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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Detection of Control Injection Attacks using Energy Data Anomalies in CNC Machining

The widespread adoption of networked devices, sophisticated automation, and data-driven processes in the industry - also known as Industry 4.0 - has boosted the quantity and quality of manufacturing products. With these benefits, however, comes a substantial increase in the attack surface of these systems. In addition to affecting the readiness and the quality of critical products, the attacks against manufacturing processes and systems carry the potential to have severe physical consequences, including human injury and death. In this paper we present the results of a remote network-based control injection attack on a CNC mill. Specifically, we focus on the impact of this type of the attack on the movement of CNC mill during operation. Evaluating the physical effect of these attacks on a workpiece, we provide machine agnostic, affordable, and scalable solution for their monitoring. We then demonstrate a simple threshold-based method for the detection of these attacks and evaluate the effectiveness of detection.

Taylor, Curtis↗
DOE OSTI2022

Significance of application timing, formulation, and cytochrome P450 genotypic class on sweet corn response to dicamba

Sweet corn (Zea mays L.) tolerance to dicamba and several other herbicides is due to cytochrome P450 (CYP)-mediated metabolism and is conferred by a single gene (Nsf1). Tolerance varies by CYP genotypic class, with hybrids homozygous for functional CYP (Nsf1Nsf1) being the most tolerant and hybrids homozygous for mutant CYP alleles (nsf1nsf1) being the least tolerant. The herbicide safener cyprosulfamide (CSA) increases tolerance to dicamba by stimulating the expression of several CYPs. However, the extent to which CSA improves the tolerance of different sweet corn CYP genotypic classes to dicamba is poorly understood. Additionally, the effect of growth stage on sweet corn sensitivity to dicamba is inadequately described. The objective of this work was to quantify the significance of application timing, formulation, and CYP genotypic class on sweet corn response to dicamba. Hybrids representing each of the three CYP genotypes (Nsf1Nsf1, Nsf1nsf1, nsf1nsf1), were treated with dicamba or dicamba + CSA at one of three growth stages: V3, V6, or V9. Across all timings, the nsf1nsf1 hybrid was the least tolerant to dicamba, displaying 16% higher crop injury levels 2 wk after treatment and 2,130 kg ha -1 lower ear mass yields compared with the Nsf1Nsf1 hybrid. The V9 growth stage was the most susceptible time for dicamba injury regardless of genotypic class, with 1.89 and 1,750 kg ha -1 lower ear mass yields compared with the V3 and V6 application timings, respectively. The addition of CSA to dicamba V9 applications reduced the injury from dicamba for all three genotypic classes; however, it did not eliminate the injury. The use of Nsf1Nsf1 or Nsf1nsf1 sweet corn hybrids along with herbicide safeners will reduce the frequency and severity of injury from dicamba and other CYP-metabolized herbicides.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Post-Combat-Injury Opioid Prescription and Alcohol Use Disorder in the Military

Previous studies have identified combat exposure and combat traumatic experience as problematic drinking risk factors. Increasing evidence suggests that opioid use increases the risk of alcohol use disorder. This study investigated the association between opioid prescription use after injury and (1) alcohol use disorder and (2) severity of alcohol use disorder among deployed military servicemembers. Deidentified health records data of 9,029 deployed servicemembers from a retrospective cohort study were analyzed. Data were randomly selected from the Department of Defense Trauma Registry and included servicemembers with combat injuries during deployment in Iraq or Afghanistan (2002–2016). Pharmacy records and International Classification of Diseases, Ninth and Tenth Revision diagnosis codes were used. Three groups were identified (no opioid prescription use, nonpersistent opioid prescription use, and persistent opioid prescription use) and were compared on the basis of alcohol use disorder risk using Cox proportional hazard models. Data analyses were performed in 2021. Of the 9,029 servicemembers with combat injury, 2,262 developed alcohol use disorder (1,322 developed severe alcohol use disorder). Compared with no opioid prescription use, increased alcohol use disorder risk was associated with persistent opioid prescription use, with a hazard ratio of 1.13 (95% CI=1.02, 1.26). After covariate adjustment, increased risk remained statistically significant (hazards ratio=1.24; 95% CI=1.10, 1.39). There was no significant difference in alcohol use disorder risk between no opioid prescription use and nonpersistent opioid prescription use. The risk of severe alcohol use disorder did not vary by opioid use among servicemembers with alcohol use disorder diagnosis. Furthermore, the findings of the study suggest that the incidence of alcohol use disorder was higher among injured servicemembers with persistent opioid prescription use than among those without opioid use. If replicated in prospective studies, the findings highlight the need for clinicians to consider the current and history of alcohol use of patients in initiating treatment involving opioids.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

