• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.166-171
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• 2019

Objective: This study explored personal protective equipment (PPE) availability and PPE utilization among interventionalists in the catheterization laboratory, which is a highly contextualized workplace. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study using mixed methods. Participants (108) completed a survey. A hyperlink was sent to the participants, or they were asked to complete a paper-based survey. Purposively selected participants (54) were selected for individual (30) or group (six) interviews. The interviews were conducted at conferences, or appointments were made to see the participants. Logistic regression analysis was performed. The qualitative data were analyzed thematically. Results: Lead glasses were consistently used 10.2% and never used 61.1% of the time. All forms of PPE were inconsistently used by 92.6% of participants. Women were 4.3 times more likely to report that PPE was not available. PPE compliance was related to fit and availability. Conclusions: PPE use was inconsistent and not always available. Improving the culture of radiation protection in catheterization laboratories is essential to improve PPE compliance with the aim of protecting patients and operators. This culture of radiation protection must include all those involved including the users of PPE and the administrators and managers who are responsible for supplying sufficient, appropriate, fitting PPE for all workers requiring such protection.

• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.891-906
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• 2016

This study examined the working site environment of Korean native cattle raising farmers and their actual condition of wearing personal protective equipment as part of preventing disasters during agricultural work. To this end, 160 Korean cattle raising farmers were surveyed and a site visit was performed on 10 farms. According to an examination of the cattle breeding environment, the major harmful factors were in the following order: fine dust (12.8%), organic feed dust (10.3%), contact with cattle (9.7%), manure (8.2%), germs and viruses (8.1%), harmful gases (7.4), contact with obstacles (6.7), and temperature (6.6%). The current status of the rate of wearing protection was in the order of gloves (20.9%), working hats (19.7%), boots (19.6%), masks (10.9%), protective clothing (8.9%), and specialized working clothing (6.6%). Nevertheless, most Korean cattle raising farmers recognized the risks when they did not wear protective equipment and the need for wearing protectors, but they mostly did not wear personal protective equipment due to a lack of knowledge on the selection of appropriate personal protective equipment and the discomfort they experience when they put on protectors. Even when they put on protective equipment, 38% was inappropriate for the farming work environment. Given the research results, improvements on and the development of specialized working clothing and personal protective equipment to protect farmers from harmful and dangerous materials from the cattle nurturing environment is necessary. Overall, based on the study data, objectified data collection, a determination of the necessary performance elements of personal protective equipment, and R&D will be needed through an on-site current status investigation.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.17 no.9
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• pp.120-125
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• 2016

For the purpose of protecting personal property and lives from incidents, accidents, and threats such as terrorism, video surveillance equipment has been installed and operates in many places. Video surveillance technology has gradually developed into high-quality, high-definition equipment, and a lot of products have been launched. However, closed circuit television (CCTV) equipment for security purposes can invade a person's privacy. In this paper, we propose a way to protect personal video images using meta-data in an intelligent Internet protocol (IP) camera. We designed the system to mask personal video information from meta-data, define the method of image-information access according to user privileges, and show how to utilize the meta-data during storage and recorded data searches. The suggested system complies with guidelines for CCTV installation and operation from Korea's Ministry of the Interior. Installed on only a single server so far, due to the limitations and technical difficulties of hardware performance, it has been difficult to find a method that can be applied to personal image information using real-time protection techniques. Applying the method proposed in this paper can satisfy the guidelines, reduce server costs, and reduce system complexity.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information Security & Cryptology
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.1057-1071
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• 2016

Privacy-right infringement using unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) usually occurs due to the unregistered small UAV with the image data processing equipment. In this paper we propose that privacy protection acts, Personal Information Protection Act, Information and Communications Network Act, are complemented to consider the mobility of image data processing equipment installed on UAV. Furthermore, we suggest the regulations for classification of small UAVs causing the biggest concern of privacy-right infringement are included in aviation legislations. In addition, technological countermeasures such as recognition of UAV photographing and masking of identifying information photographed by UAV are proposed.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2019

Firefighters wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for protection from environmental hazards. However, due to the layers of protective functions, the PPE inevitably adds excessive weight, bulkiness, and thermal stress to firefighters. This study investigated the adverse impact of wearing PPE as an occupational stressor on the firefighter's cognitive functioning. Twenty-three firefighters who had been involved in firefighting at least for 1 year were recruited. The overall changing trend in the firefighter's cognitive functioning (short-term memory, long-term memory, and inductive reasoning) was measured by the scores of three standardized cognitive tests at the baseline and the follow-up, after participating in a moderate-intensity physical activity, wearing a full ensemble of the PPE. The study findings evinced the negative impact of the PPE on the firefighter's cognitive functioning, especially in short-term memory and inductive reasoning. No significant influence was found on the firefighter's long-term memory. The results were consistent when the participant's age and BMI were controlled. The outcomes of the present study will not only fill the gap in the literature, but also provide critical justification to stakeholders, including governments, policymakers, academic communities, and industry, for such efforts to improve human factors of the firefighter's PPE by realizing the negative consequences of the added layers and protective functions on their occupational safety. Study limitations and future directions were also discussed.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2015.10a
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• pp.313-316
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• 2015

