Academic literature on the topic 'The Five Steps Principle of SA'

Quantitative systems pharmacology (QSP) models are rarely applied prospectively for decision-making in clinical practice. We therefore aimed to operationalize a QSP model for potas-sium homeostasis to predict potassium trajectories based on spironolactone administrations. For this purpose, we proposed a general workflow that was applied to electronic health records (EHR) from patients treated in a German tertiary care hospital. The workflow steps included model exploration, local and global sensitivity analyses (SA), identifiability analysis (IA) of model parameters, and specification of their inter-individual variability (IIV). Patient covariates, selected parameters, and IIV then defined prior information for the Bayesian a posteriori prediction of individual potassium trajectories of the following day. Following these steps, the successfully operationalized QSP model was interactively explored via a Shiny app. SA and IA yielded five influential and estimable parameters (extracellular fluid volume, hyperaldosteronism, mineral corticoid receptor abundance, potassium intake, sodium intake) for Bayesian prediction. The operationalized model was validated in nine pilot patients and showed satisfactory performance based on the (absolute) average fold error. This provides proof-of-principle for a Prescribing Monitoring of potassium concentrations in a hospital system, which could suggest preemptive clinical measures and therefore potentially avoid dangerous hyperkalemia or hypokalemia.

Abstract. Most computer vision and photogrammetry applications rely on accurately estimating the camera pose, such as visual navigation, motion tracking, stereo photogrammetry, and structure from motion. The Essential matrix is a well-known model in computer vision that provides information about the relative orientation between two images, including the rotation and translation, for calibrated cameras with a known camera matrix. To estimate the Essential matrix, the camera calibration matrices, which include focal length and principal point location must be known, and the estimation process typically requires at least five matching points and the use of robust algorithms, such as RANSAC to fit a model to the data as a robust estimator. From the usually large number of matched points, choosing five points, the Essential matrix can be determined based on a simple solution, which could be good or bad. Obtaining a globally optimal and accurate camera pose estimation, however, requires additional steps, such as using evolutionary algorithms (EA) or swarm algorithms (SA), to prevent getting trapped in local optima by searching for solutions within a potentially huge solution space.This paper aims to introduce an improved method for estimating the Essential matrix using swarm particle algorithms that are known to efficiently solve complex problems. Various optimization techniques, including EAs and SAs, such as Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Gray Wolf Optimization (GWO), Improved Gray Wolf Optimization (IGWO), Genetic Algorithm (GA), Salp Swarm Algorithm (SSA) and Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA), are explored to obtain the global minimum of the reprojection error for the five-point Essential matrix estimation based on using symmetric geometric error cost function. The experimental results on a dataset with known camera orientation demonstrate that the IGWO method has achieved the best score compared to other techniques and significantly speeds up the camera pose estimation for larger number of point pairs in contrast to traditional methods that use the collinearity equations in an iterative adjustment.

Background: Student peformance assessment during problem-based learning (PBL) discussion is still debatable. One of the assessments that applies adult learning principle is self-assessment (SA). In fact, many medical schools prefer to use tutor assessment than SA because it is considered less accurate. Many studies have reported that the accuracy of SA is poor because of their own lack of knowledge and SA skills. This literature review aims to explore deeper in SA and its basic principles in designing SA instrument for PBL discussion in medical school.Method: This study was conducted using narrative review method. Ten articles were reviewed. Five articles were chosen from google search engine and the other five from medical education textbooks.Results: SA is the ability of a student to observe, analyze and assess his own performance based on the criteria and he determines a way to fix it. SA skills that have been practiced during PBL discussions will equip the students to become future health professionals who are competent in determining their own continuous professional development (CPD) programs. When designing a SA instrument, one needs to explore these five main issues, including acceptance, accuracy, power, feasibility and context.Conclusion: SA is the most effective assessment to assess a student’s achievement in PBL discussion if implemented properly. The completion of SA should be made in the normal context and one must explore the five main issues constantly so that SA can be done properly and well.

