• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.19-28
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• 2010

Industrial Safety and Health Law (ISH Law) of Japan requires abnormalities identified in evaluations of worker health and working environments are reported to occupational physicians, and employers are advised of measures to ensure appropriate accommodations in working environments and work procedures. Since the 1980s, notions of a risk assessment and occupational safety and health management system were expected to further prevent industrial accidents. In 2005, ISH Law stipulated workplace risk assessment using the wording "employers shall endeavor." Following the amendment, multiple documents and guidelines for risk assessment for different work procedures were developed. They require ISH Laws to be implemented fully and workplaces to plan and execute measures to reduce risks, ranking them from those addressing potential hazards to those requiring workers to wear protective articles. A governmental survey in 2005 found the performance of risk assessment was 20.4% and common reasons for not implementing risk assessments were lack of adequate personnel or knowledge. ISH Law specifies criminal penalties for both individuals and organizations. Moreover, under the Labor Contract Law promulgated in 2007, employers are obliged to make reasonable efforts to ensure employee health for foreseeable and avoidable risks. Therefore, enterprises neglecting even the non-binding provisions of guidelines are likely to suffer significant business impact if judged to be responsible for industrial accidents or occupational disease. To promote risk assessment, we must strengthen technical, financial, and physical support from public-service organizations, encourage the dissemination of good practices to reduce risks, and consider additional employer incentives, including relaxed mandatory regulations.

• Journal of the Korea Fashion and Costume Design Association
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.161-172
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• 2019

This study examines the characteristics and recent changes of the Hanbok industrial cluster in Gwangju Metropolitan City, in order to understand the problems in the activation of the Hanbok industry and to seek future policies. A total 32 companies comprise the 'Small Manufacturer Specialized Support Center of Hanbok' and were surveyed with a 41 questions with questions in four categories. The Gwangju Hanbok area has been in existence for more than 40 years and was composed of small groups of one or two manufacturers. They are experiencing the same difficulties as other Hanbok clusters, such as the aging of workers, the downturn of dress culture, and changing consumption paradigms. However, since 2015, various efforts have been made in order to seek countermeasures to cope with such difficulties, particularly with the foundation of the 'Small Manufacturer Specialized Support Center of Hanbok' with the support of the Ministry of Small Venture Business. This study focuses on the alterations in the current Hanbok industry due to the IT industrialization as well as the changes in the locations of the Hanbok clusters due to the revitalization of old towns by local governments., The results providing an opportunity to appreciate the problems therein and seek the solutions. Small manufacturers of the Hanbok cluster are trying to improve their entrepreneurship, digital technology application, and knowledge in accordance with the socio-economic trends, but they have limitations to practically apply it to business, barely keeping the minimum production base. The central government and the Gwangju should reinforce and expand the support for marketing and public relations for the Hanbok to foster the designer population, to establish mutual brands, to raise brand awareness, and to promote the technological perfection of the individual businesses, to allow them to cope with the current market trends, in order for the technological development and firm settlement of the local Hanbok industrial cluster.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.57-64
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• 2019

Lack of incident reporting culture has been pointed out as a potential risk factor across industries. Consequently, comprehensive understanding of the factors affecting the willingness to report (WTR) is necessary. However, our knowledge on the related studies are not enough to date and even most parts of the existing studies have focused on patient safety, which makes it difficult to universally apply the factors to all industries. Therefore, this study aimed to identify WTR factors in chemical plants and evaluate the influence degree of the factors. To do this, 45 candidate factors were summarized throughout the previous studies and surveying plant safety staff. A questionnaire survey was conducted for 614 all employees from 9 chemical plants which belong to one company, and finally 32 WTR factors were identified throughout 520 responses. Of these, 19 factors were consistent with the previous studies and 13 factors were newly identified. The most influential factor was 'Views on the necessity of incident reporting', and 'Reporting practice by outcome severity', 'Fear of vilification, conflicts, blame, or sanctions' were followed. This result not only suggests various WTR factors suitable for chemical plants, but also shows need to derive specific factors that are appropriate to each industry. An empirical study could be expected to increase incident reporting by using these factors and verify its effectiveness on injury rate.

