• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.1683-1691
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• 2013

Concrete surface grinding is frequently used for flatness of concrete surface, concrete pavement rehabilitation, and adhesiveness in pavement construction. The procedure is, however, labor intensive and has a hazardous work condition. Also, the productivity and the quality of concrete surface grinding highly depend on the skills of worker. Thus, the development of remote controlled concrete surface grinding equipment is necessary to prevent the environmental pollution and to protect the workers from hazardous work condition. However, it is difficult to evaluate the grinded surface objectively in a remote controlled system. Also, The machine vision system developed in this study takes the images of grinded surface with the network camera for image processing. Then, by representing the quality test results to the integrated program of the remote control station, the quality control system is constructed. The machine vision algorithm means the image processing algorithm of grinded concrete surface and this paper presents the objective quality control standard of grinded concrete surface through the application of the suggested algorithm.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.135-143
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• 2005

This study was conducted to measure the exposure levels to noise for the middle and the high school students who worn headsets in the PC rooms. The noise levels from the headsets were measured with noise dosimeters, and the statistical relationships between the utilization pattern, user's views on the PC rooms and it's environment were analyzed for the selected PC rooms in the Ahnshan area. The results were as follows; 1. No significant difference was found in the number of uses and average time spent per day by education level and by sex of the users(p>0.05). 2. No statistical significant difference was found between the contents selected by education level of the users (p>0.05). The male participants overwhelmingly enjoyed the PC games (98.3 %) while females selected for listening music (75.0 %) with significant difference(P<0.05), followed by browsing internet and PC communications (70.0 %), PC game (66.7 %) and chatting (33.3 %). 3. The actual noise measurements of the headsets worn by the users of different sexes and educational backgrounds produced no differences(p>0.05), while a significant difference was found between genders (p<0.05). 4. For sound pressure level measurements, the weighted average(Lavg) of 84.5 dB(A) on the left headsets exceeded that of 79.8 dB(A) on the right headsets significantly(p<0.01) and the maximum value of 96.9 dB(A) on the left headsets exceeded the maximum value of 93.5 dB(A) on the right headsets(p<0.01). 5. The actual noise measurements of the headsets worn by the users of different sexes and educational backgrounds produced no differences(p>0.05), however, the contents selected by the users with different educational backgrounds were noted with significant difference(p<0.05) while no difference was found by gender(p>0.05).

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.23-28
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• 2019

A track type underwater construction robot(URI-R) which can trench on seabed is being developed by Korea Institute of Ocean Science & Technology. During the underwater trenching work, the robot is exposed high intensive noise and vibration so the underwater localization signal may not be obtained properly by the acoustic tracking system. Therefore it is necessary to research about continuous localization even though the measured position signal comes in intermittently. In this paper, the experiments were carried out on land to simulated the underwater operating environment characteristics. To estimate its position, inertial navigation system and global navigation satellite system are used. The effects of the period variation while localizing is investigated by the experiments, and the application for URI-R is proposed.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.87-92
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• 2019

This study is the analysis of causes of printed circuit board (PCB) in collective protection equipment failure and quality improvement. The equipment is a component of the weapon system currently in operation and serves to defend against enemy chemical and biological attack as well as heating and cooling functions. However, during operation in the military, fans of condensate assembly failed to operate. The cause of the failure is the burning of PCB. It was found that the parts were heated according to the continuous cooling operation under the high temperature environmental conditions. Accordingly, the electronic components exposed to high temperature were deteriorated and destroyed. To solve this problem, PCB apply to heatsink. The performance test of improved PCB has been completed. Futhermore system compatibility, positive pressure maintenance and noise test were performed. This improvement confirmed that no faults have occurred in PCB so far. Therefore, the quality of the equipment has improved.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.199-206
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• 2021

This paper describes the feasibility and reliability verification of installing a protective structure to protect attack periscopes. The attack periscope is the critical equipment of a submarine to enable the user to monitor surface and air activity, collect navigational data, and detect and identify targets. The attack periscope provides target information acquired through TV, IR camera, and laser range finder to the combat system. In the product improvement program, the upper part of the masts was exposed to the outside of the sail because the existing attack periscope was replaced with a new one. On the other hand, the head sensor can be damaged by floating objects, such as fishing nets, during sea navigation. Therefore, the installation of a protective structure for an attack periscope improved the equipment operation performance. The feasibility and reliability of the installation of the protective structure were verified by examining the influence of URN.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.308-316
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• 2023

