Roland Moraru | University of Petrosani, Romania (original) (raw)
Papers by Roland Moraru
MATEC Web of Conferences, 2021
As they are anticipative, proactive, and treating assessment as a quasi-continuous phase of risk ... more As they are anticipative, proactive, and treating assessment as a quasi-continuous phase of risk management, the next step in keeping workers safe seems to be the proper implementation of the guidelines on risk assessments included in ISO 45001. They are indeed inspiring for organizations worldwide to consider risk management as really important, good for the business, and imperative for worker health and safety. What should the Romanian organizations know and do in this spirit? The main objective of this paper is to answer systematically and in a structured way the question of whether there is a set of principles, means to follow, recommendable approaches that, taking into account the general practice established at national level at this time of evolution, allow even to facilitate the transition from reactive to proactive management of occupational hazards, with all the advantages and - at the same time - challenges that this change implies? The main possible answers to this quest...
MATEC Web of Conferences, 2020
The main objective of the paper is to analyze the safety culture in order to understand how theor... more The main objective of the paper is to analyze the safety culture in order to understand how theory and practice can be integrated to improve safety performance and related economic outcomes. The research includes the synthesis of systematic studies on safety culture and the factors that influence the relationship between organizational culture and safety behavior. In a global manner, the results obtained generate relevant insights into how safety culture can be theoretically systematized and provide a series of recommendations that can guide the development of future safety culture interventions. Finally, a framework is proposed for an in-depth understanding of all the implications of safety culture in the practice of Romanian companies.
MATEC Web of Conferences, 2017
Ageing workforce is a major trend that characterizes the demographic evolution of Europe, which g... more Ageing workforce is a major trend that characterizes the demographic evolution of Europe, which generally affects the society, but also the organizations from economic and social point of view. Employers should change their negative perceptions of ageing workforce, whereas the changes that occur along with ageing are unable to influence the efficiency of work, assuming that a suitable strategy implemented to prevent and manage potential problems. The paper includes European and national statistics on the issue, a case study analysing the workforce ageing management in a Romanian manufacturing company, which has succeeded in achieving the active ageing target, and-on this basis-several good practice recommendations given on the approach employers should have on the workforce with regard to age.
Employees in hazardous industries, such as mining industry, are constantly faced with judging amo... more Employees in hazardous industries, such as mining industry, are constantly faced with judging amounts of risk and behaving in accordance with these judged amounts. The importance of human reliability assessment in system safety is considered in this paper. The factors influencing the reliability of the operator's activity are particularly analyzed and their quantification is carried out. The method of experts' reasoning is applied in order to bring together the influences of certain reliability factors. The model developed in the paper is based on expert reasoning method applied in cases where it is not possible to assess risk factors and their characteristics by objective measurements or when initial data are insufficient for statistical processing. The model was applied in a case study conducted for the dispatchers from the coal mines in a Romanian hard coal basin.
Integrating risk assessment in an organization is a process that generally follows a sequence of ... more Integrating risk assessment in an organization is a process that generally follows a sequence of phases. To be effective, the company culture must be willing to embrace the risk assessment process, and cultural acceptance stems from management leadership. Emphasizing some of the major benchmarks in occupational risk assessment approaches, the paper summarizes and outlines several basic principles directed towards practical risk assessment process improvement. The article discusses the principles that underlie a coherent and efficient assessment for occupational health, safety and well-being: the need of a global approach of these problems not only at the workplace but for the whole of the living conditions at work; a clear understanding of the complementary character between the different partners of this prevention; the role of actor of the workers and therefore the absolute necessity of a participative approach; the real usefulness of measurements and of risk quantification in general; the differences between risk assessment and risk management. The paper demonstrates how a sound risk assessment approach can lead not only to better risk management, but to the pro-active prediction of occupational risk accidents and incidents and ultimately its prevention, considering the need of changing minds in Romania when it comes to occupational risk assessment and management.
An inventory of several ecological risk assessment tools available is carried out.
