Physiological Method of Evaluating Protective Clothing for Work in a Cold Environment

The purpose of this study was to determine the usefulness of physiological studies in the evaluation of protective clothing for work in a cold environment. The study included the examination of the dynamics of changes in chosen physiological parameters (core and skin temperatures, heart rate, pulmonary minute ventilation) as well as physical ones (the temperature and relative humidity under the clothes) during work in protective clothing with unknown thermal insulation. The experiment was conducted in extreme environmental conditions (–10 and –15°C) at a work load defined by the clothing manufacturer as moderate. Results show that thermal equilibrium was achieved and maintained throughout the investigated work time (60 min) and that the protective clothing ensures safety on the time scale of a regular 8-hour work day. It was also shown that the dynamics of thermal stress physiological parameters can be used to determine the maximum duration of exposure for cold protective clothing with unknown thermal insulation.     

Changes in the peripheral blood flow in legs in response to the cold: own studies using plethysmography

The thermal environment in the workplace is an important factor which affects workers’ health. During 2011 in Poland, 14,781 workers were exposed to a cold working environment, i.e., 3.8% of persons employed in hazardous work conditions. The aim of this study was to determine the cardiovascular response to continuous (4 °C for 60 min) and intermittent (10 min at 4 °C and 10 min at room temperature alternately) exposure to the cold in 30 healthy men aged 20–27 years. Peripheral blood flow was assessed with impedance plethysmography. Heart rate and arterial blood pressure were monitored with the Holter system. Having assessed the results, it is difficult to say which kind of exposure has a more severe impact on the cardiovascular system. Longer observation and a more detailed analysis would be necessary (e.g., Doppler echocardiography).     

Effects of Ergorest® Arm Supports on Muscle Strain and Wrist Positions During the Use of the Mouse and Keyboard in Work With Visual Display Units: A Work Site Intervention

The effects of Ergorest^® arm supports on wrist angles and musculoskeletal strain in the neck-shoulder-arm region and electrical activity in the shoulder and arm muscles were studied during typing or the use of the mouse in work with a visual display unit (VDU). Twenty-one women were randomized into 3 groups (1 arm support, 2 arm supports, and control). Measurements were carried out before and after the 6-week intervention. The wrist extension of the mouse hand, the muscle activity of the trapezius muscle, and the subjective discomfort ratings indicated that 2 arm supports were better than 1 in work with a mouse. The Ergorest^® arm support alleviates muscle and joint strain in VDU work when used for both arms.     

The Effect of Protective Gloves on Manual Dexterity in the Cold Environments

This article presents a study on the effect of different protective gloves (which are commercially available and commonly used in the cold) on manual dexterity in cold environments. The experiments compared statistically four different types of gloves and two different types of gloving (outer or double) at +19 °C and -10 °C. Performance was determined both objectively and subjectively using two manual dexterity tasks: bolt-nut and pick-up tasks. The response measured was the time of performing each task. Statistical analysis showed that all independent factors such as glove type, participant, object size, and temperature had significant effects on the hand cooling reaction. A significant difference in the performance between the gloves was found in the bolt-nut task. It was also found that outer-inner combination gloving may be an approach to use for precision tasks.     

Non-powered hand tool improvement research for prevention of work-related problems: a review

Purpose. In lower-middle-income countries, most of the work is performed manually using non-ergonomic hand tools which results in work-related health problems. Using hand tools designed in line with ergonomic principles may play an important role in reducing work-related health concerns significantly. Methods. Scientific databases (PubMed, EBSCOhost) and e-publishers were searched for articles from 1985 to 2015 using the following keywords: ‘hand tool’, ‘ergonomics’, ‘usability’ and ‘design’. After applying selection criteria to 614 articles, 58 articles related to the physical design of hand tools were selected. Results. Seventeen articles were related to hand tool improvement in the manufacturing sector. Musculoskeletal disorders were found to be the most frequently occurring work-related health problems. Most of the articles focused on product and qualitative variables for improvement in hand tools, while few articles considered human and task variables. Conclusions. Literature shows that hand tool improvement studies have been given less importance in low-income and lower-middle-income countries. However, some work of significance is reported in the agriculture sectors of these countries. Hence, it is concluded that ergonomic intervention in hand tools is much needed for those industries which employ traditional methods of working.     

