• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2006.05a
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• pp.305-306
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• 2006

In process for production of Rubber Scheme Product that have the most inferior Working Environment is Medicine mixture and Scheme processing. Applying automation and Environment Treatment technology to the hazardous chemical and mixture processing, Through developed 'Mixture Automatic Machine for hazardous chemical Interruption type that is occurred at mixing rubber medicines', we try to decline worker's intensity of labour, Also overcomes solution of work evasion phenomenon and manpower supply and demand's difficulty by forming agreeable working environment and through the automatic scheme and mixture processing by preventing that hazardous chemical had known as disease causes of various importance disease is exposed to worker during the work. and we plan to do so that production of high added value product may be available.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.9-15
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• 2006

Work-related musculoskeletal disorder has been associated with long hours of computer work and prolonged periods of static posture. In clinical settings, postural correction is a common treatment approach for individuals with neck, shoulder, and back pain. This study was designed to identify the effect of Forward Head Posture Correctional Device during computer work. Twelve healthy adults (mean age, 27.4 yrs; mean height, 165.0cm mean weight, 65.8 kg) participated in the study. They had no medical history of neurological or surgical problems with their upper extremity. The subjects were asked to perform Head Forward Posture under the guidance of physical therapists and the measured angles were analyzed using a 3-D motion analysis system. Markers were placed on the C7 spinous process, tragus of the ear and forward head angle was between the line from the tragus to the C7 line and the Y-axis at the C7. The statistical significance of difference between, "without" and "with" correctional device was tested by paired t-test. A level of significance was set at ${\alpha}$=.05. In comparison of the computer work between "without" and "with" correctional device, Forward Head Angle was showed significant difference (p<.05). In conclusion, the range of Forward Head Angle was significantly decreased during computer work with the correctional device. Further research is needed to understand the nature of motor control problems in deep muscles in patients with neck, shoulder, and back pain.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.331-339
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• 2016

Background: Occupational risk management is known as a catalyst in generating superior returns for all stakeholders on a sustainable basis. A number of companies in Ghana implemented health and safety measures adopted from international companies to ensure the safety of their employees. However, there exist great threats to employees' safety in these companies. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the level of compliance of Occupational Health and Safety management systems and standards set by international and local legislation in power producing companies in Ghana. Methods: The methodology is conducted by administering questionnaires and in-depth interviews as measuring instruments. A random sampling technique was applied to 60 respondents; only 50 respondents returned their responses. The questionnaire was developed from a literature review and contained questions and items relevant to the initial research problem. A factor analysis was also carried out to investigate the influence of some variables on safety in general. Results: Results showed that the significant factors that influence the safety of employees at the hydroelectric power plant stations are: lack of training and supervision, non-observance of safe work procedures, lack of management commitment, and lack of periodical check on machine operations. The study pointed out the safety loopholes and therefore helped improve the health and safety measures of employees in the selected company by providing effective recommendations. Conclusion: The implementation of the proposed recommendations in this paper, would lead to the prevention of work-related injuries and illnesses of employees as well as property damage and incidents in hydroelectric power plants. The recommendations may equally be considered as benchmark for the Safety and Health Management System with international standards.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.239-247
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• 2008

Low back disorders (LBDs) have been the most common musculoskeletal problem in Korean workplaces. It affects many workers, and is associated with high costs to many companies as well as the individual, which can negatively influence even the quality of life of workers. The _evaluation of low back disorder risk associated with manual materials handling tasks can be performed using variety of ergonomic assessment tools such as National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Revised Lifting Equation (NLE), the Washington Administrative Code 296-62-0517 (WAC), the Snook Tables etc. But most of these tools provide limited information for choosing the most appropriate assessment method for a particular job and in finding out advantage and disadvantage of the methods, and few have been assessed for their predictive ability. The focus of this study was to _evaluate spinal loads in real time with lifting and pulling heavy cow leathers in variety of postures. Data for estimating mean trunk motions were collected as employees did their work at the job site, using the Lumbar Motion Monitor. Eight employees (2 males, 6 females) were selected in this study, in which the load weight and the vertical start and destination heights of the activity remained constant throughout the task. Variance components (three dimensional spaces) of mean trunk kinematic measures were estimated in a hierarchical design. They were used to compute velocity and acceleration of multiple employees performing the same task and to repetitive movements within a task. Therefore, a results of this study could be used as a quantitative, objective measure to design the workplace so that the risk of occupationally related low back disorder should be minimized.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.73-80
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• 2008