PDGF-BB-mediated activation of CREB in vascular smooth muscle cells alters cell cycling via Rb, FoxO1 and p27kip1

The vascular response to injury leads to the secretion of several factors, including platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF-BB). PDGF-BB stimulates smooth muscle cell (SMC) conversion to the synthetic phenotype, thereby enhancing proliferation and migration, and contributing to neointimal hyperplasia. Likewise, the cAMP response element binding protein (CREB) transcription factor has been shown to mediate SMC proliferation in response to various mitogens. We therefore investigated the contribution of CREB to PDGF-BB-dependent proliferation of SMCs with the intention of identifying signaling pathways involved both up and downstream of CREB activation.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Distances to Prompt Effects for a Nuclear Device

In 2010, nuclear weapon effects experts at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) were asked to provide a quick reference document containing estimated prompt nuclear effects. This report is an update to the 2010 document that includes updated model assumptions. This report addresses only the prompt effects associated with a nuclear detonation (e.g., blast, thermal fluence, and prompt ionizing radiation). The potential medium- and longer-term health effects associated with nuclear fallout are not considered in this report because, in part, of the impracticality of making generic estimates given the high dependency of fallout predictions on the local meteorological conditions at the time of the event. The results included in this report also do not consider the urban environment (e.g., shielding by or collapse of structures) which may affect the extent of prompt effects. It is important to note that any operational recommendations made using the estimates in this report are limited by the generic assumptions considered in the analysis and should not replace analyses made for a specific scenario/device. Furthermore, nuclear effects experts (John Hogan, SNL, and Byron Ristvet, Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA)) have indicated that the accuracy of effects predictions below 0.5 kilotons (kT) or 500 tons nuclear yield have greater uncertainty because of the limited data available for the prompt effects in this regime. The Specialized Hazard Assessment Response Capability (SHARC) effects prediction tool was used for these analyses. Specifically, the NUKE model within SHARC 2021 Version 10.2 was used. NUKE models only the prompt effects following a nuclear detonation. The algorithms for predicting range-to-output data contained within the NUKE model are primarily based on nuclear test effects data. Probits have been derived from nuclear test data and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) protective action guides. Probits relate the probability of a hazard (e.g., fatality or injury) caused by a given insult (e.g., overpressure, thermal fluence, dose level). Several probits have been built into SHARC to determine the fatality and injury associated with a given level of insult. Some of these probits differ with varying yield. Such probits were used to develop the tables and plots in this report.

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEF↗
DOE OSTI2022

Single-cell RNA-Seq reveals changes in immune landscape in post-traumatic osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common joint disease, affecting over 300 million people world-wide. Accumulating evidence attests to the important roles of the immune system in OA pathogenesis. Understanding the role of various immune cells in joint degeneration or joint repair after injury is vital for improving therapeutic strategies for treating OA. Post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA) develops in ~50% of individuals who have experienced an articular trauma like an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture. Here, using the high resolution of single-cell RNA sequencing, we delineated the temporal dynamics of immune cell accumulation in the mouse knee joint after ACL rupture. Our study identified multiple immune cell types in the joint including neutrophils, monocytes, macrophages, B cells, T cells, NK cells and dendritic cells. Monocytes and macrophage populations showed the most dramatic changes after injury. Further characterization of monocytes and macrophages reveled 9 major subtypes with unique transcriptomics signatures, including a tissue resident Lyve1 hi Folr2 hi macrophage population and Trem2 hi Fcrls + recruited macrophages, both showing enrichment for phagocytic genes and growth factors such as Igf1 , Pdgfa and Pdgfc. We also identified several genes induced or repressed after ACL injury in a cell type-specific manner. This study provides new insight into PTOA-associated changes in the immune microenvironment and highlights macrophage subtypes that may play a role in joint repair after injury.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

