scholarly journals Enhancing Working Posture Comparability in Forest Operations by the Use of Similarity Metrics

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 926
Author(s):  
Stelian Alexandru Borz ◽  
Eugen Iordache ◽  
Marina Viorela Marcu
Keyword(s):  
New Technology ◽  
Risk Index ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Similarity Metrics ◽  
Forest Operations ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Scientific Results ◽  
The Time Domain ◽  
Plant Sociology ◽  
Postural Analysis

Forest operations are well known in exposing their workers to many risk factors, and they often require ergonomic interventions for improvement. In this regard, evaluation of biomechanical exposure has gained a lot of interest due to the concerning scientific results repeatedly showing the association between poor working postures and the development of work-related musculoskeletal disorders. Due to its simplicity, easy understanding, cost affordability, and the capability to evaluate the whole body, the OWAS method has been commonly used in postural evaluation of forestry work, being able to map the experimental observations in a final action category, in the form of a postural risk index (PRI), which helps designing or taking actions for ergonomic improvement. However, postural comparability is both relevant and important when, for instance, one tries to improve a work method or to introduce a new technology. Unfortunately, the PRI metric holds a rather low capability to characterize the changes brought by such factors in terms of postural dissimilarity or similarity, making it difficult to accurately follow the changes. For this reason, we introduce in the postural analysis, test and discuss herein two commonly used similarity metrics as specific to plant sociology and other ecology-related sciences, namely the Sørensen’s quotient of similarity (hereafter QS) and the Canberra metric (hereafter CM); their selection was based on their mathematical capabilities of dealing with data at two resolutions, namely species and individuals. Three case studies were setup to show the differences between QS, CM, and PRI and their usefulness for postural analysis while, for a better understanding, the results were described and discussed by analogy to the living world. As the technology of automating data collection and processing for postural analysis is in progress, the utility of similarity metrics in postural assessment and comparison could be further expanded so as to map a given work sequence in the time domain against best-fit postural profiles. The main conclusion of this study is that the PRI is useful for action-taking while the similarity metrics are useful for pairwise postural change evaluations and comparison.

scholarly journals PANSONOSCOPY IN POLYTRAUMA (NEW MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY)

2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandr Sergeevich Iova ◽  
Irina Alexandrovna Krukova ◽  
Dmitriy Alexandrovich Iova
Keyword(s):  
Medical Care ◽  
Medical Technology ◽  
Ultrasound Examination ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Actual Problem ◽  
Portable Ultrasound ◽  
Traumatic Injuries ◽  
Medical Consultations ◽  
Large Sections

This article deals with the actual problem of present-day traumotology - improvement of rendering of medical care for patients with polytrauma. The new technology “Pansonoscopy” is presented, which is the minimally invasive and widely available method of fast imaging of the “whole body” of the patient in any medical situations. It permits to detect the most frequent and dangerous traumatic injuries (cranial, thoracal, abdominal, skeletal, etc.) applying portable ultrasound scanners in real-time mode. The guarantee of imaging of the intracranial injuries, pos sibility realization of ultrasound examination by clinician on his own, and possibility of online medical consultations to experts (sonologist) - are fundamently new. This technology is destined for the large sections of practitioners, what render medical care for patients with polytrauma.

Development of Industry-Specific Physical Job Evaluation Tool

2018 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 1629-1630
Author(s):  
Ninica Howard ◽  
Stephen Bao ◽  
Jia-Hua Lin
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Musculoskeletal Disorders ◽  
Washington State ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Job Evaluation ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Work Related Musculoskeletal Disorders ◽  
Job Assessment

