• Journal of Korean Institute of Industrial Engineers
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.223-231
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• 2002

Recently, work-related musculoskeletal disorders(WMSDs) have rapidly increased and have been a major issue in the field of industrial safety. Of several physical risk factors for WMSDs, which include postures, vibration, repetitive work, speed or acceleration of movements, etc., awkward postures have been known as one of the major causes of WMSDs. For reducing the potential for injury as a result of postures, cost effective quantification of the magnitude for physical exposure to poor working postures is important and needed. To do this, several postural classification schemes have been developed and used in industrial sites. It is known that perceived discomfort for joint motions and muscle strength for females were much less than those for males. However, the existing postural classification schemes were developed without considering these gender effects. This study aims to develop a new postural classification scheme for female workers, based on the perceived discomfort for joint motions. The result showed that there was significant difference between the schemes for female and male. It was also found that when compared with OWAS, RULA and REBA, postural load was quantified more precisely with the developed scheme. It is recommended that different schemes according to gender of workers involved in work be used in order to accurately evaluate postural load of work postures.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Fisheries and Ocean Technology
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• v.60 no.2
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• pp.152-160
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• 2024

We analyzed risk factors of coastal gillnet fishers during fishing process and considered work safety measures to reduce safety accidents during fishing using a UWB (ultra wideband) based positioning system. The static position accuracy of the UWB based positioning system was 45 cm. When entering a port, there is a risk of falling overboard. When casting a net, there was a risk of falling overboard due to being hit by fishing gear or guards, or getting caught in a buoy line or sinker line. When hauling a net, there is a risk of getting caught between fishing gear and net hauler, and the risk of musculoskeletal disorders due to repetitive work over a long period of time. Most safety accidents during work on fishing boats are blamed on human errors of the fisher and skipper, but safety accidents occur due to a mixture of mechanical and equipment factors, work and environmental factors, and management factors in addition to human errors. Therefore, the 4E were presented as countermeasures against the 4M, which are causes of safety accidents, and the proposed measures were used to identify risk factors for operation process, comply with work safety rules, and ensure the wearing of personal protective equipments. We need to reduce safety accidents during work by making it part of our daily routine. These research results can be used in the future for optimal placement of fishing gear and fishing nets in other coastal industries where safety accidents occur frequently.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapy
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.21-32
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• 2022

Background: Instrument players are exposed to occupational musculoskeletal symptoms due to constant movement and strain to meet the needs of their audience. This can cause dissonance between the player and the instrument and can cause medical problems in the musculoskeletal system such as pain, tendinitis, muscle spasms, and joint hyperextension from overuse of body parts. Objective: The purpose of this study is to comparatively analyze the characteristics and occurrence of musculoskeletal symptoms in professional and student players, and to find out the awareness of the need for health care professionals and special exercise programs for orchestra players. Methods: The subjects were professional orchestral musicians 191 from the three symphony orchestras and music students 209 from the four universities volunteered to participate in this study; 393 subjects (98.25%) completed the questionnaire. symptom prevalence and related factors of playing-related musculoskeletal disorders (PRMDs) were surveyed with a self-administered questionnaire. Standardized Nordic Questionnaire was complemented by adding a visual-among scale and used to diagnose PRMD. Results: High prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints in both professional musicians (85.30%) and student musicians (82.30%). Professional musicians and student musicians also suffered the highest problem in shoulder and neck complaints. Significant differences were found between groups that recognized of necessity for specialized health professionals, professional organizations, and special programs for musicians. Conclusions: Professional musicians and student musicians, like orchestra players, are already exposed to overuse syndrome. However, student musicians lack awareness of the risk of injury compared to orchestra players. We suggest that an appropriate treatment management program for the prevention and early treatment of musculoskeletal system damage should be provided to performers at an early stage.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.264-275
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• 2006

MSDs(Musculoskeletal Disorders) and Job Stress have been recognized as one of major problems in industry these days according to the results of most industrial health/safety studies. Specifically, MSDs have been growing problems in Korea as well as in US and European countries with higher incidence rate every year. This study tries to understand characteristics of job stress and association between MSDs and job stress for the workers at automobile manufacturing industry. This study also tries to understand the differences in terms of job stress between white collar and blue collar workers. The results showed that there was definite association between symptoms of MSDs and some of major job stress factors. However, there were big differences in terms of associations between two groups(white collar and blue collar workers). The first group(white collar workers) showed more associations between symptoms of MSDs and some of major job stress factors than that of the second group(blue collar workers) although symptom rate of the second group was higher than that of the first group. It could be concluded that symptoms of the first group had more effects from job stress while symptoms of the second group had more effects from typical job risk factors based on the results of the study.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.321-329
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• 2010

Unlike production line works, construction work is non-repetitive in nature. In this study, a checklist was developed to characterize the ergonomic hazards of construction work. Eight existing checklists including OWAS, RULA, and REBA were integrated, and a new version was designed to include more postures of lower extremities. The analysis results obtained using the new checklist showed that manual materials handling (MMH) is the most common risk factor. About 62% of the MMH was done below the knee level or above the elbow level, and 22% was carried out with the trunk twisted more than $60^{\circ}$. The next risk factors were the works done with the knee bent or squatted, or with the shoulders abducted. It can be concluded that the new checklist is successful as a quick and easy tool for screening risk factors of construction works, although it is not capable of determining action levels. Further studies on validation of the checklist are expected.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.109-116
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• 2019

