• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• /
• v.30 no.2
• /
• pp.174-184
• /
• 2020

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to improve the working environment by identifying the work satisfaction of the cleaning workers of the aircraft and measuring and assessing the harmful factors of the cleaning process. Methods: We asked 23 cleaning companies for questionnaires and got 100 answers from 5 companies. The A-E Airline health manager has been contacted to establish a site survey schedule. The in-flight and lounge were measured using direct reading equipment. The harmful factor to be measured are noise, dust, temperature, volatile organic compound, total airborne bacteria, and total airborne bacteria. Results: Uncomfortable positions when replacing blanket, cleaning the table, and cleaning the floor have been identified as factor that reduce work satisfaction. Noise when replacing newspapers and cleaning toilets has been identified as a factor that lowers work satisfaction. Temperature and humidity were found to reduce work satisfaction during in-flight disinfection. Measurements of aircraft cabin and lounge with direct read equipment have shown that none of the items exceed the exposure criteria. Conclusions: As a result of measuring direct-reading equipment, no items exceeded the exposure criteria for each harmful factor. A clear survey of the working environment is required based on the results, and additional research is needed using personal sample measurement.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
• /
• v.104 no.4
• /
• pp.632-639
• /
• 2015

Working in the forest would require a wide range of skills and experience for specific tasks which involve with a high level of risks to worker's safety. However, there has been a concern on the current standard wage system for forest workers because it does not effectively reflect the characteristics of typical working conditions in the forest. In addition, the current standard wages for forestry workers was estimated based on the construction industry's wage system. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to assess a current wage system through the mail survey method and to develop a new wage system for forest worker which effectively reflects skill sets and experience required for successful completion of the work in the forest. We mailed the survey questionnaire consisting of 19 questions to 659 forest workers and received 188 responses resulting in a 28.5% response rate. The results showed that the current average optimal wages of forest worker, special worker and feller were 97,680won/day, 127,559won/day and 152,403won/day, respectively though there were variations depending on the regions. In developing the new standard wage system, this study suggest the current work types(worker, special worker and feller) could be divided into 5 work types (forest-environment workers, forest operations in beginner, forest operations in intermediate, forest operations in advanced and forest equipment operator) reflecting specialty of forest operation thereby stabilizing the new wage system for forest workers.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• /
• v.32 no.4
• /
• pp.287-301
• /
• 2022

Objectives: This study compared the characteristics of the work environment between agricultural and general workers and analyzed the effects of agricultural working characteristics on work-related health problems. Methods: The participants of this study were 2,347 agricultural workers and 48,042 general workers who were selected by applying standardized weights to the raw data of 50,538 respondents from the 6th Korean Working Condition Survey (KWCS). Variables applicable to both worker groups and related to exposure to hazardous risk factors in the working environment, working hours and intensity of work, health problems and work-related status, and satisfaction with the work environment were selected. Chi-square tests and independent sample t-tests were performed to evaluate the differences in the variables between the two groups. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to analyze the effects of work environment characteristics on work-related health problems. Results: Compared to general workers, agricultural workers were more exposed to hazardous environments, irregular work patterns such as working on Saturday/Sunday, and short repetitive tasks. They reported more work-related and general health problems, including back pain, upper extremity muscle pain, lower extremity muscle pain, and general fatigue. Agricultural workers showed lower satisfaction with their work environment than general workers. Factors affecting one or more work-related health problems included gender, working years, hazardous factors, irregular work pattern, working hours, and labor intensity. Conclusions: Our findings showed that agricultural workers were relatively more vulnerable to safety issues compared to other occupational groups. Therefore, it is necessary to establish standardized safety and health standards and strengthen systematic safety and health management policies and services for agriculture.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
• /
• v.35 no.5
• /
• pp.66-73
• /
• 2020

The change in labor consciousness began to draw social attention to work-life balance (WLB). The WLB is one of the major factors affecting the health and safety problems of workers. Although shiftwork adversely affects WLB, safety, and health problems of workers, WLB of shift workers has received little empirical attention. The purpose of this study was to examine whether WLB mediates the relationship between shiftwork and shift worker's safety and health problems, participation in leisure activities moderates WLB, and finally, whether WLB moderated by participation in leisure activities mediates the relationship between shift work and shift worker's safety and health problems. For the study, the data of the 5^th wave of Korean Working Condition Survey(KWCS) conducted by Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency(KOSHA) of South Korea was used. Conditional process analysis revealed that the relationship between shift work and worker's safety and health problems is mediated by WLB; however, participation in leisure activity showed no moderation effect on WLB. Therefore, the moderated mediation effect has failed to achieve statistical significance. The results indicate that working environment improvement in consideration of the WLB is needed to gain shift worker's long-term safety and health. The implications of this study and suggestions for future research were discussed.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
• /
• v.12 no.1
• /
• pp.5-18
• /
• 2003

