the most likely event scenarios should be identified, their consequences evaluated and accordingly, guidelines and procedures should be developed to deal with emergencies. In the later phases, these programs are trained and strive to enhance the preparedness of individuals and operation units for dealing with emergencies by holding maneuvers. It should be noted that practicing maneuvers are also a form of training that attempt to convey and understand concepts more effectively by simulating real emergencies. The review of past events indicates that the lack of proper educational system or ineffective training is one of the major reasons for people’s inability to respond appropriately to emergencies. For example, analysis of the explosion incident at the Texaco refinery in 1994 showed that inadequate training of staff to prepare for emergencies was one of the main causes of the accident. Lack of proper and adequate knowledge of the accident and consequently failure of the response team to act in the accident can aggravate the accident and result in life and financial losses. The quality of an organization’s response to emergencies highly depends on the quality and quantity of pre-programmed and implemented training. If emergency response training programs are presented properly, responding personnel will be able to collaborate effectively and will be ensured of response team’s health. Research shows that courses tailored to individual’s responsibilities have a major impact on promoting their preparedness for confronting emergencies. Also understanding and ability to implement a skill is highly dependent on pre-provided training. The roles and responsibilities of different levels of staffs, in emergencies, vary from each other and partly have a distinct nature. Therefore, people at different levels of an organization need different training at emergency management. The issue of crisis management training and how to deal with relevant emergencies is of particular importance in the processed industries and especially in the petrochemical industry that dealt with toxic substances. One of the standards that systematically addresses the essential training required by emergency response teams is the HAZWOPER standard. Given the above, it should be further emphasized the key importance of systematic training in the emergency readiness phase. Despite the importance of this issue, few research studies have been conducted to determine the educational needs of emergency response groups. In this study, it is attempted to identify the operational criticality of each scenario by identifying and analyzing emergency scenarios and extracted its training needs and compared it to the HAZWOPER standard. This study aims at determining the training needs of the emergency response team using task criticality analysis and comparing the determined requirements to the HAZWOPER standard. Methods: the present study was conducted in Bouali Sina Petrochemical co. in 2018 as a cross sectional research. This study aimed to determine the training needs of the emergency response team using Swezey Task Criticality Analysis. First, a team of eight experts from the company’s safety and crisis management was formed and four final scenarios were selected by examining the list of pre-identified emergency scenarios. The criteria for selecting these scenarios were considered as probability of emergence, probable consequences, and the level of readiness of the organization to deal with these scenarios. Selected scenarios also attempted to cover a wide range of different kinds of possible events. Then, for each of the final scenarios selected, the tasks of the response team members were identified using the Hierarchical Task Analysis (HTA) technique. HTA is introduced by Kirwan as the most powerful task analysis technique that is one of the applications of this technique to determine the training needs needed to perform a task. After performing the HTA, criticality analysis was performed for the scenario response tasks. According to the Swezey Criticality Analysis method, tasks are divided into three levels of low, medium and high criticality. Tasks with low criticality level are tasks in which the occurrence of errors or improper performance has a negligible negative effect on successful mission accomplishment. Tasks with medium criticality level are tasks in which the occurrence of errors or improper performance has moderate consequences and may jeopardize the successful execution of the mission. Tasks with High criticality level are tasks that any errors or improper performance to perform will certainly lead to the failure of the entire mission. After training the Criticality Analysis method, the information of the hierarchical analysis of the Emergency Response Tasks graphically was provided to 77 personnel of the Emergency Response Team. The study group was selected based on the census method and from all the emergency response personnel team in three shifts. The group was asked to determine the criticality of the analyzed tasks at three levels of low, medium, and high through using Swezey criticality analysis method. After collecting the opinions of the study group and averaging the given scores, the criticality status of each task was analyzed. Then, according to the results, the sub-tasks were identified with high criticality level. After this stage, the most critical tasks were classified. In other words, the number of critical tasks for each emergency post was determined. Next, the list of high-critical tasks along with the job titles for those tasks were made available to previous experts and specialist and they were asked to list the essential training needs to perform each critical task safely and effectively. By gathering and summarizing the comments, a list of training needs of the critical task respondents was compiled. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect and record expert’s opinions. The identified training needs were compared with the HAZWOPER training requirements to determine the degree of overlap. To this end, the responders with critical duties were classified into five levels according to the HAZWOPER standard. The HAZWOPER standard defines essential training for the five levels of emergency responders, including the Incident Commander (IC), Hazardous Materials Specialist, Hazardous Materials Technician, First Responder Operations Level, and First Responder Awareness Level. Finally, the proposed training needs of each responder level were compared with their corresponding responder level in the HAZWOPER standard. Results: The four final emergency scenarios selected by experts were: atmospheric tank rim seal fire, synthesized reactor fire, H2S compressor leak, and hydrogen compressor fire. Forty-four tasks were identified as critical tasks involving twelve responders. Responders with critical duties were classified into five levels according to the HAZWOPER standard: Incident Commander, Hazardous Materials Specialist (Safety Expert), Hazardous Materials Technician (Firefighter and Fire Officer), First Responder Operations Level (head of shift operations, operation shift supervisor, and head of feed preparation units) and First Responder Awareness Level (senior security officer, security patrol, and ambulance driver). Investigating educational needs in different phases of crisis management showed that about 24% of suggested training needs by the expert team were related to the planning phase, 76% were associated to the operational phase and there were no suggested training need for recovery phase. These measures were 25, 56.25 and 18.75 percent for HAZWOPER, accordingly. Results revealed that approximately 72% of HAZWOPER requirements were covered in the suggested courses titles. Also, 52% of recommended trainings were complementary to the HAZWOPER requirements. Also, about 28% of the HAZWOPER requirements in the proposed training needs of this study were not recommended. The most educational requirement in the present study belonged to emergency group of hazardous materials technician, and in the HAWOPER standard, the group of hazardous materials specialist. Also, the lowest training requirements in both groups were related to the first responder awareness level. Conclusion: Conclusion: the results of this study show that the determination of the educational needs of emergency response teams, based on the criticality level of their tasks and considering the levels of their responders and their specialized fields, can be very useful for effective performance and enhancing the capabilities of emergency response teams.