• Journal of Convergence for Information Technology
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.75-82
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• 2019

In the era of the 4th Industrial Revolution when ICT and convergence are emphasized, companies want talented people with a wide range of complex problem solving competencies, system competencies as well as major knowledge. This study examined the difference in perceived competency needed for future accounting officers using 166 valid questionaries prepared with 4 factors based on previous researches. The result shows that the workers, who majored in accounting and have more than 5 years of company experience, and the CEOs think the social competence is the most important while the accounting professors think the major competence is the most important qualification. These results indicate that, in order to reflect the industrial needs, the colleges should change their accounting major curriculums to provide various competences such as the social competence in addition to the basic major competence.

• Journal of Internet Computing and Services
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.67-77
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• 2019

Today, companies are making efforts to improve the performance of workers by utilizing various IT-based mobile and internet devices. In pharmaceutical companies, salespeople are using the e-brochure to search for diverse expertise in real time. Through the e-brochure, pharmacists and doctors can be provided with the information they need, thereby increasing confidence in pharmaceuticals and salespeople. Salespeople can also use e-brochures to improve their work performance and to be more satisfied with their jobs. This study examines which functions of e-brochures satisfy salespeople and what attitudes to the e-brochures they need to have. This paper explains the effect of satisfaction and attitude to the e-brochures on job satisfaction through self-efficacy with statistical analysis. As a statistical result, the functions of e-brochures (professional knowledge, massive amount of data, easy searching, information updates, and the reflection of feedback) and attitudes to the e-brochures (importance, intention to use, belief in improvement, efficacy to use, and negative cognition) influence on self-efficacy of salespeople. Further, self-efficacy has mediating effects on the relationship between the functions of e-brochures / attitudes to e-brochures and job satisfaction. Exceptionally, the mediating effect of self-efficacy was not significant in relation to information updates / reflection of feedback and job satisfaction. These results will explain what functions should be focused for the future development of e-brochures. It will also suggest what attitudes the salespeople should have about e-brochures. Through these efforts, salespeople will be able to utilize new technology of e-brochures to satisfy their jobs and improve their performance.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.244-248
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• 2021

Background: Sunburn is the main avoidable cause of skin cancer. Beach lifeguards spend many hours exposed to the effects of solar radiation during their work day, precisely at times of the year when levels of solar irradiation are highest. The aim of this study is to quantify the risk to beach lifeguards of sun exposure. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in the Western Costa del Sol, southern Spain, during the summer of 2018. The research subjects were recruited during a skin cancer prevention course for beach lifeguards. All participants were invited to complete a questionnaire on their habits, attitudes, and knowledge related to sun exposure. In addition, ten were specially monitored using personal dosimeters for three consecutive days, and the results were recorded in a photoprotection diary. A descriptive analysis (mean and standard deviation for the quantitative variables) was performed, and inter-group differences were evaluated using the Mann-Whitney U test. Results: Two hundred fifteen lifeguards completed the questionnaire, and 109 met the criteria for inclusion in this analysis. The mean age was 23.8 years (SD: 5.1), 78.0% were male, 71.5% were phototype III or IV (Fitzpatrick's phototype), and 77.1% had experienced at least one painful sunburn during the previous summer. The mean daily personal ultraviolet exposure per day, the minimal erythema dose, and the standard erythema dose, in J/m², were 634.7 [standard deviation (SD): 356.2], 2.5 (SD: 1.4) and 6.35 (SD: 3.6), respectively. Conclusion: Beach lifeguards receive very high doses of solar radiation during the work day and experience correspondingly high rates of sunburn. Intervention strategies to modify their sun exposure behavior and working environment are necessary to reduce the risk of skin cancer for these workers and to promote early diagnosis of the disease.

• The Journal of Industrial Distribution & Business
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.27-40
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• 2022

