National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)

R. Hossein ( Aerospace-Mechanical Engineering)

NIOSH organizes its research program under the framework of the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA). NORA is a partnership program to stimulate innovative research and improved workplace practices. Unveiled in 1996, NORA entered its third decade (2016-2026) with an enhanced structure. It now consists of ten industry sectors based on major areas of the U.S. economy, and seven health and safety cross-sectors organized according to the major health and safety issues affecting the U.S. working population. The national agenda is developed and implemented through the NORA Sector and Cross-Sector Councils. Each council develops and maintains an Agenda for its sector or cross-sector. The collection of agendascomprises the agenda for the nation for improvements in occupational safety and health. The agenda also provides a vehicle for stakeholders to describe the most relevant safety and health issues, research gaps, and needs.

Protecting the health and safety of mine workers by preventing diseases, injuries, and fatalities is a NIOSH priority, along with making certain that workers are qualified, trained, and properly equipped. The NORA Mining Agenda was developed and implemented through NORA Sector Councils and is guidance for the nation as a whole, while the 2019-2023  Mining Program Strategic Plan is specific to NIOSH and its capabilities and resources. 
 

The NIOSH Mining Program has established three overarching strategic goals for this plan:

Strategic Goal 1: Reduce mine workers’ risk of occupational illness

Strategic Goal 2: Reduce mine workers’ risk of traumatic injuries and fatalities

Strategic Goal 3: Reduce the risk of mine disasters and improve post-disaster survivability of mine workers.

This is a collaborative grant and applicants should outline their expected interactions with NIOSH researchers and subject matter experts.

Objectives

The objective of this cooperative agreement is to address research initiatives in automation, robotics, and intelligent mining systems to improve workplace safety and health in U.S. mining operations. 

The impact of research conducted by recipients should focus on advances in assured autonomy, i.e., assuring autonomous mining equipment and robotics achieve improved workplace safety and health for mine workers while meeting efficiency and productivity goals.

Interactions with mining stakeholders have shown that the U.S. industry is lagging behind other parts of the world in the implementation of automation technologies due to a lack of guidance in implementing new technology, questions about technology readiness, a lack of guidance and tools for effectively dealing with the migration from human-operated equipment to autonomous equipment, and concerns about the potential unsafe interactions between autonomous equipment and workers. Impacts could include but are not limited to:

Applicants are encouraged to consider those aspects of their graduate degree program in mining and explosives engineering, including unique facilities, that could best support their proposed research related to automation, robotics, and intelligent mining systems.

Clearly state your proposed goals and objectives, and directly link these to the occupational health and safety burdens you are addressing.

Provide data to support your selection of the proposed work, such as morbidity or mortality rates and indicators of the size of the population at risk (including estimates of the target population’s potential risk of exposure to the hazard, frequency of exposure, or sociodemographic factors such as age, gender, and race/ethnicity). Similarly, provide qualitative data that describe exposures, the magnitude of the problem, and potential benefits and impacts of addressing the issue. Qualitative data may be necessary when the nature of the exposure or population at risk makes it difficult to collect large-scale, representative quantitative data.

1. • Advances in and implementation of human-centered design principles for automated equipment and the systems used to monitor or interact with them.
   • New methods, guidance, and best practices in change management, training/retraining workers, technology integration, and safety evaluation.
   • New methods and evaluation techniques for safe design that consider the entire mining operation as a system.
   • Advances and availability of enabling technologies for assured autonomy including sensors, data fusion and processing, artificial intelligence, and systems for improved machine and operator situational awareness.
   • Availability of new miner rescue and post-disaster surveillance technologies.

Institutionally Coordinated.
Please contact RDS for more information. 

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), invites grant applications for Education and Research Centers (ERCs) that are focused on occupational safety and health training. NIOSH is mandated to provide an adequate supply of qualified personnel to carry out the purposes of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and the ERCs are one of the primary means for meeting this mandate.

ERCs are academic institutions that provide high-quality interdisciplinary graduate and post-graduate training, research training, continuing education, and outreach in the core occupational safety and health disciplines of industrial hygiene, occupational health nursing, occupational medicine, and occupational safety, as well as allied disciplines.

Research and research training are integral components of ERCs, with ERC faculty and NIOSH trainees conducting research on issues related to the NIOSH National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) and emerging issues to advance the field of occupational safety and health. 

NIOSH ERCs have regional presence to further diversify the occupational safety and health profession through their core values, mission statements, and outputs.

ERCs serve as resources for our nation's workforce through continuing education, outreach and strong collaboration with professional associations, worker advocacy groups, businesses, industries, and public health agencies. ERCs work with other institutions and organizations, including Minority Serving Institutions and other NIOSH supported training programs to have a positive impact on worker health, safety, and well-being. 

No applicants // Limit: 1 // Tickets Available: 1 

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) invites applications for the Centers for Agricultural Safety and Health (Ag Centers). These centers are expected to conduct high quality research and subsequently disseminate their findings and recommendations in audience appropriate products to contribute to improving the safety and health of agriculture, forestry, and fishing workers. Center structure should take advantage of diverse scientific resources and focus on local, regional, and/or national worker safety and health issues. Emphasis should be placed on the creation and implementation of evidence-based solutions that address important agricultural, forestry, and fishing safety and health problems. Centers should also use innovative approaches to identifying, understanding, and developing strategies for overcoming barriers to the adoption, adaptation, integration, scale-up and sustainability of evidence-based solutions. Collaborations with other academic institutions, nonprofit organizations, and other occupational safety and health focused groups are expected. Applicants must concisely describe the occupational safety and health burden within their service area and directly link research and outreach activities to help alleviate the burden. Applicants should also clearly articulate the anticipated impacts of the proposed work, both during the project period and beyond.

No applicants // Limit: 1 // Tickets Available: 1 

Only one application per institution (normally identified by having UEI number) is allowed.
The purpose of this NOFO is to solicit meritorious applications to enhance the quality and complement the availability of health and safety training for mineworkers in the Western United States. This research will support the development and implementation of mining training and education programs and will contribute to the goal of eliminating mining fatalities within the next two decades.