Background and Objective: Population growth and development of cities has several consequences, including an increase in residential fires. Residential fire is one of the most important scenarios requiring quick response which encompasses various and serious threatening risks for responding to team members. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the critical tasks of fire operation response to structural fire scenarios using Task and Training Requirements Analysis Methodology. Materials and Methods: The present study was conducted on 10 fire stations in Hamadan, Iran. Among various operational scenarios, the residential fire scenario was selected for further analysis using expert opinions. The selected scenario was analyzed in detail by Hierarchical Task Analysis. The final selected task was assessed regarding skill decay, practice effectiveness, task sensitivity, and teamwork level. Results: Out of 126 tasks for residential fire scenarios, 54 tasks encompass the most skill decay potential and 71 tasks include the highest level of team supporting activities. Considering the sensitivity and teamwork level, 9 tasks had the highest levels of vulnerabilities. Securing the incident scene in coordination with other organizations showed the highest level of vulnerability. Conclusion: Due to the variety of scenarios and tasks of firefighter teams, some duties possess higher levels of skill decay potential. Therefore, it is necessary to identify, analyze, and manage those activities through a systematic approach.

Background: Petrochemical industry has experienced a variety of accidents and the number of emergency situation in this industry is high. Therefore, prioritizing these situations is important. The aim of this study was to determine the effective criteria for the selection of emergency scenario and prioritize them for corrective actions. Subjects and Methods: Delphi technique was used to determine and prioritize the appropriate criteria for the selection of high-risk emergency scenarios. Then, the weights of selected criteria were obtained using fuzzy hierarchical analysis and finally, using the fuzzy TOPSIS technique, the criteria for emergency scenarios were prioritized for corrective actions. Results: The most important criteria for the selection of dangerous emergencies included the amount of loss, damage, and probability. According to the weight of these criteria, emergency situations were prioritized. The most important emergencies included fire in the chemical storage, hydrogen leakage at the cylinder fitting in the Alfin unit, and extreme gas leakage in one of the power plant turbines. Conclusions: Using this approach, high-priority emergencies can be identified, and it is suggested that planning for controlling these situations and preventing crises should be prioritized by managers.

