• Korean Institute of Interior Design Journal
• /
• v.17 no.3
• /
• pp.131-138
• /
• 2008

This research is on a seating posture happening at a chair in a cinema and looked into various changes in a posture through the analysis of bodily movement in a established space like a cinema. Through the behavioral analysis of a seating posture in a limited space, each behavioral characteristic shown by a male and female and interdependent relations with a limited space were grasped. The conclusion through the above research work was as follows: 1) This research suggested a frame of analysis by dividing a seating posture into the side and upper part and was able to analyze its subsequent change characteristic of a seating posture by a male and female. 2) As for the side posture, a male was found to change fewer postures than a female, but as for the upper posture, there appeared a high frequency in posture change in case of a female. 3) As for time of staying in the side posture, a female was found to keep up a specific posture, and relatively a male changes his postures frequently while appreciating a movie; likely, as for the upper posture, it was found out that there existed a difference between the preference for the upper posture and time to keep it up. 4) A male and female were establishing a comfortable environment through their change in a posture, and there appeared changes in a posture the most within every 10 minutes in both the side and upper part postures. 5) As for the correlation between a initial posture and keep-up posture, it was found that a male tend to pursue a comfortable posture as time goes by, while a female kept up a comfortable one from her initial seating posture.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
• /
• v.36 no.5
• /
• pp.601-607
• /
• 2017

Objective: A method to assess the risk level of agricultural works considering work posture and working time was suggested, and the method was applied to the major fruit crops. Background: It is not complete to analyze only work postures when assessing risk level of agricultural works. Method: $3{\times}3$ matrix was employed, in which the severity level was taken from the REBA method and exposure level was taken from the working time, using the criteria of caution zone/hazard zone. Results: Among the 5 major fruit crops(apple, pear, grape, peach, persimmon), the highest level of ergonomic risk was found in the apple and pear, while medium level was found in other 3 crops, mainly because the working time was less in the 3 crops. Conclusion: It was found that when assessing the overall ergonomic risk of agricultural works, work posture and working time should be considered at the same time. Application: The suggested method could be applied to other non-cyclic tasks.

• PNF and Movement
• /
• v.17 no.2
• /
• pp.253-261
• /
• 2019

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the causal relationship between workplace stress and working posture and the development of work-related neck pain in office workers. Methods: The study participants included 62 office workers who had not experienced neck pain in the previous 12 months. A battery of measures to evaluate potential workplace risk factors in an office setting were conducted at baseline, and the 12-month incidence of work-related neck pain was reported via monthly questionnaires. Survival analysis was used to evaluate the longitudinal relationship between the workplace risk factors and the development of work-related neck pain. Results: The incidence of work-related neck pain was 1.91 (95% CI: 1.06-3.45) per 100 person months. The incidence of neck pain was predicted to be less likely to happen when workers had a more upright thorax posture during computer work (hazard ratio, 0.94; 95% CI: 0.89-0.99). However, stress may deteriorate the preventative effects of other risk factors on neck pain and showed a positive relationship with episodes of neck pain (hazard ratio, 1.37; 95% CI: 1.03-1.84). Conclusion: Understanding the psychophysiological effects of neck pain may explain the development of neck pain in office workers. Our interest in prevention plans and treatments should therefore involve a multifactorial pathology of neck pain in the workplace.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
• /
• v.16 no.3
• /
• pp.49-60
• /
• 1997

Although the tasks are being mechanized or automated today, many tasks are still performed manually in several industrial settings. Manual materials handling and improper sorking postures are known to be a major cause of low back injuries, which are one of the major problems in the economic and public health aspects. In this study, two machine repair shops of a manufacturing company in Pohang were recommended by the company health care center to investigate the potential risk factors that may cause low back injuries. Five machine repair tasks were selected from each machine repair shop, which are accountable for relatively high complaints of low back pain. The purpose of this study is to quantitatively evaluate the hazards of the tasks, and finally to recommend the improved methods and guidelines for safe work practices. In order to accomplish this goal, the questionnaire study and ergonomic evaluations were carried out and the results were analyzed. For most of the tasks under study, workers were found to be exposed to relatively high biomechanical stresses in low back, mainly due to the heaby objects handled and the improper working postures.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
• /
• v.20 no.2 s.70
• /
• pp.127-132
• /
• 2005

