• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.284-289
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• 2006

In 2003, Korean government made the 11 scopes of overburdened work[Ministry of Labor(MOL), Notification No. 2003-24] to prevent musculoskeletal disorders(MSDs). MOL Notification was established based on 'Washington Administrative Code 296-62-051, Ergonomics'. When initially investigating the contents, the labor unions and the specialists pointed out the possibility of devaluation on risk factors of MSDs. The present study aimed to compare the result of the NIOSH revised lifting equation(NLE) analysis with the MOL Notification(No.8, 9, 10) on manual lifting tasks. A study sample of 568 manual lifting tasks (automobile parts, foods, and tire manufacture) were evaluated for this study. All 502 tasks exceed lifting index(LI) of 1.0, but 276 tasks(55.0%) out of 502 tasks were evaluated non-over burdened work for musculoskeletal system by the MOL Notification. Particularly, 47 tasks(30.9%), in spite of exceeding LI of 3.0, were evaluated non-over burdened work. This study has shown the possibility of devaluation on risk factors of MSDs, when evaluated by MOL Notification. Therefore, it will be necessary to repeal or complement the scope of over-burdened work(MOL Notification) to prevent musculoskeletal disorders.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.16-24
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• 2009

This research aims to measure and analyze the dimensions of typical office chairs and desks sold in domestic market, and to suggest the modifications of national guidelines considering Korean peoples' body characteristics. The scope of this study was limited to the desktop type of computer jobs, excluding laptop environment. The dimensions of 24 different office chairs and 7 tables were measured, and their dimensions were analyzed against the Ministry of Labor (MOL) Notification and Korean Standards (KS). At the same time, the data from the Size Korea was also considered. As a result, the KS guidelines were overall fulfilled by the measured products, while the MOL Notification was not. It was found that the guidelines on the chair height, seat pan depth, lumber support height, and armrest height need to be modified. Some inconsistencies between the MOL Notification and KS were also found. It is suggested that the required dimensions specified by both guidelines should be unified.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.109-115
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• 2009

The objective of this paper is to compare two national guidelines on the VDT work management published by Ministry of Labor(MOL) and Korean Standard(KS), and suggest possible modifications of them. The scope of this paper was limited to the desktop type of VDT jobs, excluding laptop environment. In addition, questionnaires were administered to office workers to collect information on the discomfort levels in meeting the MOL Notification. From ergonomic point of view, the most noticeable differences between two guidelines were found with respect to the heights of chairs and desks. In fact, the ranges specified in each guideline were not the same. In the field surveys, it could be known that work environments should be improved.