• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
• /
• v.25 no.4
• /
• pp.35-43
• /
• 2023

In recent years, there has been a growing trend of occupational accidents involving foreign workers. As the number of foreign workers continues to increase, the risk of occupational accidents is also on the rise. Therefore, it is crucial to take proactive measures to prevent occupational accidents among foreign workers. To establish a common safety culture among foreign workers with varied backgrounds and educational experiences, and which is harmonized with Korean workplace. Safety communication, which includes culture respect and participation in the workplace, plays a significant role in shaping and developing the safety culture of foreign workers. Therefore, this study aims to assess the level of safety culture in workplace employing foreign workers by analyzing the reliability and validity of factors such as 'occupational accident awareness' and 'safety communication,' which constitute the safety culture at these workplace. Additionally, the mediating effect of 'work proficiency' on the relationship between 'safety communication' and the level of improvement in 'occupational accident awareness' using the validation method proposed by Baron & Kenny(1986). As a result of statistical analysis, The influence of'safety communication'on'occupational accident awareness'is 𝛽=0.339, and it has been found that this influence decreases to 𝛽=0.113 when'work proficiency'is introduced, indicating partial mediation.

• Safety and Health at Work
• /
• v.12 no.3
• /
• pp.317-323
• /
• 2021

Background: The surface mining industry has one of the highest fatality rates among private industries in the United States. Despite recent decreases in the fatality rates of comparable industries, the fatality rate in the surface mining industry has increased. Meanwhile, a lack of safety research in surface mining has hindered efforts to improve safety strategies in the surface mining workplace. Method: This study examined quarry workers' hazard identification skills by conducting a case study of a surface mining facility in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Semistructured interviews were conducted with eight quarry workers who were employed at the mine facility. In addition to the interviews, data were collected through field notes, notes from an expert meeting with safety managers, and site photographs to explore quarry workers' safety behaviors in the workplace. Results: The results showed that quarry workers identified hazards and improved their safety performance by translating safety knowledge learned from training into practice, acquiring hands-on work experience, learning from coworkers, and sharing responsibilities among team members. Conclusion: This study contributes to understanding quarry workers' safe performance beyond what they have learned in safety training to include their interaction with other workers and hand-on experience in the workplace. This study informs practitioners in the surface mining industry to build a safe work environment as they design effective safety programs for employees.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.171-178
• /
• 2013

Purpose: This study was conducted to determine the effect of the performance of Workplace Health Manager at the workplace on presenteeism in the workers. Methods: Three months before this study, between June 2010 and September 2010, a self-reporting survey of 316 employees in 136 workplaces in each of each hired a Workplace Health Manager was performed at their workplace with explanations of the purpose and methods of this study after their consent was obtained. Results: The average performance score of the Workplace Health Manager as graded by the employees was 3.8 out of 5 points. The duties of the Workplace Health Manager which received higher grades were posting of the Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS), health education, and future management with respect to the results and procedure of health care-related work. According to the employees' survey, the score for presenteeism was evaluated as 14.3 out of 30 points. Based on the presenteeism analysis results, when (1) the employee was a male, (2) the workplace was established and managed by Industry Safety and Health Committee, (3) the employees were aware of the role of Workplace Health Managers, and (4) Workplace Health Manager fulfilled his/her role actively and successfully, presenteeism was observed to a lesser extent. Conclusion: According to the results of the study, presenteeism was observed to a lesser extent when the Workplace Health Manager actively performed his/her role.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
• /
• v.9 no.1
• /
• pp.77-84
• /
• 2007

This study was planned to investigate what the main factor of the regulation compliance of inspection on harmful machine, instrument and equipment by industrial safety and health act is. This study subject was composed of three groups as employers, employees of manufacturing and using the harmful machine and safety inspectors. Manufacturing workplace were 236 places, using workplace were 201 places and the safety inspectors were 100 people. The study subject was sampled by stratified random sampling considering the type of harmful Machine. Data for analysis is collected from each sample using interview with structured questionnaires. Compliance is measured by 2, 3, and 4 point scale composed by 8 sub items such as general perception, understanding, clearness, necessity, relevancy, implementation, penalty, and general compliance of the regulation. The level of 8 items of employer's compliance are not differentiated among three groups. The determining factors for inspection observance of the workplace using the harmful Machine were understanding, penalty and cognized compliance. The determining factors for inspection observance of the workplace manufacturing the harmful Machine were understanding and object conformity. These results show that the strategy to adapt the regulated group to inspection regulation will be the elevation of understanding for regulation first of all.

• Safety and Health at Work
• /
• v.15 no.3
• /
• pp.245-254
• /
• 2024

Background: In recent years, the rise of workplace racial discrimination and microaggressions has decreased the efficiency and productivity of organizations and institutions, and realization of organizational goals globally. Accordingly, it was decided to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis in the present study with the aim of investigating the prevalence of microaggression and racial discrimination in the workplace. Methods: The PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect and Google Scholar databases were systematically searched for studies that had reported the effects of work stress among managers. The search did include a lower time limit and was conducted in June 2023. The heterogeneity of the studies was investigated using the I² index, and accordingly random effects method was adopted for meta-analysis. Data analysis was conducted with the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis (v.2) software. Results: In the review of seven studies with a sample size of 2998 people, the overall prevalence of microaggression and racial discrimination in the workplace was found to be 73.6% and 18.8%, respectively. Publication bias within the selected studies was examined with the Egger's test, which indicated the absence of publication bias for the pooled prevalence of workplace microaggression (p: 0.264) and for the pooled prevalence of workplace racial discrimination (p: 0.061). Conclusion: The results obtained from this report indicate the high impact of micro-aggression and racial discrimination in the workplace. Considering the negative effects of such behaviours, the findings from this study will be helpful to managers and health policymakers.

