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This paper aims to propose two portfolio selection models with hesitant value-at-risk (HVaR) – HVaR fuzzy portfolio selection model (HVaR-FPSM) and HVaR-score fuzzy portfolio selection model (HVaR-S-FPSM) – to help investors solve the problem that how bad a portfolio can be under probabilistic hesitant fuzzy environment.

It is strictly proved that the higher the probability threshold, the higher the HVaR in HVaR-S-FPSM. Numerical examples and a case study are used to illustrate the steps of building the proposed models and the importance of the HVaR and score constraint. In case study, the authors conduct a sensitivity analysis and compare the proposed models with decision-making models and hesitant fuzzy portfolio models.

The score constraint can make sure that the portfolio selected is profitable, but will not cause the HVaR to decrease dramatically. The investment proportions of stocks are mainly affected by their HVaRs, which is consistent with the fact that the stock having good performance is usually desirable in portfolio selection. The HVaR-S-FPSM can find portfolios with higher HVaR than each single stock and has little sacrifice of extreme returns.

This paper fulfills a need to construct portfolio selection models with HVaR under probabilistic hesitant fuzzy environment. As a downside risk, the HVaR is more consistent with investors’ intuitions about risks. Moreover, the score constraint makes sure that undesirable portfolios will not be selected.

This paper forms part of an ongoing research project being undertaken by the authors into construction safety culture. The paper aims to investigate the interactions among five key enablers of construction safety culture, as well as the potential impact of each enabler on organisational safety goals over a period of time.

Using system dynamics modelling, the paper reports on the development of a causal model simulating the interactions among safety culture enablers. The model is developed based on the logical assumption that, by improving the enablers, there will be an inevitable safety performance improvement. An index is also proposed and used as an indicator for assessing the maturity level of safety culture.

The paper presents and reports on simulation results which reveal that an organisation with ad‐hoc safety implementation (starting at a basic level of safety culture maturity) should primarily focus on enhancing leadership attributes, in the context of safety, to rapidly and successfully progress through to higher maturity levels in the future.

The use of system dynamic modelling, with the developed index, will help organisations to plan the most effective safety implementation process to achieve their safety goals within a planned time frame.

The use of modelling, with the developed index, will help organisations to plan the most effective safety implementation process to achieve their safety goals within a planned time frame.

Purpose – Patient safety and adverse events continue to present significant challenges to the US health care delivery system. Mandated reporting of adverse events can be a mechanism to “coerce” hospitals to identify, evaluate, and ultimately improve the quality and safety of patient care. The objective of this study is to determine if the coercion of mandated reporting impacts hospital patient safety scores.

Methods – We utilize the US News and World Report 2012–2013 Best Hospital Rankings which includes patient safety data from US teaching hospitals. The dependent variable is a composite measure of six indicators of patient safety during and after surgery. The independent variable is state mandated reporting of hospital adverse events. Three control variables are included: Magnet accreditation status, surgical volume, and the percentage of surgical admissions.

Findings – Using ordered logistic regression (n = 670 hospitals) we find a positive, but not significant, relationship between state mandated reporting and better patient safety scores.

Implications – This finding suggests that regulatory policy may not actually prompt performance improvement, and our data point to the need for further study of both formal and informal processes to manage patient safety within the hospital.

Originality – While increased reporting of adverse events has been linked to hospitals providing safer care, no research to date has examined whether or not state-level mandates actually lead to improvements in patient safety.

The purpose of this paper is to examine trends in safety and quality culture, using quantitative data gathered from food companies who have taken the Culture Excellence assessment. It is the fourth paper in a theme issue of Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes, discussing the importance of measuring food safety and quality culture.

The quantitative elements of the Culture Excellence assessment were analysed, exploring the differences between different dimensions of culture and the potential variation between managers, supervisors and operators.

Managers were found to generate higher scores for the culture of their company than operators, and to have particularly higher scores in certain dimensions of culture (e.g. Empowerment). Operators however reported receiving food safety training more frequently. Operators were also more likely to have a positive result on practical elements of the assessment (e.g. targets) than psychological ones (e.g. reward). All of the above findings were statistically significant at p < 001 with small to medium effect sizes.

This paper introduces quantitative data on food safety culture from the food industry with quantitative analysis to highlight issues and trends. It will be of value to food safety and quality practitioners, trainers, auditors and other stakeholders involved in the food industry.

The purpose of this paper is to address the primary research question, which is what is the relationship between the project manager’s (PM) possession of the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification and the level of the safety culture present in the construction project the PM manages.

The research was based on a survey of a purposive sample, 109 engineers and first-line supervisors worked in 23 construction projects of which ten were led by PMP-certified PMs and 13 were led by PMs lacking PMP certification. Each PM completed a demographic questionnaire for the predictor variables of PMP certification controlled for age and experience. To assess the criterion variable of safety culture total score, engineers and first-line supervisors working in the same project completed the questionnaire of safety culture values and practices.

