• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.1-13
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• 2007

Ergonomic methods have been effectively applied to design and evaluation of functional clothing. The goals of the present study are to: (1) develop an ergonomic evaluation system for the systematic analysis of functional clothing and (2) examine the usefulness of the proposed evaluation system by applying to flame-proof clothing. Based on the survey of literature and the brainstorming of experts in clothing design and ergonomics, factors considered for clothing evaluation were selected, classified, and complemented, resulting in an ergonomic clothing evaluation system consisting of four factor categories (clothing construction, user, work and environment, and user response). Using the proposed system, a field survey and a laboratory experiment were conducted for flame-proof clothing to identify its design problems. The field survey to workers found a comprehensive set of problems on the flame-proof clothing design in terms of pattern, textile, and color. The laboratory experiment identified additional design problems using a questionnaire that was developed based on an analysis on the relationship between clothing design components and ergonomic evaluation measures. The present study showed the ergonomic evaluation system and the relationship analysis of clothing design components and ergonomic evaluation measures are of use to identify design problems of functional clothing in a comprehensive and analytic manner.

• Proceedings of the ESK Conference
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• 1993.04a
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• pp.10-17
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• 1993

An object-oriented database was developed as a framesork for integrating into ergonomic interface models data for workplace modelling and ergonomic evaluation functions as well as basic anthropometric data required to construct a man model. In order to develop an ergonomic man model representing operators that interact with his working evnironments, not only anthro- pometric data but also efficient handling of such data and accurate representation of the work- space are needed as a prerequistite to proper ergonomic evaluation. Most existing man models are not, however, capable of fully utilizing these data due to the lack of a generallized formalism of data handling, which results in system performance degradation or a potential difficulty when the system is upgraded. In this research, these three sets of data with distinct characteristics were incorporated into a comon integrated database required to manipulate an ergonomic interface model fully coupled with the man model itself. An object- oriented scheme was sued for the database design Specifically, UniSQL/X, an object-oriented database management system and the X-window system on SPARC workstation were used for implementation. The ergonomic man model generated from the object-oriented database is found to possess great flexibility and performance compared to existing ergonomic interface models or ergonomic CAD systems.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Automotive Engineers
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.180-188
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• 2003

The vehicle simulator is a useful virtual reality system. The simulator enables engineers to effectively research and analyze various experiments. Therefore, the development of a specific vehicle simulator is required, and its performance must be verified. This paper verifies the performance of Pusan National University Vehicle Simulator. Human sensibility ergonomic tests of vehicle simulator were also executed. The sense of simulator motion was chosen as the standard of performance evaluation. The driver's senses were subdivided into senses of rectilinear and rotational velocities. This study extracted ergonomic sensibility words that can be used to evaluate the performance of the simulator As a practical application of simulator, the relation was studied between the sense of simulator motion and the characteristics of drivers, who are classified into their sexes and driving careers. A statistical method was applied to human sensibility ergonomic tests of vehicle simulator.

• Journal of Korean Institute of Industrial Engineers
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.105-120
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• 1992

An expert system was developed as a framework of integrating diverse and multifactored ergonomic knowledge to investigate its effectiveness in ergonomic workplace design and evolution. Although numerous computer-assisted approaches have been made to overcome the lack of integrated design principles, those models being used require very specific information of various design activities that may not be available in the design stage. On the other hand, an expert system would be an effective design aid that is capable of guiding the designer to solve a problem. However, most expert systems lack detailed evaluation capabilities due to a qualitative nature of inference mechanisms. Furthermore, those approaches were independently developed, focusing mostly on a single aspect such as biomechanics, physiology, etc. In this paper, a design framework was developed which takes advantage of expert system metholologies, a relational data base and existing ergonomic models. The pattern-directed, rule-based expert system allows the designer to gradually formulate and subsequently evaluate workplace design. A comprehensive and modularized knowledge base was built incorporating biomechanics, physiology and psychophysics, which is, in turn, capable of accessing not only qualitative knowledge but complex analytic evaluation models and massive information in the data base through an interface. A conflict resolution strategy using multiple criteria decision-making schemes was also employed to reconcile multiple design alternatives.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.933-942
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• 2010

Objective: To develop an ergonomic evaluation tool which can be apply to assess the lower-limb postures associated with farming tasks. Background: In general, most of existing ergonomic assessment tools was developed to investigate the work-related musculoskeletal disorders of the upper-limb postures in manufacturing industry. Methods: As the first step of development of the evaluation tool, 13 lower-limb postures that were commonly observed in farming task were investigated by the subjective discomfort ratings, heart rates, and muscle activities. And then, an ergonomic evaluation tool for the lower-limb postures was developed based on results of the first experiment. Lastly, the ergonomic checklist which was developed in the current study was compared with other existing ergonomic assessment tools. Results: Based on the results of comparisons between a newly developed assessment tool and other existing assessment tools, it was found that a newly developed tool can perceive more sensitively for the various lower-limb postures than other assessment tools. Conclusions: Lower-limb posture assessment tool which can evaluate and assess risks of lower-limb WMSDs which were prevalent in farming tasks more easily and accurately was developed in this study. The lower-limb assessment tool can also be utilized to prevent WMSDs related with lower-limbs as well as improve working environments.