电脑使用工效学评价方法的研究：键盘和鼠标使用及人体疲劳

为了进行电脑相关肌肉骨骼疾病（Computer Related Musculoskeletal Disorders）的办公室工效学研究,需要研发更有效的电脑使用工效学评价方法。鉴于键盘和鼠标是电脑操作者最主要的输入工具,而且高重复性的操作动作会增加患肌肉骨骼疾病的风险,为了保护电脑操作者的职业健康,本研究研发一套键盘和鼠标使用的工效学评价方法并且使用该评价方法评价键盘和鼠标的使用以及使用过程中的人体疲劳。评价方法设计包括：＂键盘鼠标使用统计软件＂、＂疲劳问卷系统软件＂和数据处理和结果可视化。应用此评价方法对25个对象进行了8周的纵向观察与评价。键盘鼠标使用的评价结果能够准确反映评价对象操作键盘鼠标的实际情况;对疲劳程度的分析结果也与实验室研究结论一致,得到了理论支持,成功研发了一套创新、有效的电脑键盘和鼠标使用的工效学评价方法。     

The stress of managerial and professional women: is the price too high?

‘Live as domestic a life as possible. Have your child with you all the time. Lie down an hour after each meal. Have but two hours intellectual life a day. And never touch pen, brush or pencil as long as you live’. Dr S. Weir Mitchell, 1855 When Dr Mitchell, purportedly the greatest North American nerve specialist of his time, gave the above advice to his patient Charlotte Perkins Gilman, he almost certainly believed he was helping her get over a severe nervous condition. Fortunately, she did not take his advice. Instead she devoted herself to the study of economics and regained her health. The perspectives offered to working women by many a modern day Dr Mitchell appear to have changed somewhat in subtlety, but little in kind. For example, the August 18, 1986 cover of Fortune magazine featured a beaming mother and cherubic child illustrating the lead article, entitled ‘Why women are bailing out’. The article goes on to tell why four of the ‘best’ women MBAs had quit the workforce. One stated ‘I had to hire and fire people … I just don't want the hassle’ (of corporate life). Another having passed up a promotion at a Houston bank, ‘quit to have her first child’ and after her second had no plans to go back to work. A third complained: ‘I just couldn't do it. I watched other women sliding as they tried to juggle both career and family, making themselves crazy in the process’. And the fourth left a big accounting firm because the ‘hours were bad, and is now happier as a “part time teacher”’. While the Fortune article mentioned several reasons for women's leaving the corporate world ranging from competing family demands to discrimination, the underlying messages were clearly that mothers have to choose between children and career and that the business world is too cold, uncaring and tough for women, in a word no place for a lady. A chorus of such articles have appeared in the popular media warning against the dangers of career commitment for women, which are said to include everything from burnout, infertility, alcoholism, heart attacks to terminal spinsterhood (Faludi, 1991). More serious treatments emanating from academia have often reached similar conclusions. These dire pronouncements are especially influential to young women contemplating a professional or managerial career, but indeed those already in such careers may also wonder if they have made a bad choice. To answer such questions, this paper will explore some aspects of the relationship between career and emotional health and well-being for a group of highly successful career women.     

Calculation of Clothing Insulation by Serial and Parallel Methods: Effects on Clothing Choice by IREQ and Thermal Responses in the Cold

Cold protective clothing was studied in 2 European Union projects. The objectives were (a) to examine different insulation calculation methods as measured on a manikin (serial or parallel), for the prediction of cold stress (IREQ); (b) to consider the effects of cold protective clothing on metabolic rate; (c) to evaluate the movement and wind correction of clothing insulation values.

Tests were carried out on 8 subjects. The results showed the possibility of incorporating the effect of increases in metabolic rate values due to thick cold protective clothing into the IREQ model. Using the higher thermal insulation value from the serial method in the IREQ prediction, would lead to unacceptable cooling of the users. Thus, only the parallel insulation calculation method in EN 342:2004 should be used. The wind and motion correction equation (No. 2) gave realistic values for total resultant insulation; dynamic testing according to EN 342:2004 may be omitted.     

电脑指向设备易用性测试方法研究

随着图形界面(GUI)在视屏作业中的大量使用,电脑用户已经很大程度上依赖于指向(Pointing)设备(比如鼠标)进行控制和操作。本项研究尝试研发电脑指向设备易用性测试方法,以更好的从工效学角度研究办公室视屏作业中的指向活动。指向设备易用性测试方法设计包括:标准化的指向测试;一系列能够准确描述指向的参数;用户满意度问卷。为了验证本测试方法,对具有代表性的笔记本电脑外接鼠标和内置触摸板进行了实验性的易用性测试。20名实验对象使用这两种设备完成了标准化的指向测试和满意度问卷。实验数据分析表明本指向设备易用性测试方法准确、有效。     

Evaluation of driver performance with a prototype cyber physical mid-block crossing advanced warning system