Used fixed equal step cubic spline interpolation in non-circular machining, the influence of acceleration may be too strong to cause burns and vibration. To suppress the acceleration influence of feed axis, take cam grinding as an illustration, first derived acceleration and its change from the cubic spline function, then adopting the method of off-line fuzzy model logical reasoning combined with five points of three power smooth, obtained the modified variable interpolation time steps. The experiment results that the feed axis acceleration stability used fuzzy step cubic spline interpolations is much better than equal step spline in cam grinding under the same processing efficiency.

This paper focuses on the implementation of robot-assisted stroke rehabilitation using electromyography (EMG) as the interface between the robot and subjects. The key issue in implementing EMG for this application is the conversion process of EMG signal into torque/force, which is used as a input to the control system. This paper presents a methodology of EMG signal conversion into estimated joint torque by using simulated annealing (SA) technique. Basic principle of SA, formulation, and implementation to the problem are discussed in this paper. Experimental studies with real life EMG data have been carried out for five subjects. These studies are used to evaluate the feasibility of the methodology proposed for robot-assisted stroke rehabilitation problem. Experimental investigations and results are discussed at the end of the paper.

Step counts and oxygen consumption have yet to be reported during the 2-min walk test (2MWT) test in persons with lower-limb amputations (LLA). The purpose of this study was to determine step counts and oxygen consumption during the 2MWT in LLA. Thirty-five men and women walked for two minutes as quickly as possible while wearing activity monitors (ActiGraph Link on the wrist (LW) and ankle (LA), Garmin vivofit®3 on the wrist (VW) and ankle (VA), and a modus StepWatch on the ankle (SA), and a portable oxygen analyzer. The StepWatch on the ankle (SA) and the vivofit3 on the wrist (VW) had the least error and best accuracy of the activity monitors studied. While there were no significant differences in distance walked, oxygen consumption (VO2) or heart rate (HR) between sexes or level of amputation (p > 0.05), females took significantly more steps than males (p = 0.034), and those with unilateral transfemoral amputations took significantly fewer steps than those with unilateral transtibial amputations (p = 0.023). The VW and SA provided the most accurate step counts among the activity monitors and were not significantly different than hand counts. Oxygen consumption for all participants during the 2MWT was 8.9 ± 2.9 mL/kg/min, which is lower than moderate-intensity activity. While some may argue that steady-state activity has not yet been reached in the 2MWT, it may also be possible participants are not walking as fast as they can, thereby misclassifying their performance to a lower standard.

The purpose of this design is to master the basic steps, calculation methods, and equipment selection methods of the thermal power system of the thermal power plant, and to familiarize with the composition, connection, and operation characteristics of the thermal power system through the preliminary design of 600MW thermal power plant thermal power plant. This paper is divided into five parts, selecting the principle thermal system formulation, calculating the principle thermal system, the selection of unit auxiliary equipment, steam pipeline calculation, and selection after and after successful calibration. The preliminary design of the thermal system is completed by drawing the comprehensive thermal system diagram and the local system diagram using the above calculation data.

The anti-lock braking system (ABS) is an essential part in ensuring safe driving in vehicles. The Security of onboard safety systems is very important. In order to monitor the functions of ABS and avoid any malfunction, a model-based methodology with respect to structural analysis is employed in this paper to achieve an efficient fault detection and identification (FDI) system design. The analysis involves five essential steps of SA applied to ABS, which includes critical faults analysis, fault modelling, fault detectability analysis and fault isolability analysis, Minimal Structural Over-determined (MSO) sets selection, and MSO-based residual design. In terms of the four faults in the ABS, they are evaluated to be detectable through performing a structural representation and making the Dulmage-Mendelsohn decomposition with respect to the fault modelling, and then they are proved to be isolable based on the fault isolability matrix via SA. After that, four corresponding residuals are generated directly by a series of suggested equation combinations resulting from four MSO sets. The results generated by numerical simulations show that the proposed FDI system can detect and isolate all the injected faults, which is consistent with the theoretical analysis by SA, and also eventually validated by experimental testing on the vehicle (EcoCAR2) ABS.