NSAID use and clinical outcomes in COVID-19 patients: a 38-center retrospective cohort study

Abstract Background Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are commonly used to reduce pain, fever, and inflammation but have been associated with complications in community-acquired pneumonia. Observations shortly after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 suggested that ibuprofen was associated with an increased risk of adverse events in COVID-19 patients, but subsequent observational studies failed to demonstrate increased risk and in one case showed reduced risk associated with NSAID use. Methods A 38-center retrospective cohort study was performed that leveraged the harmonized, high-granularity electronic health record data of the National COVID Cohort Collaborative. A propensity-matched cohort of 19,746 COVID-19 inpatients was constructed by matching cases (treated with NSAIDs at the time of admission) and 19,746 controls (not treated) from 857,061 patients with COVID-19 available for analysis. The primary outcome of interest was COVID-19 severity in hospitalized patients, which was classified as: moderate, severe, or mortality/hospice. Secondary outcomes were acute kidney injury (AKI), extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), invasive ventilation, and all-cause mortality at any time following COVID-19 diagnosis. Results Logistic regression showed that NSAID use was not associated with increased COVID-19 severity (OR: 0.57 95% CI: 0.53–0.61). Analysis of secondary outcomes using logistic regression showed that NSAID use was not associated with increased risk of all-cause mortality (OR 0.51 95% CI: 0.47–0.56), invasive ventilation (OR: 0.59 95% CI: 0.55–0.64), AKI (OR: 0.67 95% CI: 0.63–0.72), or ECMO (OR: 0.51 95% CI: 0.36–0.7). In contrast, the odds ratios indicate reduced risk of these outcomes, but our quantitative bias analysis showed E-values of between 1.9 and 3.3 for these associations, indicating that comparatively weak or moderate confounder associations could explain away the observed associations. Conclusions Study interpretation is limited by the observational design. Recording of NSAID use may have been incomplete. Our study demonstrates that NSAID use is not associated with increased COVID-19 severity, all-cause mortality, invasive ventilation, AKI, or ECMO in COVID-19 inpatients. A conservative interpretation in light of the quantitative bias analysis is that there is no evidence that NSAID use is associated with risk of increased severity or the other measured outcomes. Our results confirm and extend analogous findings in previous observational studies using a large cohort of patients drawn from 38 centers in a nationally representative multicenter database.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

LPS-Induced Inflammation Prior to Injury Exacerbates the Development of Post-Traumatic Osteoarthritis in Mice

ABSTRACT Osteoarthritis (OA) is a debilitating and painful disease characterized by the progressive loss of articular cartilage. Post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA) is an injury-induced type of OA that persists in an asymptomatic phase for years before it becomes diagnosed in ~50% of injured individuals. Although PTOA is not classified as an inflammatory disease, it has been suggested that inflammation could be a major driver of PTOA development. Here we examined whether a state of systemic inflammation induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) administration 5-days before injury would modulate PTOA outcomes. RNA-seq analysis at 1-day post-injury followed by micro-computed tomography (μCT) and histology characterization at 6 weeks post-injury revealed that LPS administration causes more severe PTOA phenotypes. These phenotypes included significantly higher loss of cartilage and subchondral bone volume. Gene expression analysis showed that LPS alone induced a large cohort of inflammatory genes previously shown to be elevated in synovial M1 macrophages of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, suggesting that systemic LPS produces synovitis. This synovitis was sufficient to promote PTOA in MRL/MpJ mice, a strain previously shown to be resistant to PTOA. The synovium of LPS-treated injured joints displayed an increase in cellularity, and immunohistological examination confirmed that this increase was in part attributable to an elevation in type 1 macrophages. LPS induced the expression of Tlr7 and Tlr8 in both injured and uninjured joints, genes known to be elevated in RA. We conclude that inflammation before injury is an important risk factor for the development of PTOA and that correlating patient serum endotoxin levels or their state of systemic inflammation with PTOA progression may help develop new, effective treatments to lower the rate of PTOA in injured individuals. © 2020 The Authors. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research published by American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Unfolded Protein Response Inhibition Reduces Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-Induced Acute Lung Injury

