• 한국산업보건학회지
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• 제23권1호
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• pp.11-19
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• 2013

Backgrounds: Occupations are grouped on the basis of similarity in tasks and duties performed. Standard occupational classification (SOC) is a tool for organizing all professions into a clearly defined set of groups according to the tasks and duties undertaken in the respective jobs. Objectives: The major objective of this study is to comprehensively review how a SOC system is used in occupational and safety fields such as surveillance, exposure monitoring, occupational epidemiological study, management of carcinogens and analysis of occupational accidents. Methods: We summarized the cases, policies and regulations used in SOC systems in advanced countries and as they appear in articles Results: We found that SOC systems have been widely used in various areas of occupational safety and health in the US, the UK, Finland, and the EU. In general, it is highly common to use SOC in the analysis of occupational accidents and diseases and to identify factors causing those accidents. The SOC system is also used not only for surveillance of exposure to hazardous agents and occupational health, but to manage carcinogens. In order to adjust the effects of a particular job, SOC is used in the general population health area. The Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) has never used or introduced an SOC system. There have been no cases of the application of a SOC system to either the occupational safety and health field or to health surveillance for the general population in Korea. Conclusions: We suggested a need to introduce an SOC system in several occupational safety and health activities, such as work environment measurement, analysis of occupational accidents, specific physical examination and surveillance systems, etc.

• 한국직업건강간호학회지
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• 제25권1호
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• pp.65-74
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• 2016

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to predict industrial accident rate using time series analysis. Methods: The rates of industrial accident and occupational injury death were analyzed using industrial accident statistics analysis system of the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency from 2001 to 2014. Time series analysis was done using the most recent data, such as raw materials of Economically Active Population Survey, Economic Statistics System of the Bank of Korea, and e-National indicators. The best-fit model with time series analysis to predict occupational injury was developed by identifying predictors when the value of Akaike Information Criteria was the lowest point. Variables into the model were selected through a series of expertises' consultations and literature review, which consisted of socioeconomic structure, labor force structure, working conditions, and occupational accidents. Results: Indexes at the meso- and macro-levels predicting well occurrence of occupational accidents and occupational injury death were labor force participation rate for ages 45-49 and budget for small scaled workplace support. The rates of industrial accident and occupational injury death are expected to decline. Conclusion: For reducing industrial accident continuously, we call for safe employment policy of economically active middle aged adults and support for improving safety work environment of small sized workplace.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제13권10호
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• pp.4927-4930
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• 2012

Background: Many observational studies have assessed the possible association between occupational cooking and uveal melanoma risk, but reported results are controversial. Our goal was to evaluate the association between occupational cooking and uveal melanoma risk by conducting a meta-analysis of observational studies. Methods: PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science were searched through June 2012 to identify all eligible studies. The pooled odds ratio (OR) with its 95% confidence interval (95%CI) was used to evaluate this association. Either a fixed- or a random-effects model were used to calculate pooled ORs. Results: Five case-control studies involving a total of 1,199 cases and 6,927 controls were included in the meta-analysis. Overall, occupational cooking was associated with an increased risk of uveal melanoma (OR: 1.81, 95%CI 1.33-2.46, P < 0.001). Subgroup analysis by gender suggested occupational cooking was associated with increased risk of uveal melanoma in both men (OR: 2.16, 95%CI 1.06-4.40, P = 0.034) and women (OR: 1.92, 95%CI 1.19-3.10, P = 0.008). Conclusion: This meta-analysis suggests that occupational cooking is associated with an increased risk of uveal melanoma in both men and women.

• 한국산업보건학회지
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• 제33권2호
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• pp.188-205
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• 2023

Objectives: Methanol poisoning accidents in smartphone parts manufacturing facilities were analyzed using a systemic accident analysis method, and the necessity and possibility of the application of this systemic method in the field of occupational health were reviewed. Methods: A STAMP model for accident analysis was created based on the previously published literature. CAST analysis was performed to find the causal factors of the components and between the components. Results: The STAMP model visually showed the abstract and complex system control structure. The CAST analysis results could include all the causal factors from the previously published literature, and presented them holistically. Additional causal factors that were not presented in the literature were found. Conclusions: The holistic accident analysis results in this study will be helpful to establish comprehensive measures to prevent methanol or other chemical poisoning accidents. Therefore, it will be necessary to use systemic accident analysis methods in the field of occupational health.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제12권2호
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• pp.201-208
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• 2021

Background: In the mining industry, various methods of accident analysis have utilized official accident investigations to try and establish broader causation mechanisms. An emerging area of interest is identifying the extent to which cultural influences, such as safety culture, are acting as drivers in the reoccurrence of accidents. Thus, the overall objective of this study was to analyze occupational health and safety (OHS) reports in mining to investigate if/how safety culture has historically been framed in the mining industry, as it relates to accident causation. Methods: Using a computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software, 34 definitions of safety culture were analyzed to highlight key terms. Based on word count and contextual relevance, 26 key terms were captured. Ten OHS reports were then analyzed via an inductive thematic analysis, using the key terms. This analysis provided a concept map representing the 50-year data set and facilitated the use of text framing to highlight safety culture in the selected OHS mining reports. Results: Overall, 954 references and six themes, safety culture, attitude, competence, belief, patterns, and norms, were identified in the data set. Of the 26 key terms originally identified, 24 of them were captured within the text. The results made evident two distinct frames in which to interpret the data: the role of the individual and the role of the organization, in safety culture. Conclusion: Unless efforts are made to understand and alter cultural drivers and share these findings within and across industries, the same accidents are likely to continue to occur.

