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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND ERGONOMICS
Volume 12 Number 3, 2006
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CONTENTS:
Articles:
  PROTECTION OF HUMAN IN THE WORKING ENVIRONMENT
- Behavioural Reactivation and Subjective Assessment of the State of Vigilance—Application to Simulated Car Driving
Anne Bonnefond, Joceline Rogé & Alain Muzet, 221-229 
- Analysis of Total Work Inability in Poland in 2000 and 2001 According to Age, Disease Diagnosis and Occupation
Joanna Bugajska & Elżbieta Łastowiecka, 231-240
- Effects of Diabetic Neuropathy on Body Sway and Slip Perturbation Detection in Older Population
Byung Joon Kim & Charles J. Robinson, 241-254
- Recent Trends in ILO Conventions Related to Occupational Safety and Health
Donald J. Wilson, Ken Takahashi, Derek R. Smith, Masako Yoshino, Chieko Tanaka & Jukka Takala, 255-266
- The Effect of Job and Environmental Factors on Job Satisfaction in Automotive Industries
Siti Zawiah Md. Dawal & Zahari Taha, 267-280
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PROTECTION OF HUMAN AT THE WORKSTATION
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Behavioural Reactivation and Subjective Assessment of the State of Vigilance—Application to Simulated Car Driving
Anne Bonnefond, Joceline Rogé & Alain Muzet
The frequency of some behaviour (such as self-centred gestures) increases during a task that leads to the occurrence of low-vigilance episodes. These gestures can be useful in stimulating oneself. A study carried out in 20 adults has enabled us to state that motor activity (recorded with an actimeter) increases with the duration of a monotonous driving task and sleep deprivation. The analysis of the scores recorded using the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale has shown that drivers can assess the deterioration of their state of vigilance according to the actual sleep preceding the driving test. Finally, the joint analysis of the subjective and objective data revealed a co-variation of these two types of indices. We discuss the stimulatory function of the motor activity in a task leading to the occurrence of low-vigilance episodes by investigating, among other things, the use, conscious or not, of this type of activity.
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Analysis of Total Work Inability in Poland in 2000 and 2001 According to Age, Disease Diagnosis and Occupation
Joanna Bugajska & Elżbieta Łastowiecka
This study was to determine the main health-related reasons, age and occupation of those who took early retirement due to total work inability. This was done through an analysis of the data from Poland’s Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) from 2000 and 2001. An analysis of these data showed an increase in the number of certificates confirming total inability to work in people over 40 years old. Over 50% of certificates work were issued to workers in 2 age-groups: 45–49 and 50–54.
Diseases of the circulatory system, musculoskeletal system and connective tissue as well as mental and behavioural disorders are the main causes of early inability to work. Approximately 70% of people who obtained certificates confirming total inability to work had blue- and blue-and-white-collar jobs.
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Effects of Diabetic Neuropathy on Body Sway and Slip Perturbation Detection in Older Population\
Byung Joon Kim & Charles J. Robinson
Postural control is a common mechanism to compensate for unexpected displacements of the body. In the older population, a slip or fall due to a failure of postural control is a common cause of morbidity and mortality. The ability of postural control decreases with aging or neuropathy. In this study, 2 groups, diabetics and non-diabetics in the older population, were compared to determine how patterns of postural sway during quiet standing were related to the detection of perturbation. The SLIP-FALLS system was applied to the measurement of sway and detection of perturbation. In phase 1 of the development of the predictive model, neural network algorithms were applied to find determinant variables for perturbation detection. In phase 2, a fuzzy logic inference system was developed to investigate the relationship between sway and perturbation detection. Results of this study may be applied to the design of floor mats or shoe insoles for preventing fatigue in workplaces.
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Recent Trends in ILO Conventions Related to Occupational Safety and Health
Donald J. Wilson, Ken Takahashi, Derek R. Smith, Masako Yoshino, Chieko Tanaka & Jukka Takala
The present study was conducted to analyze the ratification status of International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions related to occupational safety and health (OSH) by ILO member states in terms of national indicators (length of ILO membership and national income status) and regional affiliation. 17 conventions designated as OSH-related by the 2003 International Labour Conference were examined. In general, countries with longer ILO membership ratified higher numbers of conventions related to OSH. With some variation, long-membership countries had the largest number of ratifications, followed by middle- and shortmembership countries in all regions. There were also incremental increases in the number of ratifications for OSH-related conventions according to the national income status. Common regional characteristics that could not be explained by the factors studied also existed. Future efforts to increase ratification at an international level will need to consider the factors influencing ratification practice among the member states.
