International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics最新文献

This study investigates how sustained governance of hidden hazards influences safety performance in port systems, using data from 54 production and key non-production enterprises within the Tianjin Port Group. Employing correlation analysis, regression modeling and mediation-moderation analysis, the study finds that both systematic hazard governance and standardized safety management significantly improve safety outcomes. Basic management-level governance directly reduces the frequency of incidents, while site-level governance enhances safety performance indirectly by promoting standardization. Moreover, the overall risk level of hidden hazards moderates the effectiveness of these governance strategies. The study confirms the alignment between hazard inspection frameworks and safety management systems, and proposes a closed-loop model to support continuous improvement and long-term risk control in high-risk port environments.

Objectives. This study aimed to examine the prevalence of chronic musculoskeletal pain among employees of a large German chemical company and how it varies depending on occupational group. Methods. Cross-sectional data were collected between 2019 and 2022 during a voluntary occupational health check-up, including a written questionnaire. Chronic musculoskeletal pain was defined as lasting at least 3 months in the past year. Occupational group was operationalized either by self-reported work area or by the International Standard Classification of Occupations 2008 (ISCO-08). Associations between occupational group and chronic musculoskeletal pain were analyzed using robust Poisson regression. Results. The final sample included 13,705 employees. The 12-month prevalence of chronic musculoskeletal pain was 18.6% for the whole sample, and 22.0, 21.9, 20.2 and 15.0% for employees in the work areas other, office, research/laboratory and production/craft, respectively. Regression analyses showed that the prevalence was 24.1% (p < 0.001) lower for employees in production/craft and 11.2% (p < 0.05) lower for employees in research/laboratory compared to office employees in the fully adjusted model. Conclusions. The high prevalence of chronic musculoskeletal pain underscores the importance of both the prevention and management of chronic musculoskeletal pain. Thereby, workplace-specific needs-based offerings could play an important role.

Ergonomics plays a significant role in fabric preparation, ensuring that the work environment, equipment and tasks are designed to enhance worker comfort, safety and efficiency. The intricate process of water vapour movement through textile structures is controlled by several variables, e.g., openness, thickness and pore size of the fabric as well as the inherent fibre characteristics. This study investigates the effect of tank temperature, pick density of the shell layer and fan speed on the reduction in relative humidity in the microclimate of the shell layer of fire protective clothing. The Box-Behnken model is used to make predictions and analyse the results. Analyses were performed for 3D surface plots at 22, 32 and 42 pick density for various tank temperature and fan speed combinations. The model is statistically significant (p = 0.0007). The results can be used for design and development of thermal protective clothing.

Violence in the workplace is an emerging issue for occupational and public health. There has been growing concern about how to combat it with effective interventions. This study aims to determine the prevalence of workplace violence across all sectors and to identify the risk factors that influence violence in Turkey using logistic regression. Firstly, it was seen that the prevalence of violence was 22.87% and that being female, being young, having low education and having a chronic mental disease significantly increased the chance of being exposed to violence. Our results show that the risk of victimization is almost six times higher if the job is difficult. In addition, people working in the human health sector were more than twice as likely to be victimized as those working in the education sector. According to the results, the factors influencing workplace violence point to the power imbalance.

Objectives. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of work-related musculoskeletal system disorders (WRMSDs) in health personnel working in the operating room, the factors affecting WRMSDs, and the relationship between work-related sleep disturbance and musculoskeletal system problems. Methods. The study included 315 health personnel working in the operating room for at least 1 year. Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) were investigated with the Cornell musculoskeletal discomfort questionnaire (CMDQ), and sleep disorders were assessed with the Jenkins sleep scale. Results. In total, 57.5% of the operating room personnel had chronic MSDs. CMDQ scores were statistically significantly higher in women than in men (p < 0.01). CMDQ scores were statistically significantly higher in employees with sleep problems (p < 0.01). No statistically significant correlation was found between CMDQ scores and smoking, shift working periods and regular exercise (p = 0.63, p = 0.29 and p = 0.543, respectively). Jenkins sleep scale and Visual analog scale values were statistically positively correlated with CMDQ values (p < 0.01). Conclusion. Women and people with sleep disorders were potentially more at risk for WMRSDs in this study. More comprehensive studies with large populations are needed to determine the risk factors for WMRSDs in operating room personnel and to develop preventive methods to prevent WMRSDs.