One of education problems in Indonesia according to Dr. Anies Baswedan, the former Minister of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia, was: “How to help Indonesian students to be independent learners and have good characters?” This question then raises an issue: “What kinds of knowledge, skills, and attitudes are needed by our students to survive in the 21st Century and beyond?” Earlier the author stated (Shadiq, 2016a) that to change and improve the quality of the teaching and learning process from a ‘typical’ or ‘traditional’ mathematics classroom to a more innovative one was not easy. Afurther issue was: “How to change real teaching practice?” Mathematics teachers need to experience ways that they will be expected to implement in their teaching. Isoda (2011) proposed a Problem Solving Approach (PSA) which consists of four steps: (1) problem posing, (2) independent solving, (3) comparison and discussion, and (4) summary and integration. In Indonesia, we can learn from Scientific Approach (SA) which covers five steps: (1) observing, (2) questioning, (3) collecting data or experimenting, (4) reasoning, and (5) communicating. In addition, Lowrie and Patahuddin (2015) proposed Experiences, Language, Pictures, Symbols, Application (ELPSA) as a lesson design framework for mathematics teaching and learning process. A problem is examined based on these three frameworks where at least 11 alternatives can be identified to solve it. The paper ends with some recommendations on how to improve Indonesian mathematics teaching.

The purpose of this study is to produce a transformative learning model in parenting education programs organized by early childhood education institutions in changing the terms of reference for children's education to be even better and in synergy with those carried out by educational institutions. This research includes development model research. The results of this study are a transformative learning model in a parenting education program that uses five components, namely (1) syntax; (2) Social System; (3) Reaction Principle; (4) Support System and (5) Instructional Impact and Accompaniment. The steps of Transformative Learning used in the parenting education process consist of 4 steps of field activities, namely: (1) problem development steps; (2) critical reflection development steps; (3) location of determination and implementation of action; and (4) assistance steps taken by educators of early childhood education institutions to early childhood parents in the form of consultations, group discussion activities, and face-to-face activities (class sessions). The success of transformative learning in this parenting education program is that there is a change in the frame of reference of the parents of early childhood which comes from themselves, and the function of educators in this transformative learning process is as a facilitator and counselor in helping towards the change process.

This chapter discusses the state- and prediction-based theory (SPT) and its use in individual-based models (IBMs). The fundamental concept of modern theory in behavioral ecology is that behavior acts to maximize a specific measure of fitness at a specific future time, and that this fitness measure incorporates multiple elements, such as the need to avoid predators, the need to avoid starvation, and the benefits of energy accumulation for reproduction. This concept has been applied widely and successfully in dynamic state variable modeling (DSVM), and SPT was developed as a way of using the same principle in IBMs when feedback from the behavior of other individuals, combined with unpredictable environmental conditions, make the assumption of optimality used by DSVM impossible. The chapter then looks at the differences between SPT and DSVM. To model populations of adaptive individuals, SPT is implemented using five steps. These steps include embedding SPT in an IBM that simulates the processes that drive behavior, both internal to the individual and external.

Abstract This chapter explains that, in law, the process of analogical reasoning appears to work in five simple steps. (1) Some fact pattern A—the ‘source’ case—has certain characteristics; call them X, Y, and Z. (2) Fact pattern B—the ‘target’ case—has characteristics X, Y, and Q, or characteristics X, Y, Z, and Q. (3) A is treated a certain way in law. (4) Some principle or rule, announced, created, or discovered in the process of thinking through A, B, and their interrelations, explains why A is treated the way that it is. (5) Because of what it shares in common with A, B should be treated the same way. It is covered by the same principle. It should be clear that the crucial step, and the most difficult, is (4). Often analogical reasoning works through the use of incompletely theorized agreements, making (4) tractable. Some of the disputes about analogical reasoning reflect contests between Burkean and Benthamite conceptions of law.

This chapter assesses the mechanism and regulation of chromosome segregation in mitosis and meiosis of eukaryotes, as well as in bacteria. In all cases, chromosomes attach to a segregation apparatus, which separates the chromosomes to form two identical copies of the genome. The one overarching principle of chromosome segregation is that it must be accurate—cells must receive one, and only one, copy of each chromosome. Deviation from this rule will have dire consequences—an abnormal number of chromosomes can lead to severe cellular dysfunction or even cell death. Mitosis includes five main steps: prophase, prometaphase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase. It concludes at cytokinesis, when the parent cell divides. Chromosomes are segregated by the spindle apparatus, a bipolar structure made of microtubules. Meanwhile, meiosis is the chromosome segregation process that generates gametes.