Response time management is one of the most critical issues for firefighting organizations in the process industries. Thus, in emergency response success, it is of particular importance to apply an appropriate method to identify, prioritize, and manage factors influencing response time. The current study aimed to determine factors affecting firefighters' response time in Iranian process industries. Therefore, firstly a Hierarchical Task Analysis (HTA) was performed for firefighting emergency response-related activities. Then, time influencing factors for each task were determined. Finally, we chose the importance of each influencing factor and its priority based on the Fuzzy Chang approach. The results showed that factors, including the proper location of the firefighting truck, wearing and adjusting the breathing apparatus (BA) strap, and crowded at the scene had a significant impact on the response time to fire alarms. The related weights were equal to 0.049, 0.0485, and 0.0481, respectively. On the contrary, the wrong size of protective ensembles, BA weight, and height of car chassis factors were not significant in the response time. Their weight was equal to 0.0003, 0.002, and 0.0073, respectively. The results showed that the Fuzzy Hierarchical Task Analysis Approach (FHTA) could be used to identify and prioritize the factors influencing firefighting response time.

Introduction: Firefighting is a stressful job with great degree of physical and psychological demands. The effort-reward imbalance and fatigue need for recovery in this occupational group can lead to the serious consequences. The present study tries to assess the influences of the personal variables on the effort-reward imbalance and fatigue need for recovery. Methods: In this cross sectional study, 107 industrial firefighter were recruited in 2018. The effort-reward imbalance and fatigue need for recovery questionnaire were used to collect the required information. The data analyzed by multiple linear regression with SPSS 16 and statistical significance level was less than 0.05. Results: More than 70 percent of the population study reported a desirable level of effort-reward imbalance and fatigue need for recovery status. The results of regression analysis revealed a meaningful relation among personal variables and contractual status with need for recovery index. In addition, a meaningful relation was found between the type of contractual status, sleep disorders and hypnotic drug with over-commitment. However, there was no meaningful relation for effort-reward imbalance. Conclusion: The results showed a relative desirable status for effort-reward imbalance and need for recovery in the study group. It is recommended to intervene in working condition to obtaining more precise results.

Background: Fire service workers often implement multiple duties in the emergency conditions, with such duties being mostly conducted in various ambient temperatures. Methods: The aim of the current study was to assess the firefighters' physiological responses, information processing, and working memory prior to and following simulated firefighting activities in three different hot environments. Seventeen healthy male firefighters performed simulated firefighting tasks in three separate conditions, namely (1) low heat (LH; 29â31°C, 55â60% relative humidity), (2) moderate heat (MH; 32â34°C, 55â60% relative humidity), and (3) severe heat (SH; 35â37°C, 55â60% relative humidity). It took about 45â50 minutes for each firefighter to finish all defined firefighting activities and the paced auditory serial addition test (PASAT). Results: At the end of all the three experimental conditions, heart rate (HR) and tympanic temperature (TT) increased, while PASAT scores as a measure of information processing performance decreased relative to baseline. HR and TT were significantly higher at the end of the experiment in the SH (159.41±4.25 beats/min; 38.22±0.10°C) compared with the MH (156.59±3.77 beats/min; 38.20±0.10°C) and LH (154.24±4.67 beats/min; 38.17±0.10°C) conditions (p0.05). Nonetheless, there was a measurable difference in PASAT scores between LH and SH (p

The construction industry is notorious for having an unacceptable rate of fatal accidents. Unsafe behavior has been recognized as the main cause of most accidents occurring at workplaces, particularly construction sites. Having a predictive model of safety behavior can be helpful in preventing construction accidents. The aim of the present study was to build a predictive model of unsafe behavior using the Artificial Neural Network approach. A brief literature review was conducted on factors affecting safe behavior at workplaces and nine factors were selected to be included in the study. Data were gathered using a validated questionnaire from several construction sites. Multilayer perceptron approach was utilized for constructing the desired neural network. Several models with various architectures were tested to find the best one. Sensitivity analysis was conducted to find the most influential factors. The model with one hidden layer containing fourteen hidden neurons demonstrated the best performance (Sum of Squared Errors=6.73). The error rate of the model was approximately 21 percent. The results of sensitivity analysis showed that safety attitude, safety knowledge, supportive environment, and management commitment had the highest effects on safety behavior, while the effects from resource allocation and perceived work pressure were identified to be lower than those of others. The complex nature of human behavior at workplaces and the presence of many influential factors make it difficult to achieve a model with perfect performance.

