• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.145-159
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• 2011

The study aimed to analyze the status quo of manufacturing work environment and the work clothes' clothing comfort and wearer mobility of welding and grinding work processes in the machine and shipbuilding industries in South Korea. A questionnaire survey was conducted for the study, which consisted of questions about work clothes' clothing comfort and wearer mobility according to body parts. The findings derived from the research were: the high impact levels of work environment factors on welding and grinding work processes were noise, metal fragment, superheat, toxic gas, UV ray factors. Subject workers' assessment of work clothes' clothing pressures were in the levels between 3 (i.e. moderate) and 4 (i.e. comfortable) in a range of 5-point scale. The impact levels of wearer mobility factor were high on the work processes of welding and grinding in machine and grinding in shipbuilding. While welding process in shipbuilding showed a 'moderate' wearer mobility level and this was because its work postures were uncomfortable yet the rate of the motion change was low. The consideration to develop the work clothes specialized for certain work processes should include the materials' protecting performance from the hazardous work environment factors; and work clothes' designs that provides workers with maximized clothing comfort and wearer mobility for bending or tilting postures of upper, lower and lateral body parts defined in the study.

• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.13-31
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• 2012

The purpose of the study was to analyze the work clothes' clothing comfort and wearer mobility of painting workers with the consideration of the work environment features in the machine and shipbuilding industries in South Korea. A questionnaire survey was conducted for the study, which consisted of questions on the clothing comfort and wearer mobility aspects of painting work clothes by clothes types and body parts. The work clothes' clothing comfort and wearer mobility levels were scaled in 5 points i.e. 1(: very tight/very uncomfortable) to 5(: very slack/very comfortable). The painting work environmental hazardous features were considered as high impact levels of workplace temperature, oxygen deficiency, organic solvent, toxic gas factors while metal fragment factor only impacts 'low' in the painting processes with the findings throughout this study. Since the painting work consisted of surface washing and the spray and touch-up painting processes, which was carried out in an outdoor work place, the painting work clothes should meet high performance of waterproofing from the painting material and air permeability specially in summer as well as thermal performance in winter. The subjects painting workers' assessment of the existing work clothes' clothing oppression was in the levels between 3 (i.e. moderate) and 4 (i.e. comfortable) in a range of 1 to 5 points. The existing painting work clothes' wearer mobility was evaluated 'very uncomfortable' in all work clothes parts, especially, armhole length, biacromial breadth, sleeve length of the jumper; and body rise, waist, hip, thigh and knee circumferences of the pants.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Costume
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• v.61 no.9
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• pp.97-113
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• 2011

To develop the work clothes for the employees in the mechatronics industry in South Korea, a questionnaire survey on many aspects of the work clothes such as type, color, detailed design and function preference of the subject employees has been carried out in the study. The results throughout the survey highlighted certain functions such as extensibility, thermal and air permeability of importance for the work clothing performance. To improve the discomfort caused by some work motions (i.e. squatting down, ascending/descending the stairs, raising arms), more allowances were given to the measurements (i.e. body rise + 2cm and crotch depth + 1cm for squatting down pose; thigh circumference + 1cm and knee circumference + 1cm for ascending/ descending the stairs pose; chest circumference + 5~6cm and jumper length to the level of hip circumference line for raising arms pose) for work clothes patternmaking. The evaluation of the two types of spring/summer and winter work clothes' clothing comfort and wearer mobility suggested certain points to improve the clothing performance (e.g. ventilation slits on the back pleats, arm pits and collar band of the spring/summer suit using net material and lining for the winter suit using quilted thermal materials) and wearer mobility (e.g. pants hem buckles for the easy work motion), which also enabled to fulfill the workers' work clothes design preference.

• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.21-35
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• 2012

In consideration of the injuries and deaths occurring at manufacturing sites due to the use of inappropriate work clothes or safety devices, this study aims to categorize manufacturing work processes to develop functional work clothes for heavy industries including the automobile, machine and shipbuilding industries in South Korea. Defining the features of the work environments and work postures of these industries provided for a categorization of the work processes which would enable the development of suitable work clothes for each work process' category. The results of the study based on a questionnaire survey are as follows: Work process category 1, including steel panel pressing and auto body assembly, final inspection (in automobile) and inspection (in machine), requires work clothes with upper body and arm mobility and performance to protect from the toxic fume factor. Work process category 2, consisting of welding (in automobile), cutting-and-forming (in machine) and attachment-and-construction (in shipbuilding), requires clothing elasticity, durability and heat and fire resistance. Work process category 3 comprising welding and grinding in the machine and shipbuilding industries, requires work clothes' tear resistance and elasticity, particularly for lateral bending mobility, and work clothes' sleeves' and pants' hemlines with sealed designs to defend against iron filing penetration, as well as incombustible and heat-resistant material performance. Finally, work process category 4, including painting in machine and shipbuilding, requires work clothes with waterproofing, air permeability, thermal performance, elasticity, durability and abrasion resistance.