Companies provide employees with occupational health and safety (OHS) training through videos on YouTube. In this study, the reliability of 118 YouTube videos related to OHS was evaluated by two experts using Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and global quality score (GQS) scales. Six video variables - video duration, number of subscribers, likes, views, publication time and comments - were evaluated based on video source (five groups) and type (seven groups). The correlation analysis found a positive significant relationship between all variables except publication time-number of comments. Scores according to video source and type were 1.9 out of 4 on the JAMA scale and 2.3 out of 5 on the GQS scale. These scores show that the videos are inadequate and of poor quality. There was a statistically significant difference between video durations according to video type. Moreover, video sources differ depending on the number of subscribers and comments.

Objectives. Events have been an important research topic in the field of organizations, especially as the outbreak of COVID-19 has brought challenges to employees and organizations, affecting employee behaviour in the workplace. Based on the cognitive activation theory of stress, this study explored the mechanisms of the impact of COVID-19 event strength on employee safety performance in high reliability organizations. Methods. A quantitative research design was adopted with data collected from 759 urban rail transit organizational employees in China. Structural equation modelling analysis using Mplus version 7.4 was employed to test the hypotheses. Results. COVID-19 event strength can positively affect the safety performance of employees in high reliability organizations through a chain-mediating effect of work meaningfulness and engagement. Perceived trust positively moderates the chain-mediating effect and the relationship between COVID-19 event strength and work meaningfulness for high reliability organization employees. Conclusion. Based on the cognitive activation theory of stress, this study explored the mechanisms of the impact of COVID-19 event strength on employee safety performance in high reliability organizations, enhancing the literature on organizational events and safety performance, and expanding application of the cognitive activation theory of stress in high-reliability organizations.

The study highlights the aspect of ergonomic control panel design for devices, taking into account the additional dimensions resulting from the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) during their operation. Analysis of theoretical and experimental research on existing control panels highlights the need for design guidelines based on dimensional allowances, particularly from protective gloves. The research and its findings align with preventive measures aimed at improving safety, ergonomics, and workplace hygiene. Appropriately arranging buttons and defining their minimum dimensions and spacing between them, utilizing information about dimensional allowances, sets an ergonomic goal - to prevent the selection of buttons or sequences of them due to reduced movement precision when wearing protective gloves. The results and conclusions from the research have a significant impact on improving human-machine interaction, reducing the potential occurrence of events that could be hazardous accidents, and enhancing the efficiency of the equipment operator's work.

Objectives. Occupational reaching tasks performed with faulty postures may contribute to inefficient movement patterns that could lead to injury. Understanding relationships between posture and muscle activation during reaching tasks may elucidate movement patterns that increase occupational injury risk in workers. This study assessed whether postural factors and muscle activation predict forward reaching movement performance and accuracy. Methods. Predictor variables of forward shoulder posture (FSP), pectoral length, upper (UT), middle (MT) and lower trapezius (LT) and pectoralis major (PM) muscle activation, and UT:PM, MT:PM, and LT:PM co-activation during forward reaching were analysed for 56 individuals. Sequential linear regression equations assessed reaching variance. Results. For females, FSP, UT activation, and UT:PM co-activation explained 36% of reaction time (RT) variance, and MT:PM co-activation explained 14% of endpoint accuracy variance. For males, MT:PM co-activation explained 17% of movement time (MvT) variance, and FSP, MT:PM co-activation and MT explained 23% of accuracy variance. Conclusion. Increased co-activation was a predictor of movement performance; however, performance outcome variables differed between males (MvT) and females (RT). Muscle co-activation coupled with FSP and posterior shoulder muscle activation resulted in differences in predicting reaching performance variance. Practitioners might consider evaluating these muscle activation and postural factors in occupational reaching tasks.Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04944745.

Objectives. Hazard identification is a crucial step in the risk management process. It emphasizes hazard recognition and highlights the critical importance of potential hazard identification in professional settings. Proper site hazard recognition leads to a more accurate risk assessment, enabling effective workplace control. Several site hazard tools have been developed; most of them rely on the five human senses for site hazard recognition. However, the incorrect use of these senses can pose risks to individuals' lives and health. Methods. A novel workplace hazard recognition methodology was developed, based on the OODA loop, to improve front-line workers' ability to observe site hazards using their five senses. The fishbone technique was applied to categorize observed hazards into family groups, and severity was assessed within each group, guided by potential energy sources. This methodology was implemented with a group of front-line workers who received specific training. Pre-training and post-training assessments were conducted to evaluate its effectiveness. Results. Analysis of the pre-training and post-training assessments revealed significant improvements in hazard recognition and classification. Workers showed increased interest and enhanced ability to observe, categorize and assess hazards effectively. Conclusion. This practical approach assists professionals in recognizing, classifying and controlling workplace-related hazards, contributing to improved safety.