Background and aims: Use of a comprehensive and standard-based scenario is of pivotal importance in conducting emergency exercises. Despite the importance of such scenarios, there is no approved, universal pattern used by Iranian industries for designing them. This study firstly aimed at providing a pattern for developing emergency scenarios. Secondly, a set of scenarios which currently are used by major Iranian industries were selected and the confirmatory of them with the proposed pattern were investigated. Methods: At first the content of ISO 22398 and HSEEP standards were studied thoroughly and, by integrating these two, a new pattern was constructed, next, its validity and reliability were determined. Finally, 61 scenarios used by process industries in Iran were collected and the conformity of them with the new pattern was surveyed. Results: The extracted pattern contained five main sections and 41 subsections. The conformity of examined scenarios with the proposed pattern showed that only subsections such scenario preparation and scenario implementation were considered in all of the scenarios. Conclusion: The findings of this study emphasize the necessity of using a universal pattern for developing emergency exercise scenarios. Training of this pattern to individuals who involved in developing emergency scenarios would improve the quality of scenarios used by industries and make them stronger against real emergencies.

Background: emergencies can impose huge dolls on the organizations. Such consequences, due to aggregation of the experts, could lead to the more catastrophic outcomes in the academic environments. Usually, the academic environments are less familiar with the management of the emergencies. The present paper tries to measure the preparedness level against the emergencies in the Hamadan University of Medical Sciences. Method: a basic checklist was developed based on the ISO 22399:2003. The, an audit team was established and conducted the audit process. Five core element that were investigated included: planning, organizational structure, resources, communication and scenario analysis. These items were scored 0-3 according to the sampling audit evidences. Results: the overall status of all elements were assessed as the "unacceptable". The least score belonged to the scenario analysis and the most was related to the resources. Discussion: regarding the obtained results, it seems that there is a vital need to establishing an emergency management system for Hamadan University of Medical Sciences. The most practical offer is following the accepted standards for implementing an emergency management system.

Background: Firefighters often perform multiple emergency tasks during firefighting and life-saving operations under unknown and unpredictable conditions in hot and hostile environments. Therefore, this study examined the effect of cooling strategies on attenuating physiological and cognitive function response during simulated firefighting activities in a smoke-diving room. Methods: Each firefighter engaged in four conditions: namely (1) no cooling device; control (NC), (2) cooling gel containing menthol (CG), (3) cool vest (CV), and (4) cooling gel and cool vest (CG+CV). Cooling effects were evaluated by heart rate (HR), temporal temperature (TT), reaction time (RT), and the correct response (CR). Results: In the four experimental conditions, physiological response increased, reaction time improved, and correct response decreased after the activity relative to baseline. HR and TT were significantly lower at the end of the firefighting activity in the CG+CV (147.47 ± 4.8_bpm; 37.88 ± 0.20_○C) and CV (147.53 ± 4.67_bpm; 37.90 ± 0.22_○C) compared with the CG (153.67 ± 4.82_bpm; 38.10 ± 0.22_○C) and NC (154.4 ± 4.91_bpm; 38.11 ± 0.23_○C) conditions. RT and CR were significantly higher at the end of the activity in the CG+CV and CV compared with the CG and NC conditions. Conclusion: It is concluded that strenuous firefighting tasks have a detrimental effect on firefighters’ physiological responses and cognitive function. The findings also revealed that CV was more effective than the CG in attenuating physiological responses and cognitive function during firefighting operations. Furthermore, combining CV with CG provides no additional benefit. It is concluded that cooling the body by the use of CV offered physiological and psychological benefit for firefighters during simulated firefighting activities.

Objectives: This paper aims at providing a general picture of the occupational injuries within the construction industry. Contributing factors have been discussed by conducting a cross section study. Methods: Hospital registries were examined and occupational injuries data mining was done. Injuries were classified in terms of time of occurrence, age and sex of victims, the seasonal pattern of injuries, literacy condition, type of employment, type of accidents, location where accidents occurred, affected body part, causes of accident and final outcomes Results: It was founded a fivefold increased frequency of injuries during the 3 year study period (from 12% to 57%). The main portion of cases (73.6 %) was treated without any further consequence. 1.7% of all injuries resulted in death and about 0.3% of cases terminated to permanent disabilities. Some diverse factors such as age, literacy status, seasonal variations, etc. can influence occurrence patterns of injuries. Most of the injuries occurred in the contractor’s working fields. Conclusion: Many factors can influence the construction injuries. To understand better about the construction injuries it is recommended to analyze the associated variables. Such analysis is an important input for accident prevention activities or even decision making.

