• 한국산업보건학회지
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• 제33권1호
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• pp.50-59
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• 2023

Objectives: This study was designed to examine the effect of risk assessment on employee safety behavior in manufacturing workplaces. In addition, this study attempted to explore factors related to the occupational safety and health system in the workplace affect the risk assessment of manufacturing sites. Methods: This research is a cross-sectional study using the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency's 2018 Occupational Safety and Health data. The sample for study is 1,967 manufacturing workplaces. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, chi-square test, and hierarchical multiple regression analysis using SPSS (ver.25.0). Results: As a result of the multiple hierarchical regression analysis, it was found that risk assessment had an effect on employee safety behavior (t=4.435, p=<.001). Furthermore, the size of the workplace affected employee safety behavior (t=2.494, p=<.001). In addition, the presence of safety and health management organizations affected employee safety behavior (t=4.301, p=<.001). The factors of the safety and health organization (𝑥²=35.245, p=<.001), the occupational safety and health committee (𝑥²=149.440, p=<.001), and the supervisor (𝑥²=16.472, p=<.001) were identified as factors that increased the possibility of risk assessment in the manufacturing workplaces. Conclusions: In this study, it was found that risk assessment is a factor that increases the level of workers' safety behavior in manufacturing workplaces. Therefore, it is necessary to provide institutional support for activating risk assessment at manufacturing workplaces.

• Advances in environmental research
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• 제1권1호
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• pp.57-68
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• 2012

Recent studies showed that air pollution is a risk factor for hospitalization for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, there is limited evidence to suggest which subpopulations are at higher risk from air pollution. This study was undertaken to examine the modifying effect of specific secondary diagnosis (including hypertension, diabetes, pneumonia, congestive heart failure) on the relationship between hospital admissions for COPD and ambient air pollutants concentrations. Hospital admissions for COPD and ambient air pollution data for Taipei were obtained for the period from 1999-2009. The relative risk of hospital admissions for COPD was estimated using a case-crossover approach. None of the secondary diagnosis we examined showed much evidence of effect modification.

• 대한인간공학회지
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• 제28권1호
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• pp.29-36
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• 2009

A Study was conducted to investigate the type and level of occupational risk factors for the onset of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) in non-manufacturing industries. Total of 38 worksites were investigated from 5 different business areas such as financial institution, transportation service, building maintenance, sanitary service and educational service. Major job and task category were classified and corresponding occupational risk factors such as awkward posture, force exertion, repetitiveness of job, and work/rest cycle were examined using various ergonomic risk analysis techniques. Sets of matrices were developed including types and levels of risk factors for the classified jobs and tasks from 5 different non-manufacturing industries. Also possible ergonomic remedies were suggested for the improvement working conditions. Results and risk factor matrices can be applied as a guideline for the investigation of WMSDs risk factors in similar industries for the prevention of WMSDs.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제9권1호
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• pp.75-78
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• 2018

Background: To identify work sectors with high risk for work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in Korean men and women. Methods: We analyzed nationwide data to identify ergonomic risk factors in Korean employees. In particular, we analyzed data on exposure to five ergonomic risk factors (painful/tiring postures, lifting/moving heavy materials, standing/walking, repetitive hand/arm movements, and hand/arm vibration) according to employment sector, sex, and age, using the 2014 Fourth Korean Working Conditions Survey. We also used workers' compensation data on work-related MSDs in 2010, which is available by sex. Results: The different work sectors had different gender distributions. "Manufacturing" (27.7%) and "construction" (11.3%) were dominated by males, whereas "human health and social work activities" (12.4%), "hotel and restaurants" (11.7%), and "education" (10.4%) were dominated by females. However, "wholesale and retail trade" and "public administration and defense" employed large numbers of males and females. Furthermore, the work sectors with a greater proportion of work-related MSDs and with multiple ergonomic risk factors were different for men and women. For men, "construction" and "manufacturing" had the highest risk for work-related MSDs; for women, "hotel and restaurants" had the highest risk for work-related MSDs. Conclusion: Ergonomic interventions for workers should consider gender and should focus on work sectors with high risk for MSDs, with multiple ergonomic risk factors, and with the largest number of workers.

