• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.99-106
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• 2003

This study concerns with an ergonomic approach for improving the workplace of an air-conditioner factory. If work tasks and equipments do not include ergonomic principles in their design, workers may have exposure to undue physical stress, strain, and overexertion, including awkward postures, forceful exertions, repetitive motion, and heavy lifting. The purpose of this study is to improve the safety, comfort, and efficiency of the workplace. Adapting tasks, work stations, tools, and equipments to fit the worker can help reduce physical stress on a worker's body and enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of workplace.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.289-295
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• 2021

Workplace violence (WPV) is an increasing cause of concern around the globe, and healthcare organizations are no exception. Nurses may be subject to all kinds of workplace violence due to their frontline position in healthcare settings. The purpose of this systematic review is to identify and consider different interventions that aim to decrease the magnitude/prevalence of workplace violence against nurses. The standard method by Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA, 2009) has been used to collect data and assess methodological quality. Altogether, twenty-six studies are included in the review. The intervention procedures they report on can be grouped into three categories: stand-alone trainings designed to educate nurses; more structured education programs, which are broader in scope and often include opportunities to practice skills learned during the program; multicomponent interventions, which often include organizational changes, such as the introduction of workplace violence reporting systems, in addition to workplace violence training for nurses. By comparing the findings, a clear picture emerges; while standalone training and structured education programs can have a positive impact, the impact is unfortunately limited. In order to effectively combat workplace violence against nurses, healthcare organizations must implement multicomponent interventions, ideally involving all stakeholders.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.271-278
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• 1998

Every safety and health activity relies to some extent on education and training. Through effective education and training, people learn how to recognize safety and health hazards and how to control them. Thus, in most cases education and training is the first step in an accident prevention program. In this study, we analyzed safety training course-compare with Industrial Safety & Health Act, KISCO and KISA's rules,-and applied to workplace. In the safety training of workplace on the ground of the Industrial Safety & Health Act, the ratio of periodic employee refresher training to the total training subjects is only 25% and it of supervisor training is 16.7%. The ratio of training implemented in workplace about Knowledge, Skill, Attitude is as follows Periodic update training ; 15.1% : 7.5% : 64.2% New employees training ; 15.7% : 5.9% : 58.8% Job-change training ; 32.6% : 23.2% : 39.5% Specific safety & health training : 34.8% : 8.7% : 45.6%.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.244-250
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• 2016

Background: Domestic violence (DV) is associated with serious consequences for victims, children, and families, and even national economies. An emerging literature demonstrates that DV also has a negative impact on workers and workplaces. Less is known about the extent to which people are aware of coworkers' experiences of DV. Methods: Using data from a pan-Canadian sample of 8,429 men and women, we examine: (1) awareness of coworker DV victimization and perpetration; (2) the warning signs of DV victimization and perpetration recognized by workers; (3) whether DV victims are more likely than nonvictims to recognize DV and its warning signs in the workplace; and (4) the impacts of DV that workers perceive on victims'/perpetrators' ability to work. Results: Nearly 40% of participants believed they had recognized a DV victim and/or perpetrator in the workplace and many reported recognizing more than one warning sign. DV victims were significantly more likely to report recognizing victims and perpetrators in the workplace, and recognized more DV warning signs. Among participants who believed they knew a coworker who had experienced DV, 49.5% thought the DV had affected their coworker's ability to work. For those who knew a coworker perpetrating DV, 37.9% thought their coworker's ability to work was affected by the abusive behavior. Conclusion: Our findings have implications for a coordinated workplace response to DV. Further research is urgently needed to examine how best to address DV in the workplace and improve outcomes for victims, perpetrators, and their coworkers.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.107-111
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• 2010

This paper provided a brief summary of the current strategic goals, activities, and impacts of the NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) occupational injury research program. Three primary drivers (injury database, stakeholder input, and staff capacity) were used to define NIOSH research focuses to maximize relevance and impact of the NIOSH injury-prevention-research program. Injury data, strategic goals, program activities, and research impacts were presented with a focus on prevention of four leading causes of workplace injury and death in the US: motor vehicle incidents, falls, workplace violence, and machine and industrial vehicle incidents. This paper showcased selected priority goals, activities, and impacts of the NIOSH injury prevention program. The NIOSH contribution to the overall decrease in fatalities and injuries is reinforced by decreases in specific goal areas. There were also many intermediate outcomes that are on a direct path to preventing injuries, such as new safety regulations and standards, safer technology and products, and improved worker safety training. The outcomes serve as an excellent foundation to stimulate further research and worldwide partnership to address global workplace injury problems.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.43-52
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• 2014

