• Journal of the Korea Institute of Building Construction
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.549-555
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• 2019

While efforts to reduce safety accidents in the construction industry have been made in a variety of ways, so far they have had minimal effectiveness. For this reason, since 2016 Design for Safety (DfS) has been implemented as an attempt to eliminate the root cause of safety accidents by introducing the consideration of safety at the design stage. The purpose of this study was to derive the adequacy and problems of Design for Safety and to contribute to reducing safety accidents by establishing this system correctly. A questionnaire survey of related engineers and analysis of the Design for Safety report showed that the awareness of Design for Safety among engineers was low, while some of the risk factors derived from the design for safety were less relevant to the design. As such, efforts should be made to reduce the risk factors in the actual design stage so that it can contribute more to the reduction of safety accidents.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.379-387
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• 2010

In this study, a case study was introduced for the design of a twin tunnel along high speed national highway Route 12 from Damyang to Sungsan. It was related to determine the optimal tunnel support pattern and excavation method based on a risk analysis in order to incorporate the uncertainty of ground properties. To this end, three alternatives with different amounts of support and excavation method were selected and risk analysis was performed by applying Monte Carlo simulation technique, respectively. Stability of the tunnel was quantified by the factor of safety. To improve the result, the 729 cases of the combination of ground properties (deformation modulus, cohesion, and internal friction angle) satisfying a Gaussian distribution were generated and applied. Also, stability of the tunnel was confirmed by analyzing the distribution of both displacement and shotcrete bending stress.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.40-46
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• 2013

In the chemical process industries, accidents have a high potential and large effects on catastrophic results. Therefore the safety management for accident prevention plays a crucial role to guarantee the process safety. For these reasons, many systematic methods for safety management system have been widely employed in the fields of chemical processes. PSM (Process safety management) is one of most representative methods. The audit system, which is one of PSM system components, evaluates the performance of PMS system. However, most existing safety audit systems are not systematic and these are performed based on knowledges and experiences of various specialist. Moreover, the safety audit is only performed based on each independent technical component. So, the results of safety audit are not a quantitative index but only a series of commentaries. Finally, it is very difficult to obtain the comparison with other plants or industries. In this study, the novel systematic method and index-based accident database of auditing safety management systems for quantitative assessment are proposed. First, the elements of safety audit replace technical methods to categories of accident database. The F-N curve of each category for accident database is employed to derive the index for quantitative assessment. The Accidental Factor Risk Index (AFRI) is suggested for evaluating the effect of each element in accident database and safety audit system. The safety audit can be modified according to the proposed index.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.3-20
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• 2019

This review aimed to identify risk factors for occupational accidents and illnesses among young workers in the Nordic countries and to attain knowledge on specific vulnerable groups within the young working force that may need special attention. We conducted a systematic review from 1994 to 2014 using five online databases. Of the 12,528 retrieved articles, 54 met the review criteria and were quality assessed, in which data were extracted focusing on identifying occupational safety, health risk factors, and vulnerable groups among the young workers. The review shows that mechanical factors such as heavy lifting, psychosocial factors such as low control over work pace, and organizational factors such as safety climate are all associated with increased injury risk for young Nordic workers. Results show that exposures to chemical substances were associated with skin reactions, e.g., hand eczema. Heavy lifting and awkward postures were risk factors for low back pain, and high job demands were risk factors for mental health outcomes. The review identified young unskilled workers including school drop-out workers as particularly vulnerable groups when it comes to occupational accidents. In addition, apprentices and young skilled workers were found to be vulnerable to work-related illnesses. It is essential to avoid stereotyping young Nordic workers into one group using only age as a factor, as young workers are a heterogeneous group and their vulnerabilities to occupational safety and health risks are contextual. Politicians, researchers, and practitioners should account for this complexity in the education, training and organization of work, and workplace health and safety culture.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.175-183
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• 2012

Objectives: This study developed a harmonized method for risk assessment based on the Hazard & Risk Evaluation of Chemicals (HREC) according to the Industrial Safety and Health Act (ISHA). Methods: Three preliminary studies, performed during 2010 and 2011 by the Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute and three academic research groups, were compared. The differences in risk assessment, especially in the dose-response assessment method, were analyzed. A new harmonized method for dose-response assessment was suggested and its applicability for the HREC was examined. Results: Considering the various steps of each dose-response assessment, the equivalent steps in quantitative correction, uncertainty factor 2 (UF2) for intra-species uncertainty, and UF3 for the experimental period in the uncertainty correction were relatively high. Using our new method, the total correction values (quantitative correction plus uncertainty correction) ranged from 72~15,789 to 30~60, and the ratio of the threshold limit value (TLV) to the reference concentration decreased from 12.8~1900 to 5.4~11.8. Furthermore, when we performed risk characterization by our new method, hazard quotient (HQ) values for chloroethylene, epichlorohydrin, and barium sulfate became 3.0, 14.1, and 1.13 respectively, whereas three previous studies reported HQ values of 7.1, 4580, and 87.3 considering reasonable maximum exposure (RME) conditions. HQs of the three chemicals were calculated to be 0.6, 2.4, and 0.1 respectively, when compared to their TLVs. Conclusions: Our new method could be applicable for the HREC because the total correction values and the ratio of TLVs were within reasonable ranges. It is also recommended that additional risk management measures be applied for epichlorohydrin, for which the HQ values were greater than 1 when compared with both reference values and the TLV. Our proposed method could be used to harmonize dose-response assessment methods for the implementation of risk assessment based on the HREC according to ISHA.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.351-356
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• 2017

