International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics
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The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between workaholism and mental health among 126 Polish academic workers. The participantsʼ mean age was 45.9 years, 51.6% of them were women. The participants completed 2 questionnaires: the work addiction risk test and the general health questionnaire. Even though 66% of the subjects were classified in the group of moderate-to-high risk of workaholism,...
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Many occupations in industry such as metal stamping workers, electronics parts assembly operators, automotive industry welders, and lathe operators require working in a standing posture for a long time. Prolonged standing can contribute to discomfort and muscle fatigue particularly in the back and legs. This study developed the prolonged standing strain index (PSSI) to quantify the risk levels caused...
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Physical therapists engage in work tasks that expose them to occupational risk factors related to musculoskeletal disorders. Due to the gap in the literature on instruments focused on those workers, this study adapted a job factors questionnaire to physical therapists, and assessed its psychometric properties. The questionnaire was adapted and its content validity was established. The psychometric...
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This article presents the results of laboratory tests on the combined effect of whole-body vibration (WBV) and hand–arm vibration (HAV). The reactions of subjects exposed to various combinations of vibration were recorded. The vibrotactile perception threshold (VPT) test identified changes caused by exposure to vibration. Ten male subjects met the criteria of the study. There were 4 series of tests:...
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Prolonged exposure to hand–arm vibration (HAV) generated by chainsaws can cause HAV syndrome, i.e., disorders in the upper extremities of forestry workers. Progress of HAV syndrome depends on the intensity of mechanical vibration transmitted throughout the body, which is directly proportional to coupling forces applied by the woodcutter to a vibrating tool. This study aimed to establish a method of...
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This study aimed to evaluate possible health effects associated with long-term occupational exposure to low levels of mercury vapors. Forty-six subjects exposed to mercury and 65 healthy unexposed employees were studied. The subjects were administered a questionnaire on experienced symptoms and underwent clinical examinations as well as routine biochemical tests. Atmospheric and urinary concentrations...
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A relationship-oriented culture predominates in the Greater China region, where it is more important than in Western countries. Some characteristics of this culture influence strongly the organizational structure and interactions among members in an organization. This study aimed to explore the possible influence of relationships on safety management in relationship-oriented cultures. We hypothesized...
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The goal of this study was to evaluate working postures in 9 operations of poultry farming for broiler chickens for 14 body segments with 4 categories, and for fingers with 14 categories. Overall, the farmers commonly bent almost all their body segments and used power grips. The operations of cleaning with water wand and inspecting chickens seemed light work because the farmers walked around most...
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The aim of this study was to assess handgrip and 5 other types of force in 52 women and to determine if handgrip force reflected general upper limb force capabilities correlated with age. The women were divided into subgroups according to age: 20–25, 45–50 and 55–65 years. Maximum forces of the right upper limb were measured in 6 types of force activities. In most tests the values of force showed...
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The toxicity of benzene is not an issue of the past, especially in developing countries. Bone marrow toxicity is demonstrated among workers. In this study, the effect of simultaneous exposure to benzene and ethanol on benzene metabolism in mice was investigated by measuring the excretion of thioethers in urine. Urinary thioether excretion significantly decreased in the mice receiving both benzene...
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Musculoskeletal disorders lead to pain and suffering and result in high costs to industry. There is evidence to suggest that whereas conventional ergonomics training programs result in knowledge gains, they may not necessarily translate to changes in behavior. There were 11 participants in an ergonomics training program, and a subsample of participants received a motivational intervention in the form...
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Managing occupational safety in any kind of industry, especially in processing, is very important and complex. This paper develops a new method for occupational risk assessment in the presence of uncertainties. Uncertain values of hazardous factors and consequence frequencies are described with linguistic expressions defined by a safety management team. They are modeled with fuzzy sets. Consequence...
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The aim of the study was to investigate the possibility of using infrared (IR) thermography for assessing muscle fatigue during low effort. Three tests at constant levels of load 5, 15 and 30% of maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) lasting 5 min each were performed on a group of 10 men. Temperature and electromyographic (EMG) signal were registered from biceps brachii (BB). Analysis focused on the...
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Electric field strengths normally exceed the reference levels for occupational exposure in close vicinity to large frequency modulation (FM) transmitters. Thus, a detailed investigation on compliance with basic restrictions is needed before any administrative protection measures are applied. We prepared a detailed numerical model of a 20-kW FM transmitter on a 32-m mast. An electrically isolated anatomical...
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Standard No. EN 15831:2004 provides 2 methods of calculating insulation: parallel and serial. The parallel method is similar to the global one defined in Standard No. ISO 9920:2007. Standards No. EN 342:2004, EN 14058:2004 and EN 13537:2002 refer to the methods defined in Standard No. EN ISO 15831:2004 for testing cold protective clothing or equipment. However, it is necessary to consider several...
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Risk and safety management are very important issues in healthcare systems. Those are complex systems with many entities, hazards and uncertainties. In such an environment, it is very hard to introduce a system for evaluating and simulating significant hazards. In this paper, we analyzed different types of hazards in healthcare systems and we introduced a new fuzzy model for evaluating and ranking...
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The aim of our work was to study the physical symptoms of upper- and lower-level white-collar workers using a questionnaire. The study was cross-sectional with a questionnaire posted to 15 000 working-age persons. The responses (6121) included 970 upper- and 1150 lower-level white-collar workers. In the upper - and lower-level white-collar worker groups, 45.7 and 56.0%, respectively, had experienced...
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Noise measurements and questionnaire inquiries were carried out for 124 workers of a rolling stock plant to develop a hearing conservation program. On the basis of that data, the risk of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) was evaluated. Additionally, the workers’ hearing ability was assessed with the (modified) Amsterdam inventory for auditory disability and handicap, (m)AIADH. The workers had been...
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Using data on work accidents and annual mining statistics, the paper studies work-related accidents in the Spanish energetic mining sector in 1999–2008. The following 3 parameters are considered: age, experience and size of the mine (in number of workers) where the accident took place. The main objective of this paper is to show the relationship between different accident indicators: risk index (as...
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The safety of the interior of ambulances is dubious and, in the event of sudden impact during emergency transport, potentially perilous to patients they carry. The workplace ergonomics of the interior of the passenger cabin is lacking. This article discusses an improved ergonomic interior design based on study findings, observations and subjective perception. It suggests design aspects and safety...