PURPOSE: This study examined the effects of an active tailored exercise program on pain and the Oswestry disability index (ODI) among workers with musculoskeletal symptoms of the lower back in an automobile parts manufacturing company. METHODS: Twenty-two workers with musculoskeletal symptoms of the lower back were included in the study. The experimental group was composed of 15 workers and a control group of seven workers. The experimental group was provided an active tailored exercise program and education on the risk factors of musculoskeletal disorders. The control group was only provided ergonomic education. The exercise program, which consisted of movement pattern correction, muscle stretching and strengthening, and postural correction exercises, was applied twice a week for two months for one hour a day. Pain, which was determined using a visual analogue scale (VAS), and the ODI were measured before and after exercise. RESULTS: After applying the exercise program for two months, the VAS and ODI of the experimental group were significantly lower than those of the control group (p<.05). In the experimental group, the VAS decreased significantly after one month (p<0.05), and the ODI decreased significantly after two months (p<.05). CONCLUSION: Because active tailored exercise programs are effective in improving the pain and disability indices, it is necessary to actively implement such programs among manufacturing workers with musculoskeletal symptoms of the lower back.

• Proceedings of the Safety Management and Science Conference
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• 2005.05a
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• pp.251-257
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• 2005

The purpose of this study is to execute the investigation of injurious factors causing muscle-skeletal diseases at an automotive glass manufacturing company and, on the basis of the results, to enhance productivity by the improvement of working environment. By using an survey and an ergonomic evaluation method, symptoms of muscle-skeletal diseases of workers and working postures at each process were analyzed, and quantitative evaluation of muscle-skeletal disease risk against each process was performed. 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 not only removes the injurious factors of muscle-skeletal diseases but also is effective to enhance productivity.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.15-31
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• 2000

The aim was to evaluate the prevailing ergonomic and psychosocial conditions regarding low back injury in an automobile assembly system. This study consisted of two parts. In the first part of the study, analytic biomechanical model and NIOSH guidelines were applied to evaluate risk levels of low back injury for automobile assembly jobs. Total of 246 workers were analysed. There were 20 jobs having greater back compressive forces than 300kg at L5/S1. Also, there were 44 jobs over Action Limit with respect to 1981 NIOSH guidelines. This might in part be explained by the ergonomic conditions of the company analysed generally being good, with a relatively low duration of 'combined' extreme work posture. The relationship between psychosocial factors and low back injury was examined in the second part of the study. It has recently been recognized that overall reaction to working conditions was influenced by a range of factors, some of which were physical and some psychosocial. The psychosocial environment surrounding the work place may contribute to the perception of risk and eventual ill-health. A battery of questionnaires concerning the psychosocial stress based on PWI(Psychosocial Well-being Index) and musculoskeletal pain symptoms at low back was completed by 246 workers at the same plant. Results showed that 207 out 246 workers experienced the symptoms and 27 workers were diagnosed as patients. Two groups(low stressed, high stressed) based on PWI score had no significant relationships with both symptoms and results of diagnosis. However, sensitivities for symptoms and diagnosis by PWI were 91.3% and 92.6% respectively. Finally, relationships between physical work load and psychosocial stress were analysed. Specifically, some postural factors {vertical deviation angle of forearm, horizontal deviation angle of upperarm, vertical deviation angle of thigh, etc) were highly correlated with psychosocial stress. The results illustrated that PWI scores were associated with some physical workloads. However, psychosocial stress levels couldn't be well related with the pain symptom as well as the actual incidence of low back injury since pain or discomfort regarding low back injury were more complex than that of other musculoskeletal disorders.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.100-106
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• 2013

According to the Statistics Korea, in 2011, people over the age of 65 years old accounted for 11.8% of Korea's population. This number is expected to rise to 15.0% by 2019, making Korea an "aged society". As age increases, physical ability degrades to the point that the workload must be adjusted limitations. However, workloads are given regardless of workers' ages or abilities. In addition, a decline in work efficiency due to aging also increases the risk of work-related injuries. Furthermore, the cases of stress related diseases along with musculoskeletal disorders(MSDs) rise as main factors of industrial disasters and excessive job stress gives negative influence not only on mental health but also on physical health so that job stress becomes a hot issue as a main cause of work ability falloff and turnover. The purpose of this research is to examine how the sociodemographic characteristics, MSDs symptoms and musculoskeletal workload of workers in the manufacturing industry of automobile parts influence work ability and job stress. As a result of the research, job ability showed significant differences statistically according to age, working year, sex, marital status and musculoskeletal workload and job stress showed significant differences statistically according to age, working year, marital status and musculoskeletal workload. In addition, it showed that as the worker's job ability decreases, job stress increases.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.15 no.11
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• pp.6782-6792
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• 2014

This study examined the effects of the symptoms of musculoskeletal disorder and the burden of the body on work stress in a university hospital workers. The research surveyed 679 subjects. The relevant factors affecting the job stress were found to be female, young people age group, unmarried, shift work, work more than 8 hours, short experience workers. The work stress was significantly higher in the non-smoker (p=0.000), regular exercise/sports(p=0.022) and non-drinking(p=0.038) groups. In addition, the mental fatigue, presence of musculoskeletal symptoms, fatigue level, and marital status increase the risk of the work stress. The results showed that the burden of the body and musculoskeletal disorders are related interactively with each other.