• Safety and Health at Work
• /
• v.7 no.2
• /
• pp.138-142
• /
• 2016

Background: Household waste collectors (HWCs) are exposed to hazardous conditions. This study investigates the patterns of workplace injuries and work-related illnesses of HWCs. Methods: This study uses cases of workplace injuries and work-related illnesses of HWCs that occurred between 2010 and 2011. We analyzed 325 cases of injuries and 36 cases of illnesses according to the workers' age, length of employment, size of workplace, injured part of body, day and month of injury, type of accident, agency of accident, and collection process. Results: There were significant differences in the effect of workers' length of employment, injured part of body, type of accident, agency of accident, and collection process. Results show that most injuries occur in workers in their 50s and older. This study also shows that 51.4% of injuries occur at businesses with 49 employees or fewer. Injuries to waste collectors happen most often when workers are electrocuted after slipping on the ground. The second most prevalent form of injury is falling, which usually happens when workers hang from the rear of the truck during transportation or otherwise slip and fall from the truck. Work-related illnesses amongst waste collectors are mostly musculoskeletal conditions due to damaging postures. Conclusion: These findings will be instructive in devising policies and guidelines for preventing workplace injuries and work-related illnesses of HWCs.

• Safety and Health at Work
• /
• v.14 no.1
• /
• pp.131-134
• /
• 2023

The aim was to describe out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) occurring in the workplace of a large emergency network, and compare the evolution of their management in the last 15 years. A retrospective study based on data from the Northern Alps Emergency Network compared characteristics of OHCA between cases in and out the workplace, and between cases occurring from January 2004 to December 2010 and from January 2011 to December 2017. Among the 15,320 OHCA cases included, 320 occurred in the workplace (2.1%). They were more often in younger men, and happened more frequently in an area with access to public defibrillation, had more often a shockable rhythm, had a cardiopulmonary resuscitation started by a bystander more frequently, and had a better outcome. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation started by a bystander was the only chain of survival link that improved for cases occurring after December 2010. Workplace OHCA seems to be managed more effectively than others; however, only a slight survival improvement was observed, suggesting that progress is still needed.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
• /
• v.13 no.4
• /
• pp.61-69
• /
• 2011

The hazard conditions on plant works of the steel industry have been investigated to efficiently prevent from industrial accidents. The plant works are eventually carried out by workers of smaller service companies where the safety management systems are not well established, on behalf of the main steel company. Based on the preliminary risk assessment on the plant working and open literature reviews, the safety management systems, which can be applied to the plant workplace of each process, are studied and then the step-by-step 4M check-list method is established. Accordingly, the risk assessment technique using 4M checklist for the plant workplace is proposed. In addition, a standardized flow-chart for safety management of plant work is introduced. These risk assessment technique and flow-chart can definitely contribute to the reduction of industrial accidents, considering the risk characterization and the unsafe conditions in small and medium-sized plant workplace, as effective safety management tools and safety guide line.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• /
• v.33 no.4
• /
• pp.485-501
• /
• 2023

Objectives: The Ministry of Employment and Labor has revised the articles regarding management of the thermal environment in the workplace. Currently, two types of regulations exist together with indoor workplaces as the scope of application. It appears that the time has come to discuss regulations. In this study, we aim to identify the feasibility of and problems with the current system through a comparative legal review of workplace thermal environment management laws from around the world. We suggest directions for improving South Korea's workplace thermal environment management laws. Methods: For the several selected countries, we analyzed the classification and content of obligations stipulated for the thermal environment, the presence or absence of specific measures for thermal environment management, legal status and content, and the scope of application of thermal environment provisions and measures. The investigated content was classified according to Zweigelt-Kotz's legal theory. Results: In some countries, employers' obligations for regulating the thermal environment are broadly divided into two types: results and actions. The scope of application of provisions and measures on the thermal environment was extensive, with most of the selected countries targeting general workplaces. Conclusions: In the case of South Korea, restricting and classifying target workplaces and imposing separate obligations to manage a workplace thermal environment goes against global practices, and stipulating legal orders and separate action obligations in guidelines does not conform to the characteristics of South Korea's legal system, meaning that improvement is needed.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
• /
• v.17 no.4
• /
• pp.97-103
• /
• 2015

The people who are in the noise factory are difficult to hear and recognize about fire and to evacuate quickly when a fire occurs. This study was conducted to analyze workplace's background noise of 31 factories in Incheon and to know the workplace noise level comparing to fire alarm sound level. The measured average noise level was 96.8dB(A). Noise level of measured result was exceeded as 6.8dB(A) comparing to NFSC (National Fire Safety Code) noise level of 90dB. NFPA suggests that when background noise exceeds 85dB or more than that, other methods should be considered to know alarm sound. Also fire alarm sound should exceed more than 15dB(A) comparing to background noise level. Therefore it was concluded that the design of the fire alarm systems should not be applied to the workplace without considering background noise and it needs to be improved with regulations and the systems.