• 한국환경보건학회지
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• 제36권6호
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• pp.441-455
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• 2010

Researchers who work in science and engineering R&D laboratories are commonly exposed to a wide range of chemical, biological and physical hazards. They also may adopt ergonomically poor postures for long periods of time. These factors may increase the risk of adverse health outcomes in laboratory workers. Recently, there were several fatal accidents in the laboratories in universities and research institutes in Korea. Consequently, the 'Laboratory Safety Act' was enacted in 2006. However, there are concerns about the health risk associated with chronic exposures to hazards, as the management measures provided in this Act are very limited, focusing primarily on accident prevention and compensation for lab work-related accidents. In this article, the methods for assessing exposure to chemicals in laboratory environments are discussed. Also, epidemiological studies examining the association between laboratory exposure and health effects, including cancer and reproductive toxicity are extensively reviewed. Finally, the possible roles of environmental health professionals in this area are suggested, along with a list of critical research needs for properly assessing laboratory workers' exposure and risk.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제13권2호
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• pp.148-154
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• 2022

Background: Bus driving is a mentally demanding activity that requires prolonged attention to ensure safety. The aim of the study was to assess mental fatigue caused by driving a public bus and to find a profile of workers at higher risk. Methods: We evaluated changes of critical flicker fusion (CFF) (index of central arousal) and heart rate variability (HRV) (index of autonomic balance) in a 6-hour driving shift on a real route, in 31 professional bus drivers, and we tested the influence of personal factors such as sleep quality, BMI, and age. Paired t-test was used to test differences of CFF and HRV between both initial and final phase of driving, while multiple linear regression tested the influence of personal variables on the indexes of mental fatigue. Results: Results showed that CFF significantly decreased after 6 hours of bus driving (41.91 Hz, sd 3.31 vs. 41.15 Hz, sd 3.15; p = 0.041), and heart rate significantly decreased in the final phase of driving, with respect to the initial phase (85 vs. 78 bpm, p = 0.027). Increasing age (beta = -0.729, p = 0.022), risk of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (beta = -0.530, p = 0.04), and diurnal sleepiness (beta = -0.406, p = 0.017) showed a significant effect on influencing mental fatigue. Conclusion: Elderly drivers at higher risk of sleep disorders are more prone to mental fatigue, when exposed to driving activity. Monitoring indexes of central arousal and autonomic balance, coupled with the use of structured questionnaires can represent a useful strategy to detect profile of workers at higher risk of mental fatigue in such duty.

• 한국안전학회지
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• 제20권2호
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• pp.61-66
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• 2005

This paper presents an human reliability assessment(HRA) for a installation task of the temporary power cable in construction fields. HRA is evolved to ensure that the workers could reliably perform critical tasks such as a process of the temporary power cable. Human errors are extremely commonplace, with almost everyone committing at least some errors every day. The considerable parts of electric shock accidents in the construction field are caused by a series of human errors. Therefore it is required to analyze the human errors contained in the task causing electric shock event, the event tree analysis(ETA) is adopted in this paper, and particularly human reliability was estimated for a installation task of the temporary power cables. It was assumed that the error probabilities of the human actions may be obtained using the technique for human error rate prediction(THERP). The results show that the predominant task on reliability in the cable installation tasks is check-out tasks and the probability causing electric shock by human errors was calculated as $1.0\times10^{-9}$.

• 한국안전학회지
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• 제38권3호
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• pp.93-101
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• 2023

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted how people work, resulting in a massive shift towards working from home or remotely. Work from home has played a critical role in reducing the transmission of COVID-19 by limiting in-person interactions and reducing the density of people in office buildings. It also enabled businesses and organizations to continue operating while keeping their employees safe and healthy. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of work from home in business and organizational sectors worldwide, and it is likely to continue as a preferred mode of work even after the pandemic is over. This shift towards working from home has not only impacted the way people work but also has significant implications for urban development, transportation, and the environment. This study intends to develop measures for addressing potential physical and mental health issues among remotely working employees. Additionally, it identifies the major influencing factors of home workers' health hazards and proposes improvement measures that can be applied to working from home, along with existing laws and prevention methods.