Background According to Washington State workers’ compensation data, construction as an industry ranked first in its compensable claims rate of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSD) injuries (Anderson, Adams, Bonauto, Howard, & Silverstein, 2015). Many current physical job assessment tools available for ergonomics practitioners to evaluate work-related musculoskeletal disorder risks of the back, shoulder, hand/wrist and knee are mostly of general purposes. This project sought to identify risk factors pertinent to given industries. The construction industry is used as an example in this demonstration. Approach Four hundred thirty-six construction employees from sixteen companies in the State of Washington were observed and evaluated using commonly used exposure assessment tools: Washington State Checklists (Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, 2004a, b), Strain Index (Moore & Garg, 1995), American Congress of Governmental Industrial Hygienists Lifting Threshold Limit Values (ACGIH, 2005), Liberty Mutual Manual Materials Handling Guidelines (Snook & Ciriello, 1991), Quick Ergonomics Checklist (David et al, 2005; David et al, 2008), and the European Union Vibration Directives (EU, 2002). The physical risk factors that were evaluated are those that have been associated with WMSDs. These risk factors included: awkward postures of the back, shoulder, hand/wrist; lifting; pushing, pulling, carrying; high hand forces (pinching, griping); highly repetitive motions of the hand/wrist; repeated impacts of the hand or knee; vibration (whole body, hand); and any specific tasks with potential WMSD risks but were otherwise not covered in any of the common assessment tools. Following the results of the exposure assessments, a comprehensive physical job evaluation checklist was created by retaining items sensitive to differentiate levels of risks within jobs in the construction industry. From our job evaluations, WMSD risk factors may not be the same between industry groups and as such, industry-specific tools may simplify the evaluation process by focusing on unique exposures. The final Physical Job Evaluation Checklist is currently presented in the form of a spreadsheet available for download and use ( www.lni.wa.gov/Safety/Research/Wmsd/WMSD2010.asp ). Accompanying reference guide is also available to provide instructions how data fields can be obtained or measured. The user can print out a paper form first, record the assessment at a job site, then enter the necessary data into the spreadsheet. The algorithm then generates all the evaluation reports and highlight areas that should receive attention. The goals are to raise general awareness of industry-specific physical factors that contribute to work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs), and help identify specific aspects of the job that pose a risk for back, shoulder, hand/wrist and knee injury common in the construction industry. Using the Physical Job Evaluation Checklists can help prioritize injury prevention efforts by identifying the jobs, or the aspects of the job that pose the greatest risk of injury. It is also possible to evaluate the impact that proposed jobsite changes have on WMSD risk (before and after exposures). And finally, it is possible to compare exposures between workers performing the same or different tasks. Limitation Due to the study design, the Physical Job Evaluation Checklist IS NOT intended to predict the occurrence of WMSDs or to provide guidance or suggestions on how to mitigate exposure to risk factors of WMSDs.

scholarly journals Applied Art: Innovative Thinking From a Material Perspective

2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anneli Hoel Fjærli ◽  
Ida Haugland
Keyword(s):  
New Technology ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Avant Garde ◽  
Applied Art ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Future ◽  
Future Society ◽  
On The Road

The modern world is continuously engaged in a racing processes aimed towards building a favourable future society. In this development, the apparent tools seem to be related to theoretical thought, new technology, avant-garde approaches and innovation. The bodily focus and the societal micro level processes are often left behind in this race. Though, in our aspiration towards urban development and the future society, we should not forget that the bodily functions and the possibilities that these give, represent one of the most fundamental and basic tools we have. This article would like to form an argument carrying out the seeming advantage of bringing in not just technological and theoretic avant-garde to the term of innovation and development, but to invite the whole body into the forming of the future, thereby seeing the term innovation from a material perspective. As the art field today is more often approaching subject matters that are primarily societal, we would like to introduce the potential of a mutual approach from the other end, seeing the art field as a central part in the creation of engagement and progress that can instigate another form of efficiency and present an expanded understanding of what innovative activity can be, and how it can be perceived and comprehended. We would like to debate an art form that takes the bodily, active and relational focus and its social context as a base and starting point on the road towards societal consciousness and potential development. Looking at the example of the art project «The Collectivity Project», this article takes it’s starting point in the following question; How can applied art projects in connection to social contexts, like The Collectivity Project, show the art field and the bodily sensuousness as a tool in the forming of values pointing towards an alternative way of thinking societal consciousness and development?

scholarly journals Jack of All

2020 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
James E. Gunn
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Work ◽  
Social Activities ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Large Influence ◽  
Scientific Results ◽  
Incomplete Picture

This article is basically a scientific autobiography from a long and very rewarding career, covering childhood, education, theoretical work, observations, instrumentation, and some social activities. It is not meant to be a review of anything except an incomplete picture of my life, and the relatively few references are to some of my work, work related to mine, and work that had a very large influence on my life and research, so apologies in advance to those I left out in subjects I discuss. I have not in any way attempted to discuss scientific results; those you can go read. I have used more words on old things than new, with the idea that most readers of this article are much more familiar with the field in the last couple of decades than before. My career spans almost six, and there may be things to learn from antiquity.

scholarly journals Comparison of Whole-Body Vibration Exposures When Operating a City Bus with an Active, Passive and Static Suspension Bus Seat

2019 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 1052-1056
Author(s):  
Peter W. Johnson ◽  
Jennifer Ibbotson-Brown ◽  
Serf Menocal ◽  
Jim Parison
Keyword(s):  
Standardized Test ◽  
Whole Body Vibration ◽  
Active Suspension ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Bus Drivers ◽  
Body Vibration ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Industry Standard ◽  
Air Suspension

Municipal bus drivers have a high rate of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMDSs) and Whole Body Vibration (WBV) has been shown to be a risk factor associated with WMSDs. Recently, active suspension seats, which cut WBV exposures in half relative to the current, industry-standard air suspension seats, have become commercially available for use in buses. This study compared WBV exposures while bus drivers operated a municipal bus over a standardized test route using three different types of seats: 1) an active (electromechanical) suspension bus seat, 2) a passive (air) suspension bus seat, and 3) a static (suspension-less) bus seat. Similar to their performance in semi-trucks, the active suspension seat reduced bus driver WBV exposures between 35% to 61% relative to the passive suspension and static seats. Based on these preliminary results, the active suspension bus seat appears to have the potential to substantially reduce a bus driver’s exposure to WBV.