This chapter focuses on the uptake of liberal universalism by indigenous thinkers in the settler societies of Canada, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand. It focuses on five thinkers—Peter Jones (Canada), Charles Eastman and Zitkala-Sa (U.S.), Apirana Ngata (New Zealand) and William Cooper (Australia)—who accepted the Christian faith and belief in the perfectability of human beings of their settler overlords. Here, we see the ideas of the colonizers taken up with little revision. Where there was little chance that the colonizers might go away, these figures took up the ideas of the colonisers and sought to show that they held implications for social life much different than the practices currently in existence. They took the principle of human perfectability seriously, by saying that it applied truly universally—to all human societies, their own and the colonizers’ alike. ‘What was important about liberal universalism’, Rowse concludes, ‘was that every branch of humanity, including those that colonized, must be measured against a civilized standard.’

The fundamental legal framework affecting adults who might be at risk as a result of online behaviours lies within the Mental Capacity Act 2005, the Care Act 2014 and statutory guidance which set out responsibilities for professionals working together. With a focus on the second principle of the five set out in the MCA that ‘a person is not to be treated as unable to make a decision unless all practicable steps to help him do so have been taken without success’, we question the notion of person-centred emancipatory practice in maximising and assessing mental capacity and the role of ethical decision making in professional practice in relation to online spaces for vulnerable adults. Using the Cobb J ruling in Re A and Re B and relevant Court of Protection rulings in the UK and the wider UK legal system, we also explore the right to online participation by vulnerable adults drawing upon the UNCRPD and the ECHR, making it clear that participation is a right for all.

Developments in leave policy in Israel during the decade 2007-2017 followed what could best be described as an uncertain route. On the one hand, after five decades of stalemate, in this decade leave was extended several times in several ways. First, paid Maternity Leave increased from 12 to 14 weeks, followed by an extension of unpaid leave, the introduction of Paternity Leave, and finally – following a social struggle – the further extension of paid leave to 15 weeks, with the promise of further extensions. However, these incremental changes were minimal, even in the eyes of their initiators. Among policymakers and activists alike, the consensus was that leave for parents was too short to answer families' needs, and that the changes had to be seen as small steps toward a larger goal – which remained unachieved. This situation, the chapter argues, can be understood as a tension between the combined effects of Israeli familialism and international developments in leave policy, on the one hand; and the extreme neoliberalisation of the Israeli welfare state and its adherence to the 'austerity of welfare' principle, on the other.

Abstract Creep testing is an ongoing need, particularly with the development of new candidate alloy systems for advanced energy systems. The conventional creep test (CT) is regarded as a proven method to gather creep data however, the test is impractical due to being real-time: lasting up to 105 hours to characterize the service of long-lived turbomachinery components. Accelerated methods to gather the long-term creep properties of materials are needed to reduce the time to qualification of new materials. The time-temperature-stress-superposition principle (TTSSP) and the derivative time-temperature superposition principle (TTSP), time-stress superposition principle (TSSP), stepped isothermal method (SIM), and stepped isostress method (SSM) are accelerated creep tests (ACT) commonly used to predict the long-term creep behaviors of polymers and composites. The TTSP and TSSP tests require multiple specimen tested at various temperatures/stresses whereas the SIM and SSM tests employ a single specimen where temperature/stress are periodically step increased until rupture. The stepped creep deformation curve can then be time and strain shifted to produce a master creep curve. While these ACTs are useful tools to predict long-term creep, the drawback is the lack of mathematical laws to determine the virtual start time and time shift factors, especially for different materials. In this paper, a new self-calibration approach is developed and compared to existing SSM data for Kevlar 49. This new approach focuses on matching the creep strain rates between stress steps and fitting the data to a master curve using a modified theta projection model. This is performed using a MATLAB code consisting of five subroutines. The first subroutine takes the stress, time, and creep strain from SSM/SIM tests, and segregates the data intro arrays corresponding to each stress level. The second subroutine finds the constants for the modified theta projection model for each stress level. The third subroutine performs a time shift adjustment using creep strain rate matching. The fourth subroutine calculates the accelerated time of rupture. The last subroutine generates accelerated creep versus time plots. Kevlar 49 SSM data is gathered from literature and run through the MATLAB code. The master curves generated from the MATLAB are compared to the conventional creep curve of Kevlar 49 as well as the master curve gathered from literature in order to validate the feasibility of this new approach. The goal of this project is to vet if the self-calibration approach can produce results similar to the reference calibration approach.