Introduction: LPG storage tanks contain of large volumes of flammable and pressurized gases. Release of these fluids can lead to disastrous accidents such BLEVE, fiery explosion. Therefore, identifying the causes, consequences, probabilities and scenarios of accidents using Bowtie technique, that is combination of Fault Tree Analyses (FTA) and Event Tree Analyses (ETA), is imperative and the purpose of this study. Methods: The hazards of the mentioned in Tehran Refinery LPG tanks were identified by Fault Tree Analyses and the consequences of the top event were predicted by Event Tree Analyses. Then probabilities of the events were calculated and the accident route, from causes phase to consequences phase, was drawn by Bowtie diagram. Results: In total, 21 events and 11 minimal cut sets with their occurrence probabilities and importance measure were determined at the left side of the Bowtie diagram. Also 9 consequences and scenarios of the top event were determined at the right side of the diagram. The occurrence probability of the top event (LPG release of spherical tanks) was calculated 3.45×10-2. Conclusion: All factors involved in the occurrence of accidents and their consequences are showed in the Bowtie diagram. According to the obtained data, failure of cathodic protection systems and instrumentation, and overflow of tanks are included as important defects of the LPG tanks. Due to the high probability of the consequences, preventing systems such as cooling systems and Fire stop systems are required for installing in the studied unit to reduce the consequences of accidents.

Due to the high potential consequences of pipeline accidents, it is necessary to manage the inherited risks in the pipeline sectors. Several techniques are available to identify hazardous situations; however, it is crucial that the selected tool is tailored to the scope of work. HAZOP study is one of the most accepted techniques adopted by experts to identify hazards. Despite the wide application of HAZOP in process industries, this method is not suitable for pipelines. In this study, a new extension of HAZOP (P-HAZOP) was introduced through integrating the classic HAZOP and Kent’s method. This research focused on detecting a new sort of deviation from the design intent in pipelines. A previously conducted HAZOP study for a pipeline network was re-conducted using P-HAZOP. A large number of newly detected deviations demonstrated more coverage of the P-HAZOP for the pipeline scope. Finally, it is recommended to improve the traditional HAZOP for pipeline applications.

OBJECTIVES Throughout the world, mines are dangerous workplaces with high accident rates. According to the Statistical Center of Iran, the number of occupational accidents in Iranian mines has increased in recent years. This study investigated and analyzed the human and organizational deficiencies that influenced Iranian mining accidents. METHODS In this study, the data associated with 305 mining accidents were analyzed using a systems analysis approach to identify critical deficiencies in organizational influences, unsafe supervision, preconditions for unsafe acts, and workers’ unsafe acts. Partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was utilized to model the interactions among these deficiencies. RESULTS Organizational deficiencies had a direct positive effect on workers’ violations (path coefficient, 0.16) and workers’ errors (path coefficient, 0.23). The effect of unsafe supervision on workers’ violations and workers’ errors was also significant, with path coefficients of 0.14 and 0.20, respectively. Likewise, preconditions for unsafe acts had a significant effect on both workers’ violations (path coefficient, 0.16) and workers’ errors (path coefficient, 0.21). Moreover, organizational deficiencies had an indirect positive effect on workers’ unsafe acts, mediated by unsafe supervision and preconditions for unsafe acts. Among the variables examined in the current study, organizational influences had the strongest impact on workers’ unsafe acts. CONCLUSIONS Organizational deficiencies were found to be the main cause of accidents in the mining sector, as they affected all other aspects of system safety. In order to prevent occupational accidents, organizational deficiencies should be modified first.

Background & Objectives : The sound planning is needed for effective implementation of an emergency exercise. The exercise planning is manifested in the scenario development process. Despite the frequent execution of exercises in the industries and the public domain, there is no uniform pattern for designing scenarios. The present paper aims at devising a new pattern based on the project management body of knowledge ( PMBOK) approach. Methods: Ten principles of the PMBOK and their substructures were analyzed. The application processes were extracted in two parts the structural and executive parts. Then, these processes were translated into the its equivalent norms in the emerging scenario development process. Finally, a pattern was proposed for preparing an emergency scenario. Result: The proposed method was developed in a ten step process. Step by step implementation of these processes can help one to make an acceptable scenario. In comparison with the two most common international patterns for developing a scenario, the present method has some unique characteristics. Quality, Time, Cost and Interested Parties management are the mentioned properties. In general, the present method has some components that represent more details for users.. Conclusions : Using the project management body of knowledge approach one can develop a standard frame for developing an emergency scenario.

