• Proceedings of the ESK Conference
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• 1998.04a
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• pp.19.1-24
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• 1998

Designers often hesitate to decide the shape, size, and layout of a product. Though ergonomic principles and data are absolutely needed in this process, they don't have enough guidelines to refer. For the refrigerator designers, they also are not convinced of their decision: the vertical position of the freezing and refrigerating rooms, the height of shelves, the shape of door-handle, and etc. To support the refrigerator design, we applied several ergonomic methods to the evaluation of a refrigerator. EMG measurement was used to evaluate the load of user's lumbar muscle. Based upon the experimental EMG data, we developed a model to predict the relative load according to the height of refrigerator shelves. Two different layouts of a refrigerator, R/F and F/R style, were compared with the model. A three-dimenaional motion analysis method was used to evaluate the user's motion of using a refrigerator. Ten door-handles with the different shapes and positions were evaluated by tracking the rotations of the user's arm. Video protocol analysis was used to evaluate the user interface of a control panel in a refrigerator. Finally, we made several ergonomic design guidelines based on the facts found in this research and the anthropometric data of the Korean adults. The results of this study can be applied to the ergonomic design of a refrigerator.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.135-143
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• 2015

Objective: The purposes of this study are to investigate ergonomic problems and to propose their improving measures in office environment of big general hospitals. Background: Office tasks have varying risk factors of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs). The first symptom resulted from the office work was recognized as an occupational disease in Korea in 1986. Although the symptoms have increased since its first recognition, there has been few study on the effect of office work environment settings. Method: First, the author took pictures of working scenes performed in three big university hospitals. Next, the pictures were analyzed in view point of ergonomics. Based on the analysis, their improving measures were proposed for reducing work stress. Results: The results showed that most physical office environment settings such as dimensions of tables/desks and chairs, leg room, thigh, knee and foot clearances, and chairs used did not satisfy the ergonomically recommended design guidelines. In addition, some clerks placed personal belongings under their desks, put monitors in high position and did not lean against the backrest of chairs in seated tasks, which resulted in poor working postures of leg, back, neck etc. It is recommended that the hospital management should provide their clerks with ergonomically designed office furniture and continuously perform ergonomics training program for raising clerks' recognition for office ergonomics. Conclusion: Most office environment settings investigated in this study were not in good condition in view point of ergonomic design for the settings. Application: It would be useful as basic data for establishing ergonomically good office environment in hospitals.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.489-500
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• 2014

In this study, remote handling strategies for a large-scale argon cell facility were considered. The suggested strategies were evaluated by several types of field test. The teleoperation tasks were performed using a developed remote handling system, which enabled traveling over entire cell area using a bridge transport system. Each arm of the system had six DOFs (degrees of freedom), and the bridge transport system had four DOFs. However, despite the dexterous manipulators and redundant monitoring system, many operators, including professionals, experienced difficulties in operating the remote handling system. This was because of the lack of a strategy for handling the installed camera system, and the difficulty in recognizing the gripper pose, which might fall outside the FOV (field of vision) of the system during teleoperation. Hence, in this paper, several considerations for the remote handling tasks performed in the target facility were discussed, and the tasks were analyzed based on ergonomic factors such as the workload. Toward the development of a successful operation strategy, several ergonomic issues, such as active/passive view of the remote handling system, eye/hand alignment, and FOV were considered. Furthermore, using the method for classifying remote handling tasks, several unit tasks were defined and evaluated.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.138-143
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• 2019

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess the ergonomic risk factors in beekeeping, and to evaluate the effectiveness of assistive device hive lift. Methods: This study included 30 subjects of beekeeper in Pocheon, Korea. We assessed the ergonomic risk of main task in beekeeping with NLE, OWAS and evaluate the effectiveness of hive lift. We also surveyed prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms among the subjects based on the Korea Working Condition Survey. Results: Moving to different floral origin, internal inspection of beehives, feeding syrup is the most burdensome to musculoskeletal system (NLE LI value=2~3. OWAS action category=4). The prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms (lower and upper extremities) among the subjects was over 80 %. The introduction of assistive devices in the three hazardous tasks has dramatically reduced the risk by removing manual lifting hives (OWAS action category<1). Conclusions: Beekeeping is a heavy workload on the musculoskeletal system because it has a lot of manual lifting task. As a result of applying the hive lift, the burden could be reduced.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.136-147
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• 2012

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate work-related risk factors of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in various departments and tasks at an oriental medicine hospital. Methods: 269 hospital workers were selected for the study. The questionnaire survey included general characteristics, work-related characteristics and MSDs. Cross-tabulation analysis, multiple logistic regression, adjusted for age, work time, job demand and workload, were used to evaluate the effects of work-related factors on MSDs. Results: There were differences in MSDs depending on gender, age, occupation, and work-related factors. Prevalence rates of MSDs were 23.79% shoulder, 14.13% back, 10.41% neck. Risk factors for MSDs was packaging of drugs, transfer, and exercise therapy of physical therapist. Shoulder pain was significantly influenced by using power tools, over-reaching, and job demand while back pain was significantly influenced by weight-lifting operations and keyboard typing. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that consideration of MSDs characteristics of workers in oriental medicine hospital is necessary to change unsuitable work environments and educate on preventing MSDs.