A picturesque area of Romania, where the environment has been affected by coal mining activity wa... more A picturesque area of Romania, where the environment has been affected by coal mining activity was the Oltenia area where the main activity was and continues to be related to mining operations. Open-pit coal mining developed in accordance with Romania's energy requirements at the expense of underground operation is based on the following advantages: complex and full mechanization of technological processes, easy planning and organizing the production activity, the development of production and high productivity with low cost in a relatively reduced time. One of the major environmental problems caused by coal mining in quarries consists in dumps resulting from coal extraction. Since their design phase are taken into account the aspects related to physical and mechanical properties of the material they are made of. This comes both from stripping layers above the lignite deposits, and the sterile intercalations of coal seams. This paper presents some of the problems encountered in ...
Controlling occupational injuries and illnesses and related costs is a top priority in most compa... more Controlling occupational injuries and illnesses and related costs is a top priority in most companies. Selecting a qualified professional to participate in the workplace safety and health activities can be a vital step in this process, allowing the development of professional careers in this field. The present paper aims at identifying the requirements and skills that Romanian education and training system should develop for Occupational Safety and Health consultants, in order to formulate a training methodology draft as a basis for the establishment of a unique occupational standard, which will facilitate access to an European OSH professional career. Our goal is to launch a meaningful debate and reflection, to involve all the stakeholders in integrating the occupational health and safety topic in the university curricula and practice.
Occupational safety and health becomes a more and more important component of the organization fo... more Occupational safety and health becomes a more and more important component of the organization for it ensures continuous positive growth and improvement of productivity, and general efficiency. In order to implement an efficient management system, the C.E.O. must pay special attention to this domain in order to avoid important risks and undesired events with tragic consequences. Thus, every organization needs properly trained staff, in order to accomplish all the purposes in this field. Therefore, the paper aims to do an analysis of the possibilities to develop a career in work safety and security, based on competences, in order to establish the real importance and attention paid to this activity area.
Professional segregation, as a form of gender inequality persists in the labor market. The main i... more Professional segregation, as a form of gender inequality persists in the labor market. The main issue with this phenomenon is gender inequality payment, with drawbacks in both individual and social evolution. Women’s potential as professionals is not used at its highest level and, thus, the economic and social development is not in the right pace. Also, the additional income generated by equal payment would offer benefits for the society, as well as for its members, through the reduction of poverty rate. As gender bias seems to be the main cause of professional segregation and unequal payment, this paper aims to study the causes and the existent situation at a global level. The comparison between European countries and the US best reflects the differences and causes of gender inequality issues in both education and labor market. Also, the paper sheds light upon unemployment as an indicator of gender equality in the workforce.
This article is aimed at analyzing and summarizing significant information which are available re... more This article is aimed at analyzing and summarizing significant information which are available regarding the basic issues of common concern, across Europe and worldwide, regarding the so-called emerging occupational risks.
14th SGEM GeoConference on SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGIES IN GEOLOGY, EXPLORATION AND MINING, 2014
SGEM2011 11th International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference, 2011
Procedia Manufacturing, 2015
An emerging and dynamic Industrial and manufacturing sector is significant for revenue generation... more An emerging and dynamic Industrial and manufacturing sector is significant for revenue generation in any country; specifically in the developing countries its importance is vital. Private sector manufacturing constitutes the core of the financial sectors in Asian countries in specific and in the world as a whole. Private sector industries in south Asian countries are facing various challenges such as global and technological revelation, competition, and service diversification. In this challenging environment, stress has become a part of organizational system. The modern corporate sector has adopted different methods of stress management and there focus is chronic stress. Private sector organizations have many ongoing situations that can cause of chronic stress and every employee cannot handle with such kind of pressure. This study explores a correlation among various influencing factors and associated behaviours. The paper fleshes out the contributory factors of stress in an analytical way to analyse the causes. The paper finally suggests a comparative study on organization stress based on actual case studies from the manufacturing sector. This research tries to figure out a way forward in order to manage all stresses positively and a mechanism to handle individual and organizational level stresses to in an organization and eventually in a society.