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) causes severe atypical pneumonia in infected individuals, but the underlying mechanisms of pathogenesis remain unknown. While much has been learned from the few reported autopsy cases, an in-depth understanding of the cells targeted by MERS-CoV in the human lung and their relative contribution to disease outcomes is needed.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Extreme Scale Infrasound Inversion and Prediction for Weather Characterization and Acute Event Detection

Accurate and timely weather predictions are critical to many aspects of society with a profound impact on our economy, general well-being, and national security. In particular, our ability to forecast severe weather systems is necessary to avoid injuries and fatalities, but also important to minimize infrastructure damage and maximize mitigation strategies. The weather community has developed a range of sophisticated numerical models that are executed at various spatial and temporal scales in an attempt to issue global, regional, and local forecasts in pseudo real time. The accuracy however depends on the time period of the forecast, the nonlinearities of the dynamics, and the target spatial resolution. Significant uncertainties plague these predictions including errors in initial conditions, material properties, data, and model approximations. To address these shortcomings, a continuous data collection occurs at an effort level that is even larger than the modeling process. It has been demonstrated that the accuracy of the predictions depends on the quality of the data and is independent to a certain extent on the sophistication of the numerical models. Data assimilation has become one of the more critical steps in the overall weather prediction business and consequently substantial improvements in the quality of the data would have transformational benefits. This paper describes the use of infrasound inversion technology, enabled through exascale computing, that could potentially achieve orders of magnitude improvement in data quality and therefore transform weather predictions with significant impact on many aspects of our society.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Feature Selection Techniques for a Machine Learning Model to Detect Autonomic Dysreflexia

Feature selection plays a crucial role in the development of machine learning algorithms. Understanding the impact of the features on a model, and their physiological relevance can improve the performance. This is particularly helpful in the healthcare domain wherein disease states need to be identified with relatively small quantities of data. Autonomic Dysreflexia (AD) is one such example, wherein mismanagement of this neurological condition could lead to severe consequences for individuals with spinal cord injuries. We explore different methods of feature selection needed to improve the performance of a machine learning model in the detection of the onset of AD. We present different techniques used as well as the ideal metrics using a dataset of thirty-six features extracted from electrocardiograms, skin nerve activity, blood pressure and temperature. The best performing algorithm was a 5-layer neural network with five relevant features, which resulted in 93.4% accuracy in the detection of AD. The techniques in this paper can be applied to a myriad of healthcare datasets allowing forays into deeper exploration and improved machine learning model development. Through critical feature selection, it is possible to design better machine learning algorithms for detection of niche disease states using smaller datasets.

electrocardiography↗
DOE OSTI2022

The impact of bilateral injuries on the pathophysiology and functional outcomes of volumetric muscle loss

Volumetric muscle loss (VML)—defined as the irrecoverable loss of skeletal muscle tissue with associated persistent functional deficits—is among the most common and highly debilitating combat-related extremity injuries. This is particularly true in cases of severe polytrauma wherein multiple extremities may be involved as a result of high energy wounding mechanisms. As such, significant investment and effort has been made toward developing a clinically viable intervention capable of restoring the form and function of the affected musculature. While these investigations conducted to date have varied with respect to the species, breed, and sex of the chosen pre-clinical in-vivo model system, the majority of these studies have been performed in unilateral injury models, an aspect which may not fully exemplify the clinical representation of the multiply injured patient. Furthermore, while various components of the basal pathophysiology of VML (e.g., fibrosis and inflammation) have been investigated, relatively little effort has focused on how the pathophysiology and efficacy of pro-regenerative technologies is altered when there are multiple VML injuries. Thus, the purpose of this study was two-fold: (1) to investigate if/how the pathophysiology of unilateral VML injuries differs from bilateral VML injuries and (2) to interrogate the effect of bilateral VML injuries on the efficacy of a well-characterized regenerative therapy, minced muscle autograft (MMG). In contrast to our hypothesis, we show that bilateral VML injuries exhibit a similar systemic inflammatory response and improved muscle functional recovery, compared to unilateral injured animals. Furthermore, MMG treatment was found to only be effective at promoting an increase in functional outcomes in unilateral VML injuries. The findings presented herein add to the growing knowledge base of the pathophysiology of VML, and, importantly, reiterate the importance of comprehensively characterizing preclinical models which are utilized for early-stage screening of putative therapies as they can directly influence the translational research pipeline.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Spatial metabolomics and lipidomics in kidney disease