This study introduces the current status of the design for safety(DfS) introduced as one of the owner - centered construction site safety management plan, and presents the problems and the improvement plan. The design for safety has been shifting from the construction management-oriented safety management to the owner-centered safety management system, The owner has to make the design considering the safety from the design stage centered on the owner. The owner has to review and approve the adequacy of the safety-conscious design and The risk factors that can not be eliminated during design are the system to prevent the disaster at the construction site by planning to eliminate the risk factor when writing the safety management plan that is made at the construction stage. The design for safety system implemented from May 2016 will be further developed to prevent the risk of safety accidents that may occur in construction sites, contributing greatly to the reduction of construction accident. In addition, it suggests ways to develop more efficient and convenient system through continuous hazard finding and system improvement.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.9-15
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• 2023

As the first step of risk management, risk identification is inevitable to understand the degree of work safety. However, the safety requirements can be divided in necessary factors and additional factors. Thus, we propose a safety requirements assessment model using Kano model derived from Herzberg's two-factor theory, classifying safety requirements into ideal elements and must-be elements. The Kano model is usually applied to evaluate customer satisfaction divided into three major requirements in the fields of product development and marketing: attractive, must-be, and one-dimensional requirements. Among them, attractive requirement and must-be requirement are matched with ideal element and must-be element for safety requirement classification, respectively. The ideal element is defined as preventive safety elements to make systems more safe and the must-be element is referred to as fatal elements to be essentially eliminated in systems. Also, coefficients of safety measurement and safety prevention are developed to classify different class of safety requirements. The positioning map is finally visualized in terms of both coefficients to compare the different features. Consequently, the proposed model enables safety managers to make a decision between safety measurement and prevention.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.12 no.8
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• pp.101-112
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• 2014

In this study, a risk assessment method based on scenario for the product safety management in Korea has been developed and proposed. To this end, Korea's related regulations for product safety management should be analyzed first, and the risk assessment method necessary for the enforcement of the regulations is presented by itemizing the method into the case of general injury and toxic substances. The features of the method presented in this study are as follows: (i) It is a method based on the injury scenario which can occur during the use of product. (ii) It assesses a risk based on the probability of the scenario and the severity of injury. (iii) In the case of toxic substances, it assesses a risk considering the hazard of the toxic substances on the human body and the severity of injury. To determine the probability of the injury scenario, this study has decomposed the scenario into several configuration factors and estimates each factor's probability to calculate the whole scenario's probability. The results of risk assessment through the method of this study are presented and it is shown that the method can be applied to the product classification for the product safety management.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.496-504
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• 2021

Background: With the increasing demand for industrial robots and the "noncontact" trend, it is an appropriate point in time to examine whether risk assessments conducted for robot operations are performed effectively to identify and eliminate the risks of injury or harm to operators. This study discusses why robot accidents resulting in harm to operators occur repetitively despite implementing control measures and proposes corrective actions for risk assessments. Methods: This study collected 369 operator-injured robot accidents in Korea over the last decade and reconstructed them into the mechanism of injury, work being undertaken, and bodily location of the injury. Then, through the techniques of Systematic Cause Analysis Technique (SCAT) and Root Cause Analysis (RCA), this study analyzed the root and direct causes of robot accidents that had occurred. Causes identified included physical hazards and complex combinations of hazards, such as psychological, organizational, and systematic errors. The requirements of risk assessments regarding robot operations were examined, and three case studies of robot-involved tasks were investigated. The three assessments presented were: camera module processing, electrical discharge machining, and a panel-flipping robot installation. Results: After conducting RCA and comparing the three assessments, it was found that two-thirds of injury-occurring from robot accidents, causative factors included psychological and personal traits of robot operators. However, there were no evaluations of the identifications of personal aspects in the three assessment cases. Conclusion: Therefore, it was concluded that personal factors of operators, which had been overlooked in risk assessments so far, need to be included in future risk assessments on robot operations.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2015

Time-loss injuries are still a major occurrence in Canada, injuring thousands of Canadian workers each year. With obesity rates on the rise across the country, as well as around the world, it is important that the possible effects of obesity in the workplace be fully understood, especially those effects linked to lost-time injuries. The aim of this paper was to evaluate predictors of workplace lost-time injuries and how they may be related to obesity or high body mass index by examining factors associated with lost-time injuries in the health care sector, a well-studied industry with the highest number of reported time loss injuries in Canada. A literature review focusing on lost-time injuries in Registered Nurses (RNs) was conducted using the keywords and terms: lost time injury, workers' compensation, occupational injury, workplace injury, injury, injuries, work, workplace, occupational, nurse, registered nurse, RN, health care, predictors, risk factors, risk, risks, cause, causes, obese, obesity, and body mass index. Data on predictors or factors associated with lost-time injuries in RNs were gathered and organized using Loisel's Work Disability Prevention Management Model and extrapolated upon using existing literature surrounding obesity in the Canadian workplace.