• 한국건축시공학회지
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• 제21권5호
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• pp.397-408
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• 2021

건설업은 업무상 재해 발생빈도와 사망자 수가 다른 산업군에 비해 높아 가장 위험한 산업군으로 불린다. 정부는 건설 현장에서 발생하는 산업 재해를 줄이고 예방하기 위해 CCTV 설치 의무화를 발표했다. 건설 현장의 안전 관리자는 CCTV 관제를 통해 현장의 잠재된 위험성을 찾아 제거하고 재해를 예방한다. 하지만 장시간 관제 업무는 피로도가 매우 높아 중요한 상황을 놓치는 경우가 많다. 따라서 본 연구는 딥러닝 기반 컴퓨터 비전 모형 중 개체 분할인 YOLACT와 다중 객체 추적 기법인 SORT을 적용하여 다중 클래스 다중 객체 추적 시스템을 개발하였다. 건설 현장에서 촬영한 영상으로 제안한 방법론의 성능을 MS COCO와 MOT 평가지표로 평가하였다. SORT는 YOLACT의 의존성이 높아서 작은 객체가 적은 데이터셋을 학습한 모형의 성능으로 먼 거리의 물체를 추적하는 성능이 떨어지지만, 크기가 큰 객체에서 뛰어난 성능을 나타냈다. 본 연구로 인해 딥러닝 기반 컴퓨터 비전 기법들의 안전 관제 업무에 보조 역할로 업무상 재해를 예방할 수 있을 것으로 판단된다.

• 한국식품위생안전성학회지
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• 제14권3호
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• pp.293-304
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• 1999

이 연구는 대학급식소를 대상으로 HACCP 개념을 적용하여 급식되는 생.숙채류(8종류)의 매생물적 품질을 평가하고 음식의 위생적 안전성을 확보하기 위해 실시하였다. 주방의 위생 상태 평가에서 주방 바닥의 물기제거와 조리기구의 소독방법에 대한 기준 설정이 필요하였고, 조리종사자가 위생장갑과 위생적 기구사용에 대한 교육이 요구되었다. 주방의 배치에서 가열조리대와 선반의 거리가 가까워 가열 시 발생하는 열에 의해 선반에 보관된 음식의 미생물 증식 가능온도($5~60^{\circ}C$)에서 다뤄지고 있었으며 육안으로는 신선한 것으로 보였던 원재로의 미생물 수치는 총균수 $10^{5}~10^{7}$, 대장균균 수 $10^{3}~10^{6}$으로 Solberg등이 제시한 총균수 $10^{6}$, 대장균군 수 $10^{3}$을 초과하여 보다 철저한 검수와 적절한 공급자 선정이 필요하였다. 생채의 경우 씻는 과정에서 미생물 수치가 다소 감소하는 경향을 보였으나 시간 경과에 따라 계속 증가하여 배식 단계에서는 모두 기준치를 초과하였다. 숙채는 데치기 혹은 볶는 과정에서 미생물이 거의 사멸되었으나 생채와 같이 시간이 경과함으로써 미생물의 재오염이 발생하였다. 사용도구에 대한 미생물 검사 결과 행주를 제외한 배식용기, 조리원의 손, 칼, 야채절단기는 모두 Harrigan과 McCanece가 제시한 총 균수 $100\;\textrm{cm}^2$당 500미만, 대장균군 수 100 $100\;\textrm{cm}^2$당 10 이하의 안전기준치를 초과하여 개선이 요구되었다. 결론적으로 급식되는 음식의 안전을 위해 최상의 원료구입과 음식생산단계에서의 시간단축, 적절한 온도에서는 보고나, 위생적 기구 사용등을 통해 미생물의 증식방지 및 위생 관리에 노력해야 하겠다.

• 대한가정학회지
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• 제41권10호
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• pp.101-116
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• 2003

