• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.43-50
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• 2006

The purpose of this study was to investigate applicability of NIOSH lifting equation(NLE) to analysis of workload for patient transferring. In principle, the NLE is not applied to analyzing workload of patient transferring, because 1) the task is generally performed by two or more persons; 2) unlike ordinary objects, human body of patients is basically unstable load with their location of the center of mass significantly varying during lifting activity; and 3) the task is done in a restricted work space. This study was conducted through comparison of NIOSH lifting indexes(LIs) and L5/S1 compressive forces by 3DSSPP for patient transferring tasks performed by 2~6 persons. The results showed that LIs are linearly correlated with L5/S1 compressive forces with correlation coefficient of 0.92, which resulted in a significant simple linear regression equation for LIs and L5/S1 compressive forces. Consequently, it was concluded that the NLE is applicable to transferring patient only with slight modification. Based on the results, instead of 1.0 originally used by NIOSH, the LI of 1.5 was proposed as a gauge to estimate whether or not the task needs corrective action to reduce risk for developing lifting-related low back pain.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.10 no.8
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• pp.283-291
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• 2010

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of foot placement and height of bed surface on lumbar spine load in a dummy transfer activity. Fifteen healthy male students participated in this study. All subjects were involved in four different conditions according to foot placement (11 figure and $90^{\circ}$ figure) and height of bed surface (44 cm and 66 cm) randomly. Muscular activations of the biceps brachii, rectus femoris, elector spinae using surface-EMG, vertical ground reaction using force plate, and L4/L5 compression force using 3DSSPP (3D Static Strength Prediction Program) were measured and analysed. The results showed that muscular activations were not significantly different for the various conditions except for the rectus femoris on the right side (p<.05). Futhermore, the vertical ground reaction and L4/L5 compression force were significantly different conditions (p<.05). In conclusion, it is suggested that foot placement at $90^{\circ}$ figure is safer for transfer activity compared with the 11 figure.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.21 no.2 s.74
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• pp.121-127
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• 2006

Nursing often requires heavy physical work activities such as lifting heavy loads, working in awkward postures, transferring patients, operating hazardous equipment, etc. Among various nursing tasks, patients transferring is one of the most physically demanding tasks. This study aims to investigate workload of the patients transferring, and to propose its improving methods for reducing high workload. The results showed that irrespective of methods for patients transferring and the number of workers involved, workload for most patients transferring tasks exceeded the action limit represented in terms of L5/SI compressive force of 3,400N or LI of 1.0 by NIOSH. The loads for some tasks were far larger than the maximum permissible limit of 6,400N. It is recommended that the mechanical devices for transferring patients such as ceiling crane, sling lift etc. should be introduced rather than simply increasing the number of workers in the tasks.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.85-93
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• 2013

Modern fire fighting jobs have been expanded to include areas of rescue, emergency medical service as well as conventional fire suppression, so that load for fire fighting jobs has been increased. Specifically, musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) such as low back injury have been considered as one of major industrial hazards in heavy manual material handling during fire fighting jobs. This study tried to evaluate risk levels and to prepare background for reducing risk levels associated with heavy manual material handling during fire fighting jobs. This study applied two major tools in evaluating heavy manual material handling jobs which were NLE (NIOSH Lifting Equation) and 3DSSPP (3D Static Strength Prediction Program). A risk index in terms of heavy manual material handling during fire fighting jobs was identified. This index consisted of seven risk levels ranged from nine points (the first level) to three points (the seventh level). There was no job associated with the first level (the highest risk level) of index. There was only one job (life saving job) belonging to the second level (the second highest risk level) of index. The third level had jobs such as usage of destruction equipment and lifting patient. A total of basic eighteen jobs was categorized into six different levels (2nd-7th levels) of index. The outcome of the study could provide a good basis for conducting job intervention, preparing good equipment and developing good education program in order to prevent and reduce MSDs including low back injury of fire fighting jobs.

• Journal of Korean Institute of Industrial Engineers
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.266-273
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• 1999

The maximum work capacity at various shoulder angles was estimated in terms of joint moment through maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) measurement, and the result was compared to workload computed from 3-D static lifting model (3DSSPP) based upon national institute of safety and health (NIOSH) lifting guideline (1991). The electromyography (EMG) of anterior/posterior deltoid and trapezius muscle was also recorded to study the function of individual muscle during asymmetric shoulder lifting. Psychophysical workload was measured to observe the difference from MVC or biomechanical estimation. An apparatus was constructed for the study and twenty five trials including five flexion angles and five add/abduction angles were performed isometrically. Results indicated that MVC at 30 degree of flexion was the strongest whereas MVC at 120 degree was the weakest. In case of add/abduction, MVC decreased to 77 to 89 % during add/abduction compared to the MVC at neutral position. Regarding the normalized EMG value, a substantial increase was observed at 30 and 60 degree abduction. More importantly, the shoulder moment computed from maximum permissible limit (MPL) was greater than the moment at MVC condition during 30 degree adduction. Current result can be used as a reference information for a safe workplace design to prevent the shoulder from an excessive work load in industry.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.165-170
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• 2012

Objective: The aim of this study is to develop new K-OWAS on the basis of the anthropometry of Koreans considering works in shipbuilding and heavy industry for evaluation whole-body working postures. Background: Work Related Musculoskeletal Disorders(WMSDs) were a leading cause of sick leaves and injuries in the industries of our country. Especially, awkward working postures and handling of heavy weight are known as a main cause of WMSDs. OWAS, RULA and REBA are much used as the method for evaluating the awkward working postures. OWAS is the working postures evaluation method that can be used for the evaluation of whole-body working postures. OWAS was the method made based on the anthropometry of the foreigner, working postures and weight does not fit our work state. Method: This method was evaluated considering the anthropometry of the Koreans, working postures and weight in shipbuilding and heavy industry work state in Korea. Results: Correlation of action level of OWAS and subjective discomfort for each body parts were not statistically significant($p{\geq}0.1$). But correlation of action level of K-OWAS and subjective discomfort for torso and waist were statistically significant($p{\leq}0.1$). Conclusion: K-OWAS was suitable in the evaluation of upper body including torso and waist. Application: New method for whole-body working postures from this study prevent WMSDs and help improvement of working environment and design of working method.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.307-313
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• 2020

Background: Many tasks in industrial and health care setting are involved with pushing and pulling tasks up or down on a ramp. An efficient method of moving cart which reduces the risk of low back pain should be concerned. This study aimed to investigate the effects of handling types (HTs) and slope on lumbar spinal load during moving a cart on a ramp. We conducted a 2 × 2 × 4 factorial design with three main factors: 2 HTs, 2 handling directions of moving a cart and 4 degrees of ramp slope. Methods: Thirty healthy male workers performed 14 tasks consist of moving a cart up and down on the ramp of 0°, 10°, 15°, and 20° degrees with pushing and pulling methods. Joint angles from a 3D motion capture system combined with subject height, body weight, and hand forces were used to calculate the spinal load by the 3DSSPP program. Results: Our results showed significant effect of HT, handling directions and slope on compression and shear force of the lumbar spine (p < 0.001). When the ramp gradient increased, the L4/5 compression forces increased in both pushing and pulling (p < 0.001) Shear forces increased in pulling and decreased in pushing in all tasks. At high slopes, pulling generated more compression and shear forces than that of pushing (p < 0.01). Conclusion: Using the appropriate technique of moving a cart on the ramp can reduce the risk of high spinal load, and the pushing is therefore recommended for moving a cart up/down on ramp gradients.