This study analyzes the operational characteristics of 311 aged and non-aged residual current circuit breakers (RCCBs) in low-voltage consumer contexts. It investigates the influence of external temperature and harmonics based on the rated current multiples. To simulate temperature variations, a convectional oven was used around the circuit breakers. Additionally, the generation of harmonic reference signals and data measurement for overcurrent experiments were conducted using NI SCXI, myDAQ, and LabVIEW. An observation revealed that as the ambient temperature increased, the operating time of RCCBs decreased in the time delay region. This was attributed to the faster response or bending of the bimetal, which is the tripping element. However, aged RCCBs encountered challenges with tripping outside the protective curve. The operating time of the circuit breakers exhibited an acceleration influenced by the order and content of harmonic currents, potentially leading to malfunctions. Aged RCCBs demonstrated faster operating times than their non-aged counterparts. However, the difference in operating time varied based on the manufacturer's and operating environment of the RCCBs. Frequent malfunctions of RCCBs can result in power outages. In cases where these circuit breakers fail to operate, they can lead to secondary damages, including electrical fires and shocks. Consequently, it is imperative to consider the operating environment of RCCBs and provide appropriate replacement cycles to mitigate these risks.

Lithium ions can induce the thermal runaway phenomenon and lead to reignition due to electrical, mechanical, and environmental factors such as high temperature, smoke generation, explosions, or flames, which is extremely likely to create safety concerns. Therefore, one of the ways to improve the flame retardancy of the electrolyte is to use a flame-retardant additive. Comparing the associated characteristic value of existing substances with the required experimental value, it was found that these values were either considerably different or were not documented. It is vital to know a substance's combustion characteristic values, flash point, explosion limit, and autoignition temperature (AIT) as well as its combustion characteristics before using it. In this research, the flash point and AIT of materials were measured by mixing a highly volatile and flammable substance, diethyl carbonate (DEC), with flame-retardant dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP). The flash point of DEC, which is a pure substance, was 29℃, and that for DMMP was 65℃. Further, the lower explosion limit calculated using the measured flash point of DEC was 1.79 Vol.%, while that for DMMP was 0.79 Vol.%. The AIT was 410℃ and 390℃ for DEC and DMMP, respectively. In particular, since the AIT of DMMP has not been discussed in any previous study, it is necessary to ensure safety through experimental values. In this study, the experimental and regression analysis revealed that the average absolute deviation (ADD) for the flash point of the DEC+DMMP DEC+DMMP system is 0.58 sec and that the flash point tends to increase according to changes in the composition employed. It also revealed that the AAD for the AIT of the mixture was 3.17 sec and that the AIT tended to decrease and then increase based on changes in the composition.

The relationship between the knowledge, attitude, and practice of the person in charge of designating a Class III facility was analyzed to improve its practice. As a field of knowledge, system knowledge and technical knowledge were considered, and attitudes were divided into cognitive, affective, and behavioral attitudes. A knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) survey was conducted, and the relationship among them was analyzed through correlation and regression analyses. The factors affecting the level of practice in designating the Class III facility were technical knowledge in the field of knowledge and cognitive and behavioral attitudes in the field of attitudes. Cognitive and behavioral attitudes were the two factors that most influenced the practice of designating a Class III facility. It is thought that the higher the level of cognitive and behavioral attitudes, the greater the ability to practice designating the Class III facility. The general characteristics of respondents influencing cognitive and behavioral attitudes were analyzed by safety inspection.

Social interest in disasters is a significant factor in shaping disaster management policies, enabling the enhancement of disaster safety management and prevention activities according to the specific needs of society. However, in the past, there were limits to measuring which disasters society was particularly interested in. Hence, in this study, a method of measuring social interest using news data was devised. Specifically, we classifed news reports into natural and social disasters, creating a comprehensive Social Interest Index (SII) on disasters covering from 2011 to 2021. Additionally, we quantitatively compared the SII with budgets allocated to disaster-related efforts. Our primary findings are as follows: First, our methodology not only distinguishes natural disasters from social disasters but also identifies emerging areas of societal concern. Second, in recent years (2014-2021), social disasters gained more attention than natural disasters. Third, the disaster safety budget accounted for approximately 3.5% of Korea's total budget, closely paralleling the SII we measured. However, exceptions were noted in cases such as heavy snow, cold waves, and heat waves, where the SII remained high, but the disaster safety budget was relatively low, indicating potential outliers. The findings of this research are projected to contribute to the improvement of national disaster management policies by providing a quantitative measure of social interest in disaster, enabling more informed and effective policy decisions.