Attention to safety and health are of ever-increasing priority to industrial organizations. Good Safety is demanded by stockholders, employees, and the community while increasing injury costs provide additional motivation for safety and health excellence. Safety has always been a strong corporate value of DuPont and a vital part of its culture. As a result, DuPont has become a benchmark in safety and health performance. Since 1990, DuPont has re-engineered itself to meet global competition and address future vision. In the new re-engineered organizational structures, DuPont has also had to re-engineer its safety management systems. A special Discovery Team was chartered by DuPont senior management to determine the “best practices’ for safety and health being used in DuPont best-performing sites. A summary of the findings is presented, and five of the practices are discussed. Excellence in safety and health management is more important today than ever. Public awareness, federal and state regulations, and enlightened management have resulted in a widespread conviction that all employees have the right to work in an environment that will not adversely affect their safety and health. In DuPont, we believe that excellence in safety and health is necessary to achieve global competitiveness, maintain employee loyalty, and be an accepted member of the communities in which we make, handle, use, and transport products. Safety can also be the “catalyst” to achieving excellence in other important business parameters. The organizational and communication skills developed by management, individuals, and teams in safety can be directly applied to other company initiatives. As we look into the 21st Century, we must also recognize that new organizational structures (flatter with empowered teams) will require new safety management techniques and systems in order to maintain continuous improvement in safety performance. Injury costs, which have risen dramatically in the past twenty years, provide another incentive for safety and health excellence. Shown in the Figure 1, injury costs have increased even after correcting for inflation. Many companies have found these costs to be an “invisible drain” on earnings and profitability. In some organizations, significant initiatives have been launched to better manage the workers’ compensation systems. We have found that the ultimate solution is to prevent injuries and incidents before they occur. A globally-respected company, DuPont is regarded as a well-managed, extremely ethical firm that is the benchmark in industrial safety performance. Like many other companies, DuPont has re-engineered itself and downsized its operations since 1985. Through these changes, we have maintained dedication to our principles and developed new techniques to manage in these organizational environments. As a diversified company, our operations involve chemical process facilities, production line operations, field activities, and sales and distribution of materials. Our customer base is almost entirely industrial and yet we still maintain a high level of consumer awareness and positive perception. The DuPont concern for safety dates back to the early 1800s and the first days of the company. In 1802 E.I. DuPont, a Frenchman, began manufacturing quality grade explosives to fill America’s growing need to build roads, clear fields, increase mining output, and protect its recently won independence. Because explosives production is such a hazardous industry, DuPont recognized and accepted the need for an effective safety effort. The building walls of the first powder mill near Wilmington, Delaware, were built three stones thick on three sides. The back remained open to the Brandywine River to direct any explosive forces away from other buildings and employees. To set the safety example, DuPont also built his home and the homes of his managers next to the powder yard. An effective safety program was a necessity. It represented the first defense against instant corporate liquidation. Safety needs more than a well-designed plant, however. In 1811, work rules were posted in the mill to guide employee work habits. Though not nearly as sophisticated as the safety standards of today, they did introduce an important basic concept — that safety must be a line management responsibility. Later, DuPont introduced an employee health program and hired a company doctor. An early step taken in 1912 was the keeping of safety statistics, approximately 60 years before the federal requirement to do so. We had a visible measure of our safety performance and were determined that we were going to improve it. When the nation entered World War I, the DuPont Company supplied 40 percent of the explosives used by the Allied Forces, more than 1.5 billion pounds. To accomplish this task, over 30,000 new employees were hired and trained to build and operate many plants. Among these facilities was the largest smokeless powder plant the world had ever seen. The new plant was producing granulated powder in a record 116 days after ground breaking. The trends on the safety performance chart reflect the problems that a large new work force can pose until the employees fully accept the company’s safety philosophy. The first arrow reflects the World War I scale-up, and the second arrow represents rapid diversification into new businesses during the 1920s. These instances of significant deterioration