The purpose of this study was to survey working conditions of women workers. We conducted a field survey of 504 manufacturing company with many women working from May 13 to June 29, 2002. We focused on only 3 categories of metal, textile and electronics industry. The result were as follows : 1. Subjects were constituted metal 27.0%, textile 37.9% and electronics industry 35.1%. Size distribution was small scale(<50 workers) 38.1%, medium(50-299 workers) 50.2% and large(${\geq}300$ workers) company 11.7%. Women workers' proportion was 43.6% of total workers, 63.8% of total contractors. 2. A medical examination enforcement of contractors workers was very poor in comparison with that of employees(p<0.001). 3. A 53.8% of total companies have conducted shiftwork system and 2-crew 2-shift(12 hours shift system) ranked first, 56.1%(151 companies). 4. Only 61.3% of total companies conducted more than 90 days as legal standard of a maternity leave and only 2.6% of total companies had a day nursery. In conclusion, many strategies for women workers are needed by companies and government. For example, the raising of understanding about maternity protection, social support insurancing of woman worker and occupational health system improvement for contractors and small size companies.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
• /
• v.17 no.2
• /
• pp.126-137
• /
• 2008

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to investigate the difference in gender related to health status, occupational environment, occupational safety and health and hazardous chemicals use of migrant workers in Korea. Method: The survey was conducted in clinics that provided free healthcare services for migrant workers. Of the 413 respondents, 66.3% were males and 33.7% were females. Result: In the case of male migrant workers, many worker were not fluent in Korean, had illegal status in the country, and had moved jobs frequently. There were many cases in which migrant workers worked in small-scale enterprises and worked long hours. Job stress score was high for many workers and they dealt with heavy materials and risky machines. Many workers had not received proper occupational health and safety education and those that were previously injured had repeated injuries. Among the female migrant workers, many worker received low salary and shift work was common. Many worker complained of gastrointestinal and musculoskeletal illnesses and treated toxic substances. Conclusion: As a result, it will be necessary to focus on the strategies for decreasing occupational injuries from physical risk factors for males and from chemical risk factors for female migrant workers.

• Proceedings of the Safety Management and Science Conference
• /
• 2007.11a
• /
• pp.425-432
• /
• 2007

In the policy management of the safety&health, the environment and the quality, the documentation of the management system is required in every international regulatory guides. In case of 3 level classification of the system documents, it generally will be identified such name as the manual, the procedure and the job instruction. Each document has the unique role and usage though, the job instructions, especially, would be developed to support the practical job worker. So, the job instructions should be reflect the latest know-how of the job-handling methods. And that, it should be used at any times by the practical job worker. This study is planned to survey the actual usage status of the job instructions of the domestic enterprises, and tried to suggest the effective way of maintaining the documents.

• Safety and Health at Work
• /
• v.9 no.4
• /
• pp.421-426
• /
• 2018

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of shift work on occupational safety in various industrial sectors. The study analyzes the effects of shift work on the health of workers by considering factors such as the workplace environment and welfare. Methods: Focusing on the $4^{th}$ Korean Working Conditions Survey, this study used an ordinary least-square multiple regression analysis. The dependent variable was the annual frequency of injuries reported by workers. Independent variables were categorized as demographic, shift work, workplace environment, and welfare variables. The analysis was conducted on two levels: 1) Shift work and nonshift work groups were compared, and 2) Shift work was compared with fixed and rotating shifts. Results: For the entire group, age, a low level of education, work hours, and daily and dispatch work negatively impacted the frequency of injuries. Shift work was negatively affected by workplace environment and welfare factors. In the shift group, the frequency of injuries was lower than that of regular workers, and the higher the autonomy in the choice of work hours, the lower the frequency of injuries. Furthermore, shift workers in Korea have more extended work hours (49.25 h/week) than other workers (46.34 h/week). Conclusion: Overall, welfare factors such as workplace satisfaction and worke-life balance reduced the frequency of injuries. The effect of shift work was limited, but it was confirmed that shift worker autonomy could reduce the frequency of injuries.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• /
• v.33 no.4
• /
• pp.427-438
• /
• 2023

Objectives: This study aims to create a safer working environment by examining the working environment of cleanroom cleaning workers through a survey and comparing the differences in perception between workers and managers. Methods: The survey was written based on the working environment and the safety and health management system. In order to improve the quality of the study, we visited the sites in person and conducted an in-depth interview. SPSS Statistics 26 (IBM, USA) was used to analyze the data. Results: Based on the survey, differences were found in chemical used, MSDS sharing methods, risk factors during cleaning work, work environment measurement results, special health examination items, places considered dangerous, and work. Conclusions: It is necessary that there be different work environments and risk factors for cleanroom cleaning workers at respective workplaces. As a result of the survey, there was found to be a difference in perception between workers and managers, and both workers and managers should try to reduce this difference.

• Journal of Home Health Care Nursing
• /
• v.23 no.2
• /
• pp.155-165
• /
• 2016

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate factors influencing health workers' infection management behavior in long-term care facilities. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted with 180 health workers who are employed in long-term care facilities. The data were collected from April, 25 until July, in 2016. Results: Infection management behavior positively correlated with the perceived importance of infection management (r=.77, p<.001), but role conflict negatively correlated with infection management behavior (r=.28, p<.001). The hierarchical regression model with general characteristics (first step) and perceived importance of infection management, work environment, and role conflict (second step) against infection management behavior was statistically significant (F=31.93, p<.001). This model could explain 62.8% of infection management behavior ($R^2=.62$, ${\Delta}R^2=.39$). Particularly, perceived importance of infection management was identified as factors influencing infection management behavior(${\beta}=.70$, p<.001). Conclusion: The findings of this study imply that systemic education about infection control and monitoring should be considered, so as to encourage proper infection management behaviors among health workers in long-term care facilities.