• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.213-219
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• 2024

Background: The design, implementation, and evaluation are three important stages of occupational safety and health (OSH) interventions. Historically, there has been a tendency to prioritize implementation, often neglecting detailed design and rigorous outcome evaluation. Currently, much has changed, and contemporary approaches recognize the interdependence of these stages, considering them integral to the success of any intervention. This work presents a comprehensive procedure for implementing interventions, not only to ensure short-term effectiveness but also their long-term sustainability through continuous monitoring. The focus is on a national OSH project introducing a near-miss management system (NMS) in Italy. Methods: Initial meetings were convened among project partners, complemented by interviews with diverse stakeholders, to plan implementation steps and test the NMS. Tailored questionnaires were designed for diverse stakeholder groups - initial promoters, company managers and employers, and employees - facilitating targeted implementation, and three case studies were started in Italian regions to assess the structured implementation, involving intervention promoters and collaborating companies. Results: The primary outcome is the development of practical tools, specifically three questionnaires, which are considered valuable for establishing an effective human-centered implementation strategy, meticulously designed to facilitate ongoing monitoring of processes and continual enhancement of instruments intended for NMS integration within companies. Conclusions: This work lays the foundation for successful NMS implementation in Italy and, although the outlined procedure had specific objectives, it also provides valuable insights applicable in enhancing the effectiveness and sustainability of interventions across diverse contexts. It underscores the importance of comprehensive planning, stakeholder engagement, and continuous evaluation in achieving lasting OSH interventions.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.243-249
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• 2011

Objectives: Cement contains hexavalent chromium, which is a human carcinogen. However, its effect on cancer seems inconclusive in epidemiologic studies. The aim of this retrospective cohort study was to elucidate the association between dust exposure in the cement industry and cancer occurrence. Methods: The cohorts consisted of male workers in 6 Portland cement factories in Korea. Study subjects were classified into five groups by job: quarry, production, maintenance, laboratory, and office work. Cancer mortality and incidence in workers were observed from 1992 to 2007 and 1997-2005, respectively. Standardized mortality ratios and standardized incidence ratios were calculated according to the five job classifications. Results: There was an increased standardized incidence ratio for stomach cancer of 1.56 (27/17.36, 95% confidence interval: 1.02-2.26) in production workers. The standardized mortality ratio for lung cancer increased in production workers. However, was not statistically significant. Conclusion: Our result suggests a potential association between cement exposure and stomach cancer. Hexavalent chromium contained in cement might be a causative carcinogen.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.43-46
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• 2011

The work plate in a construction sites is a frequent cause of falling. But the bulk of the work plates lent to the construction site are handled carelessly by workers. There is general concern about performance declining by repetitive use. However, there is not a accurate guide, research and study on reuse work plate. This study was conducted in order to judge the classification guide to reuse work plate and measure the performance of classified reuse work plates. It is the result that even the A-grade plates classified to be in good shape by workers are below the performance standard. This means that the guide and classification are ineffective.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.80-86
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• 2024

Background: The Work Ability Index (WAI) is an instrument that measures work ability. The wide dispersion of the WAI internationally has led to its adaptation for use in different countries. This study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the WAI. Methods: A methodological design was used over an opportunistic sample of 233 workers in the aeronautical industry in Spain. Reliability was evaluated through internal consistency. Factorial validity, known groups, and convergent validity were tested. Results: The Cronbach's alpha and item-total correlation indicated an adequate internal consistency. The confirmatory factor analysis, performed to evaluate the factorial validity, found adequate fit indices for a two-factor solution with a high correlation between the factors. Factor 1, "Subjectively estimated work ability and resources", was composed of 3 subscales and factor 2, "Ill-health-related", of 2 subscales. Subscales 4 and 6 had loading in both factors. Workers under 45 years of age obtained higher significant scores than older ones. Convergent validity was also evidenced since WAI was highly correlated with self-assessment of health status. Conclusions: The Spanish version of the WAI has shown evidence of reliability and validity in this study, supporting its use in individual and collective health surveillance by occupational health professionals. The factorial solution that was found has previously been reported in another international context. However, further research is needed to resolve the discrepancies detected in the role of some subscales between other national and international studies.

• Journal of Wellbeing Management and Applied Psychology
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.15-26
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• 2023

Purpose: It is necessary to prepare more groundbreaking measures to prevent recurrence in order to reduce the number of industrial accidents in Korea that occur steadily. In particular, since workers with disabilities are much more vulnerable to disaster safety than non-disabled workers, there is a great need to build a customized safety environment system suitable for the characteristics of the work in which workers with disabilities work and to promote management efficiency. Research design, data and methodology: Based on the analysis of the actual status of safety and health management of workplaces for the disabled, such as small, medium-sized and major businesses in Korea, an app was designed and developed to improve safety and health management efficiency of workplaces for the disabled. First, it was designed so that managers of workplaces with disabilities can understand at a glance key legal information that managers need to know and it was improved to suit the eye level of disabled workers so that they could self-evaluate the risk of their work by applying the risk assessment model for workplaces with disabilities. In addition, a mobile education environment was created in which safety and health education contents suitable for the characteristics of disabled workers can be learned by themselves. Results: When this app is applied to domestic workplaces, it is possible to check the exact contents of occupational safety and health education and easily search and check various legal information anytime, anywhere, allowing managers and disabled workers to quickly and efficiently manage various safety information. Conclusions: In addition, the establishment of a mobile safety and health management system that can quickly identify and clearly respond to various legal standards and risks of workplaces with disabilities can be expected to help prevent industrial accidents at workplaces with disabilities in Korea.