Because information on biological agents in the workplace is lacking, biological hazard analyses at the workplace to securely recognize the harmful factors with biological basis are desperately needed. This review concentrates on literatures published after 2010 that attempted to detect biological hazards to humans, especially workers, and the efforts to protect them against these factors. It is important to improve the current understanding of the health hazards caused by biological factors at the workplace. In addition, this review briefly describes these factors and provides some examples of their adverse health effects. It also reviews risk assessments, protection with personal protective equipment, prevention with training of workers, regulations, as well as vaccinations.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.88-96
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• 2022

Widespread infectious diseases are a concern for workers working in confined spaces. However, there is no risk assessment index for the risk of infectious disease in the workplace. Therefore, we propose a simple but effective index model to assess the risk of infectious diseases in the workplace. The proposed model identifies the risk of each workplace through an evaluation sheet comprising the frequency and intensity of the infectious disease. The intensity of an infectious disease is generally governed by the density of workers, whereas frequency is the sum of physical-e nvironmental and human management factors. By multiplying intensity and frequency, the risk of the workplace is derived. Through the proposed model, we evaluate the risks of workers at 15 different work sites. The proposed model clearly reveals what should be improved to keep workers safe from infectious diseases and will be helpful in assessing the risk of contagious disease at the work place.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.56-61
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• 2022

In this study, a systematic survey was employed to investigate managers' awareness on the safety culture project in small- to medium-sized industries. The existing regulatory and technology-oriented disaster prevention strategy has been implemented to reduce industrial accidents within a short timeframe, but it is essential to reduce fundamental accidents as well by improving the organizational safety culture or software elements, such as safety awareness. Questionnaires and interviews were conducted to examine the managers' awareness about safety culture, consisting of 17 questions related to safety consulting and with the participation of 191 executives and safety managers. The results showed a significant difference in the self-pay rate of safety consulting depending on the size of the workplace under evaluation. Based on the results, the safety-consulting business focused on providing differentiated consulting support and realistic improvement plans according to the workplace size. The study concluded that it is possible to reduce fundamental human errors and improve organizations' safety awareness or safety culture by employing safety consulting differentiated by workplace size.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.1-6
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• 2013

This study was conducted to compare the value of the working environment measurement with the expected exposure value drawn by using a program, thereby going to investigate whether it is available to the risk assessment of domestic workplace. We used the ECETOC TRA program which is one of the exposure predictive models. Four kinds of substances were measured in two workplace which was exposed to organic solvents and one kind of substance was measured in three workplace which was exposed to dusts and then an exposure assessment of chemical risk factors was conducted. The result value of the working environment measurement, solid substance exceeded standard in one site, and it was found that the other solid and liquid substances were within the standard. The value of the exposure assessment program showd the same result; it was higher than the value of the working environment measurement, suggesting that due to its nature, the exposure assessment program is run only on the worst situation. Therefore, it was found that when the exposure assesment program is used, variables should be substituted only after accurately assessing the workplace and it is a good idea to assess the risk beforehand with the exposure assessment program in the case of the workplace which employs no more than 5 people and where it is hard to assess the working environment.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.191-199
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• 2012

Objectives: The study aim was to evaluate the application of a chemical exposure assessment tool for the Korean workplace. The Ministry of Employment and Labor in Korea (KMOEL) introduced the need for workplace risk assessments in 2011, requiring the Korean chemical industry to consider both domestic and international chemical regulation policies (e.g., estimations of exposure scenarios). Exposure scenarios are required in the European Union as part of material safety data sheets (MSDS) under the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) system. Methods: Although many programs for the estimation of exposure have been developed worldwide, to date there is no standard for the Korean workplace. To develop programs suitable for the Korean workplace, we examined the applicability of the European Center for Ecotoxicology and Toxicology of Chemicals target risk assessment (ECETOC TRA), which is recommended by the European Chemical Agency (ECHA). Results: To investigate the applicability of the ECETOC TRA to Korean industry, this study simulated 15 industrial processes. The predicted respiratory exposures for four processes using origin input parameters were underestimated compared to the measured respiratory exposure. Using calibrated input parameters, results for two processes were underestimated compared to the measured respiratory exposure. This result suggests that the use of calibrated input parameters reduces the differences between predicted and measured respiratory exposure. Conclusions: we developed applicable exposure estimating method by modifying the ECETOC TRA program; one suggested the development of exposure estimating program that explains Korea domestic workplace exposure scenario.This study will support the introduction of exposure scenario in MSDS system and protect health of worker from hazardous chemical.