Kidney disease is a global health issue that affects over 850 million people, and early detection is key to preventing severe disease and complications. Kidney diseases are associated with complex dysregulation of lipid metabolism. Spatial metabolomics through mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) enables spatial mapping of the lipids in tissue and includes a variety of techniques that can be used to image lipids. In the kidney MSI studies often seek to resolve individual functional tissue units such as glomeruli and proximal tubules. Several different MSI techniques such as matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization and desorption electrospray ionization have been used to characterize lipids and small molecules in chronic kidney disease, acute kidney injury, genetic kidney disease, and cancer. In this review we provide several examples of how spatial metabolomics data can provide critical information concerning localization of changes in disease states. Additionally, when combined with pathology, measurements, transcriptomics, or proteomics, the metabolomic changes can illuminate underlying mechanisms and provide new clinical insights.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

On the Road to Achieving Safety Excellence at the Idaho Cleanup Project: The Initial Challenges, Solutions, and Positive Results of Striving to be the Best and Safest in the DOE Complex - 20518

When Fluor Idaho, LLC (Fluor Idaho) assumed the Idaho Cleanup Project Core contract (ICP Core) in mid-2016, it inherited the successful multi-faceted, employee-owned safety programs of two prior contractors supporting cleanup operations at the Idaho National Laboratory Site. Fluor Idaho incorporated the best of both safety programs along with Fluor Corporate's 106-year legacy of safety initiatives and successes. Fluor Idaho integrated the separate programs and cultures under a One Fluor approach - one project, one mission, One Fluor. Job changes, management changes, and procedures, processes, and system changes presented multiple challenges. Those challenges combined with the severe Winter of 2016/2017 resulted in numerous slips, trips, and falls first aids and reportable injuries. The road to safety excellence started off bumpy and stayed that way for some time. Since then, Fluor Idaho has successfully implemented several key initiatives including employee engagement; management engagement and time in the field; communications improvements; safety culture sustainment; injury/illness prevention; organizational learning; and DOE Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) readiness and preparation. Management became more engaged by making more workplace visits and increasing their supervision of 'life critical work' or complex activities. Additional training became mandatory for first-line supervisors and front-line workers. Most recently, Fluor Idaho increased its injury and illness prevention initiatives extensively. In the last year, things have turned around in a dramatic way. This shift is directly attributable to the significant number of initiatives launched in late 2017 and 2018. These initiatives addressed safety performance in the five key areas of the DOE VPP and promoted sustainability of the company's safety culture. The five key areas are: management leadership, employee involvement, work-site analysis, hazard prevention and control, and safety and health training. Employees and managers alike recommitted to making safety the highest value. The result of this laser-like focus on safety and accident and injury prevention is that injuries and first aids are a fraction of what they were. During FY 2019, employees worked more than 4.2 million hours without a serious injury or lost work-day and 1 million hours without a recordable injury. Fluor Idaho is proud of its safety trend. The company invested significant resources in improving its safety record, and that investment is paying off. Other contractors in the DOE Complex can learn and benefit from this discussion of the challenges Fluor Idaho faced, as well as its innovative safety initiatives that are producing results that are being recognized by our U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) customer. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2024

Endogeneity of pedestrian survival time and emergency medical service response time: Variations across disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged communities

The Vision Zero-Safe Systems Approach prioritizes fast access to Emergency Medical Services (EMS) to improve the survivability of road users in transportation crashes, especially concerning the recent increase in pedestrian-involved crashes. Pedestrian crashes resulting in immediate or early death are considerably more severe than those taking longer. The time gap between injury and fatality is known as survival time, and it heavily relies on EMS response time. The characteristics of the crash location may be associated with EMS response and survival time. A US Department of Transportation initiative identifies communities often facing challenges. Six disadvantaged community (DAC) indicators, including economy, environment, equity, health, resilience, and transportation access, enable an analysis of how survival and EMS response times vary across DACs and non-DACs. To this end, this study created a unique and comprehensive database by linking DACs data with 2017–2021 pedestrian-involved fatal crashes. This study utilizes two-stage residual inclusion models with segmentation for DACs and non-DACs accounting for the endogenous relationship between EMS response and pedestrian survival time. The results indicate that EMS response time is higher and pedestrian survival time is lower in DACs than in non-DACs. A delayed EMS response time is associated with a greater reduction in survival time in DACs compared to non-DACs. Factors, e.g., nighttime and interstate crashes, contribute to higher EMS response time, while pedestrian drugs, driver speeding, and hit-and-run behaviors are associated with a greater reduction in survival time in DACs than non-DACs. Finally, the implications of the findings are discussed in the paper.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