Construction is one of the most dangerous job sectors, which reports tens of thousands of time-loss injuries and deaths every year. These disasters incur delays and additional costs to the projects. The safety management needs to be on the top primary tasks throughout the construction to avoid fatal accidents and to foster safe working environments. One of the safety regulations that are frequently violated is the wearing of personal protection equipment (PPE). In order to facilitate monitoring of the compliance of the PPE wearing regulations, this paper proposes a vision based method that automatically identifies whether workers wear hard hats and safety vests. The method involves three modules - human body detection, identification of safety vest wearing, and hard hat detection. First, human bodies are detected in the video frames captured by real-time on-site construction cameras. The detected human bodies are classified into with/without wearing safety vests based on the color features of their upper parts. Finally, hard hats are detected on the nearby regions of the detected human bodies and the locations of the detected hard hats and human bodies are correlated to reveal their corresponding matches. In this way, the proposed method provides any appearance of the workers without wearing hard hats or safety vests. The method has been tested on onsite videos and the results signify its potential to facilitate site safety monitoring.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.569-576
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• 2019

Objectives: The main purpose of this study was to assess firefighters' daily personal noise exposure and explore noise levels related to specific tasks and their contributions to total noise exposure using 24-hour full-shift noise exposure measurements with task-based data. Methods: Noise exposure was assessed for eight firefighters (two rescuers, two drivers, and four suppressors) using time-activity diaries. We collected a total of 24 full-shift personal noise sample sets (three samples per a firefighter). The 24-hour shift-adjusted daily personal noise exposure level (L_ep,d), eight weekly personal noise exposures (L_eq,w), and 40 task-specific L_eq values (L_{eq activity}) were calculated via the ISO/NIOSH method. Results: The firefighter noise-sample datasets showed that most firefighters are exposed to noise levels above EU recommended levels at a low-action value. The highest noise exposure was for rescuers, followed by drivers and suppressors. Noise measurements with time-at-task information revealed that 82.3% of noise exposure occurred when checking equipment and responding to fire or emergency calls. Conclusions: The results indicate that firefighters are at risk of noise-induced hearing loss. Therefore, efforts at noise-control are necessary for their protection. This task-specific noise exposure assessment also shows that protective measures should be focused on certain tasks, such as checking and testing equipment.

• Textile Coloration and Finishing
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.106-113
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• 2014

Work-related falls are a major problem in the construction and roofing industries. To avoid serious injury to the worker caused by high decelerations or forces, different systems to absorb the energy of a fall are implemented in personal protective equipment. In this study, shock energy absorber lanyard protection tube was prepared using high tenacity PET fiber, P-aramid fiber, and UHMWPE fiber, respectively. Dynamic load test and static load test, bursting strength test based on the Korea fall protection equipment standard(Korea Occupational Safety & Health Agency standard 2013-13) or conformity European safety test(CE : EN355) were conducted. Especially maximum arrest force by dynamic load test of energy absorber showed below 6,000N.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.771-781
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• 2017

The helmet is an imperative personal protective equipment. This protective device must be able to guard the human head against potential risks. Helmets are classified according into the purpose of use; therefore, the required performance and specifications depend on the type of products. Military helmets are intended to protect the wearer's head from bullets and shrapnel. Generally, lightweight super fibers and fiber reinforced composite materials are used as helmet shell materials, and NIJ STD of U.S. Department of Justice is most widely used as international standard related to bulletproof helmets. Safety helmets are widely used for industrial application and sports leisure. In general, the performance of shock absorption must be ensured, and various lining systems are applied in material, design, and combination methods. Evaluation standards have also been classified and strictly controlled for each purpose; therefore, it is difficult to certify with the existing standards such as the recently developed convergence helmets. However, it is possible to launch the product through a separate national integrated certification procedure.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Building Construction
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.81-92
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• 2023

According to the 2020 industrial accident reports of the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the number of fatal accidents in the construction industry over the past 5 years has been higher than in other industries. Of these more than 50% of fatal accidents are initially caused by fall accidents. The central government is intensively managing falling/jamming protection device and the use of personal protective equipment to eradicate the inappropriate factors disrupting safety at construction sites. In addition, although efforts have been made to prevent safety accidents with the proposal of the Special Act on Construction Safety, fatalities on construction sites are constantly occurring. Therefore, this study developed a model that automatically detects the wearing state of the worker's safety helmet and belt using computer vision technology. In considerations of conditions occurring at construction sites, we suggest an optimization method, which has been verified in terms of the accuracy and operation speed of the proposed model. As a result, it is possible to improve the efficiency of inspection and patrol by construction site managers, which is expected to contribute to reinforcing competency of safety management.