• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.75-86
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• 2011

This paper describes several current research activities and the field techniques for the prevention of human errors during the operation of nuclear power plants(NPPs). The human aspects such as 'fitness for the duties', 'job competence and suitability', 'types of communication', 'behaviors of field workers', 'teamwork of main control room crews', 'task procedures', etc. have been investigated for improving the performance of operating personnel in NPPs. We decide to develop a set of the complementary techniques for the reduction of human errors. The set of techniques developed includes teamwork criteria, jobs fitness analysis, procedure enhancement guide, 3-way communication, campaign posters, a behavior based safety program, a procedure guideline, and a task hazard identification method for the field practitioners in NPPs. These can offer a set of significant human error countermeasures to be considered for analyzing and reducing human error in NPPs as well as other fields of industry.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.15-26
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• 2008

Recently, Internet Protocol TV technology has a latent power for searching information by using internet-connected interactive TV media. It is hard to browse and search web site conveniently since the visual and input devices are not sufficient for navigating through the websites. Zoomable user interface is a possible solution that may reduce users' task load and improve their performance. In this paper, we made three types of web browsers as scroll, physical zooming and semantic zooming type. Fifteen participants asked to do searching tasks and their task time, accuracy and subjective responses are recorded. In the result, though scroll type is evaluated more efficient than other types in task time and accuracy since participants are familiar with scroll type interface, semantic zooming type is highly rated in subjective responses such as perceived searching efficiency, satisfaction and joyfulness. This result implied semantic zooming is a possible solution which is improving user experience of searching websites using Internet Protocol TV.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.90-95
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• 2009

The purpose of this study is to investigate industrial safety and health experts' opinions on the examination system of WMSDs(work related musculoskeletal disorders) risk factors. For doing this, a questionnaire study and two FGIs(focused group interview) were conducted. A questionnaire with open questions about the examination system was developed, and sent to 42 experts consented bye-mail. Of the experts, 24 experts responded, whose data were used in the analysis. The FGIs were performed for the persons in charge of industrial safety and health in industries and ergonomists. The questionnaire study revealed that most experts(91.3%) agreed with legalization of employers' duty for preventing WMSDs, necessity of the 11 tasks designated by Ministry of Labor, the examination system and ergonomics program, and pertinency for the examination system classification of periodic and occasional one. However, more than half experts disagreed with timeliness and appropriateness of the legal system. This was validated by the low approval rates for appropriateness of the 11 tasks, methods of the examination, charge person in the examination and ergonomics program. FGIs showed that it was desirable for the examination system to be legalized, and that the system was generally properly performed. It was suggested that the system be partially revised with reflecting problems disclosed during its enforcement rather than whole revision. It is expected that when revising relevant legal system, the results of this study would be used as valuable data.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.37-51
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• 2009

The nuclear power industry in the world has recognized the importance of integrating non-technical and team skills training with the technical training given to its control room operators to reduce human errors since the Three Mile Island and Chernobyl accidents. The Nuclear power plant (NPP) industry in Korea has been also making efforts to reduce the human errors which largely have contributed to 120 nuclear reactor trips from the year 2001 to 2006. The Crew Resource Management (CRM) training was one of the efforts to reduce the human errors in the nuclear power industry. The CRM was developed as a response to new insights into the causes of aircraft accidents which followed from the introduction of flight recorders and cockpit voice recorders into modern jet aircraft. The CRM first became widely used in the commercial airline industry, but military aviation, shipboard crews, medical and surgical teams, offshore oil crews, and other high-consequence, high-risk, time-critical industry teams soon followed. This study aims to develop a CRM training program that helps to improve plant performance by reducing the number of reactor trips caused by the operators' errors in Korean NPP. The program is; firstly, based on the work we conducted to develop a human factors training from the applications to the Nuclear Power Plant; secondly, based on a number of guidelines from the current practicable literature; thirdly, focused on team skills, such as leadership, situational awareness, teamwork, and communication, which have been widely known to be critical for improving the operational performance and reducing human errors in Korean NPPs; lastly, similar to the event-based training approach that many researchers have applied in other domains: aircraft, medical operations, railroads, and offshore oilrigs. We conducted an experiment to test effectiveness of the CRM training program in a condition of simulated control room also. We found that the program made the operators' attitudes and behaviors be improved positively from the experimental results. The more implications of the finding were discussed further in detail.