American eel resilience to simulated fluid shear associated with passage through hydroelectric turbines

American eel (Anguilla rostrata) populations have declined within their native range along the eastern coast of North America due to factors such as commercial fishing, habitat alteration, and dams. American eel are catadromous fish species, and high mortality rates (>40%) have been observed for freshwater life-stage adult eel passing downstream through hydropower turbines. Lacerations and sectioning of fish have been observed downstream of turbines and these injuries are commonly associated with direct contact with the turbine runner, whether through blade strike or pinching and grinding. Exposure to fluid shear may also be a source of injury, however, little is known about American eel susceptibility to this physical stressor. Eels are considerably flexible when compared to other fish species and lack other morphological characteristics that would make them susceptible to fluid shear, such as protruding eyes, large scales, and large operculum. European eel, which have previously been tested for susceptibility to fluid shear, were found to be resilient. To determine if American eel are also resilient to fluid shear, forty American eel were exposed to a water jet, simulating severe fluid shear (strain rate > 800 s –1 ) that fish may experience when passing downstream through turbines. No immediate or delayed (48 h) signs of injury were observed after exposure to severe fluid shear. Based on this study, and a previous study conducted on American eel susceptibility to barotrauma, the source of injury and mortality of American eel passing through turbines is likely attributed to blade strike or pinching and grinding.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

The Challenges of Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting work presents electrical and other workers with a challenging combination of physical hazards, working conditions, and time pressure, which can lead to unwanted outcomes if not carefully managed.Summaries of several incidents in which workers were injured or at risk of injury while performing troubleshooting work are presented, identifying organizational weaknesses and error precursors that contributed to each incident.The primary challenges include:Deranged equipment. Equipment that needs troubleshooting is not in a normal operating condition. Actions that are safe when the equipment is in a normal state may not be safe in the deranged state.Work planning and control. The steps taken in troubleshooting are most often determined by the results of the immediately previous diagnostic test, making effective work planning challenging.Multiple types of hazards. Most equipment will present a troubleshooting worker with several types of hazards, including hazardous energy as defined in 29 CFR 1910.147. Portions of the troubleshooting activity may be infeasible without these hazards present.Time pressure. Restoring operation of failed equipment often involves an explicit or implicit sense of urgency.Equipment design and construction. The physical construction of the equipment in large part will determine to which hazards troubleshooters may be exposed. It will also determine which hazards may be encountered while performing the servicing needed to restore the equipment or system to operation.There are effective methods for addressing each challenge, most of which require a combination of advance preparation and management commitment.

Mertz, David E.↗
DOE OSTI2024

The Challenges of Safe Troubleshooting Work

Troubleshooting work presents electrical and other workers with a challenging combination of physical hazards, working conditions, and time pressure, which can lead to unwanted outcomes if not carefully managed. Summaries of several incidents in which workers were injured or at risk of injury while performing troubleshooting work are presented, identifying organizational weaknesses and error precursors that contributed to each incident. The primary challenges include: Deranged equipment. Equipment that needs troubleshooting is not in a normal operating condition. Actions that are safe when the equipment is in a normal state may not be safe in the deranged state. Work planning and control. The steps taken in troubleshooting are most often determined by the results of the immediately previous diagnostic test, making effective work planning challenging. Multiple types of hazards. Most equipment will present a troubleshooting worker with several types of hazards, including hazardous energy as defined in 29 CFR 1910.147. Portions of the troubleshooting activity may be infeasible without these hazards present. Time pressure. Restoring operation of failed equipment often involves an explicit or implicit sense of urgency. There are effective methods for addressing each challenge, most of which require a combination of advance preparation and management commitment.

Mertz, David E.↗