Results of this study indicated the level of safety culture was significantly different, and improved, for engineers and first-line supervisors who work under PMs with PMP certification compared to the level of safety culture in projects managed by PMs with no PMP certification. Although alignment of safety culture perceptions among different levels in the organization helps to achieve a positive safety culture, the role of the PM in transferring, implementing and maintaining the safety culture in the construction project is fundamental, particularly in small-to-medium sized enterprises (SMEs).

This study addressed the role of the PMs managerial skills in the safety performance of Saudi Arabian SMEs. The principal finding was that PMs with managerial skills perform better regarding safety performance in SME construction projects than PMs lacking managerial skills. The primary recommendation is that leaders in construction projects must carefully evaluate engineers’ managerial skills before hiring the individuals as PMs. A PM’s promotion model developed in this study provides a suitable framework and business process component for construction leaders seeking to maintain safety performance successfully.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the levels of food safety knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of food technical assistants (FTAs) working in dairy processing plants (DPPs) with different grades of prerequisite programs (PRPs) checklist.

An observational cross-sectional study was carried out by using a self-administered questionnaire and interviewing 76 FTAs occupied in DPPs in the city of Isfahan, Iran.

Out of a total score of 100, the participants received scores for knowledge (79.5 ± 14.9), attitudes (75.2 ± 9.9) and practices (86 ± 11.6) referred to the principles of Hazard analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP). It was found correlations between food safety knowledge and attitudes of FTAs (r = 0.38, p ≤ 0), knowledge and practices (r = 0.21, p = 0.03) and between attitudes and practices (r = 0.36, p ≤ 0). Moreover, there were also significant correlations between KAP scores and age (knowledge: r = 0.18, p = 0.06; attitude: r = 0.25, p = 0.01; practice: r = 0.22, p = 0.02) and KAP scores and job satisfaction level (knowledge: r = 0.27, p = 0. 01; attitude: r = 0.22, p = 0.02; practice: r = 0.27, p = 0). There was no significant correlation between educational background and KAP scores. Furthermore, no significant correlation was found in terms of gender.

Education of FTAs about food safety issues seems necessary. Such training should not only focus on theoretical aspects of knowledge but also be practical to foster positive attitudes toward food safety and promote practices among FTAs. Consideration to all principles of PRPs is recommended to implement food safety management system (FSMS) in food processing plants (FPPs).

The International Scientific Forum on Home Hygiene's (IFH) approach to infectious disease prevention is “targeted hygiene”, which means identifying the routes of transmission of infection in the home and community, and targeting hygiene measures at “critical points” (CPs) to break the chain of transmission. This paper aims to identify and prioritise CPs in the home kitchen environment during food preparation in order to inform food safety campaigns.

This study involved: filming participants (n=60) while they prepared a meal according to a specified recipe (30 beef/salad burgers and 30 chicken salads); swabbing key potential contamination sites in the participant's kitchen for microbiological testing; sampling the meat and salad components of the cooked meal for microbiological testing; visual inspection and temperature check of the meat after cooking; and administering a survey of knowledge, attitudes and demographic factors.

This study has identified the critical points (CPs) during domestic food preparation as: CP1: correct cooking practices; CP2: prevention of cross‐contamination; and CP3: correct food storage practices. Statistically significant links were found between food safety knowledge and behaviour as well as between food safety attitudes and demographic factors.

This is the first study to link all aspects of observed consumer food safety practices in the home to food safety knowledge, attitudes, perceptions, psychosocial and demographic factors to identify these CPs.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the levels of food safety knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of consumer.

In total, 1,161 volunteers were included in this study, which has been developed to measure the knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of adults on food safety. Study data were collected through an online survey technique.

A statistically significant difference was determined between male and female participants and also at the education level considering total food safety attitude and practice scores (p < 0,001). It was determined that university graduates had higher scores at all scales than the median scores. When an assessment was made on the body mass index of the participants, it was seen that the implementation and attitude scales were statistically different from each other, and in paired comparisons on these scales, the average scores of normal-weight individuals were observed higher in the sub-dimensions than slightly obese individuals (p < 0.007; p < 0.001).

Even though the population of the study was adults living in different cities, the results should not be generalized to all adults and the whole country. Also, the fact that the answers to the questions were not face-to-face, could create a bias. Although the reliability coefficient was found to be high, the data reported by the individuals participating in the study about their behavior formed the study results.

This study makes an important contribution to the literature. Determining the knowledge, attitude and behavior of consumers about food safety is important in ensuring food safety.

This paper aims to evaluate the level of compliance of fire safety with the legal requirements in Malaysia government hospital buildings by evaluating via fire risk management.

