• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.322-326
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• 2017

In 1992, the quality control program was introduced in Republic of Korea to improve the reliability of the work environment monitoring, which was introduced in the 1980s. The commission entrusted by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute has conducted the program for industrial hygiene laboratories including designated monitoring institutions and spontaneously participating agencies. The number of institutions that participated in the program has increased from 30 to 161. The initial conformance ratio in the participants was 43% (organic solvents) and 52% (metals). Thereafter, the conformance ratio increased rapidly and it has remained in a stable state at more than 89% since 1996. As subject materials, 13 kinds of organic solvents and 7 kinds of metals were used. To improve the capability of measurement and analysis of private institutions, educational courses were conducted annually. An assessment at the actual sites of participants was additionally introduced into the program in 2013. Thus, the program turned into a system that administrates the overall process of participants. For the future, the scope of target materials will be extended through additional items. Thus, the reliability of the results of the work environment monitoring is expected to increase accordingly.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.282-292
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• 2008

This study was conducted to evaluate work environment monitoring program(WMP) under Industrial Safety and Health Act in Korea. WMP was evaluated by focusing on five key elements, such as purpose, subject, scope, method and workers' participation. The operation status of WMP was evaluated by using questionnaire to workers and data published by Ministry of Labor(MOL). Compliance rate of WMP was less 13 % in manufacturing workplaces. Over-exposure rate was steady state by annual trend. The degree of workers' satisfaction to WMP was just 24 %. A critical problem with the current WMP is that the employer and workers are not acting as main players. For a fundamental improvement in working condition to take place, participation of workers should be expanded and be guaranteed by law.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.359-364
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• 2014

Objectives: The principal aim of this study is to provide fundamental data for suggesting substantial management plan of personal air sampler by investigating current situation of work environment monitoring service provider. Materials and Methods: The questionnaires regarding a personal air sampler were sent by electronic mail to 150 institutions, except for 22 institutions which are out of business or closed temporarily, among total 172 domestic work environment monitoring service providers designated by Ministry of Employment and Labor based on 2013. The institutions which did not reply to the questionnaire for 30 days were required directly by phone call. Finally 97 institutions gave an answer to the questionnaire and therefore the respondence rate was 65%. Results: The normal operation rate of personal air sampler exceeded 70% in all the types (particle, gas and both combination) in terms of purchased year. Furthermore the personal air sampler purchased recently showed a trend of high operation rate compared to the personal air sampler purchased previously. The distribution patterns of personal air sampler In terms of manufacturers were Gillian>MSA>SKC for particle, Gillian>SKC>AMETEK for gas and Gillian>MSA>Casella for both combination, respectively. As a result, it was found that the personal air sampler manufactured by Gillian company was utilized the most in domestic work environment monitoring service provider regardless of types of personal air sampler. Conclusions: Based on the results obtained from this study, the normal operation rate according to types of personal air sampler was as follows: 94% for personal air sampler for collecting particle only, 93% for personal air sampler for collecting gas only and 89% for collecting both particle and gas. Overall, the numbers of personal air sampler possessed and operated normally in domestic work environment monitoring service provider were 5,458 and 5,062, which indicates the normal operation rate of personal air sampler in total aspect is 93%.

• International Journal of Contents
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.20-25
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• 2012

Working in a hazardous environment can decrease work efficiency and cause a variety of occupational diseases. To prevent occupational accidents and build a refreshing and pleasant work environment, therefore, it is necessary to develop an application system through which a worker's safety can be monitored on a realtime basis and provide related services. Recently, smartphones have become very popular across the nation, with over 10 million users. As a result, a variety of application services have been developed and provided in diverse sectors. This study proposes a system structure to develop application services which monitor work environment using smartphones and examines its applicability through the implementation of server and client interfaces.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.375-383
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• 2023

Objectives: Coal-fired power plants feature diverse working conditions, including multi-layered employment structures and irregular work cycles due to outsourcing and non-standardized tasks. The current uniform occupational environment measurement systems have limitations in accurately assessing and evaluating these varied conditions. This study aims to propose alternative measurement and assessment strategies to supplement existing methods. Methods: Major domestic coal-fired power plants were selected as the study targets. To prepare for the study and establish strategies, work processes were identified and existing occupational environment measurement results were compared and analyzed. The study proceeded by employing three strategies: specific exposure groups (SEGs) measurement, continuous monitoring, and supplementary measurements, which were then compared and discussed. Results: Previous exposure index evaluations (5,268 cases) indicated that crystalline silica, a type of respirable particulate matter, had detection limits below the threshold (non-detectable) in 82.6% (4,349 cases) of instances. Exposures below 10% of the exposure limit were observed at a very low concentration of 96.1%. Similar exposure group measurements yielded results where detection limits were below the threshold in 38.2% of cases, and exposures below 10% of the limit were observed in 70.6%. Continuous monitoring indicated detection limits below the threshold in 12.6% of cases, and exposures below 10% of the limit were observed in 75.6%. Instances requiring active workplace management accounted for more than 30% of cases, with SEGs at 11.8% (four cases), showing a higher proportion compared to 3.0% (four cases) in continuous monitoring. For coal dust, exposures below 10% of the limit were highest in legal measurements at 90.2% (113 cases), followed by 74.0% (91 cases) in continuous monitoring, and 47.0% (16 cases) in SEGs. Instances exceeding 30% were most prevalent in SEGs at 14.7% (five cases), followed by legal measurements at 5.0% (eight cases), and continuous monitoring at 2.4% (three cases). When examining exposure levels through arithmetic means, crystalline silica was found to be 104.7% higher in SEGs at 0.0088 mg/m³ compared to 0.0043 mg/m³ in continuous monitoring. Coal dust measurements were highest in SEGs at 0.1247 mg/m³, followed by 0.1224 mg/m³ in legal measurements, and 0.0935 mg/m³ in continuous monitoring. Conclusions: Strategies involving SEGs measurement and continuous monitoring can enhance measurement reliability in environments with irregular work processes and frequent fluctuations in working conditions, as observed in coal-fired power plants. These strategies reduce the likelihood of omitting or underestimating processes and enhance measurement accuracy. In particular, a significant reduction in detection limits below the threshold for crystalline silica was observed. Supplementary measurements can identify worker exposure characteristics, uncover potential risks in blind spots of management, and provide a complementary method for legal measurements.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.127-142
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• 1999