Objectives: The aim of this study is to measure and assess the occupational noise exposure levels among construction workers at apartment building construction sites in South Korea. Methods: Noise exposure assessments were conducted for 139 construction workers across 10 different trades at 53 apartment building construction sites in the northern part of Gyeonggi-do. Assessments were carried out using a noise dosimeter set with a 90 dB criterion, an 80 dB threshold, and a 5 dB exchange rate over a period of more than 6 hours(L_MOEL) Results: The mean L_MOEL (equivalent continuous noise level over 8 hours) for the 139 dosimeter samples was 87.8 ± 4.3 dBA. The mean noise exposure level for each construction trade, referred to as the trade mean, was also calculated. Significant differences in noise exposure levels were observed between construction trades (ANOVA, p < 0.001). The highest L_MOEL values were recorded for concrete chippers (93.2 ± 2.6 dBA), followed by ironworkers (88.4 ± 0.7 dBA), concrete finishers (88.3 ± 2.7 dBA), masonry workers (87.7 ± 1.9 dBA), pile driver operators (85.6 ± 1.7 dBA), concrete carpenters (84.9 ± 2.4 dBA), interior carpenters (83.5 ± 2.1 dBA), and other groups (81.4 ± 2.2 dBA). Conclusions: The findings suggest that nearly all construction workers in this study are at risk of Noise-Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL). Moreover, the study establishes that construction trades can serve as a useful metric for assessing noise exposure levels at apartment construction sites.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.332-345
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• 2023

Objectives: We examined the association of hearing with cardio-metabolic diseases, dyslipidemia, hypertension and diabetes mellitus according to the personal and occupational characteristics of workers exposed to noise. Methods: The subjects of the study were 237,028 workers who underwent 2, 3, and 4 kHz airway pure tone audiometry in 2015 and who underwent clinical tests to diagnose cardiovascular-metabolic diseases. Cardiovascular-metabolic diseases were defined using reference values for respective items including blood pressure (systolic/diastolic), fasting blood glucose, cholesterol, and triglycerides. The airway pure tone hearing threshold of 2, 3, and 4 kHz, the average threshold of 2-3-4 kHz, and the hearing loss by the average threshold of the primary examination were distinguished. Results: Workers with cardiovascular-metabolic disease had significantly higher average hearing thresholds and higher rates of hearing loss. Logistic regression analysis, which adjusted for demographic variables of gender and age and occupational variables such as workplace size, industry, and type of work, and cardiovascular-metabolic disease as independent variables, showed that the odds ratio of hypertension to hearing loss in the mid-frequency was 1.239 (95% confidence interval: 1.118-1.374). For hypertension was 1.159 (1.107-1.214) and for diabetes it was 1.166 (1.104-1.230) for hearing loss in the high-frequency. Hearing loss measured by mean hearing was 1.178 (1.105-1.256) for hypertension and 1.181 (1.097-1.271) for diabetes. Conclusions: Cardiovascular-metabolic diseases in noise-exposed workers are associated with an increased risk of hearing loss and should be accompanied by bio-monitoring of cardiovascular-metabolic diseases in addition to auditory surveillance.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.464-470
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• 2023

Objectives: This study evaluated occupational exposures to noise and heat stress during routine non-outage works in three coal-fired power plants in the Republic of Korea. Methods: The data were collected during the summer of 2020. Full shift noise exposure of 52 workers were measured using noise dosimeters. Heat stress of 16 worksites were measured for 70 minutes using wet-bulb globe temperature monitors. Results: The noise dosimetry results revealed time-weighted averages that ranged from 47.5 to 88.9 dBA. 2 out of 52 noise measurements exceeded 85 dBA. Based on the arithmetic mean, the coal service group showed the highest level at 80.2 dBA by job tasks. Noise exposures exceeding 85 dBA were measured in the coal service and plant operator group. Heat stress index measurements ranged from 20.3℃ to 37.2℃. 1 out of 9 indices measured in coal facilities and 4 out of 7 indices measured in boiler house exceeded 1 hour TWA during moderate work. Heat stress indices measured from boiler houses were significantly higher than those measured from coal equipment. Conclusions: The results show that overexposure to noise and heat stress may be encountered during routine non-outage work activities in coal-fired power plants. Appropriate actions should be taken to reduce future health outcome from occupational exposure to noise and heat stress in the industry.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.190-197
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• 2001