The successful implementation of the preventive interventions and corrective actions are considerably dependent on the existence of a sound system for incidents record keeping and analyzing. This study evaluated the adequacy of injury and illness report forms and resolved the found limitations to improve the safety management systems in general. A structural surfing method was employed to search the intended information. All obtained information forms of the foreign countries that conveyed less information than to the base form were excluded from the study. Accordingly, five forms remained in the research path. Overall structure of all forms was compared to three sections. In aforementioned forms, 12% of total information belonged to the workplace and employer information section, 55% and 33% was in the incident information and injured worker information sections, respectively. Iran's Social Security Form (ISSF) has 60% of all listed entries for workplace and employer information section. About 40% of all other information entries for this section are missed. This form contained 60% of the workplace information section, 28% for accident information and 54% for injured person information. Accident condition section for ISSF is nearly complete. ISSF lacks some necessary information in the recording of outcomes of accident and medical treatment information. Finally, we suggested a revised form presented based on the strengths and weaknesses of all forms. This form proposed to will be used in a pilot study in fields for reporting occupational accidents and then be legally present for implementation.

Background and aims: One of the most applicable methods in the accident investigation process is utilizing the previously occurred accidents. Usually these data are collected in the databases. The customary databases have some limitations like inability to understand the relations among data. In the current study, it has been considered to provide a sound resource for accident investigation, besides the collecting the domain knowledge. Methods: Through analyzing the occurred accidents, their associated knowledge was obtained. After that the gathered data were transferred into the protégé framework software. The ontology approach was employed to create the interested knowledge base. Results: The proposed knowledge base makes it possible to explore and determine the related factors to the process accidents. Also this knowledge base facilitates the semantic search among the main concepts related to the occurred accident. Conclusion: Utilizing knowledge bases could facilitate and enhance the analyzing process and identifying the related root causes. Also this application would provide a possibility for redesign and implementing the interventions.

Introduction: A systematic approach is needed for effective coping an incident. In such a system, the preparedness is the top priority. The organization’s readiness depends on some factors, including regular exercises. To conduct a proper exercise it is necessary to have a comprehensive scenario. Despite of repetitive execution of exercises, there is no commonly accepted template for it. The present study aims at selecting preferred method for developing an emergency exercise. Methods: In the present study, ISO 22398 and HSEEP as the two common patterns were compared through quantifying their usability and chosen by AHP. A panel of crisis experts scored the usability criteria of methods and selected the preferred method. Results: The assessment of usability of both patterns revealed the preference of ISO pattern in comparison with the HSEEP pattern. The HSEEP method had the better score in learnability and satisfaction, but, the effectiveness, efficiency and total score were higher for ISO 22398. Conclusion: To develop an emergency scenario, it is necessary to follow a suitable pattern. The pattern presented by ISO 22398 is more usable in comparison with HSEEP paten.

Introduction: using fossil fuels, some hazards such as explosion and fire are probable. This study was aimed to consequence modeling of fire on Methane storage tanks in a gas refinery using analyzing the risk, and modeling and evaluating the related consequences. Method: Hazard analysis by PHA was used to choosing the worst-case scenario. Then, causes of the scenario were determined by FTA. After that, consequence modeling by the PHAST software was applied for the consequence analysis. Results: Based on some criteria, the fire of methane gas tank (V-100) was selected as the worst-case scenario at the refinery. The qualitative fault tree showed three factors including mechanical, process, and human failures contribute in gas leakage. The leakage size and weather conditions were effective on the distance of radiation. Using consequence modeling, thermal radiation was considered as the major outcome of the incident. Finally, for outcome evaluating, probit equations were used to quantify losses and the percentage of fatalities due to the methane gas leakage and fire occurrence. The maximum number of fatalities caused by fire was obtained 23 persons. Conclusions: In conclusion, the methane gas vessel in the refinery can be considered as the main center of hazard, therefore the implementation of the safety rules, eliminating mechanical failures, personal protection and education, and Effective measures to prevent and fighting of fire are proposed for decreasing the probable losses and fatalities.