There have been strong arguments that the best organizational type for the information society is a network organization which is intelligent and learning-oriented as well as has problem solving capacities rather than a traditional passive organization which strictly follows standard operating procedures. In this perspective, integrated information work environment emerges as attractive work environment for the 21st century. Integrated information work environment is defined as an integrated electronic environment that is available to and readily accessible be each employee and is structured to provide immediate, individualized on-line access to the full range of information, software, guidance, advice and assistance, data, images, tools, and assessment and monitoring systems to permit job performance with minimal support and intervention by others. Case study was performed to measure the productivity improvement by implementing integrated information work environment in life insurance company. The results show that there is a number of indications of strong work productivity improvements.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.50-56
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• 2019

Objective: The aim of this study is to analyze the reliability assessment of work environment measurement, and to propose ways of improving the system. Methods: We have reviewed reports and articles on the reliability assessment written by KOSHA and academia in order to analyze problems related with the system and propose the alternatives. Results: There are three ways to improve the system of the reliability assessment. First of all, it is necessary to perform the reliability assessment by measuring the work environment when workers raise questions about the results so we can make workers trust these results of the reliability assessment. Secondly, we should inspect the workplace at first, not the work environment service provider, so we can increase the employer's recognition of his duty to practice the work environment measurement. Thirdly, the technical committee is needed for technical issues related with the work environment measurement. Conclusions: Above all, it is crucial to get the workers' interest and trust to improve the work environment measurement. The reliability assessment should support the meaning and value of the work environment measurement by practicing the reliability assessment whenever workers have a demand for this and operating the technical committee.

• Transactions of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.5-12
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• 2015

According to the analysis of special medical examination and work environment monitoring data, the rate of C1 and D1 on noise hazard exceeded 90 % among those of total hazardous factors. The rate of company exceeding noise exposure limit was also more than 90 %. The analysis result shows that main ages diagnosed with C1 and D1 was age of 50s. The majority scale company having workers diagnosed with C1 and D1 was the companies employing 5~49 workers. Types of industries which have a large number of companies exceeding noise exposure limit were automobile and trailer manufacturing, metal processing industry and primary metal manufacturing. A large number of work processes exceeding noise exposure limit were forming and processing work, cutting and bending work and grinding. To reduce the number of company exceeding noise exposure limit, the reduction counterplan should be focused on the type of industry and the work process which exceeded noise exposure limit frequently. However, the reduction counterplan is preemptively necessary to the type of industry and the work process which exceeded noise exposure limit consecutively if the purpose of reduction counterplan is not to merely reduce the number of company exceeding noise exposure limit but to abate workers' suffering from noise.

• Journal of Information Technology Services
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.215-223
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• 2009

The workplace environment monitoring system based on IP-USN proposed in this study measures and analyzes workplace environment information so as to provide services to provide better work environment and prevent occupational accidents caused by poor, shabby labor environment. This study presents the procedures to design and develop a system that monitors noise, humidity, vibration, temperature, and sensors installed in the workplace and sounds alarm when workers enter dangerous areas or are exposed to hazards. The author actually installed the IP-USN workplace environment monitoring system in a small workplace and confirmed its effectiveness.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.402-413
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• 2022

Objectives: In this study, the scale of exceeding the extreme heat exposure standard at the construction site was estimated using the nationally approved statistical data and wet bulb globe temperature modeling method. By comparing and analyzing the modeling results with the existing work environment monitoring results, the risk of heat exposure at outdoor construction sites was considered. Methods: Using the coordinates of second level administrative districts and meteorological observatories as the key, the automated synoptic observing system data and building permit data for 2021 were matched. The wet-bulb temperature was obtained using Stull's formula, and the globe temperature was obtained using the Tg_KMA2006 model. WBGT was calculated using these. Excess rates were obtained compared to exposure limits for heavy work-continuous work and moderate work-25% rest. It was compared with the results of the work environment monitoring in 2020. Results: As a result, 1,827,536 cases were estimated for 11,052 workplaces in one year. This is much higher than the 5,116 cases of 3818 workplaces of the existing work environment monitoring results. It is confirmed that the exposure limit was exceeded in 10.6~24.0% of the entire period and 70.2~84.1% of the peak period of the heat wave. It is very high compared to 0.9% of the existing work environment monitoring result. Conclusions: It is necessary to improve the system of monitoring and statistics related to extreme heat. Additional considerations are needed regarding WBGT estimation methods, meteorological data, and evaluation time. Various follow-up risk assessment studies for other industries and time series need to be continued.