• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.97-105
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• 2014

Background: Prolonged standing has been hypothesized as a vital contributor to discomfort and muscle fatigue in the workplace. The objective of this study was to develop a decision support system that could provide systematic analysis and solutions to minimize the discomfort and muscle fatigue associated with prolonged standing. Methods: The integration of object-oriented programming and a Model Oriented Simultaneous Engineering System were used to design the architecture of the decision support system. Results: Validation of the decision support system was carried out in two manufacturing companies. The validation process showed that the decision support system produced reliable results. Conclusion: The decision support system is a reliable advisory tool for providing analysis and solutions to problems related to the discomfort and muscle fatigue associated with prolonged standing. Further testing of the decision support system is suggested before it is used commercially.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.416-424
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• 2018

Objective: The objective of this study was to estimate the numbers of employees occupationally exposed to noise according to their industry and size. Methods: A Delphi panel consisting of 15 occupational health experts estimated the exposure prevalence of noise in workplace. Data on Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance provided from Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute were combined to produce the exposure population. Results: In Korea, 16.0% of employees, 2,539,890 out of 15,838,926, was estimated to exposed to noise occupationally. The rate was 32.7% and 10.3% in manufacturing sector and non-manufacturing sector, respectively. The highest rate, 52.5%, was found in manufacturing industries of wood and of products of wood and cork(except furniture) and of other transport equipment. Sorted by their size of business, the rate was higher as the number of employee was larger in manufacturing sector. Conclusions: Compared to the same rate estimated in the US, 17.2%, the result of this study seems to be in a resonable range.

• International Journal of Precision Engineering and Manufacturing
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.84-90
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• 2000

The importance of Virtual Manufacturing System is increasing in the area of developing new manufacturing processes, implementing automated workcells, designing plant facility layouts and workplace ergonomics. Virtual manufacturing system is a computer system that can generate the same information about manufacturing system structure, states, and behaviors as is observed in a real manufacturing. In this research, a virtual manufacturing system for flexible manufacturing cells (VFMC), (which is a useful tool for building Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM), has been developed using object-oriented paradigm, and implemented with software QUEST/IGRIP. Three object models used in the system are the product model, the facility model, and the process model. The concrete behaviors of a flexible manufacturing cell are re[presented by the task-oriented description diagram, TIC. An example simulation is executed to evaluate applicability of the developed models, and to prove the potential value of virtual manufacturing paradigm.

• Korean Institute of Interior Design Journal
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• v.14 no.2 s.49
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• pp.135-141
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• 2005

Subsequent to major changes in workplace such as communication method, uncertain organizational environment, and globalizaiton, several studies in workplace have explored the effects of those changes on work outcomes. Especially, employees need to have the balance in working alone and working with others. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of control over the physical environment by individuals and the effects of flexibility on individual and group work outcomes in the workplace, to examine the effects of distraction on work outcomes, and to suggest a interrelationships among variables. In this study, four hundred and nine questionnaires were collected from employees of three manufacturing corporations in Michigan, U. S. In order to explore the causal interferences among multiple relationships suggested in this study, path analysis was employed using Lisrel 8.54. The results indicated that control over the physical environmental features of the workplace positively influenced job satisfaction. The findings also supported the hypothesis that flexibility is positively related to task group cohesiveness. It was found that distraction was negatively associated with control and flexibility. However, it was not supported that control was positively associated with perceived performance. This study found control and flexibility in the workplace to be important. Some practical implications were suggested emphasizing that control and flexibility allow limited resources to be used in ways that permit individuals to work effectively within a changing work environment.