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The Effect of Job and Environmental Factors on Job Satisfaction in Automotive Industries
Siti Zawiah Md. Dawal & Zahari Taha
A methodology was developed for diagnosing industrial work, which includes questionnaire, observation, measurements, data collection and statistical analysis. A survey was conducted to investigate the relationship between job satisfaction and factors that affect work design in 2 automotives manufacturing companies in Malaysia. A basic work design model was proposed. The aim of this model was to determine the factors that influence employees’ perception towards their work. A set of multiple-choice questionnaires was developed and data was collected by interviewing employees at a production plant. The survey focused on job and environmental factors. The results supported the proposed model and showed that job and environmental factors were significantly related to job satisfaction. They highlighted the significant influence of age, work experience and marital status on job satisfaction. Further, environmental factors, especially the surroundings, context dependence and the building’s function, also had a significant impact on job satisfaction.
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Driver Celeration Behavior and the Prediction of Traffic Accidents
Anders E. af Wahlberg
A study was undertaken to investigate whether driver celeration (overall mean speed change) behavior can predict traffic accident involvement. Also, to test whether acceleration, deceleration or the combined celeration measure was the better predictor. Bus driver celeration behavior was measured repeatedly in real traffic, driving en route, and correlated with accidents for which the drivers were deemed at least partly responsible. Correlations around .20 were found in several samples between celeration behavior and culpable accidents for a 2-year period. The results show that although celeration behavior is only semi-stable over time, it predicts with some accuracy individual accident involvement over 2 years. The predictive power of acceleration and deceleration was slightly lower than the combined measure, in accordance with theory. The correlations found were strong enough to warrant the use of celeration behavior as a predictive variable for transportation companies in their safety work.
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Test of Firefighter’s Turnout Gear in Hot and Humid Air Exposure
Ingvar Holmér, Kalev Kuklane & Chuansi Gao
Five students of a rescue training school cycled at 50 W for 20 min at 20 ºC before walking at 5 km/hr up to 30 min in a climatic chamber at 55 ºC and 30% relative humidity. 4 different types of clothing ensembles differing in terms of thickness and thermal insulation value were tested on separate days. All subjects completed 28–30 min in light clothing, but quit after 20–27 min in 3 firefighter ensembles due to a rectal temperature of 39 ºC or subjective fatigue. No difference in the evolution of mean skin or rectal temperature was seen for the 3 turnout ensembles. Sweat production amounted to about 1000 g in the turnout gears of which less than 20% evaporated. It was concluded that the small differences between the turnout gears in terms of design, thickness and insulation value had no effect on the resulting heat physiological strain for the given experimental conditions.
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The Influence of Anchor Devices on the Performance of Retractable Type Fall Arresters Protecting Against Falls From a Height
Krzysztof Baszczyński
Retractable type fall arresters are part of the equipment used for protecting people against falls from a height. They are an intermediate part between full body harness worn by a man and the structural anchor at the worksite. The most important task of retractable type fall arresters is to arrest people’s falls and to reduce their harmful consequences. Information received from users as well as laboratories testing protective equipment indicates that the performance of such equipment is incorrect under specific conditions. The paper is concerned with an analysis of the conditions in which retractable type fall arresters demonstrate intermittent performance and with an explanation of that phenomenon. The results of tests investigating anchor devices and the performance of retractable type fall arresters are presented. External and internal factors contributing to intermittent performance have been determined and guidelines for safer use of these devices have been developed.
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Computer Professionals and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS)
K. Mohamed Ali & B.W.C. Sathiyasekaran
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) is an important problem among computer professionals. Hence the prevalence of CTS among computer professionals and risk factors were studied. 648 subjects were selected from 4,276 computer professionals from 21 companies with a simple random sampling method. CTS was diagnosed based on clinical features.
The prevalence of CTS was found to be 13.1% (95% CI 10.5–15.7%). Subjects with over 8 years of computer work, over 12 hrs of work per day and system administrators were at a higher risk for CTS (OR 3.3, 4.9 and 2.5 respectively). Flexed or extended hand position had higher risk for CTS.
Higher risk for CTS was found with higher exposure to computer work. Ergonomic considerations are important in facilitating proper positioning of hand while working with a computer. Further studies on CTS risk factors among computer professionals are essential for planning prevention.
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Attributes of Occupational Injury Among Workers in the Chemical Industry and Safety Issues
Mohammad Muhshin Aziz Khan, Zaheed Ibne Halim & Mohammad Iqbal
Case-study research was carried out with a view to find the attributes of occupational injury among workers in the chemical industry and to enhance safety issues. Injury data were collected and processed in terms of different variables, such as age, gender, skills, type of hazard, etc. Pareto analysis was then applied to find a pattern of occupational injury among the workers. The study revealed that 79.52% of the injured workers were in the 40–59 age group; 57.14% of accidents occurred during the 1st shift; 73.26% of accidents caused injury to hands, feet, chest to thigh, arms and eyes; and 70.93% of injuries were caused by pumps, carrying and lifting, vehicles, pipelines, valves, and grinding. Surprisingly, no one was injured in the group of temporary workers. The paper also provides specific suggestions followed by some action plans.
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