Habitually Barefoot Children Inadvertently Resigned To Wear Ill-Fitting School Shoes: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background Research shows that ill-fitting shoes can negatively impact the development of the pediatric foot, in a very direct manner. The primary aim of the study was to determine if the dimensions of available prescribed school shoes fit the foot dimensions of habitually barefoot South African children and adolescents. Methods A cross-sectional observational study was conducted where static standing foot measurements of children and adolescents from urban and rural schools were obtained with a mobile caliper. The maximum heel-toe-length (HTL) and foot width (FW) with an added 10 mm (millimetres) toe and width fit allowance to each participant, were compared to the corresponding school shoe length and shoe width available in retail. A mixed model ANOVA was used to compare foot dimensions between gender, age and side. Results Six hundred and ninety-eight school children (N=698) (431 girls; 267 boys; average age 10.86 years, SD=2.55) were participants. A total of seventy-seven (N=77) black coloured prescribed school shoes currently available in retail ranging from different styles and brands were measured. Results show that, comparing the shoe length (SL) and HTL of participants, as well as taking a10 mm toe allowance into account, fifty-nine percent (59%) of children wore shoes that were not the correct length. With regards to the shoe width (SW) and the added 10 mm of width fit allowance, ninety-eight percent (98%) of the shoes worn by participants were too narrow for their feet. Conclusions Results confirmed that school shoes currently available in retail, are not suited for the habitually barefoot population studied. It is recommended that the shoe manufacturing industry should consider the shoe width of school shoes for children and adolescents in habitually barefoot populations to avoid the long-term negative effect of ill-fitting shoes on the pediatric foot.

Conceptual and Preliminary Design of a Shoe Manufacturing Plant

This article presents a procedure for designing footwear production plants with a Decision Support System combined with an expert system and a simulation approach. The footwear industry has many operations and is labour intensive. Optimisation of plant layout, machinery, and human resources is very important to design the footwear manufacturing system, making adequate investment in space and equipment. In the industry it is essential to reduce the process time, so the research is based on a Decision Support System combined with an expert system and simulation to improve the design of the manufacturing plan. This work contains two case studies, direct injection manufacturing and assembly and carburising methods, which are compared to analyse all the necessary resources to have the best cost–benefit ratio. In each case, a precise knowledge of the type and quantity of machinery and human resources is needed to estimate the production. This comparison has been done through simulations and using a knowledge base of an expert system. The conclusions are presented in which an improvement in production time is obtained by applying the methodology developed in the study.

Investigation of the stability and risks of fomite transmission of human coronavirus OC43 on leather

Limited research exists on the potential for leather to act as a fomite of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) or endemic coronaviruses including human coronavirus (HCoV) OC43; this is important for settings such as the shoe manufacturing industry. Antiviral coating of leather hides could limit such risks. This study aimed to investigate the stability and transfer of HCoVOC43 on different leathers, as a surrogate for SARS-CoV-2, and assess the antiviral efficacy of a silver-based leather coating. The stability of HCoV-OC43 (6.6 log10) on patent, full-grain calf, corrected grain finished and nubuck leathers (silver additive-coated and uncoated) was measured by titration on BHK-21 cells. Transfer from leather to cardboard and stainless steel was determined. HCoV-OC43 was detectable for 6 h on patent, 24 h on finished leather and 48 h on calf leather; no infectious virus was recovered from nubuck. HCoV-OC43 transferred from patent, finished and calf leathers onto cardboard and stainless steel up to 2 h post-inoculation (≤3.1–5.5 log10), suggesting that leathers could act as fomites. Silver additive-coated calf and finished leathers were antiviral against HCoV-OC43, with no infectious virus recovered after 2 h and limited transfer to other surfaces. The silver additive could reduce potential indirect transmission of HCoV-OC43 from leather.

Buffer allocation problem in a shoe manufacturing line: A metamodeling approach

Footwear production is subject to the variability inherent in any process, and producers often need to apply tools that allow them to make the right decisions. This work documents the process to optimize the buffer allocation in a shoe manufacturing line minimizing the cycle time in the system, applying a metamodeling approach. It was found that the Front sewing operation, and the interaction between the Lining sewing operation and the assembly operation have the greatest effect on the flow time of the product within the process; the optimum assignment of spaces follows a non-uniform arrangement on the line saturating the slower stations; the cycle time follows a non-linear behavior vs. the total number of spaces (N) in the line. For a certain value of N, the cycle time reaches a minimum value.

Effect of Methyl Ethyl Ketone (MEK) Organic Solvent Exposure on Incidence of Neurotoxicity in Shoe Manufacturing Workers

Background: Shoe manufacturing factory workers in developing countries are daily exposed to complex mixtures of organic solvents. Chemical exposure occurs through inhalation / respiration and skin which can affect many physiological systems. The main chemical exposure to organic solvents in shoe manufacturing comes from the process of gluing and cleaning process by using organic solvents on footwear in the assembling section. Methyl ethyl ketone is one type of organic solvent which, when entering into the body through inhalation routes can cause irritation of the nose, throat, lungs and chest becomes congested. Acute neurotoxicity is a collection of symptoms in the central nervous system (central nervous system depression, psychomotor disorders, narcosis, drowsiness, headache, dizziness, dyspepsia, and nausea). Method: The research design was a prospective cohort research consisting of 45 people for each high MEK exposed group and low exposed to MEK. Data collection was done by interview, physical examination, MEK level measurement of pre-shift urine and end-shift work, and filling out questionnaires Form Acute symptoms rating questionnaire at the beginning of work shift (07.00), 2 hours after work (09.00), break (12.00), 2 hours after break (15.00), and end of work shift (16.00). Result: The incidence of acute neurotoxicity symptoms in the MEK-high exposed group based on the Acute Symptoms questionnaire was 51.1%. Age factor with symptoms of acute neurotoxicity in workers at PT. X with p value = 0.432, gender factor with p value = 0.162, education factor with p value = 0.897, nutritional status factor with p value = 0.865, alcohol habit factor with p value = 0.181, coffee drinking habit factor with p value = 0.265, and smoking habit factor with p value = 0.968, work duration factor with symptoms of acute neurotoxicity at worker in PT. X with p value = 0.533, and the use factor of personal protective equipment (PPE) with p value = 0.470. In this research, symptoms of acute neurotoxicity were dominant are fatigue (80%), headache (77.8%), nausea (71.1%), dizziness (66.7%), and feeling of intoxication (53.3%). Conclusion: There are no subject and occupational factors that have a significant effect to the symptoms of acute neurotoxicity. Conducting isolation of other work areas for workers exposed to chemicals that because of high potential to harm other workers in the vicinity. Reassessing the hazard risk of using MEK substitutes with other chemicals that are of lower risk or replace with water-based solvents. Provide PPE eligible to all workers exposed to chemicals and workers around them. A PPE fit test is used for workers to feel comfortable while wearing it, giving strict sanctions to workers who do not consistently use personal protective equipment.

Development of Preventive Measures to Eliminate Incomplete Factors in Shoe Manufacturing Enterprises

This research paper describes the development of footwear to optimize the working conditions and maintain the working capacity of workers in Uzbekistan, to raise production to a higher level, to attract future young professionals to these enterprises, to provide them with harmless and comfortable jobs, to bring labor protection in line with world standards. The results of the study of unfavorable factors of production at extractive enterprises and preventive measures to eliminate are described and conclusions are given.