Introduction: Using connected vehicle technologies, pedestrian to vehicle (P2V) communication applications can be installed on smart devices allowing pedestrians to communicate with drivers by broadcasting discrete safety messages, received by drivers in-vehicle, as an alternative to expensive fixed-location physical safety infrastructure. Method: This study consists of designing, developing, and deploying an entirely cyber-physical P2V communication system within the cellular vehicle to everything (C-V2X) environment at a mid-block crosswalk to analyze drivers’ reactions to in-vehicle advanced warning messages, the impacts of the advanced warning messages on driver awareness, and drivers’ acceptance of this technology. Results: In testing human subjects with, and without, advanced warning messages upon approaching a mid-block crosswalk, driver reaction, acceptance, speed, eye tracking data, and demographic data were collected. Through an odds ratio comparison, it was found that drivers were at least 2.44 times more likely to stop for the pedestrian with the warning than without during the day, and at least 1.79 times more likely during the night. Furthermore, through binary logistic regression analysis, it was found that driver age, time of the day, and the presence of the advanced warning message all had strong, significant impacts with a confidence value of at least 98% (p < 0.02) on the rate at which drivers stopped for the pedestrian. Conclusions: The results from this study indicate that the advanced warning message sent within the C-V2X had a strong, positive impact on driver behavior and understanding of pedestrian intent. Practical Applications: Pedestrian crashes and fatality rates at mid-block crossings continue to increase over the years. Connected vehicle technology utilizing smart devices can be used as a means for communications between pedestrians and drivers to deliver safety messages. State and local city planners should consider geofencing designated mid-block crossings at which this technology operates to increase pedestrian safety and driver awareness.     

Prediction of Duration Limited Exposure for Participants Wearing Chemical Protective Clothing in the Cold

The suitability of the IREQ (insulation required) index for predicting the thermal responses of 6 participants wearing chemical protective clothing was tested during exercise at -20 and -25 °C. IREQ was used to calculate duration limited exposure (DLE). Measured DLE correlated (r= .899, p < .001) with the predicted DLE. In exposures exceeding 40 min, however, the predicted DLE tended to be 10-20 min too short compared to the measured one. During short exposures the prediction was 5-20 min too long. The results show that IREQ overestimated the cold strain in participants wearing chemical protective clothing during cold exposures longer than 40 min. Nevertheless, predicted DLE never exceeded measured times and thus the prediction was always safe from the occupational point of view.     

中国安全生产标准实施情况的调查与分析

为深入了解安全生产标准的实施情况,运用情景分析法和专家分析法,根据标准获取情况、宣贯情况、标准适用性3个方面设计了调查问卷,首次对工矿商贸企业开展调查。研究结果表明:当前安全生产标准工作中存在着标准获取困难、宣贯不到位、部分标准适用性不强等问题。在分析原因的基础上,提出建立安全生产标准信息共享与咨询服务工作平台,建立标准宣贯长效工作机制,优化工作程序、提高标准质量等方面的建议,为加强安全生产标准工作提供参考。     

安全生产大数据的5W2H采集法及其模式研究

为从安全生产大数据中挖掘安全规律并最终提炼安全生产基础原理,首先在对安全生产大数据的定义及其内涵进一步阐释基础上,提出安全生产大数据采集的定义,并将其分解为3个过程;然后提出安全生产大数据的5W2H采集法,并对其内涵(采集原因,使用主体、采集者及采集对象,采集数据类型,采集边界,采集时间,采集数据量及其采集方法）进行详细分析;最后以思维路径为主、过程路径和技术路径为辅,建立安全生产大数据采集的一般模式。结果表明,安全生产大数据采集模式的研究可为安全生产大数据的存储、处理及其应用提供基础。     

重大疫情下冷链应急物流协同配送决策博弈分析

为提高重大疫情下冷链应急物流协同配送效率,以尽可能短的时间满足疫区冷链物资需求,采用演化博弈理论构建冷链应急医疗物资协同配送决策的演化博弈模型,并将感染病毒风险系数及损失引入模型,分析冷链应急医疗保障部门与冷链物流企业配送策略选择问题。结果表明:在感染病毒风险系数一定的情况下,演化主体最终是否趋向高效策略和积极合作策略,与冷链应急医疗保障部门的投入运营维护成本、物流企业积极合作增值放大系数、积极合作的社会声誉及形象增值、正常运营经济收益等因素有直接关系。在运营维护成本增大和收益减少情景下,冷链应急医疗保障部门策略呈现波动性。研究结论可为重大疫情下冷链应急医疗物资协同配送提供参考。     