• 한국산업보건학회지
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• 제22권3호
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• pp.175-183
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• 2012

Objectives: This study developed a harmonized method for risk assessment based on the Hazard & Risk Evaluation of Chemicals (HREC) according to the Industrial Safety and Health Act (ISHA). Methods: Three preliminary studies, performed during 2010 and 2011 by the Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute and three academic research groups, were compared. The differences in risk assessment, especially in the dose-response assessment method, were analyzed. A new harmonized method for dose-response assessment was suggested and its applicability for the HREC was examined. Results: Considering the various steps of each dose-response assessment, the equivalent steps in quantitative correction, uncertainty factor 2 (UF2) for intra-species uncertainty, and UF3 for the experimental period in the uncertainty correction were relatively high. Using our new method, the total correction values (quantitative correction plus uncertainty correction) ranged from 72~15,789 to 30~60, and the ratio of the threshold limit value (TLV) to the reference concentration decreased from 12.8~1900 to 5.4~11.8. Furthermore, when we performed risk characterization by our new method, hazard quotient (HQ) values for chloroethylene, epichlorohydrin, and barium sulfate became 3.0, 14.1, and 1.13 respectively, whereas three previous studies reported HQ values of 7.1, 4580, and 87.3 considering reasonable maximum exposure (RME) conditions. HQs of the three chemicals were calculated to be 0.6, 2.4, and 0.1 respectively, when compared to their TLVs. Conclusions: Our new method could be applicable for the HREC because the total correction values and the ratio of TLVs were within reasonable ranges. It is also recommended that additional risk management measures be applied for epichlorohydrin, for which the HQ values were greater than 1 when compared with both reference values and the TLV. Our proposed method could be used to harmonize dose-response assessment methods for the implementation of risk assessment based on the HREC according to ISHA.

• Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
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• 제35권
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• pp.33.1-33.9
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• 2023

Background: Studies on the association between occupational stress and depression have been frequently reported. However, the cross-sectional designs of studies limited insight into causal associations. In this study, we investigated the longitudinal association between occupational stress and new-onset depression among employees in a single manufacturing plant. Methods: The annual health checkup data of employees at a manufacturing plant in Korea were collected. A total of 1,837 male employees without depression who completed a health checkup during two consecutive years were included. Occupational stress was measured using a short form of the Korea Occupational Stress Scale (KOSS-SF), and depression was assessed using a Patient Health Questionnaire-2. The association between occupational stress change over the two years and newly developed depression was investigated using two logistic regression models. Results: Across all sub-factors of KOSS-SF, employees who reported increased occupational stress had a higher risk of new-onset depression. Newly developed depression was significantly associated with job demand (odds ratio [OR]: 4.34; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.37-7.96), job insecurity (OR: 3.21; 95% CI: 1.89-5.48), occupational climate (OR: 3.18; 95% CI: 1.91-5.31), lack of reward (OR: 2.28; 95% CI: 1.26-4.12), interpersonal conflict (OR: 2.14; 95% CI: 1.18-3.86), insufficient job control (OR: 1.93; 95% CI: 1.05-3.56), and the organizational system (OR: 1.84; 95% CI: 1.01-3.36). Conclusions: For every sub-factor of the KOSS-SF, occupational stress increase and persistent high stress were associated with the risk of developing new-onset depression. Among the seven sub-factors, job demand had the most significant effect. Our results show that occupational stress should be managed to promote employee mental healthcare.