Purpose: Research on job crafting has thus far focused on how alter job demand and resources behaviors relate to employee task performance. However, job crafting behaviors do not necessarily have an impact only on task performance, but also on employees' contextual performance, a phenomenon that has little research in job crafting research. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the effect of job crafting on task performance or contextual performance and the mediating effect of work engagement between them in the Chinese context. Research design, data and methodology: In order to achieve the above research goals and test the proposed hypotheses, we used a cross-sectional design and a self-administered questionnaire to collect quantitative data from September 8, 2021 to September 27, 2021 among knowledge workers in Shandong Province various financial companies and finally analyzed 211 questionnaires. Descriptive statistics and research model analysis were performed using SPSS 25.0 Version and AMOS 27.0 Version to test the developed hypotheses. Results: The results are as follows; firstly, the study showed that job crafting of employees had a significant positive impact on task performance and contextual performance. Secondly, the higher job crafting of employees, the higher their work engagement. Thirdly, this study showed that work engagement of employees had a positive impact on task performance and contextual performance. Fourthly, we predicted and found that work engagement of employees had a positive mediating effect between job crafting and task performance and a positive mediating effect between job crafting and contextual performance. Overall, this study showed that the proactive job crafting behaviors of employees enhance their engagement for their work, which in turn improves task performance and contextual performance. Conclusions: This paper develops job crafting research by exploring the positive impact of job crafting on employees' task performance or contextual performance through their work engagement. It also proposes that both job crafting behaviors and work engagement are important approaches to improve employees' task performance or contextual performance. Practical implications for organizations, such as increasing employee' work engagement, as well as the limitations and suggestions are concluded for the future research directions.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.7-14
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• 2023

We attempted to provide an overview of the laws and current state of the 3D printing industry in South Korea and around the world, using the annual industry surveys and the Wohler report. Additionally, we reviewed articles relating to the potential exposure to hazards associated with 3D printing using metal materials. In South Korea, there were 406 3D printing-related businesses, employing 2,365 workers, and the market size was estimated at 455.9 billion won in 2021. Globally, the average growth rate of the 3D printing industry market over the past 10 years was 27.4%, and the market size was estimated at $11.8 billion in 2019. The United States had the highest cumulative installation ratio of industrial 3D printers, followed by China, Japan, Germany, and South Korea. A total of 6,168 patents related to 3D printing were registered in the US between 2010 and 2019. Harmful factors during metal 3D printing was mainly evaluated in the powder bed fusion and direct energy deposition printing types, and there is a case of material extrusion type with metal additive filaments. The number, mass, size distribution, and chemical composition of particles were mainly evaluated. Particle concentration increases during the opening of the chamber or post-processing. However, operating the 3D printer in a ventilated chamber can reduce particle concentration to the background level. In order to have a safe and healthy environment for 3D printing, it is necessary to accumulate and apply knowledge through various studies.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.865-873
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• 2021

The purpose of this study is to suggest an improvement plan for the practical evaluation method used to determine the national technical qualification in field of flower design to improve its development. First, an advisory committee was formed, after which comparisons, an analyses and matching were conducted of the currently used national technical qualifications and competency units and the competency unit elements of the National Competency Standards in an effort to strength practical skills and industrial field abilities in the field of flower design. Second, we visited an industrial site to understand the practical and technical aspects as well as the facilities and equipment used in the flower design field. The status of workers in the industrial field in the field of flower design was then analyzed. Through this process, practical examination questions were developed for improve the evaluation method. In addition, to ensure a properly configured result, a pilot test was conducted involving those majoring in the field of flower design. To investigate the feasibility of the developed exam, a survey focusing on targets related to flower design was conducted. Based on the results, by suggesting an improvement plan for the practical evaluation method of national technical qualifications in the field of flower design, it is possible to improve knowledge, technical aspects, and literacy, allowing us to train outstanding technical professionals. In the end, this study can be expected to contribute to the improvement of the flower design industry.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.291-298
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• 2022

COVID-19 has spread across the world in the last two years, confining people to their homes and shutting down businesses and markets. The world is currently experiencing a catastrophic economic and social crisis. To benefit people and to protect them, industries invented new products. These products were made by small and medium-sized businesses across the globe. In South Asia, there was also a rigorous lockdown, people were laid off, and SMEs adopted E-commerce to assist clients and customers. Therefore, the study aims to analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on E-commerce adoption through open innovation strategies in South Asian countries. 500 respondents were selected through an online questionnaire to collect data from different countries of South Asia. The prominent countries are; India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. The results of the study show that perceived compatibility and complexity have a positive influence on E-commerce adoption. In normal circumstances, however, the open innovation model is feasible. Knowledge and experience sharing and management attitude have a moderate impact on E-commerce adoption. These results are beneficial for researchers and SME managers in South Asia to overcome the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and increase the number of skilled people employed. This study suggests that SMEs should hire skilled workers to upgrade their systems.