• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
• /
• v.36 no.2
• /
• pp.18-25
• /
• 2021

Specialty contractor facilities, which involve a combination of welding and commissioning, face a high risk of serious accidents such as fire, explosion, and suffocation associated with welding work, nitrogen, and argon use. In such facilities, the organizational safety culture has considerable impact on the frequency of accidents. In this study, a safety culture evaluation was conducted on specialty contractors. NOSACQ-50, a standardized survey method on safety culture, was selected as an assessment tool to evaluate the safety culture in specialized construction companies that could not afford to invest heavily in safety. The self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted with 201 workers of four construction companies and the results were analyzed. It was found that in companies with low safety culture, the occurrence of irrationality was 66.0%, while in companies with high safety culture, the occurrence of irrationality was 42.6%. Thus, the difference in the occurrence of irrationality by safety culture was statistically significant. The difference in safety culture level according to the experience of occurrence of irrationality was also significant. It was also found that the higher the belief in safety management authorization, safety responsibilities of managers, worker safety priorities, and safety system effects, the lower the probability of irrationality.

• Advances in Computational Design
• /
• v.7 no.3
• /
• pp.173-188
• /
• 2022

In modern buildings, glass is considered a structurally unsafe material due to its brittleness and unpredictable failure behavior. The possible use of structural glass elements (i.e., floors, beams and columns) is generally prevented by its poor tensile strength and a frequent occurrence of brittle failures. In this study an innovative modelling based on an equivalent thickness concept of laminated glass beam reinforced with FRP (Fiber Reinforced Polymer) composite material and of glass plates punched is presented. In particular, the novel numerical modelling applied to an embedding Carbon FRP-rod in the interlayer of a laminated structural glass beam is considered in order to increase both its failure strength, together with its post-failure strength and ductility. The proposed equivalent modelling of different specimens enables us to carefully evaluate the effects of this reinforcement. Both the responses of the reinforced beam and un-reinforced one are evaluated, and the corresponding results are compared and discussed. A novel equivalent modelling for reinforced glass beams using FRP composites is presented for FEM analyses in modern material components and proved estimations of the expected performance are provided. Moreover, the new suggested numerical analysis is also applied to laminated glass plates with wide holes at both ends for the technological reasons necessary to connect a glass beam to a structure. Obtained results are compared with an integer specimen. Experimental considerations are reported.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
• /
• 2022.06a
• /
• pp.261-268
• /
• 2022

In road work zones, pedestrian workers' habituated inattention to warning alarms from construction vehicles can lead to fatal accidents. Previous studies have theorized that human factors such as personality traits may affect workers' inattentiveness to workplace hazards. However, there has been no study that directly examined how road construction workers' personality traits affect their attention to warning alarms within a work zone and the likelihood of engagement in a struck-by accident. This study examines how workers' sensation-seeking (especially boredom susceptibility) is related to inattention to warning alarms while performing a task in road work zones. An experiment with actual road construction workers was conducted using a virtual road construction environment. Workers' attention to repeatedly presented warning alarms was measured using eye-tracking sensors. In response to workers' frequent inattentive behaviors, a virtual accident was simulated. Results revealed a significant association between boredom susceptibility and workers' engagement in the virtual accident, a consequence of inattentiveness to warning alarms. The findings suggest that workers' personality traits predispose them to tune out warning alarms and become vulnerable to accidents in road work zones. The findings of this study can be used to develop targeted interventions aimed at preventing workers' inattention to repeatedly exposed workplace hazards, thereby contributing to reducing fatal accidents in road work zones.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
• /
• 2024.07a
• /
• pp.367-374
• /
• 2024

The detection and tracking of construction workers in building sites generate valuable data on unsafe behavior, work productivity, and construction progress. Many computer vision-based tracking approaches have been investigated and their capabilities for tracking construction workers have been tested. However, the dynamic nature of real-world construction environments, where workers wear similar outfits and move around in often cluttered and occluded regions, has severely limited the accuracy of these methods. Herein, to enhance the performance of vision-based tracking, a new framework is proposed which seamlessly integrates three computer vision components: detection, tracking, and re-identification (DTR). In DTR, a tracking algorithm continuously tracks identified workers using a detector and tracker in combination. Then, a re-identification model extracts visual features and utilizes them as appearance descriptors in subsequent frames during tracking. Empirical results demonstrate that the proposed method has excellent multi-object-tracking accuracy with better accuracy than an existing approach. The DTR framework can efficiently and accurately monitor workers, ensuring safer and more productive dynamic work environments.

• Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue
• /
• v.12 no.3
• /
• pp.23-47
• /
• 2006

The purpose of this research is to study the relation between the change of driver's driving confidence level in the age categories and driving behavior. To survey the driving confidence level, we used the 'Driving Confidence Scale' questionnaire and surveyed the drive career, mileage, driving days, violation of traffic regulation (drunk driving, overspeed), traffic accident experience (assaulter, sufferer) together. The subjects of investigation were from 19-year-old to 80-year-old and 1,055 persons were participated in the research totally. To examinethe structure of driving confidence level, we executed the factor analysis. We compared the driving confidence level in the age categories (under 29-year-old, 30~39, 40~49, 50~64, over 65-year-old) and studied the relation between driving confidence level and driving behavior. Driving confidence level was composed of 4 factors such as 'insensibility to situation', 'unsafe driving', 'careless concentration' and 'self-efficacy of driving', and there was decreasing tendency for driving confidence level and overall driving behavior according to increasing age. Driving confidence level had the interrelation with age range, assaulting accident, suffered accident, driving period, drunk driving, overspeed, driving career and so on. We examined the difference of driving confidence level and driving behavior by dividing the participated drivers' groups into the traffic accident experienced group, drunk driving group and overspeed driving group, and there was a significant difference on driving confidence level and driving behavior between the group who had not experienced the violation of traffic regulation or traffic accident and another group who had experienced the violation of traffic regulation or traffic accident.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Automotive Engineers
• /
• v.1 no.1
• /
• pp.131-139
• /
• 1993

Low cycle fatigue characteristics of cast aluminum alloy A356 with a yield strength and ultimate strength of 229 and 283 MPa respectively was evaluated using smooth axial specimen under strain controlled condition. Reversals to failure ranged from 16 to 107. The cast aluminum alloy exhibited cyclically strain-gardening behavior. The results of low cycle fatigue tests indicated that the conventional low cycle fatigue tests indicated that the conventional low cycle fatigue life model was not a satisfactory representation of the data. This occurred because the elastic strain-life curve was not-log-log linear and this phenomena caused a nonconservative and unsafe fatigue life prediction at both extremes of long and short lives. A linear log-log total strain-life model and a bilinear log-log elastic strain-life model were proposed in order to improve the representation of data compared to the conventional low cycle fatigue life model. Both proposed fatigue life models were statistically analyzed using F tests and successfully satisfied. However, the low cycle fatigue life model generated by the bilinear log-log elastic strain-life equation yielded a discontinuous curve with nonconservatism in the region of discontinuity. Among the models examined, the linear log-log total strain-life model provided the best representation of the low cycle fatigue data. Low cycle fatigue life prediction method based on the local strain approach could conveniently incorporated both proposed fatigue life models.

