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Intellectual Property Office

Non-Confidential Disclosures

“Interactive Safety and Health Program”

PSU Inv. Disc. No 2007-S114

cycle

Keywords:

Industrial safety programs

Inventors:

Dr. Joel Haight

Links:

http://www.ipo.psu.edu
http://www.eme.psu.edu/Faculty/haight.htm

Background:

A safety and health program is considered a suite of activities implemented at a worksite for preventing or reducing incidents. These include such activities as safety training, equipment and housekeeping inspections, safety meetings, safety observations, tailgate or tailboard meetings and the like. Optimizing safety and health intervention strategies to decrease rates of injury and property damage with less costly safety programs can contribute to improved productivity and economic vitality in all activities that involve such risks. Thus, there is a need in industry for intervention effectiveness research to develop an evidence-based approach to determining the efficacy of safety intervention activities.

Invention description:

We have developed a mathematical model and related software that can optimize safety and health intervention strategies. The results of our research using this model and software show that improved safety practices and improved profitability in industry is possible when one understands the mathematical cause and effect relationship between incidents (trailing indicators) and program interventions (inspections, training, safety meetings, and the like) designed to prevent them (leading indicators). We have developed a software program which collects and analyzes user specified data regarding safety prevention activities and related incidents. The program employs a mathematical model to correlate the effectiveness of organizational activities aimed at prevention of undesirable workplace incidents which reduce overall productivity. As the model is populated with data, the program performs statistical analysis to develop relationships between intervention activities and incident rates. Based upon the outcome of the analysis, the program predicts future incident rates, and if appropriate, suggests reallocation of incident prevention activities.

Advantages:

  • Optimization of safety & health intervention strategies
  • Decrease rates of injury & property damage
  • Reduce costs of safety programs
  • Improved productivity
  • Useful in any industry where resources are committed to reduce incidents

Contact:

Bradley A. Swope
Sr. Technology Licensing Officer
Intellectual Property Office
113 Technology Center
The Pennsylvania State Univ.
University Park, PA 16802-7000
Phone: (814) 8673-5387
Fax: (814) 865-3591
E-mail: bradswope@psu.edu