in safety performance reinforced DuPont’s commitment to reduce the unsafe acts that were causing 96 percent of our injuries. Only 4 percent of injuries result from unsafe conditions or equipment — the remainder result from the unsafe acts of people. This is an important concept if we are to focus our attention on reducing injuries and incidents within the work environment. World War II brought on a similar set of demands. The story was similar to World War I but the numbers were even more astonishing: one billion dollars in capital expenditures, 54 new plants, 75,000 additional employees, and 4.5 billion pounds of explosives produced — 20 percent of the volume used by the Allied Forces. Yet, the performance during the war years showed no significant deviation from the pre-war years. In 1941, the DuPont Company was 10 times safer than all industry and 9 times safer than the Chemical Industry. Management and the line organization were finally working as they should to control the real causes of injuries. Today, DuPont is about 50 times safer than US industrial safety performance averages. Comparing performance to other industries, it is interesting to note that seemingly “hazard-free” industries seem to have extraordinarily high injury rates. This is because, as DuPont has found out, performance is a function of injury prevention and safety management systems, not hazard exposure. Our success in safety results from a sound safety management philosophy. Each of the 125 DuPont facilities is responsible for its own safety program, progress, and performance. However, management at each of these facilities approaches safety from the same fundamental and sound philosophy. This philosophy can be expressed in eleven straightforward principles. The first principle is that all injuries can be prevented. That statement may seem a bit optimistic. In fact, we believe that this is a realistic goal and not just a theoretical objective. Our safety performance proves that the objective is achievable. We have plants with over 2,000 employees that have operated for over 10 years without a lost time injury. As injuries and incidents are investigated, we can always identify actions that could have prevented that incident. If we manage safety in a proactive — rather than reactive — manner, we will eliminate injuries by reducing the acts and conditions that cause them. The second principle is that management, which includes all levels through first-line supervisors, is responsible and accountable for preventing injuries. Only when senior management exerts sustained and consistent leadership in establishing safety goals, demanding accountability for safety performance and providing the necessary resources, can a safety program be effective in an industrial environment. The third principle states that, while recognizing management responsibility, it takes the combined energy of the entire organization to reach sustained, continuous improvement in safety and health performance. Creating an environment in which employees feel ownership for the safety effort and make significant contributions is an essential task for management, and one that needs deliberate and ongoing attention. The fourth principle is a corollary to the first principle that all injuries are preventable. It holds that all operating exposures that may result in injuries or illnesses can be controlled. No matter what the exposure, an effective safeguard can be provided. It is preferable, of course, to eliminate sources of danger, but when this is not reasonable or practical, supervision must specify measures such as special training, safety devices, and protective clothing. Our fifth safety principle states that safety is a condition of employment. Conscientious assumption of safety responsibility is required from all employees from their first day on the job. Each employee must be convinced that he or she has a responsibility for working safely. The sixth safety principle: Employees must be trained to work safely. We have found that an awareness for safety does not come naturally and that people have to be trained to work safely. With effective training programs to teach, motivate, and sustain safety knowledge, all injuries and illnesses can be eliminated. Our seventh principle holds that management must audit performance on the workplace to assess safety program success. Comprehensive inspections of both facilities and programs not only confirm their effectiveness in achieving the desired performance, but also detect specific problems and help to identify weaknesses in the safety effort. The Company’s eighth principle states that all deficiencies must be corrected promptly. Without prompt action, risk of injuries will increase and, even more important, the credibility of management’s safety efforts will suffer. Our ninth principle is a statement that off-the-job safety is an important part of the overall safety effort. We do not expect nor want employees to “turn safety on” as they come to work and “turn it off” when they go home. The company safety culture truly becomes of the individual employee’s way of thinking. The tenth principle recognizes that it’s good business to prevent injuries. Injuries cost money. However, hidden or indirect costs usually exceed the direct cost. Our last principle is the most important. Safety must be integrated as core business and personal value. There are two reasons for