• Women's Health Nursing
• /
• v.14 no.3
• /
• pp.205-212
• /
• 2008

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to survey the health behaviors related to reproductive health, reproductive health history, and sexual behaviors of college students in local areas. Method: With a survey design, 792 college students from C and D areas were recruited to assess health behaviors such as smoking and alcohol drinking, as well as history of reproductive health and sexual behaviors. The data were collected by a self-administered questionnaire from November to December, 2007. Result: Mean age of the students was 20.8(SD=1.96) and gender distribution was 29.2% for male and 70.8% for female. Unhealthy behaviors were alcohol drinking, smoking, excessive weight loss, and irregular exercise; unsafe sex practices were experience of sexual intercourse with multiple sex partners and history of sexually transmitted disease (STD). Male students had more alcohol drinking (p=.04), smoking(p<.001), excessive weight loss(p=.01), experience of sexual intercourse with multiple sex partners(p<.001), history of STD(p=.025) compared to females. On the other hands, female students participated in regular exercise less than males(p<.001). Conclusion: College students seem to perform unhealthy behaviors related to reproductive health and less effective way of safe sex practices. Therefore, a planned education program for reproductive health promotion operated by college level is needed to assess and improve the level of reproductive health in college students.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.54 no.5
• /
• pp.855-875
• /
• 2015

Many novel materials exhibit a property of different elastic moduli in tension and compression. One such material is graphene, a wonder material, which has the highest strength yet measured. Investigations on buckling problems for structures with different moduli are scarce. To address this new problem, firstly, the nondimensional expression of the relation between offset of neutral axis and deflection curve is derived based on the phased integration method, and then using the energy method, load-deflection relation of the rod is determined; Secondly, based on the improved constitutive model for different moduli, large deformation finite element formulations are developed and combined with the arc-length method, finite element iterative program for rods with different moduli is established to obtain buckling critical loads; Thirdly, material mechanical properties tests of graphite, which is the raw material of graphene, are performed to measure the tensile and compressive elastic moduli, moreover, buckling tests are also conducted to investigate the buckling behavior of this kind of graphite rod. By comparing the calculation results of the energy method and finite element method with those of laboratory tests, the analytical model and finite element numerical model are demonstrated to be accurate and reliable. The results show that it may lead to unsafe results if the classic theory was still adopted to determine the buckling loads of those rods composed of a material having different moduli. The proposed models could provide a novel approach for further investigation of non-linear mechanical behavior for other structures with different moduli.

• Korean Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
• /
• v.20 no.6
• /
• pp.66-73
• /
• 2019

Thanks to various efforts to reduce disasters by the government and the Health and Safety Authority, disasters across industries and the construction industry show their reduction trend. However, the falling disasters in the construction industry have not decreased and increased on the contrary. Especially falling disaster caused by Hanging Scaffolding is the most critical disaster which shows low occurrence frequency but is directly connected to death of worker. The working environment for Hanging Scaffolding is poor in domestic construction site. In particular, the Hanging Scaffolding workers in small construction sites are not on the safety control and management by anyone for their works. They are driven to unsafe working condition with mostly uncertified facilities which are made by themselves. Therefore, this study is focused on searching falling disaster factors from the 242 disaster cases caused by Hanging Scaffolding Work in 15 years presented by KOSHA, and trying to provide suggestions for improvement. The improvement of the method of work requires facility improvement and work due to high accident rate caused by unsafe behavior. Analysis of the case of a disaster occurring over the past 15 years shows that no disaster occurred due to problems in the order of operations presented by KOSHA. However, it was found that many accidents resulted from death caused by safety belts not being installed or attached to ropes using safety belts without following the order of work. The most important aspect of improving the work method was the installation and wearing of lifeboats and safety belts.

• Computational Structural Engineering
• /
• v.10 no.3
• /
• pp.167-174
• /
• 1997

Engineers must be aware of possible sources of chaotic behavior. They may render conventional design predictions untrustworthy and potentially unsafe because of the sensitivity to initial conditions. Dynamic responses of a spherical shell subjected to impulsive loading which act on the center are analyzed using the finite element method. The chaotic responses are identified by the standard methods, such as displacement-time histories, Poincare maps, and phase diagrams. The responses are chaotic, but, not so sensitive to the initial conditions, and the characteristics of responses are not changed with time, in contrast to the case of the responses of beam. The Poincare points scattered in the limited area represent that the responses are chaotic, but do not show the geometric structures. The snap-through phenomena of the shell to the side of the direction of the load or of the opposite direction, is analysed by using the energy diagram.