The study was conducted to establish hygienic standards of salad items for pizza restaurant located in Seoul by applying HACCP system during the summer of 2000. The study measured temperature, time, pH, Aw and microbial assessments. The hygienic conditions of the kitchen and workers were on the average(1.21, 1.0 out of 3 pts.), but some improvement should be made: separate use of trash can and leftover disposal, separate use of knives and cutting boards, habits for hand washing and wearing hygienic gloves. For salad production, all procedures were peformed under food safety danger zone ($5{\~}60^{\circ}C$). The ingredients were mostly above pH 5.0 and high in Aw($0.94{\~}0.99$). Microbial assessments for salad production revealed that TPC($1.8{\times}10^3{\~}1.0{\times}10^{10}CFU/g$) and coliforms($1.5{\times}10{\~}5.2{\times}10^5 CFU/g$) exceeded the standards by Solberg et al.(TPC: $10^6CFU/g$, coliforms: $10^3CFU/g$). S. aureus was not detected but Salmonella was found in three food items(egg, macaroni and macaroni salad). Moreover, the workers' hands contained 3.1 104 CFU/g of TPC and 4.2 102 CFU/g of S. aureus requiring further remedy since it exceeded the safety standards suggested by Harrigan and McCance (500 CFU/g of TPC per $100cm^2$ and 10 CFU/g of coliforms per $100cm^2$). According to the critical control point(CCP) decision tree analysis, vegetable receiving, vegetable holding, mixing, display on coleslaw, macaroni draining, display on macaroni salad, egg peeling & cutting, apple cutting, and display on salad bar were determined as CCPs. From the findings it would be suggested that purchase of Quality materials, short holding and display time, storing food at right temperature, using sanitary cooking utensils, and improvement of workers' food handing practices are needed to ensure the safe salad production in this specific pizza restaurant.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제3권1호
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• pp.43-49
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• 2012

In recent years, various international organizations have raised awareness regarding psychosocial risks and work-related stress. European stakeholders have also taken action on these issues by producing important documents, such as position papers and government regulations, which are reviewed in this article. In particular, 4 European models that have been developed for the assessment and management of work-related stress are considered here. Although important advances have been made in the understanding of work-related stress, there are still gaps in the translation of this knowledge into effective practice at the enterprise level. There are additional problems regarding the methodology in the evaluation of work-related stress. The European models described in this article are based on holistic, global and participatory approaches, where the active role of and involvement of workers are always emphasized. The limitations of these models are in the lack of clarity on preventive intervention and, for two of them, the lack of instrument standardization for risk evaluation. The comparison among the European models to approach work-related stress, although with limitations and socio-cultural differences, offers the possibility for the development of a social dialogue that is important in defining the correct and practical methodology for work stress evaluation and prevention.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제14권3호
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• pp.243-249
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• 2023

Background: Southeast Asia has many people who work in the agriculture sector. Not many stakeholders pay special attention to the health of farmers, even though they are exposed to various types of hazards. One of the most common health complaints among farmers is related to work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs). This study aims to assess the prevalence of WMSDs and factors associated with them among farmers in Southeast Asia. Methods: A literature search on PubMed, ScienceDirect, Scopus, and EBSCO was conducted. Articles were included if they studied ergonomic problems among farmers from 11 countries in the Southeast Asia region and were published during 2015-2022. The Critical Appraisal Skills Program was used to evaluate the quality of the articles. The search process and retrieval process reflected PRISMA's recommendation. Result: There were 14 studies found from 3 countries that had published articles in PubMed and ScienceDirect, including Thailand [8], Indonesia [4], and Malaysia [2]. The prevalence of WMSDs in Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia was 78,31%, 81,27%, and 88,39%, respectively. Common factors associated with WMSDs include age, sex, smoking habits, drinking alcohol habits, working period (years), type of work, awkward position, non-ergonomic equipment, repetitive movements, and lifting heavy loads. Conclusion: The prevalence of WMSDs among farmers in Southeast Asia is considerably high. Effective intervention is essential for reducing the prevalence and protecting workers' health and well-being.

• 한국건설관리학회논문집
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• 제24권5호
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• pp.73-82
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• 2023

Optimization of Construction Site Layout Planning (CSLP) heavily relies on workers' travel paths. However, traditional path generation approaches predominantly focus on the shortest path, often neglecting critical variables such as individual wayfinding tendencies, the spatial arrangement of site objects, and potential hazards. These oversights can lead to compromised path simulations, resulting in less reliable site layout plans. While Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) has been proposed as a potential alternative to address these issues, it has shown limitations. Despite presenting more realistic travel paths by considering these variables, DRL often struggles with efficiency in complex environments, leading to extended learning times and potential failures. To overcome these challenges, this study introduces a refined model that enhances spatial navigation capabilities and learning performance by integrating workers' visibility into the reward functions. The proposed model demonstrated a 12.47% increase in the pathfinding success rate and notable improvements in the other two performance measures compared to the existing DRL framework. The adoption of this model could greatly enhance the reliability of the results, ultimately improving site operational efficiency and safety management such as by reducing site congestion and accidents. Future research could expand this study by simulating travel paths in dynamic, multi-agent environments that represent different stages of construction.