• International Journal of Safety
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.10-15
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• 2011

In Japan, protective measures to reduce falls from scaffolds have been strictly applied within industry safety guidelines, and such measures have significantly decreased fatal accidents due to falls from scaffolds. However, the rate of fatal accidents from falls is still high in the construction industries. In order to examine further countermeasures to reduce such falls, the Japan Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare established a committee in our institute. That committee$\acute{i}$s work experimentally confirmed the effectiveness of using plastic sheets as a covering around scaffolds to protect against falls of construction materials (a method widely used in Japan). However, the workers fell from the space between the work platform and the plastic sheets very occasionally. Based on those results, the plastic sheets were improved for fall protection from the space, and the effect of the improved sheets was confirmed experimentally.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.73-80
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• 2016

This study highlights the main effect of job demand, work shift, work environment and stressors on the railway traffic controller's health, and the moderating effect of work0life balance. The result of empirical analysis based on questionnaires received from 328 traffic controllers working at 10 railway operating companies indicates that job demand, work shift, work environment and stressors have significant effect on their health, among which stressors is a major factor. In the respect of moderating effect, WLB showed no significance except for job demand. This result implies that controller's health can not be enhanced through their individual family or leisure life. Therefore, effective countermeasures and policy to mitigate their health problems and heal their symptoms are urgent.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.115-123
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• 2015

The study conducted statistical analysis of survey on the 239 workers participating in national Tower Crane installation/dismantlement in order to identify work environment and health hazard exposure of Tower Crane workers. Consequently for work related safety status of Tower Crane workers, the number of installation/dismantlement work was the highest at 15-20 times per month, and safety equipments were not arranged at work and they felt highly anxious when boarding on the Tower Crane. Furthermore, it is found that they feel anxious working in the influence of the weather, noise, vibration, wind, the sun ray, and structure characteristic. They have very low satisfaction in the insecureness of workplace and the work environment, and recognizes that their work affect highly on the health. 81.6% of workers have experienced accident at work, the cause of accidents were mainly due to poor work environment, and the health abnormality they have experienced were mostly fatigue and concentration reduction. For job stress, job demand and conflict in relationship were the highest sections. Total 66.5% of workers complained of musculoskeletal disorder related subjective symptom, and back pain patients were the highest of all groups.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.87-97
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• 2010

Objectives: This study was conducted to investigate the effect of trust on work stress. Trust can be classified into three dimensions; social trust, institutional trust, and trust in others. The relationship between work stress and trust is regarded as having three components. First, trust has an influence on work stressors as an antecedent variable; secondly, trust modifies the effect of the various stressors, and finally, trust is one of the stressors. Methods: Data for this study was collected by interviews and self-administered structured questionnaires from 376 Korean and 77 Japanese workers in small businesses. Subjects were selected by two stage stratified random sampling from the working population of manufacturing industries. Results: Three different positions of trust are significantly related with the stress causation web. Social trust, institutional trust and trust in others significantly influence different work stressors in both Korean and Japanese workers. Three different kinds of trust influence work stressors among Korean workers, but institutional trust has no impact on work stressors among Japanese workers. As a moderating variable for perceived stress, distrust in an employer is statistically significant in both groups. However, stress symptom prevalence among Korean workers is modified by caution, trust in career development, and distrust in co-workers, but that of Japanese workers is modified only by distrust in employer. Job satisfaction of Korean workers is affected by general trust, utility of relation, institutional trust and trust in employer, but among Japanese workers, caution, reputation and trust in employer have influence on job satisfaction. Conclusion: The effect of trust on work stress, perceived stress, stress reaction and job satisfaction are different among Korean workers and Japanese workers. Three dimensions of trust have three different positions as antecedent, moderating and mediating factors in stress causation.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.108-116
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• 2018

Objectives: This study investigated to the analytical work environment, analyst's expert and status of analytical instrument in the designated organization's laboratory for measuring work environment, and carried out to ensure reliability of analytical results. Methods: This study was conducted by 114 analysts who work in designated organization's laboratory for measuring work environment. Information on the working environment and personal characteristics of the analysts were collected using a self-reported questionnaire and were analyzed using the SPSS program through analysis of frequency and t-test. Results: The speciality of subjects was occupational health(57.0%), environmental health(38.6%) and environmental engineering(4.4%), and they had a higher level of academic ability than workers in other industries. Analysts had to handle a large number of sample analysis and many tasks other than analytical work. The analysts answered that it was difficult to analyze organic substances than inorganic substances, and the difficult parts were the analytical methods setting of new substances(55.3%), instrument analysis(24.6%) and principle of analysis(23.7%). Analytical instruments mainly have legally required instruments. The difficulty of the analysis is solved from the senior analyst in the laboratory and analytical information is mainly exchanged through seminar organized by the Association of Occupational Health Analysts. The analysts who are planning to move or considering the company were 48.2%, and the reasons for moving the company were difficult to work(14.0%), low salary(9.6%), employment type(8.8%) and job stress(7.0%). Conclusions: The conclusions of our study were that it was possible to secure reliability by solving the problems such as implementing professional education to improve expertise of analysts, strengthening analytical instruments through institutional improvement and improving work environment.