Noise-induced hearing loss(NIHL) was the highest rate (43.5%~58.5% from 1996 to 1998) of positive findings through specific medical program in Korea. There were much more NIHL at workers of automobile manufacturing factories than other manufacturing factories. The specific aim of the present study was to determine the noise exposure of automobile press lines, according to their job titles, press line types(auto, semiauto), dosimeter parameters setting. There were a total 11 press lines sampled at a automobile manufacturing company. Among those press lines, 10 press lines were autolines with acoustic enclosure, one semiauto press line was no aucostic enclosure Noise exposure data were sampled for an work shift using noise dosimeter, which recorded both time-weighted average(TWA) and 1-min average. The mean OSHA TWA(Korea TWA with threshold 90) was $80.7dB(A){\pm}4.7dB(A)$ for leader, $82.8dB(A{\pm}4.5dB(A)$ for pallette man, $76.7dB(A){\pm}4.3dB(A)$ for press operators, $76.6dB(A){\pm}5.6dB(A)$ for crane operators, $77.1dB(A){\pm}2.8dB(A)$ for forklift drivers, whereas the mean NIOSH TWA was $88.9dB(A){\pm}1.7dB(A)$ for leader, $89.6dB(A){\pm}2.1dB(A)$ for pallette man, $86.7dB(A){\pm}1.8dB(A)$ for press operators, $88.5dB(A){\pm}2.0dB(A)$ for crane operators, $87.7dB(A){\pm}1.0dB(A)$ for forklift drivers. While L10 for NIOSH TWA samples was 84.8 dB(A) ~ 87.3 dB(A), L10 for OSHA TWA samples was 69.5 dB(A) ~ 77.4 dB(A). L10 means that the TWA for 90% of the samples exceeded L10. Among OSHA TWA(Korea TWA with threshold 90) samples for pallette man, 7.7 % exceeded 90 dB(A), the OSHA permissible exposure level, but OSHA TWA samples for the other job titles didn't. Among NIOSH TWA samples, the samples over 85 dB(A), the NIOSH recommended exposure limit, was 100% (leaders), 83.3 %(operators), 97.4%(palletteman), 100%(forklift drivers), 91.7 %(crane operator). The results of One-way random effects analysis of variance models shows that the difference between job titles was significant by OSHA TWA(p<0.05), but not significant by NIOSH TWA(p>0.05). NIOSH TWA samples were significantly higher than OSHA TWA samples(P<0.05). Regression analysis was used to obtain relationships between OSHA TWA samples and NIOSH TWA samples. In this case the coefficient of determination = 0.90, which shows the high degree association between two methods. Regression equation, NIOSH TWA = 0.552 * OSHA TWA + 42.13 dB(A), shows that if OSHA TWA is known, NIOSH TWA can be predicted by the equation. The mean TWA difference between threshold 80 dBA and 90 dBA was significant(p<0.01). While the TWA noise exposures were 7.7% above the Korea(OSHA) PEL, they were more than 83.3% over NIOSH REL. Automobile workers were exposed to noise level that could be potentially damaging to their hearing. It found that there is approximately 25% excess risk of hearing loss even if a worker is protected to the PEL in according to NIOSH study.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.195-202
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• 2010

Cooling air-conditioning of APC (Agricultural Products processing Center) workplace is important to improve the working environment in the summer season. As existing cooling systems for air-conditioning of whole workplace are inefficient because of their high equipment operating costs, relatively inexpensive cooling system is required. The objectives of this study were to simulate the thermal flow fields in APC workplace having the positive and negative pressure type fan and pad systems and spot cooling system by using CFD software (FLUENT, 6.2) and estimate the cooling effectiveness of respective cooling systems. The results showed that the negative pressure type fan and pad system was inappropriate for the present APC workplace because of excessive outside air influx from open gateway and the positive pressure type fan and pad system created relatively low temperature field but non-uniform velocity field at worker positions. The spot cooling system could supply cool air to worker positions with relatively constant air velocity and temperature.