14th SGEM GeoConference on SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGIES IN GEOLOGY, EXPLORATION AND MINING, 2014
ABSTRACT Depending on their nature, risks related with human activity can affect both the personn... more ABSTRACT Depending on their nature, risks related with human activity can affect both the personnel directly involved in the working systems as well as those not participating in working processes, or the environment (due to pollution or industrial disasters). The main goal of the research was to identify, assess, prevent and control those occupational safety and health risks and stressors arising in or from the workplace which may cause injuries, illnesses, impaired health and well-being or significant discomfort among workers, the final goal being to decrease the number of accidents for workers at the surface facilities used to extract natural gas. The major risk taken into consideration which leads to the worst industrial accident in gas extraction is the risk of explosion. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to increase the safety degree of surface installations used for the extraction of natural gas by reducing occupational accidents and occupational diseases occurrence and consequences using radar charts as an indicator for the implementation level of legislation concerning Labor Safety and Health, as well as by substantiating the measures for improving work safety and health. The results obtained have facilitated an increased safety level for the Romanian surface installation used for natural gas extraction by achieving the goals we have pursued through the research conducted
MATEC Web of Conferences
The paper proposes a model unfolded for occupational safety aspects inclusion in the design and m... more The paper proposes a model unfolded for occupational safety aspects inclusion in the design and management of change stages for a piece of machinery. The “Integrated Safety - Technical Equipment” (ISTE) model substantiates a logical connection between various task-based features to be fulfilled, hazardous areas and occurrences, hazards, risk assessment, ways to wedge in, workplace characteristics, the effect of the working environment, work crew as well as apparatus, tools and/or basically corresponding to and following a set of prior theoretically grounded guidelines, found in literature. At the same time, the paper gives the outline of the case study performed to give proof of the practical model’s, illustrating operational safety design for a mechanical press line, used for sheet metal milling. Resorting to the developed model, it was performed the design, construction and assembling of the automatic press line which is compliant in terms of occupational safety.
Sustainability
The article addresses the issue of disclosing Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) issues by corp... more The article addresses the issue of disclosing Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) issues by corporations in Romania, under the influence of recent changes in the legislative framework imposed by the adoption of the EU Directive 2014/95/EU on non-financial reporting by large corporations exceeding 500 employees. The goal of our study consist in determining the relevant factors that influence the level of the Romanian companies’ OHS disclosure. To this end, we have compiled a sample of 35 organizations that have elaborated and published non-financial reports during 2016–2017 and we have analysed the impact of some relevant determinants upon the reporting phenomenon. With the aim of providing a clear picture of the regional context of our study, we put together many pieces of information regarding the corporations that played the trend-setters role in Romania, by disclosing corporate social responsibility (CSR)/sustainability reports between 2003 and 2017, although this practice has b...
MATEC Web of Conferences, 2021
As they are anticipative, proactive, and treating assessment as a quasi-continuous phase of risk ... more As they are anticipative, proactive, and treating assessment as a quasi-continuous phase of risk management, the next step in keeping workers safe seems to be the proper implementation of the guidelines on risk assessments included in ISO 45001. They are indeed inspiring for organizations worldwide to consider risk management as really important, good for the business, and imperative for worker health and safety. What should the Romanian organizations know and do in this spirit? The main objective of this paper is to answer systematically and in a structured way the question of whether there is a set of principles, means to follow, recommendable approaches that, taking into account the general practice established at national level at this time of evolution, allow even to facilitate the transition from reactive to proactive management of occupational hazards, with all the advantages and - at the same time - challenges that this change implies? The main possible answers to this quest...
MATEC Web of Conferences, 2020
The main objective of the paper is to analyze the safety culture in order to understand how theor... more The main objective of the paper is to analyze the safety culture in order to understand how theory and practice can be integrated to improve safety performance and related economic outcomes. The research includes the synthesis of systematic studies on safety culture and the factors that influence the relationship between organizational culture and safety behavior. In a global manner, the results obtained generate relevant insights into how safety culture can be theoretically systematized and provide a series of recommendations that can guide the development of future safety culture interventions. Finally, a framework is proposed for an in-depth understanding of all the implications of safety culture in the practice of Romanian companies.
MATEC Web of Conferences, 2017
Ageing workforce is a major trend that characterizes the demographic evolution of Europe, which g... more Ageing workforce is a major trend that characterizes the demographic evolution of Europe, which generally affects the society, but also the organizations from economic and social point of view. Employers should change their negative perceptions of ageing workforce, whereas the changes that occur along with ageing are unable to influence the efficiency of work, assuming that a suitable strategy implemented to prevent and manage potential problems. The paper includes European and national statistics on the issue, a case study analysing the workforce ageing management in a Romanian manufacturing company, which has succeeded in achieving the active ageing target, and-on this basis-several good practice recommendations given on the approach employers should have on the workforce with regard to age.