• 한국안전학회지
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• 제32권3호
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• pp.90-98
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of employment type(direct employment, dispatch and service supplier) on risk factor exposure, health and satisfaction. The data of the 4th wave of Korean Working Conditions Survey (KWCS) conducted by Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA) in South Korea was used. Business support service industry and manufacturing industry were selected as appropriate industries for analysis. In the final analysis, 5,865 in the manufacturing industry and 1,361 in the service support industry were included. Various variables related risk, safety, satisfaction and health such as risk factor exposure, MSDs exposure, work environment satisfaction, injury probability, dangerous work, workload, physical health problem, perceived health, positive emotions, stress, participation for decision making and experience of accident/disease were analyzed and company size and age was controled. An ANCOVA was conducted to identify significant mean differences of risk, safety, satisfaction and health related variables among direct employed workers, dispatch and service supplier workers. The results showed that all the variables except stress showed a significant difference depending on employment type in the service supply industry. In the manufacturing industry, there were significant difference in the risk factor exposure, MSDs exposure, work environment satisfaction, workload, physical health problem, perceived health, and participation depending on employment type. These results indicated that the risks are unloaded to subcontract and outsourcing company workers. Based on these results, the implications of this study and suggestions for future research were discussed.

• 한국안전학회지
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• 제33권6호
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• pp.77-84
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• 2018

Report documents of industrial and occupational accidents have continuously been accumulated in private and public institutes. Amongst others, information on narrative-texts of accidents such as accident processes and risk factors contained in disaster report documents is gaining the useful value for accident analysis. Despite this increasingly potential value of analysis of text information, scientific and algorithmic text analytics for safety management has not been carried out yet. Thus, this study aims to develop data processing and visualization techniques that provide a systematic and structural view of text information contained in a disaster report document so that safety managers can effectively analyze accident risk factors. To this end, the risk factor map using text mining and self-organizing map is developed. Text mining is firstly used to extract risk keywords from disaster report documents and then, the Self-Organizing Map (SOM) algorithm is conducted to visualize the risk factor map based on the similarity of disaster report documents. As a result, it is expected that fruitful text information buried in a myriad of disaster report documents is analyzed, providing risk factors to safety managers.

• 환경영향평가
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• 제9권3호
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• pp.203-214
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• 2000

Health risk assessment is applied to streamlining LCA(Life Cycle Assessment) using Monte carlo simulation for probabilistic/stochastic exposure and risk distribution analysis caused by data variability and uncertainty. A case study was carried out to find benefits of this application. BTC(Benzene, Trichloroethylene, Carbon tetrachloride mixture alias) personal exposure cases were assumed as production worker(in workplace), manager(in office) and business man(outdoor). These cases were different from occupational retention time and exposure concentration for BTC consumption pattern. The result of cancer risk in these 3 scenario cases were estimated as $1.72E-4{\pm}1.2E+0$(production worker; case A), $9.62E-5{\pm}1.44E-5$(manger; case B), $6.90E-5{\pm}1.16E+0$(business man; case C), respectively. Portions of over acceptable risk 1.00E-4(assumed standard) were 99.85%, 38.89% and 0.61%, respectively. Estimated BTC risk was log-normal pattern, but some of distributions did not have any formal patterns. Except first impact factor(BTC emission quantity), sensitivity analysis showed that main effective factor was retention time in their occupational exposure sites. This case study is a good example to cover that LCA with probabilistic risk analysis tool can supply various significant information such as statistical distribution including personal/environmental exposure level, daily time activity pattern and individual susceptibility. Further research is needed for investigating real data of these input variables and personal exposure concentration and application of this study methodology.

• 대한안전경영과학회지
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• 제14권4호
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• pp.137-145
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• 2012

This study was planned to analyze the effect of the types of employment on work-related injury experience. The types of employment may have influenced on working conditions including the exposure to risk factors. Korean Working Conditions Survey have collected the various working conditions as household survey with structured questionnaire. The probability of work-related injury of self-employed is more than that of regular worker. But there is no difference of probability of work-related injury experience between regular and irregular worker controlled by general characteristics and the exposure to risk factors. Authors have found that the type of employment have indirect effect on work-related injury experience via the exposure to risk factors. The result of this study may be heuristic one because of data limitation as cross sectional survey data. In future, well designed survey data can evaluate the effect of the type of employment on safety and health status.