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Emerging issues of occupational safety and health (OSH) in floating solar photovoltaic projects (FSPV) have rarely been addressed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The current scoping review has been planned to demonstrate OSH issues experienced by the workers engaged in the installation and maintenance of FSPV projects and existing ergonomics design interventions in the solar photovoltaic industry with a focus on the FSPV sector. Methods: A literature review was conducted from four major electronic databases (Science Direct, Google Scholar, Web of Science, and Scopus) using predefined keywords and following the PRISMA framework for the period 1965-2020. A total of 49 studies under five headings, namely a) overview of key reasons for the emergence of floating solar photovoltaic projects, b) occupational risks of workers engaged in the solar PV industry/FSPV sector, c) occupational risks in workplaces/occupations similar to floating solar photovoltaics projects, d) availability of training modules and occupational standards, and e) design interventions/approaches in the solar PV industry/floating photovoltaics sector were analyzed. Results: It emerged that workers are exposed to multifarious occupational risk factors such as heat, solar radiation, ergonomic risks, electrocution, fire, hazardous substances, adverse weather conditions, and psychosocial factors. These risks have not been adequately addressed with required interventions in the FSPV sector. Intervention opportunities include designing innovative tools, lowering of loads, redesigning workplace layouts, introducing job aids, automation, task rotation, job enlargement, design of training modules, OSH standards and changes in work organization/shift, etc. Conclusion:This review is a first-of-its-kind effort to highlight the contextual risk factors in the emerging FSPV sector and the need for addressing them through ergonomics design interventions for successfully achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

Cell phones enable us to receive and respond to critical incidents, such as: severe storms, tornadoes, and flash floods. However, due to the small display size of cell phones, and regardless of simplified symbols or alert messages, it is possible to overlook users’ ability to interact with the available features and understand the messages in a timely manner. Untrained and trained users of the Weather Radio application participated in an experiment to perform three search tasks; (task 1: location search, task 2: alert settings, and task 3: map settings). In task 4, they evaluated two types of weather alert messages: original National Weather Service (NWS) messages vs. filtered (proposed) messages. By recording users’ completion time on the search tasks, the results showed that the time of the typing in text bar method for task 1 was significantly less than the pin on map method, while much more time was required to complete tasks 2 and 3 by the untrained users compared to the trained users. It was also revealed that the proposed messages were more effective than the original messages by both user groups. This research of user-centered designs provides a foundation to support the designs of time-critical mobile alert systems.

Introduction: Research indicate that construction site accidents are a global concern, and rates are rapidly increasing. In developing countries such as Saudi Arabia, safety issues are frequently ignored, and little is known about their causes. Objectives: This study aimed to shed light on factors causing accidents in Saudi Arabian construction companies. Methods: An online detailed survey, using Google Form, of accident features was distributed randomly to potential employees in 35 construction companies in Saudi Arabia, where one of the top administrators or safety officers were required to respond to the survey. It was conducted from 1st June to 31st August, 2013. The safety practices and perceptions of accident causes were assessed. Results: The response rate was 63%. Over half of the surveyed organizations encountered all of the selected accident types. While 19 (86%) of the construction companies maintained the equipment regularly, 15 (68%) had regular maintenance staff and 13 (59%) inspected the equipment before use. Although 18 (82%) of the workers were supplied with personal protective equipment (PPE), only 12 (55%) emphasized its use and offered site orientation for new employees.  In the last part of the survey, respondents were requested to rate 25 factors affecting safety performance at the construction sites on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the most important. The three most important factors of poor safety performance were the firm's top leaders, a lack of training, and the reckless operation of equipment. Conclusion: Changing attitudes of surrounding safety culture have the potential to significantly improve safety outcomes in the Saudi Arabian construction industry. Two Saudi Arabian corporations, Saudi Aramco and Saudi Chevron Petrochemical provide a positive model for increasing construction safety in the country, but there is a paucity of industry-level data. Further scholarly attention is strongly indicated.

The advancements of smartphone technology have led to a significant growth of smartphone weather applications (i.e. apps) on the market. Due to the high risk and time-critical situations associated with severe weather conditions (e.g. floods, tornados, and thunderstorms), designing weather apps to consider users’ needs is critical for improving product usability. This paper employs a user-centered design (UCD) approach to investigate a sample of end users’ perceptions regarding the usability of smartphone weather apps. Focus group responses analyzed with a thematic analysis approach revealed four main themes representing key usability principles and design specifications. The four themes were (1) user cognitive load, (2) effectiveness, (3) efficiency of use, and (4) user perceptions. Several recommendations were suggested based on the findings which might assist developers in designing highly interactive and usable apps leading to increased user satisfaction.