• Korean Journal of Computational Design and Engineering
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.79-90
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• 2012

In digital virtual manufacturing simulation, Digital Human widely used to optimal workplace design, enhancing worker safety in the workplace, and improving product quality. However, the case of ergonomics simulation solutions to support digital human modeling, Optimal DHM (Digital Human Model) data needed to develop and perform DHM will collect information related to the production process. So simulation developer has burden of collecting information. In this study, to overcome the limitations of existing solutions, we proposed the ADAGIO(Automated Digital humAn model development for General assembly usIng Ontology) framework. The ADAGIO framework was developed for DHM ontology to support optimal deployment of digital virtual environment and in order to ensure consistency of simulation components that are required for simulation modeling was made of a library.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.73-83
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• 2005

The goal of this study is to propose the improved scheme that prevents the workers against musculoskeletal disorders at a fishcake manufacturing company, A questionnaire and an ergonomic assessment method were adopted to analyze the symptoms of workers' musculoskeletal disorders, and an analysis of working postures and a quantitative assessment on various processes were performed to find out harmful factors of workplace. Based on the result of the evaluation, to enhance the working environment, improvement of worktable, working space, tools, and outfit was suggested, and induction of mechanical system was also suggested. Suggested improvement plan was applied to the workplace step by step and it is confirmed that improvement plan can removes the injurious factors of musculoskeletal diseases effectively.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.61-68
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• 2010

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a workplace-based work-conditioning program (WCP) on the management of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMDs) in an automobile-parts manufacturing company. In total, 1,110 subjects with WRMDs participated in workplace-based WCP emphasizing function-centered management and ergonomics. We investigated the incidence of WRMDs variables (number of persons diagnosed with industrial accident-related WHMDs, number of cases of WRMD) and financial benefits (cost of workers' compensation insurance and lost work days related to WRMDs) per year before and after WCP. Additionally, we compared self-reported pain intensity and functional disability in subjects with musculoskeletal pain before and after the WCP. Pain intensity was measured using a visual analog scale (VAS), and functional disability was measured by the neck disability index (NDI) and the Oswestry disability Index (ODI). The number of person diagnosed with industrial accident-related WRMDs, the number of cases of WRMD, the cost of workers' compensation insurance and lost work days related to WRMDs per year decreased by 51%, 37%, 34%, and 47%, respectively, and VAS, NDI, and ODI scores decreased significantly after implementation of WCP (p<.05). Thus, the results of the present study suggest that function-centered, workplace-based WCP was effective in managing WRMDs at an automobile-parts manufacturing company.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.120-131
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• 2021

Purpose: This study aimed to compare the effects of an 8 week, self-managed, app-based and poster-based stretching program on musculoskeletal symptoms, flexibility, stretching frequency, self-efficacy, social support, and musculoskeletal disorder knowledge in small manufacturing business workers. Methods: This was a cluster randomized, two-group pretest-posttest design. Workers were assigned to either an app-based (n=20) or a poster-based (n=25) stretching intervention. Both groups received an educational class. The app group also received mobile phone text messages and an app with stretching videos, stretching alarms, stretching records, and information on musculoskeletal disorders. The poster group received workplace stretching posters. Data were collected from April to September 2018 and analyzed with the 𝑥² test, paired t-test, and independent t-test. Results: There was only a significant difference in social support. Significant increase in flexibility and musculoskeletal symptoms were noted for both groups, but social support and musculoskeletal disorder knowledge were significantly changed only in the poster group. More than half of the workers practiced stretching at least 3 times a week. Conclusion: The 8 week, self-managed, workplace stretching program was effective to increase flexibility and stretching frequency to at least 3 times a week. However, effective interventions for musculoskeletal symptoms could not be identified.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.136-145
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• 2014

This article has compared the level of activities of occupational safety and health in workplace among sub-sectors of manufacturing industry in order to set the priority for policy intervention. Data of manufacturing industry in the survey on the current status of occupational safety and health was used with factor analysis and radar graphic method. Authors have categorized sub-sectors of manufacturing industry into four categories, attained group, active group, neglected group, and passive group based on injury rate, level of safety and health activities. The neglected group may be the first target group for occupational safety and health policy guiding some detailed occupational safety and health activities. Limitation of this study is that cross sectional data was analyzed. The long term effect could not be analyzed.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.257-257
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• 2016