• Journal of Multimedia Information System
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.317-322
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• 2019

The purpose of this study was to develop a self-management program for patients suffering from coronary artery disease (CAD), based on the self-determination theory and subsequently perform a heuristic evaluation by professionals and a quality assessment by users. The program consisted of 6 main menus and 20 submenus. Heuristic evaluation was conducted using eight principles, and as a result, a score of 1 was assigned by a professional for five principles: consistency and mapping, good ergonomics and minimalist design, flexibility and efficiency, anesthetics, and error management. Two professionals gave the principles of ease of input, screen readability, and glanceability a score of 1. In the quality assessment by the users, the system quality category had the highest score of 4.6 out of 5, and information quality had the lowest score of 3.87 out of 5. The overall average score was 4.08, which indicated the general satisfaction regarding the quality of the application. We have reflected on all the recommendations provided by the professionals based on their heuristic evaluation and incorporated them in the program.

• The Safety technology
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• no.36
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• pp.8-11
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• 2000

최근(2000. 11월)미국에서는 근골격계 장애(MSDs ; Musculoskeletal disorfers)를 방지하기 위해 직업안전보건청 (OSHA : Occupational Safety and Health Administration)에서는 인간공학 프로그램표준(Ergonomis program standard)을 규정화하기 위해 관보(Federal Register)에 게시하는 등 법제화 추진이 이루어지고 있으며, 또한 이것이 기업체 단체에서는 규정화 무효를 위한 연방법정 소송이 전개되고 있으며 노동단체에서는 우호적 입장을 보이고 있는 등의 내용이 미국 언론 및 해외 통신(NY Times, LA Times, Washington Times, Wall ST Journal, AFP)에 보도되고 있다. 이미 미국의 반도체 기업에서는 반도체 제조설비의 인간공학을 위한 안전 지침을 정하고 있는 등 인간공학 표준화가 이루어지고 있어 그에 대한 동향을 살펴보고, 이러한 인간공학 프로그램 표준에 대해 자세한 내용을 게제할 계획이다. 금번 호에서는 그 동향과 인간공학 프로그램 표준의 필요성과 그 목적 등의 개요를 싣고 계속해서 구체적인 내용을 소개해 나갈 계획이다.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.27-44
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• 2002

Recently, both management and labor are interested in the increasing ratio of musculoskeletal disorders. And the developed countries make efforts to consider a counterplan such as prevention activity of musculoskeletal disorders and application possibility of ergonomic program, because musculoskeletal disorders take large portion out of occupational disease. Especially, small and medium enterprises have bigger problems due to the inferior work condition and environment in comparison with big businesses. This study is to introduce developed countries' cases such as WISE(Work Improvement in Small Enterprises) and OSHA Handbook for Small Businesses and to suggest the program of ergonomic management for small and medium enterprises having comparative difficulties against big businesses in improving work environment and managing ergonomic operations.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.183-196
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• 2017