Five government hospitals were selected. These five hospitals were selected due to the location of Penang, which is one of the fast-growing states in Malaysia (Salleh, 2019; Ebekozien, 2019). This state is the second most densely populated state after Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, with an average distribution of 1,490 persons per square km. This higher population caused the higher demand on the health-care services by the public (DOSM, 2016). The observation and building audit processes are as described. Hundreds of photos were taken for qualitative analysis, and all fire safety elements were measured for the descriptive analysis for each hospital. The framework of audit elements is created based on the Life Safety Code: NFPA 101 (2018), UBBL 1984: Part VII (Fire Requirements) and Part VIIII (Fire Alarms, Fire Detection, Fire Extinguishment and Fire Fighting Access). The cross-sectional descriptive evaluation is conducted in the case studies building in accordance with Life Safety Code of NFPA, also known as NFPA 101. To conduct the study, the information needed to assess the fire safety status was extracted from the CFSES software based on the NFPA 101 standard and prepared and compiled by the researcher as a checklist. In the next stage, gathered information was analysed using Computerised Fire Safety Evaluation System (CFSES) software. This method was developed based on the NFPA 101 standard and evaluated the fire risk from four dimensions of containment, extinguishment, people movement and general safety. This software gives the risk assessment results in three areas of fire control, exits and general safety. To assess the fire risk of the commercial buildings after entering the background information (height, age, number of stories, etc.) in the software, the software first calculates the score that the building should obtain in the three aspects of fire control, exit routes and general safety (minimum score required).

The utmost zones in the case studies (44.3%) occupied by limited mobility are located at low-rise buildings or at the first floor to third floor of the hospital buildings. Hospitals managements lacked in creating the maximum exit route and egress the occupants to disclosed the building during evacuation, it correlates to the patients' mobility positions strategy to assign their categories that fell on effortless mobilisation. Surveyed hospitals were built with the non-combustible materials, even though four of the case studies were built before 1984. Hospitals were equipped with hazard separations and vertical smoke pores, and in most of the zones, sprinkler system is installed only in the corridors, equipped with communication system and system of communication with fire and relief organisations and has a fire detection and alarm system throughout the building. Results of fire risk assessment on four groups of elements were tested via CFSES revealed from 122 zones of surveyed hospitals; 102 or 84% of zones give the highest failed rate to comply the NFPA 101 requirements in terms of people movement in the building. The high-occupied Penang General Hospital contributed as the highest case study for not complying with the minimum requirements in all dimensions: people movement elements (41 zones), fire containment (31 zones), fire extinguisher (31 zones) and general safety (20). Fire extinguishment (62 zones) recorded the highest numbers of zones that complied with NFPA 101 (2013). The overall results of the fire risk assessment suggested that in terms of the fire control, egress and general safety aspects, the fire risk assessment score was unacceptable (failed) in all hospital buildings studied, and in the three areas mentioned, the general safety, egress/exit routes and fire control were in a worse status in terms of the score obtained in the software. None of the surveyed hospital received the minimum safety score in the three areas mentioned. The involvement of Emergency Response Team is crucial to overcome this egress or fire exit requirement and parameters.

Several limitations exist in this research that cannot be controlled. Firstly, the occupancy rates only determined during peak hour. Accessibility into hospital compound permitted only during daytime. Secondly, the fire safety audits and fire safety risk management in this research are not being conducted by a professional architect or engineer and as a result must be relied on the direct inspection checklist to create valid results. Thirdly, this research has some limitations which need to be noted but does not affect the robustness of the study’s findings. This study focuses only on five selected public hospitals in one state of the northern region of Malaysia and excluded data gathering from all other parts of Malaysia. The perception of hospital operators regarding fire safety issues from different state hospitals may allow comparisons.

The findings of this paper should make a key practical contribution to the body of knowledge. In practice, the proposed framework should expand the knowledge of public hospital fire safety management plan concerning the level of fire safety compliance with the requirements in government hospital buildings and develop a fire safety management plan framework for government hospital buildings.

This paper develops an early framework component related to the occupants’ safety which gives the basis for future research in hospital fire safety settings as it imparts early investigation into the consequence of investigating the phenomenon from the operators’ perspective as an attempt to improve public health-care fire safety performance in hospitals.

This paper has created a few measurement tools that can be applied among public hospital buildings stakeholders to perform the fire safety audit and risk management and rate the performance of Fire Safety Management in public hospitals.

The prevention through design (PtD) concept has been widely recognized as one of the most effective approaches to eliminate or reduce construction site hazards. It encourages engineers and architects to consider occupational safety and health during the planning and design phases. Nevertheless, the implementation of PtD is often inhibited because designers lack adequate knowledge about construction safety and the construction process, and limited design-for-safety tools and procedures are available for designers to use. The purpose of this paper is to provide designers a tool for assessing construction risks during early phases of multistory building projects at an activity level and on a daily basis in a 4D environment. By using the tool, proactive measures could be taken in the design and planning phase to reduce site hazards.

The proposed method consists of four steps including risk quantification at a design element level, 4D model integration with risk values, risk assessment, and design alternative selection and model acceptance. A case study was carried out to test and verify the proposed method.

The proposed tool has the capability to assess the safety risk for an entire multistory project and visualize safety risk in a particular time period, work space and task prior to construction. It benefits designers in conducting risk assessments and selecting design alternatives concerning safety. Contractors could also utilize the visualization and simulation results of the 4D model for site safety planning so that a range of risk mitigation strategies could be implemented during construction.

The study provides an innovative PtD tool targeting designers as primary end-users. The proposed tool helps designers assess construction risks and has potential to incorporate the top levels of the hierarchy of risk controls.