Employees in hazardous industries, such as mining industry, are constantly faced with judging amo... more Employees in hazardous industries, such as mining industry, are constantly faced with judging amounts of risk and behaving in accordance with these judged amounts. The importance of human reliability assessment in system safety is considered in this paper. The factors influencing the reliability of the operator's activity are particularly analyzed and their quantification is carried out. The method of experts' reasoning is applied in order to bring together the influences of certain reliability factors. The model developed in the paper is based on expert reasoning method applied in cases where it is not possible to assess risk factors and their characteristics by objective measurements or when initial data are insufficient for statistical processing. The model was applied in a case study conducted for the dispatchers from the coal mines in a Romanian hard coal basin.
Integrating risk assessment in an organization is a process that generally follows a sequence of ... more Integrating risk assessment in an organization is a process that generally follows a sequence of phases. To be effective, the company culture must be willing to embrace the risk assessment process, and cultural acceptance stems from management leadership. Emphasizing some of the major benchmarks in occupational risk assessment approaches, the paper summarizes and outlines several basic principles directed towards practical risk assessment process improvement. The article discusses the principles that underlie a coherent and efficient assessment for occupational health, safety and well-being: the need of a global approach of these problems not only at the workplace but for the whole of the living conditions at work; a clear understanding of the complementary character between the different partners of this prevention; the role of actor of the workers and therefore the absolute necessity of a participative approach; the real usefulness of measurements and of risk quantification in general; the differences between risk assessment and risk management. The paper demonstrates how a sound risk assessment approach can lead not only to better risk management, but to the pro-active prediction of occupational risk accidents and incidents and ultimately its prevention, considering the need of changing minds in Romania when it comes to occupational risk assessment and management.
An inventory of several ecological risk assessment tools available is carried out.
A picturesque area of Romania, where the environment has been affected by coal mining activity wa... more A picturesque area of Romania, where the environment has been affected by coal mining activity was the Oltenia area where the main activity was and continues to be related to mining operations. Open-pit coal mining developed in accordance with Romania's energy requirements at the expense of underground operation is based on the following advantages: complex and full mechanization of technological processes, easy planning and organizing the production activity, the development of production and high productivity with low cost in a relatively reduced time. One of the major environmental problems caused by coal mining in quarries consists in dumps resulting from coal extraction. Since their design phase are taken into account the aspects related to physical and mechanical properties of the material they are made of. This comes both from stripping layers above the lignite deposits, and the sterile intercalations of coal seams. This paper presents some of the problems encountered in ...
Controlling occupational injuries and illnesses and related costs is a top priority in most compa... more Controlling occupational injuries and illnesses and related costs is a top priority in most companies. Selecting a qualified professional to participate in the workplace safety and health activities can be a vital step in this process, allowing the development of professional careers in this field. The present paper aims at identifying the requirements and skills that Romanian education and training system should develop for Occupational Safety and Health consultants, in order to formulate a training methodology draft as a basis for the establishment of a unique occupational standard, which will facilitate access to an European OSH professional career. Our goal is to launch a meaningful debate and reflection, to involve all the stakeholders in integrating the occupational health and safety topic in the university curricula and practice.
Occupational safety and health becomes a more and more important component of the organization fo... more Occupational safety and health becomes a more and more important component of the organization for it ensures continuous positive growth and improvement of productivity, and general efficiency. In order to implement an efficient management system, the C.E.O. must pay special attention to this domain in order to avoid important risks and undesired events with tragic consequences. Thus, every organization needs properly trained staff, in order to accomplish all the purposes in this field. Therefore, the paper aims to do an analysis of the possibilities to develop a career in work safety and security, based on competences, in order to establish the real importance and attention paid to this activity area.
Professional segregation, as a form of gender inequality persists in the labor market. The main i... more Professional segregation, as a form of gender inequality persists in the labor market. The main issue with this phenomenon is gender inequality payment, with drawbacks in both individual and social evolution. Women’s potential as professionals is not used at its highest level and, thus, the economic and social development is not in the right pace. Also, the additional income generated by equal payment would offer benefits for the society, as well as for its members, through the reduction of poverty rate. As gender bias seems to be the main cause of professional segregation and unequal payment, this paper aims to study the causes and the existent situation at a global level. The comparison between European countries and the US best reflects the differences and causes of gender inequality issues in both education and labor market. Also, the paper sheds light upon unemployment as an indicator of gender equality in the workforce.
