• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.75-83
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• 2015

Objective: The aim of this study is to suggest the standard of the direction sign on the pendant switch of overhead cranes which can reduce human errors in control. Background: A great number of crane accidents occur in industries. One of the major causes of the accidents is the mistake in the control of cranes by confusing the orientation of crane movements. Nevertheless, three different direction sign styles, 'East, West, South, North (EWSN)', 'Forward, Backward, Left, Right (FBLR)', and arrows for four directions are used without standardization. Method: An overhead crane simulator was installed for a laboratory experiment. It could move along six directions by the control of a pendant switch. 90 participants were evenly assigned to the three different conditions of direction sign styles. The participants were asked to control the pendant switch according to the continuously appearing 16 direction signs on a monitor ahead. The participants were allowed to refer an orientation sign board on the ceiling representing correct movement directions of the overhead crane simulator. Results: The direction sign style, 'EWSN', showed statistically significant better performance in task completion time and number of errors than the other sign styles. The direction sign style, 'EWSN', adopting the cardinal direction system, made the participants clear in direction controls after customizing to the crane movements. However, the direction sign styles, 'FBLR' and the arrows adopting the relative direction system made conflicts in direction controls due to the egocentric view of human. Conclusion: The direction sign style, 'EWSN', is the most appropriate for the standardization of the direction sign on the pendant switch of overhead cranes. Application: The results of this study can be applied to the standardization of direction sign in the legal notification on the safety certifications of crane manufacturing.

• Transactions on Control, Automation and Systems Engineering
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.236-241
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• 2001

Teach pendant is the most widely used means of robot teaching at present. Despite the difficulties of using the motion command buttons on the teach pendant, it is an economical, robust, and effective device for robot teaching task. This paper presents the development of a force/moment direction sensor named COSMO that can improve the teach pendant based robot teaching. Robot teaching experiment of a six axis commercial robot using the sensor is described where operator holds the sensor with a hand, and move the robot by pushing, pulling, and twisting the sensor in the direction of the desired motion. No prior knowledge of the coordinate system is required. The function of the COSMO sensor is to detect the presence f force and moment along the principal axes of the sensor coordinate system. The transducer used in the sensor is micro-switch, and this intuitive robot teaching can be implemented at a very low cost.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.90-97
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• 2017

Overhead cranes are the most widely used and have been identified as one of the main causes of fatal accidents. Although structural, mechanical and electrical safety standards for overhead cranes have been established to some extent, ergonomic standards related to crane controllers are rarely established. As a result, many crane accidents are reported to be caused by operator's error. To investigate the actual use of crane controllers in the industrial field, we surveyed 82 overhead cranes in 15 workplace and interviewed workers operating them. This study has presented the ergonomic problems related to the crane controllers in the field. As a result of investigation, it was found that the direction control signs, the sign language, and the button layout on the pendant switches and remote controllers are not standardized, which can cause a human error. To reduce human errors in overhead crane operation, ergonomic standards for controllers should be reflected on the government legislation or standards.