• Archives of design research
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.253-260
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• 2000

Writing instruments or pens have many features not commonly found in other products in terms of their structure and characteristics of use. That is, different pens are usually composed of almost identical parts and/or structure. The fact they work always grabbed in hands considered, the ergonomic design of pens is essential. Reports indicate consumers evaluate pens in writing comfort above all other factors when they select pens. Among various factors related to writing comfort, it shouldspecifically be the ergonomic improvements that design can effectively contribute to. Studies on the pen-grabbing comfort or on approaches based on the understanding of human-work relationships generally lack when compared with fashion-conscious aesthetic approaches to pen design. This paper, therefore, aims to reestablish the ergonomic design criteria including the necessities of specifications required to provide indispensable data for the pen design processes. Consequently, it should produce basic set of information for systematic approach to pen design and development, which is commonly called'concurrent engineering'. Also a cost-effective solution for product diversification strategy could be attributed to a modular system database based on the result of this attempt.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.225-239
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• 2010

A high prevalence of farmer's work-related musculo-skeletal disorders (MSDs) have been reported in precedent studies. Risk factors - physical, chemical, biological, ergonomic risk factor etc. - in farm-work were identified by previous studies. To prevent farmers from exposing to them and reduce, Agricultural Safety Technology were introduced and used on farm. The purpose of this study is to review and summarize the agricultural safety technology on farm in Korea. According to strategy principles, this technology is classified as four criteria - workload reduction by reducing awkward posture, workload reduction by using manual material handling aids, Comfort improvement by protecting worker from hot, cold environment and work efficiency improvement by workplace redesign and cultivation modification. This technology includes transporting tools, working cloth, personal protective equipment, and pesticide-proof Clothing. Anthropometric study of Korean farmers was also carried out to support the development of equipment and clothes. In long terms, it needs to precaution activity from risk factors by using cultivation modification and working improvement. Although working condition gets better and workload reduce by this technology, it required customized safety technology in each crops - rice cultivation, horticulture and livestock farming. And farmers should use the assistive technology and participate voluntarily in ergonomic intervention program.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.172-182
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• 2006

Self administered checklist is needed to be developed to evaluate ergonomic risk factors. This study was conducted to develop self administered form of American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Z-365 checklist which represents comprehensive ergonomic risk factors, and to evaluate validity of this checklist. This study had been conducted from May 2004 to July 2005, of which subjects were 147 workers from 4 workplaces. Response rates for every items of self administered form of ANSI Z-365 were evaluated. To estimate the validity of checklist, relationship between the checklist grade that ANSI recommended and work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) symptom were calculated with and without adjustment of related variables. To evaluate the utility of checklist, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) were calculated. Because response rates of almost items were over 90 %, item development was successful. Because the checklist was related with WMSDs symptom after adjusting related variables, the checklist might represents ergonomic risk well. Because of low sensitivity and NPV, high specificity and PPV, the checklist is not suitable for screening tool. The checklist has better relationship with more severe symptom. Because of high specificity of the checklist, using it with high sensitive tool would enhance it's utility. Further study to develop high sensitive and comprehensive self administered ergonomic checklist is needed.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.91-100
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• 2007

The purposes of this research are to survey work-related risk factors of musculoskeletal disorders(MSDs) in various departments and tasks at general hospitals in non-manufacturing sectors, and to use basic data derived from the survey results in preventing work-related MSDs in hospital workers. Investigation started in March of 2006 and continued for 6 months in 220 general hospitals at Seoul, Incheon, Kyeongi, and Kangwon area. Investigators visited and interviewed workers in hospitals to identify the presence of tasks of musculoskeletal burden, the investigation results of ergonomic risk factors required by the Occupational Safety and Health Law, statistical analysis from questionnaire for musculoskeletal symptoms, and major departments and tasks that have such risk factors. Twenty-seven percents of hospitals finished the investigation of ergonomic risk factors, and 69% did not do the investigation while remained 4% did not have such factors in their hospitals. The rank order of major departments that had such musculoskeletal burdens was kitchen rooms of 143, managing departments/computer rooms/dispensaries of 137, physical treatment rooms of 109, nursing departments of 96, radiological and clinical laboratories of 63. Eighteen hospitals that did not hold legal duties by the section 148 of labor minister decree practiced prevention programs of MSDs according to the labor-management cooperation. Nursing departments ranked in the first place for the numbers of musculoskeletal symptoms of 438. Managing departments/computer rooms/dispensaries, kitchen rooms, and medical treatment departments held 127, 52 and 45 symptoms, respectively. The magnitude order of physical symptom areas followed shoulder of 185, backs and waist of 166, hand wrists of 120, necks of 110, and legs/feet of 106. The departments and jobs that had major work-related ergonomic risks were patient transporting, central supplying, patient nursing (moving patients into wheel-chairs, changing of patient posture and sheet alteration), manual transporting, operation, and managing/computer departments.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.43-52
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• 2006

The goal of this study is to investigate the ergonomic factors in designing or selecting the hand tool handle. Electromyogram (EMG) were measured for various wrist postures and handle sizes under two loading conditions. Anthropometric data were measured and the correlation with EMG measurement data were analyzed. Investigations of this study show that wrist posture should be neutral for minimum muscle tension and optimum handle size can be found by measuring the EMG measurement data. It show that hand width and EMG measurement data is greatly correlated also. This study can be a guide of designing or selecting a hand tool, but further study with large sample sizes and various groups is needed for making general conclusion.