this. First, we’ve learned from almost 200 years of experience that 96 percent of safety incidents are directly caused by the action of people, not by faulty equipment or inadequate safety standards. But conversely, it is our people who provide the solutions to our safety problems. They are the one essential ingredient in the recipe for a safe workplace. Intelligent, trained, and motivated employees are any company’s greatest resource. Our success in safety depends upon the men and women in our plants following procedures, participating actively in training, and identifying and alerting each other and management to potential hazards. By demonstrating a real concern for each employee, management helps establish a mutual respect, and the foundation is laid for a solid safety program. This, of course, is also the foundation for good employee relations. An important lesson learned in DuPont is that the majority of injuries are caused by unsafe acts and at-risk behaviors rather than unsafe equipment or conditions. In fact, in several DuPont studies it was estimated that 96 percent of injuries are caused by unsafe acts. This was particularly revealing when considering safety audits — if audits were only focused on conditions, at best we could only prevent four percent of our injuries. By establishing management systems for safety auditing that focus on people, including audit training, techniques, and plans, all incidents are preventable. Of course, employee contribution and involvement in auditing leads to sustainability through stakeholdership in the system. Management safety audits help to make manage the “behavioral balance.” Every job and task performed at a site can do be done at-risk or safely. The essence of a good safety system ensures that safe behavior is the accepted norm amongst employees, and that it is the expected and respected way of doing things. Shifting employees norms contributes mightily to changing culture. The management safety audit provides a way to quantify these norms. DuPont safety performance has continued to improve since we began keeping records in 1911 until about 1990. In the 1990–1994 time frame, performance deteriorated as shown in the chart that follows: This increase in injuries caused great concern to senior DuPont management as well as employees. It occurred while the corporation was undergoing changes in organization. In order to sustain our technological, competitive, and business leadership positions, DuPont began re-engineering itself beginning in about 1990. New streamlined organizational structures and collaborative work processes eliminated many positions and levels of management and supervision. The total employment of the company was reduced about 25 percent during these four years. In our traditional hierarchical organization structures, every level of supervision and management knew exactly what they were expected to do with safety, and all had important roles. As many of these levels were eliminated, new systems needed to be identified for these new organizations. In early 1995, Edgar S. Woolard, DuPont Chairman, chartered a Corporate Discovery Team to look for processes that will put DuPont on a consistent path toward a goal of zero injuries and occupational illnesses. The cross-functional team used a mode of “discovery through learning” from as many DuPont employees and sites around the world. The Discovery Team fostered the rapid sharing and leveraging of “best practices” and innovative approaches being pursued at DuPont’s plants, field sites, laboratories, and office locations. In short, the team examined the company’s current state, described the future state, identified barriers between the two, and recommended key ways to overcome these barriers. After reporting back to executive management in April, 1995, the Discovery Team was realigned to help organizations implement their recommendations. The Discovery Team reconfirmed key values in DuPont — in short, that all injuries, incidents, and occupational illnesses are preventable and that safety is a source of competitive advantage. As such, the steps taken to improve safety performance also improve overall competitiveness. Senior management made this belief clear: “We will strengthen our business by making safety excellence an integral part of all business activities.” One of the key findings of the Discovery Team was the identification of the best practices used within the company, which are listed below: ▪ Felt Leadership – Management Commitment ▪ Business Integration ▪ Responsibility and Accountability ▪ Individual/Team Involvement and Influence ▪ Contractor Safety ▪ Metrics and Measurements ▪ Communications ▪ Rewards and Recognition ▪ Caring Interdependent Culture; Team-Based Work Process and Systems ▪ Performance Standards and Operating Discipline ▪ Training/Capability ▪ Technology ▪ Safety and Health Resources ▪ Management and Team Audits ▪ Deviation Investigation ▪ Risk Management and Emergency Response ▪ Process Safety ▪ Off-the-Job Safety and Health Education Attention to each of these best practices is essential to achieve sustained improvements in safety and health. The Discovery Implementation in conjunction with DuPont Safety and Environmental Management Services has developed a Safety Self-Assessment around these systems. In this presentation, we will discuss a few of these practices and learn what they mean. Paper published with permission.