In this study, 50 ABE-type hard hats were procured from five certified commercial manufacturers, and shock absorption tests were conducted in accordance with Protective Equipment Safety Certification Notice No. 2020-35. The tests were performed under both high- and low-temperature conditions, adhering to safety helmet testing standards. The highest shock transmission ranges were recorded in the tests, with an average energy range of 2,600-4,108 N at high temperatures and 2,316-3,991 N at low temperatures. All five hard hat models demonstrated a maximum transmitted impact force below 4,450 N, without any loss of cap and attachment functionality, confirming their compliance with performance standards. Furthermore, we evaluated the side impact performance of the safety helmets of each company, with an average range of 4,722-5,267 N. Company A exhibited the lowest measurement at 4,722 N. Comparing these results with international safety standards and the national shock absorption test criteria, it was observed that the maximum transmitted shock value using government-specified impact weight falls within the range of 4,450-5,000 N. However, it was noted that developed countries have established specific standards for the side impact forces on safety helmets, which are legally mandated. Consequently, it is imperative for South Korea to enhance its safety helmet side impact performance test methodology to align with domestic standards in the future.

With the advent of industrialization, consumers and end-users demand more reliable products. Meeting these demands requires a comprehensive approach, involving tasks such as market information collection, planning, reliable raw material procurement, accurate reliability design, and prediction, including various reliability tests. Moreover, this encompasses aspects like reliability management during manufacturing, operational maintenance, and systematic failure information collection, interpretation, and feedback. Improving product reliability requires prioritizing it from the initial development stage. Failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA) is a widely used method to increase product reliability. In this study, we reanalyzed using the FMEA method and proposed an improved method. Domestic railways lack an accurate measurement method or system for maintenance, so maintenance decisions rely on the opinions of experienced personnel, based on their experience with past faults. However, the current selection method is flawed as it relies on human experience and memory capacity, which are limited and ineffective. Therefore, in this study, we further specify qualitative contents to systematically accumulate failure modes based on the Failure Modes Table and create a standardized form based on the Master FMEA form to newly systematize it.

Numerous studies have been conducted to analyze the causal relationships of maritime accidents using natural language processing techniques. However, when multiple causes and effects are associated with a single accident, the effectiveness of extracting these causal relations diminishes. To address this challenge, we compiled a dataset using verdicts from maritime accident cases in this study, analyzed their causal relations, and applied labeling considering the association information of various causes and effects. In addition, to validate the efficacy of our proposed methodology, we fine-tuned the KoELECTRA Korean language model. The results of our validation process demonstrated the ability of our approach to successfully extract multiple causal relationships from maritime accident cases.

This study aims to analyze the differences between the safety leadership of the laboratory director, safety climate, safety motivation, and safety behavior of research workers based on whether they have participated in the certification system for exemplary laboratories in safety management (CSEL). An online survey was conducted among research workers to analyze the effect of the CSEL. The independent variables used in the survey were participation and non-participation in the CSEL, while the dependent variables were the safety leadership of the laboratory director, safety climate, safety motivation, and safety behavior of research workers. The results demonstrate that the group that participated in the CSEL had statistically significantly higher levels of safety leadership, safety climate, safety motivation, and safety behavior than the one that did not do so. Therefore, it can be concluded that the CSEL has a positive impact on the establishment of an autonomous safety management system in a laboratory by improving the safety culture and safety behavior of research workers. Further, the extrinsic factors, which are subfactors for safety motivation, did not reflect a significant difference between the group that participated in the CSEL and the one that did not. Thus, a reward system for research workers with excellent safety activities should be operated by research institutes since it is necessary to strengthen the intrinsic safety motivation of individual research workers which can be strengthened by compensation. The government should consider measures such as providing research incentives to researchers participated in CSEL.