Objective: The purpose of this research was to assess the agreement between job physical risk factor analysis by ergonomists using ergonomic methods and physical examinations made by occupational physicians on the presence of musculoskeletal disorders of the upper extremities. Background: Ergonomics is the systematic application of principles concerned with the design of devices and working conditions for enhancing human capabilities and optimizing working and living conditions. Proper ergonomic design is necessary to prevent injuries and physical and emotional stress. The major types of ergonomic injuries and incidents are cumulative trauma disorders (CTDs), acute strains, sprains, and system failures. Minimization of use of excessive force and awkward postures can help to prevent such injuries Method: Initial data were collected as part of a larger study by the University of Utah Ergonomics and Safety program field data collection teams and medical data collection teams from the Rocky Mountain Center for Occupational and Environmental Health (RMCOEH). Subjects included 173 male and female workers, 83 at Beehive Clothing (a clothing plant), 74 at Autoliv (a plant making air bags for vehicles), and 16 at Deseret Meat (a meat-processing plant). Posture and effort levels were analyzed using a software program developed at the University of Utah (Utah Ergonomic Analysis Tool). The Ergonomic Epicondylitis Model (EEM) was developed to assess the risk of epicondylitis from observable job physical factors. The model considers five job risk factors: (1) intensity of exertion, (2) forearm rotation, (3) wrist posture, (4) elbow compression, and (5) speed of work. Qualitative ratings of these physical factors were determined during video analysis. Personal variables were also investigated to study their relationship with epicondylitis. Logistic regression models were used to determine the association between risk factors and symptoms of epicondyle pain. Results: Results of this study indicate that gender, smoking status, and BMI do have an effect on the risk of epicondylitis but there is not a statistically significant relationship between EEM and epicondylitis. Conclusion: This research studied the relationship between an Ergonomic Epicondylitis Model (EEM) and the occurrence of epicondylitis. The model was not predictive for epicondylitis. However, it is clear that epicondylitis was associated with some individual risk factors such as smoking status, gender, and BMI. Based on the results, future research may discover risk factors that seem to increase the risk of epicondylitis. Application: Although this research used a combination of questionnaire, ergonomic job analysis, and medical job analysis to specifically verify risk factors related to epicondylitis, there are limitations. This research did not have a very large sample size because only 173 subjects were available for this study. Also, it was conducted in only 3 facilities, a plant making air bags for vehicles, a meat-processing plant, and a clothing plant in Utah. If working conditions in other kinds of facilities are considered, results may improve. Therefore, future research should perform analysis with additional subjects in different kinds of facilities. Repetition and duration of a task were not considered as risk factors in this research. These two factors could be associated with epicondylitis so it could be important to include these factors in future research. Psychosocial data and workplace conditions (e.g., low temperature) were also noted during data collection, and could be used to further study the prevalence of epicondylitis. Univariate analysis methods could be used for each variable of EEM. This research was performed using multivariate analysis. Therefore, it was difficult to recognize the different effect of each variable. Basically, the difference between univariate and multivariate analysis is that univariate analysis deals with one predictor variable at a time, whereas multivariate analysis deals with multiple predictor variables combined in a predetermined manner. The univariate analysis could show how each variable is associated with epicondyle pain. This may allow more appropriate weighting factors to be determined and therefore improve the performance of the EEM.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.37-44
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• 2008

To design the cockpit of Korean helicopter, anthropometric data for Korean helicopter pilots as a target population is necessary. The present study measured the body sizes of Korean helicopter pilots to design the cockpit of Korean helicopter, and compared the measurements with those of Korean civilian and the US Army. The sample size was 100 which determined by a statistical analysis. Anthropometric measurements were collected for 100 samples (male = 94, female = 6; age group = 20~40) of Korean helicopter pilots by applying standard measurement protocol. To compare three anthropometric data, Korean civilian and US Army data were controlled by considering age group (20~40) and gender ratio (male: female = 9:1) of Korean helicopter pilots. The average body sizes of Korean helicopter pilots were mostly similar to those of Korean civilian, however, lower limb related variables (hip breadth, popliteal height and thigh clearance) and shoulder-to-elbow length were significantly greater (1~7%) at α=0.05. Furthermore, the average body sizes for Korean helicopter pilots regarding lower limb length and thickness were significantly smaller than those of the US Army (1~12%); however, the average body sizes for Korean helicopter pilots regarding upper body related variables (sitting height, sitting eye height, and acromial height) and hip breadth were significantly greater (0.7~1.9%). Lastly, size variability for Korean helicopter pilots was significantly smaller than those of Korean civilian and the US Army. Anthropometric data for Korean helicopter pilots of the present study was applied to design and evaluate a Korean helicopter cockpit.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapy
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.96-101
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• 2007

There are increasing needs for welfare in industrial environments in modern society. Industrial health is one of the most important components of industrial welfare, and it includes maintenance and improvement of physical, mental, and social health of the workers, elimination of factors threatening workers, prevention and early intervention of industrial diseases. In this regards the importance of industrial physical therapy is increasingly recognized and the need of physical therapy in industrial field is increasing. The authors surveyed and analyzed the curricula of the departments of physical therapy to promote development of curriculum or program for educating specialized industrial physical therapists. There are 40 institutes opening the department of physical therapy, 4-year courses in 17 and 3-year courses in 23. Only 2 institutes have subjects that are directly related to industrial health. This means that specific educational program for specialized industrial physicaltherapists is not established yet though there are many needs for industrial health and physical therapy in industrial fields. But many topics or knowledge of industrial health or physical therapy are scattered in several subjects. So we suggest the needs of systematic reorganization of specific curriculum that including ergonomics and prevention and treatment of industrial diseases for education of specialized industrial physical therapist.