Safety and work-related stress: developing a risk index to comply with Italian law (D. Lgs. 81/2008)

RISORSA UOMO ◽  
2009 ◽  
pp. 69-86
Author(s):  
Mario Magnani ◽  
Gaetano Andrea Mancini ◽  
Vincenzo Majer
Keyword(s):  
Physical Health ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
Risk Index ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Factorial Structure ◽  
Internal Reliability ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Italian Law ◽  
Related Stress ◽  
Mental And Physical Health

- Despite the recent proliferation of tools to detect the sources of stress, relatively little research has been conducted about well-being indicators in order to comply with the law and to assess the person's fit to the observed context. This work aims to present a tool for quickly detecting the working conditions. The OPRA Risk Index shows excellent factorial structure and a satisfactory internal reliability. It provides an estimate of risk based on the score of some literature-relevant indicators and can be used to make a first assessment as well as to discriminate effectively between perceptions of climate, sources of risk, burnout, engagement, and mental and physical health.

scholarly journals Validation of newly developed and redesigned key indicator methods for assessment of different working conditions with physical workloads based on mixed-methods design: a study protocol

BMJ Open ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. e015412 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andre Klussmann ◽  
Falk Liebers ◽  
Felix Brandstädt ◽  
Marianne Schust ◽  
Patrick Serafin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Body Movement ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Health Measurement ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Key Indicator ◽  
Cosmin Checklist ◽  
Physical Workloads ◽  
The Impact

IntroductionThe impact of work-related musculoskeletal disorders is considerable. The assessment of work tasks with physical workloads is crucial to estimate the work-related health risks of exposed employees. Three key indicator methods are available for risk assessment regarding manual lifting, holding and carrying of loads; manual pulling and pushing of loads; and manual handling operations. Three further KIMs for risk assessment regarding whole-body forces, awkward body postures and body movement have been developed de novo. In addition, the development of a newly drafted combined method for mixed exposures is planned. All methods will be validated regarding face validity, reliability, convergent validity, criterion validity and further aspects of utility under practical conditions.Methods and analysisAs part of the joint project MEGAPHYS (multilevel risk assessment of physical workloads), a mixed-methods study is being designed for the validation of KIMs and conducted in companies of different sizes and branches in Germany. Workplaces are documented and analysed by observations, applying KIMs, interviews and assessment of environmental conditions. Furthermore, a survey among the employees at the respective workplaces takes place with standardised questionnaires, interviews and physical examinations. It is intended to include 1200 employees at 120 different workplaces. For analysis of the quality criteria, recommendations of the COSMIN checklist (COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments) will be taken into account.Ethics and disseminationThe study was planned and conducted in accordance with the German Medical Professional Code and the Declaration of Helsinki as well as the German Federal Data Protection Act. The design of the study was approved by ethics committees. We intend to publish the validated KIMs in 2018. Results will be published in peer-reviewed journals, presented at international meetings and disseminated to actual users for practical application.

scholarly journals Instability of Personality Traits of Teachers in Risk Conditions due to Work-Related Stress

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 91
Author(s):  
Ruggero Andrisano Ruggieri ◽  
Anna Iervolino ◽  
PierGiorgio Mossi ◽  
Emanuela Santoro ◽  
Giovanni Boccia
Keyword(s):  
Personality Traits ◽  
Big Five ◽  
Risk Index ◽  
Psychosocial Risk ◽  
State Of Health ◽  
Work Related Stress ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Related Stress ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Psychosocial Risk Assessment

The following study aims to verify whether psychosocial risk conditions determine a variation in personality traits. The sample consisted of 301 teachers, comprising 84 men (27.1%) and 217 women (72.9%). The Big Five Questionnaire (BFQ) was used to measure personality traits, while the Organizational and Psychosocial Risk Assessment (OPRA) questionnaire was used to measure psychosocial risk. The ANOVA results notice the change of BFQ traits. These are significant (Extraversion = 0.000; Agreeableness = 0.001; Neuroticism = 0.000; Openness = 0.017), with the exception of the Conscientiousness trait (Conscientiousness = 0.213). The research supports the approach of seeing personality as the result of the interaction between the individual and the environment; this position is also recognized by work-related stress literature. Stress conditions can lead to a change in the state of health and possibly determine the onset of work-related stress diseases. In the future, it would be useful to start a series of longitudinal studies to understand in greater detail the variability of personality traits due to changes in the Risk Index.

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