Using a mobile app to estimate whole-body vibration and seat isolation performance in surface mining

Researchers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) performed a pilot study focusing on the measurement accuracy of a mobile iOS application (app) to assess whole-body vibration (WBV) and seat performance on mobile mining equipment. The major objectives of this study were to assess the accuracy of an iPod app and determine if a pair of iPods running the iPod app were suitable to measure SEAT (Seat Effective Amplitude Transmissibility) value. The goal is to recommend a simple method to determine when a vehicle seat may need to be repaired, replaced, or adjusted. The study showed that the iPod app has the potential to serve as a low-cost tool to estimate WBV exposures to operators of mobile mining equipment. The study results were similar to those obtained by Burgess-Limerick et al. for operator WBV exposures on mining equipment. In contrast, an effort to examine seat performance using the mobile app showed greater variation between the app and the precision Siemens/LMS system selected as the “gold standard.” When comparing the Siemens/LMS and iPod pair systems, SEAT values calculated using weighted-root-mean-square acceleration (aw) resulted in a mean percent difference of 8.5±7.9%, whereas those calculated using vibration dose value (VDV) resulted in a mean percent difference of 5.5±4.4%. Additional data collection is necessary to determine what factors may be associated with this variance.

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Management of Whole-body Vibration in the Surface Mining Industry

10.14264/uql.2014.291 ◽

2014 ◽

Author(s):

Rebecca Wolfgang

Keyword(s):

Whole Body Vibration ◽

Mining Industry ◽

Surface Mining ◽

Whole Body ◽

Body Vibration

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Assessment of Whole-Body Vibration Exposure in Mining Earth-moving Equipment and Other Vehicles Used in Surface Mining

Annals of Work Exposures and Health ◽

10.1093/annweh/wxx043 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 61 (6) ◽

pp. 669-680 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Luz S. Marin ◽

Andres C. Rodriguez ◽

Estefany Rey-Becerra ◽

Hugo Piedrahita ◽

Lope H. Barrero ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Whole Body Vibration ◽

Surface Mining ◽

Whole Body ◽

Vibration Exposure ◽

Body Vibration

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Effects of vehicular whole-body vibration on focus measured by a mobile app for brain training: A pilot study on the influence of gender and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Work ◽

10.3233/wor-203314 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 67 (3) ◽

pp. 641-654

Author(s):

Maria Lúcia Machado Duarte ◽

Glauber Zerbini Costal ◽

Sthéfani Ferreira Martinelli ◽

Jorge Alexandre Barbosa Neves

Keyword(s):

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ◽

Attention Deficit ◽

Whole Body Vibration ◽

Performance Measure ◽

Mobile App ◽

Whole Body ◽

Difficulty Level ◽

Brain Training ◽

Body Vibration ◽

Hyperactivity Disorder

BACKGROUND: Students, as well as other professional drivers, must have focus to adequately perform their tasks. However, they are subjected to whole-body vibration (WBV) in their journey to school or work. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the influence of in-loco WBV exposure on focus, both instantaneously, as well as residually. Analysis is performed for both genders, as well as for the presence of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). METHODS: Using a tablet computer, 20 volunteers played a focus game available on an app for brain training while exposed or not exposed to WBV. The exposure was that of a car travelling on a stone paved route. The performance measure was the score provided at the end of each game. Subjective comfort and difficulty evaluations were also investigated. RESULTS: The results suggest that WBV had a negative effect on the focus performance. However, it proved positive three minutes after the exposure (residual effect). The mean scores of females were higher than for males for most of the tests, apart from the one under WBV although at the expense of getting more discomfort. The difficulty level was not different within the gender groups. CONCLUSION: It could be concluded that the group with ADHD had a small but positive influence on the results for most of the tests, indicating that they are less affected by the presence of WBV. Since many students and workers have ADHD, this may be considered an important finding. It was shown that objective results should not be the only measures to use, as the subjective evaluation may explain the results better.

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