• 한국안전학회지
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• 제37권6호
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• pp.32-39
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• 2022

This study analyzed the relationship between occupational accidents in the construction industry and business cycle factors. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to achieve the research purpose; additionally, time-varying parameter estimations were performed to interpret the results. The results obtained for the construction industry revealed a statistically significant relationship between occupational accidents and wage increase rate, unemployment, construction starts, and other factors. The wage increase rate plays a role in reducing occupational accidents because efforts are made to prevent accidents owing to the increase in income loss due to accidents and the demand for increased safety levels. The number of construction starts affects occupational accidents with a time lag of 1 to 2 or 4 months; therefore, it is likely to be used as a leading indicator for estimating fatal accidents in the construction industry. This study highlighted the importance of monitoring socioeconomic changes that could affect the working conditions of workers and workplaces, and production activities in the workplace for the effective prevention of occupational accidents. This study also reveals the necessity of developing a method to operate prevention projects flexibly and the seasonality of industrial characteristics, particularly those of the construction industry where the highest number of fatal occupational injuries occur.

• 한국산업보건학회지
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• 제17권4호
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• pp.322-334
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• 2007

This study covers the investigation of the actual condition in the workplace to produce plastics products using synthetic resins and the investigation on the trends amount of the domestic production of thermoplastic resins. To analyze the monomers included in thermoplastic resins frequently used in the workplace, we analyzed thermal characteristics for test compounds using thermogravimetric analysis and did the qualitative analysis using Pyrolyzer GC-MSD & TDS GC-MSD. And then we classified the health hazard of monomers based on GHS classification criteria using information toxicity & carcinogenicity. The number of the workplace to produce plastics products among all domestic manufacturers of 73,884 was 4,391 (5.94%). The number of workers to produce plastics products among all workers of 2,522,750 in all domestic manufacturers was 104,971 (4.16%). The amount of production per year for thermoplastic resins is in the order of PP, HDPE, LDPE, PVC, ABS, PS and such compounds was producing over 1 Million ton per year each. The classification result based on GHS classification criteria for 22 main compounds included thermoplastic resins says 2 compounds of acrylonitrile, naphthalene are in Acute oral category 3 and benzene is in Acute dermal category 1. The classification results of health hazard of carcinogenicity based on IARC & ACGIH carcinogen classification says 2 compounds of benzene, vinyl chloride are in category 1A (known to be human carcinogens).

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제3권4호
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• pp.278-286
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• 2012

Objectives: Authors investigated the pattern of the rate of occupational injuries and illnesses (ROII) at the level of enterprises in order to build a network for exchange of experience and knowledge, which would contribute to workers' safety and health through safety climate of workplace. Methods: Occupational accidents were analyzed at the manufacturing work site unit. A two step clustering process for the past patterns regarding the ROII from 2001 to 2009 was investigated. The ROII patterns were categorized based on regression analysis and the patterns were further divided according to the subtle changes with Mahalanobis distance and Ward's linkage. Results: The first clustering of ROII through regression analysis showed 5 different functions; 29 work sites of the linear function, 50 sites of the quadratic function, 95 sites of the logarithm function, 62 sites of the exponential function, and 54 sites of the sine function. Fourteen clusters were created in the second clustering. There were 3 clusters in each function categorized in the first clustering except for sine function. Each cluster consisted of the work sites with similar ROII patterns, which had unique characteristics. Conclusion: The five different patterns of ROII suggest that tailored management activities should be applied to every work site. Based on these differences, the authors selected exemplary work sites and built a network to help the work sites to share information on safety climate and accident prevention measures. The causes of different patterns of ROII, building network and evaluation of this management model should be evaluated as future researches.

• Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
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• 제35권
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• pp.42.1-42.4
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• 2023

ChatGPT has the potential to revolutionize occupational medicine by providing a powerful tool for analyzing data, improving communication, and increasing efficiency. It can help identify patterns and trends in workplace health and safety, act as a virtual assistant for workers, employers, and occupational health professionals, and automate certain tasks. However, caution is required due to ethical concerns, the need to maintain confidentiality, and the risk of inconsistent or inaccurate results. ChatGPT cannot replace the crucial role of the occupational health professional in the medical surveillance of workers and the analysis of data on workers' health.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제12권3호
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• pp.324-338
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• 2021

Background: We hypothesized that the growing demand of Korean workers for work-life balance would change the factors influencing job satisfaction. We sought to verify our hypothesis by conducting a conjoint analysis based on the Korean Working Conditions Survey (KWCS). Methods: We analyzed the raw data of the KWCS, conducted by the Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute from 2006 to 2017. To complete the analysis, we counted on a conjoint model of analysis, typically used in the analysis of customer satisfaction. The dependent variable was the satisfaction of workers with their working conditions, and the independent variables were the job quality indicators identified by Eurofound. Results: The factors that have the greatest impact on working conditions satisfaction are summarized as follows: "physical environment" for the first wave, "adverse social behavior" for the second wave, "occupational status" for the third and fourth waves, and "management quality" for the fifth wave. "Earnings" were not a major factor in determining employee job satisfaction, and the relative importance index is decreasing. Conclusion: According to the results of the analysis of the tendencies of Korean workers, the factors that affect the satisfaction with the working conditions have changed over time. It is crucial to identify factors that affect working conditions to assure the health and productivity of workers. The results of this study demonstrate that policymakers and employers are required to attentively consider human relations and social environment at work to improve working conditions in the future.