常用高、低温防护服着装舒适性研究

防护服装的全面评价通常涉及安全性、工效学特性等多个方面。在常用高、低温防护服隔热性能研究基础上,对服装的舒适性进行了初步研究,以期为高低温防护服的选用和设计改进等提供依据。本研究应用热平板仪、人工气候室等研究设备以及真人着装实验,对高低温作业典型工种常用的耐高温防护服和低温防护服的舒适性能进行了研究。研究结果显示,不同类型高、低温防护服的透气性、透湿性、着装压力、肢体活动角度等均表现出一定差异,防护服的面料、结构和工艺等均影响到其整体舒适性,并提出了相应的改善建议。     

The Effects of Hearing Protectors on Auditory Localization: Evidence From Audio-Visual Target Acquisitioi

Response times (RT) in an audio-visual target acquisition task were collected from 3 participants while wearing either circumaural earmuffs, foam earplugs, or no hearing protection. Analyses revealed that participants took significantly longer to locate and identify an audio-visual target in both hearing protector conditions than they did in the unoccluded condition, suggesting a disturbance of the cues used by listeners to localize sounds in space. RTs were significantly faster in both hearing protector conditions than in a non-audio control condition, indicating that auditory localization was not completely disrupted. Results are discussed in terms of safety issues involved with wearing hearing protectors in an occupational environment.     

重大突发事件下应急冷链供应链协同化评价模型及策略研究*

为有效规避冷链供应链受突发事件带来的不利影响,并强化其应急体系协同化发展,提出基于层次分析法和序参量法的应急冷链供应链协同化水平评价模型。模型以供应链协同化理论为基础,从协同化目标入手构建影响其协同化水平的测度指标体系;利用层次分析法确定评价指标的综合权重,最后运用序参量法评估冷链供应链各应急环节的协同度。结果表明:评价模型能有效评估应急冷链供应链协同化水平,可为冷链供应链应对突发事件提供参考。     

The Relationship Between Shift Work Schedules and Spillover in a Sample of Nurses

The aim of the present study was to estimate spillover effects between the work and the family sphere in a sample of nurses (N = 2058). Hierarchical regression analyses investigated whether shift work schedules were associated with negative or positive spillover, both from family to work and vice versa, controlling for demographic factors, job demands and decision latitude. With daytime work as a reference group, all types of shift work (day and evening shift, night shift only and rotating 3 shift) were associated with higher negative work-to-family spillover. Night work was associated with significantly less negative family-to-work spillover. None of the different shift work schedules were related to any type of positive spillover. The results indicate that working outside of daytime hours is less compatible with workers’ family lives, compared to working ordinary day shifts. On the other hand, working night shifts only was associated with reduced negative family-to-work spillover.     

Defending the Wrist Deviation Test for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Screening: A Comparison of Vibration Thresholds and Distal Motor Latency

This research used distal motor latency (DML) and vibration thresholds (VT) to evaluate 84 hand activity and wrist deviation combinations to determine the best association with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). Female volunteers, 2 healthy and 2 CTS diagnosed, were age matched and operated a keyboard for 4 hrs a day. Room temperature was 28°C(±2). Beginning DML and VT were taken with a relaxed neutral posture hand. The wrist was deviated in a randomly selected combination, and determinations were taken at 5-min intervals. The trial ended at 20 min or when discomfort was felt. The CTS conditions were discriminated by pain four times, DML once, and VT 14 times. Vibrometry was the most consistent CTS discriminator. The best VT results for wrist positions were obtained with wrist extension and extended extension, whereas the unclenched, clenched, and loaded power grip activities proved to be the most consistent hand activities.     

Robotic testing of radio frequency devices designed for industrial safety

An experimental setup is proposed to test the performance of safety devices based on radio frequency technology. The setup specifically tests devices designed for improving safety in dangerous areas of small size, such as those surrounding power press brakes. Tested here is a radio frequency identification (RFID) prototype, whose main objective is to prevent accidents by sending a stop signal to a machine when a worker’s wrist, bearing an RFID tag, gets too close to the dangerous area. An ABB IRB 2400L robot is used as a reference system; this system is capable of providing millimeter accuracy. A plastic hand and a wristband with at least one passive RFID tag are attached to the end of the robot arm, which emulates the behavior of a human arm. With this robotic approach, it is possible to test trajectories with different velocities and orientations and to simulate several risky situations associated with machine use. Several experiments are presented that were conducted with the RFID prototype, and statistics are reported on the distance detection capability of this safety system with respect to the plane that defines the dangerous area. A matrix approach is proposed for analyzing the robustness of safety devices that are designed to automatically prevent a worker entering in dangerous areas. The results show the benefits that development of a radio frequency device of this class could confer towards increasing worker safety.