• Journal of Korean Society of Industrial and Systems Engineering
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• v.19 no.40
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• pp.291-299
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• 1996

This study is concerned with the evaluation model construction of Man-Machine System(MMS) using Transfer Function in order to improve the control characteristics of an operator in the system and the procedure for ergonomic system design, When man, as a subsystem, performs his allocated functions in a system, many physical and physiological problems such as fatigue, stress and error occur. And the imperfect design of a MMS may itself be a situational factor that accelerates stress as well as an idiosyncratic factor that causes errors. So, the economy of design should be considered together with the ergonomic characteristics on the evaluation of MMS.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.136-142
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• 2000

One of the major requirements in preventing Work-related MusculoSkeletal Disorders(WMSDs) is to know definitely what vigorous exertion requirements are contained in a job. This requires improved job analysis tools which can accurately evaluate potentially harmful stresses to the musculoskeletal system. But to simply evaluate the level of stress at a joint, or in a muscle is not enough to motivate job changes. Therefore, the development of ergonomic evaluation tools for the jobs are important to ergonomics. The main objective is compared of the results that made by the ergonomic evaluation tools (e.g., BRIEF and RULA) in actually shoes manufacturing. These were developed in the foreign. So, it is priory needed to research of the ergonomics about Korean characteristic work by physiology and biomechanics.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.31-38
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• 2020

The study evaluated the accuracy and intra-rater reliability for OWAS (Ovako Working posture Analysing System), RULA (Rapid Upper Limb Assessment), REBA (Rapid Entire Body Assessment) to improve their evaluation accuracy and reliability. Participants (n = 163) with undergraduate degree were recruited in this study and trained for 6 hours about the ergonomic assessment methods. Ergonomic assessments were conducted using OWAS, RULA, and REBA for a representative work with dynamic posture found in manufacturing industries. The study compared action categories (overall level) and detailed evaluation scores for individual body part. Action categories of the participants significantly differed from the golden reference defined by ergonomic experts. The participants underrated or omitted scores for truck (37.4% of the participants) and legs (52.8%) in OWAS. Similarly, the participants underrated or omitted additional scores for all body parts except the hand and wrist in RULA (53.5%) and REBA (54.8%). On the other hand, the participants overrated scores for the hand and wrist in RULA (55.2%) and REBA (39.9%). The results found in this study can help of selecting focus points and parts during assessment and education to improve accuracy and reliability of the ergonomic assessment methods.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.266-273
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• 2021

Objective: The objective of this study was to suggest improvement methods for investigations and systems through a review of musculoskeletal risk factor investigation reports conducted in the workplace. Methods: A total of 34 reports on musculoskeletal risk factor investigations were reviewed. To confirm the appropriateness of the evaluation, reevaluation was conducted through a field investigation using other evaluation tools. In order to understand the effectiveness of the improvement plan, a survey was conducted with those in charge of tasks with ergonomic burdens. Results: As a result of performing a field survey using the work sampling method recommended by the KOSHA (Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency) for ten tasks, eight tasks were determined to pose an ergonomic burden. When 30 tasks were evaluated with RULA (rapid entire body assessment), 90% of them were evaluated at a higher level than the results of the workplace survey. Among the improvement measures, only 36% of the field workers affirmed them, and in only 19% of the workplaces were actual improvements made. Conclusions: In order to improve the ergonomic investigation system for risk factors in the ergonomic burden task, it is necessary to secure the objectivity of the evaluation performed by the institution and enable the active participation of workers in improvement activities.

• Journal of Korean Institute of Industrial Engineers
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.216-222
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• 2002

The ergonomic human model can be considered as a tool for the evaluation of ergonomic factors in vehicle design process. The proper anthropometric data on driver's postures are needed in order to apply a human model to vehicle design. Although studies on driver's posture have been carried out for the last few decades, there are still some problems for the posture data to be applied directly to the human model due to the lack of fitness because such studies were not carried out under the conditions for the human model application. In the traditional researches, the joint angles were evaluated by the categorized data, which are not appropriate for the human model application because it is so extensive that it can not explain the posture evaluation data in detail. And the human models require whole-body posture evaluation data rather than joint evaluation data. In this study a postural evaluation function was developed not by category data but by the concept of the loss function in quality engineering. The loss was defined as the discomfort in driver's posture and measured by the magnitude estimation technique in the experiment using a seating buck. Four loss functions for the each joint - knee, hip, shoulder, and elbow were developed and a whole-body postural evaluation function was constructed by the regression analysis using these loss functions as independent factors. The developed postural evaluation function shows a good prediction power for the driver's posture discomfort in validation test. It is expected that the driver's postural evaluation function based on the loss function can be used in the human model application to the vehicle design process.