This article is aimed at analyzing and summarizing significant information which are available re... more This article is aimed at analyzing and summarizing significant information which are available regarding the basic issues of common concern, across Europe and worldwide, regarding the so-called emerging occupational risks.
14th SGEM GeoConference on SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGIES IN GEOLOGY, EXPLORATION AND MINING, 2014
SGEM2011 11th International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference, 2011
Procedia Manufacturing, 2015
An emerging and dynamic Industrial and manufacturing sector is significant for revenue generation... more An emerging and dynamic Industrial and manufacturing sector is significant for revenue generation in any country; specifically in the developing countries its importance is vital. Private sector manufacturing constitutes the core of the financial sectors in Asian countries in specific and in the world as a whole. Private sector industries in south Asian countries are facing various challenges such as global and technological revelation, competition, and service diversification. In this challenging environment, stress has become a part of organizational system. The modern corporate sector has adopted different methods of stress management and there focus is chronic stress. Private sector organizations have many ongoing situations that can cause of chronic stress and every employee cannot handle with such kind of pressure. This study explores a correlation among various influencing factors and associated behaviours. The paper fleshes out the contributory factors of stress in an analytical way to analyse the causes. The paper finally suggests a comparative study on organization stress based on actual case studies from the manufacturing sector. This research tries to figure out a way forward in order to manage all stresses positively and a mechanism to handle individual and organizational level stresses to in an organization and eventually in a society.
14th SGEM GeoConference on SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGIES IN GEOLOGY, EXPLORATION AND MINING, 2014
ABSTRACT Depending on their nature, risks related with human activity can affect both the personn... more ABSTRACT Depending on their nature, risks related with human activity can affect both the personnel directly involved in the working systems as well as those not participating in working processes, or the environment (due to pollution or industrial disasters). The main goal of the research was to identify, assess, prevent and control those occupational safety and health risks and stressors arising in or from the workplace which may cause injuries, illnesses, impaired health and well-being or significant discomfort among workers, the final goal being to decrease the number of accidents for workers at the surface facilities used to extract natural gas. The major risk taken into consideration which leads to the worst industrial accident in gas extraction is the risk of explosion. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to increase the safety degree of surface installations used for the extraction of natural gas by reducing occupational accidents and occupational diseases occurrence and consequences using radar charts as an indicator for the implementation level of legislation concerning Labor Safety and Health, as well as by substantiating the measures for improving work safety and health. The results obtained have facilitated an increased safety level for the Romanian surface installation used for natural gas extraction by achieving the goals we have pursued through the research conducted
MATEC Web of Conferences
The paper proposes a model unfolded for occupational safety aspects inclusion in the design and m... more The paper proposes a model unfolded for occupational safety aspects inclusion in the design and management of change stages for a piece of machinery. The “Integrated Safety - Technical Equipment” (ISTE) model substantiates a logical connection between various task-based features to be fulfilled, hazardous areas and occurrences, hazards, risk assessment, ways to wedge in, workplace characteristics, the effect of the working environment, work crew as well as apparatus, tools and/or basically corresponding to and following a set of prior theoretically grounded guidelines, found in literature. At the same time, the paper gives the outline of the case study performed to give proof of the practical model’s, illustrating operational safety design for a mechanical press line, used for sheet metal milling. Resorting to the developed model, it was performed the design, construction and assembling of the automatic press line which is compliant in terms of occupational safety.
Sustainability
The article addresses the issue of disclosing Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) issues by corp... more The article addresses the issue of disclosing Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) issues by corporations in Romania, under the influence of recent changes in the legislative framework imposed by the adoption of the EU Directive 2014/95/EU on non-financial reporting by large corporations exceeding 500 employees. The goal of our study consist in determining the relevant factors that influence the level of the Romanian companies’ OHS disclosure. To this end, we have compiled a sample of 35 organizations that have elaborated and published non-financial reports during 2016–2017 and we have analysed the impact of some relevant determinants upon the reporting phenomenon. With the aim of providing a clear picture of the regional context of our study, we put together many pieces of information regarding the corporations that played the trend-setters role in Romania, by disclosing corporate social responsibility (CSR)/sustainability reports between 2003 and 2017, although this practice has b...