With the introduction of the video display terminal (VDT), the efficiency and productivity of work has improved. However, VDT syndrome is threatening the health of workers as a side effect of prolonged use of a VDT. Among various VDT syndromes, the musculoskeletal disorder, especially, the cumulative trauma disorder (CTD) is the common research topic related with upper extremities function. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the wrist-hand orthosis (WHO) on fatigue in middle deltoid, anterior deltoid, serratus anterior, and upper trapezius during one-hour computer keyboard typing. Twelve healthy subjects participated in this study. Surface electromyography was used to assess the localized muscle fatigue (LMF), and the LMF was calculated at 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 40 minutes, and 60 minutes in each muscle, with and without the WHO. Data were analyzed by paired t-test with a level of significance of .05. The results of this study are as follows: 1) At 10 minutes, the LMF decreased significantly with applied WHO in the middle deltoid, anterior deltoid, and upper trapezius (p=.001, p=.026, p=.019, respectively). 2) As the computer keyboard typing period increased, there were no significant LMF differences, except for the upper trapezius. Therefore, it can be concluded that the WHO can be applied to decrease the LMF for the initial 10 minute period in the middle deltoid, anterior deltoid, and upper trapezius' but that the long term effect of WHO in reducing the LMF was proven only in upper trapezius during continued computer keyboard typing.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.180-188
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• 2014

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the health status between foreign workers and native workers and to examine the influencing factors of health status of foreign and native workers. Methods: This was a secondary analysis of the data collected from the 3rd (2011) Korean Working Conditions Survey (KWCS). The sample included 101 foreign workers and 101 native workers matched by age and gender. Results: The difference in health status between foreign workers and native workers was not statistically significant. The most commonly complained health problem of foreign workers was muscle pain of the upper limbs. Among foreign workers, hazard exposure, coworker support and supervisor support were significant predictors of health status. Among native workers, income level and obesity were significant predictors of health status. Conclusion: For health management and health promotion of foreign workers, employers and health providers need to establish coworker supporting systems in workplace and improvement strategies of work environment. Particularly, they must pay closer attention to management of foreign workers' musculoskeletal disorder.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.275-284
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• 2013

Purpose: This study analyzed the characteristics of occupational injuries and illnesses of the nursing staff to reveal the prevalence of the major diseases and the predominant causes of the injuries in the nursing environment. Methods: Total 3,455 work-related compensation cases of nursing staff from January 1 2000 to December 31 2012, were selected. The specific types of the diseases, injuries, causes and the time of the incidence were analyzed. Results: Majority of the compensated cases were young women under 30 years old. The composition of the occupational injuries and illness was 74.5% and 25.5%, respectively. Occupational infection was the major part of the occupational illnesses (47.3%), and 74% of them were tuberculosis. Musculoskeletal disorder (12.6%) was followed the infectious disease, and 36.4% of them occurred while moving the patients. Slipping was the most frequent injury; most of them resulted in the lower extremities injury. Most of the injuries increased during shift change, except workplace violence, which increased later than 19:00. Conclusion: Occupational injuries and illnesses of nursing staff need the specific prevention strategy, and the prevention strategy should be suitable for the nursing workplace.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.245-247
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• 2019

Occupational risks are often underestimated in midwifery. It is not commonly known that occupational risks were originally described by the Italian physician Bernardino Ramazzini (1633-1714) at the beginning of the 18th century. Our aim was to describe occupational risks in midwifery from Ramazzini to modern times. The original text by Bernardino Ramazzini was analyzed. A review of modern scientific articles on occupational risks in midwifery was conducted. Ramazzini identified two major occupational risks in midwifery: infections and awkward postures. Modern literature seems to agree with his considerations, focusing on infection, use of universal protection and personal protective equipment, and musculoskeletal problems. Modern studies also evidenced posttraumatic stress disorder that was probably postulated by Ramazzini himself. The poor number of articles in literature on midwives' occupational risks shows a lack of interest toward this issue. Prevention should therefore be emphasized in this field, so high-quality studies on occupational risks in midwifery are needed.

• Journal of Korean Ophthalmic Optics Society
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.65-69
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• 2009

Purpose: Recently incidence of VDT syndrome has gradually increased as extensive use of computers. VDT syndrome reported by VDT workers include musculoskeletal disorder, neuropsychiatric disoders and eye symptoms such as eye strain, tired eyes, irritation and blurred vision. The environmental factors of VDT syndrome include electromagnetic waves, size, brightness and lighting of computer screen, height of a monitor and a worktable, working hours, kind of task, distance between screen and workers, indoor humidity and temperature, indoor air contamination and ventilation. In this study, we investigated the environmental factors related to body symptoms and health effects included in VDT syndrome. Methods: Study subjects were total 120 persons (54 male, 66 female) with age from 19 to 28. We surveyed the body symptoms and physical discomfort when doing an activity in a short distance such as reading book or paper, computer work. The questionnaire included main body symptoms, self-consciousness symptoms of eye, satisfaction of working environment, pain of the wrist when using keyboard and mouse. Results: Most of people (70%) felt physical pain from long time work of computer, paper, electrical apparatus. They mainly complained pain of neck and low back (57.1%), eye (45.2%) and head (31%). With the environmental factors, 78.3% of the subjects complaint pain of eye from inappropriate illumination. Most of the symptoms included 'eye fatigue'(38.3%), 'dryness of eye'(31.9%) and 'blurred vision'(23.7%). Subjects in this study complained discomfort of their chairs and most of them experienced pain in the wrist when using keyboard or mouse. Conclusions: When people use electrical apparatus or work with paper, people would get their eye fatigue and feeling of physical fatigue because of not harmonizing various environmental factors such as light, space, posture, worktable with theirselves. Therefore, workers should develop preventive method such as self-control of adequate break time to avoid fatigue while VDT work. Work environment should be changed to ergonomic design for optimal visual environment to prevent musculoskeletal disorder through constant research.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.313-326
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• 2015

Objective: The objective of this research is to quantitatively analyze muscle activities of arm and shoulder, according to direction in various types of one-handed manual material handling, based on surface electromyography. Background: Workers in industrial sites frequently carry out one-handed manual material handling using arm and shoulder muscles. Therefore, chronic load and accumulated fatigue occur to arm and shoulder muscles, which becomes a main cause of upper arm and shoulder musculoskeletal disorders. The shoulder muscles have widely range of motion, and complex interactions take place among various muscles including rotator cuff muscles. In this regard, research on interactions among should muscles, according to such various dynamic motions, is required. Method: Ten male subjects in their 20s participated in this research. This research considered upward, downward, leftward, rightward, forward and backward directions and fourteen muscles around arm and shoulder (biceps brachii and trapezius, etc.) as independent variables. The mean muscle activity was set as the dependent variable. This research extracted $4^{th}{\sim}7^{th}$ repetition signals according to ten times of repetitive muscle contraction, and analyzed the muscle activity concerned using the envelope detection technique. Results: The mean muscle activity of upward direction was analyzed highly statistically significant. The reason is that the effect of gravity works to arm and shoulder muscles. Also, it is conjectured that deformation of coracoacromial ligament was caused, and its contact pressure increased, due mainly to the shoulder flexion, and therefore load was analyzed high. Muscle activity was analyzed significantly low, according to concentric ballistic motion used in the concentric contraction phase by storing elastic energy in the eccentric contraction phase with a motion to bring the weight to the front of subject's body as to downward, leftward and backward directions. Because, elbow joint's flexion-extension motions mainly occurred, biceps brachii was analyzed high muscle activity as the prime mover. Conclusion: The information on the quantitative load of muscles can be applied to ergonomic work design for one-handed manual material handling to minimize muscle load. Application: This research has effectively identified muscle activity according to dynamic contraction by applying an envelope detection technique. The results can be used for ergonomic work design to minimize muscle load during the one-handed manual material handling, according to each direction. The research results are expected to be used for musculoskeletal disorder prevention and physiotherapy in the rehabilitation medical field, based on the muscle load of arm and shoulder in various directions.