The purpose of this study is to compare representative posture classification schemes of OWAS, RULA and REBA in terms of correctness for postural load. The comparison was based on the evaluation results by the three methods for 224 working postures sampled from steel, electronics, automotive, and chemical industries. The results showed that OWAS and REBA generally underestimated postural stress than RULA irrespective of industry type, work performed and whether or not leg posture is balanced. While about $71\%\;and\;73\%$ of the 224 posture were evaluated with the action category/level 1 or 2 by OWAS and REBA respectively, about $60\%$ of the postures were classified into the action level of 3 or 4 by RULA. The coincidence rate of postural stress category between OWAS and RULA was just $33.5\%$, while the rate between RULA and REBA was $46.0\%$. It is concluded from the findings of this study and the previous research that compared to OWAS and REBA, RULA more precisely evaluates postural stress.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
• /
• v.29 no.3
• /
• pp.375-382
• /
• 2010

The purpose of this study was to analyze the risk factors of the musculoskeletal workload of mid-old-age food preparation workers by identifying the differences in the complaints of subjective symptoms between mid-old-age housewives and mid-old-age food preparation workers. This study was carried out on a total of 83 subjects from April 2009 through July 2009: 43 food preparation workers at the catering department of general hospital A, with a high rate of mid-old-age food preparation staff, and 40 full-time housewives (40~59 years old). The analysis of the relationship between the rates of the subjective symptoms of the two groups showed that the mid-old-age food preparation workers had a 7.8-fold higher risk of developing musculoskeletal diseases than the full-time housewives. The musculoskeletal workload of the mid-old-age food preparation workers included repetitive motions, uncomfortable postures, and heavy lifting. It is hoped that this study will help provide mid-old-age people with opportunities for appropriate economic activity and labor and will help improve their work postures and methods as well as their environmental-risk factors.

• Journal of Korean Society of Industrial and Systems Engineering
• /
• v.35 no.2
• /
• pp.88-97
• /
• 2012

The muscle strengths in various postures are still used in the workplace, although mechanization and automation have been continuously accomplished. The aim of this study is to measure the maximum muscle strength and analyze the muscle fatigue during the various wrench jobs which are one of the upper limbs related works. Four hundreds and eighty five college students (243 males and 242 females) participated in this study. Twelve muscle strengths which are using for pulling, pushing, lifting and lowering the wrench with various postures are measured. For every moment, the muscle strengths for both hands were measured. In each measurement, five seconds averaged value and peak value were collected. The averaged value of preferred hand and non-preferred hand was compared. Also, the averaged value of opposite movement was compared through t-test. The fatigue of agonist for each movement was analyzed using EMG analysis. The result of this study can provide some basic information not only in designing the tools in work but also in selection, training and management of workers.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
• /
• v.24 no.2
• /
• pp.69-75
• /
• 2009

It is well-known that lifting capacity of a worker is influenced by body posture during the task. When a task analyst make use of RULA and REBA Trunk and upper arm angles are recorded in a separate item. It means that the interaction between the angles of two body segments may be ignored in a final score. The NLE(NIOSH Lifting Equation) has been used to supplement this problem. However, there is no study to validate the result of RWL (Recommended Workload Limit) under the existence of interactions between trunk and upper arm angles. The goal of this study was to assess the effect of the interaction between trunk and upper arm angles. Three responses, including NMVC(normalized maximum voluntary contraction), RWL(Recommended Weight Limit) and subjective judgment in psychophysical method (Borg's scale), were recorded according to the combinations of three trunk angles and nine upper arm angles. The results showed that lifting capacity is highly influenced by interaction of two body segments(trunk and upper arm). It means that the task workload has to be analyzed along with the interaction of trunk angles and upper arm angles when the task analyst assesses potential risk factors on the postures. This study may be able to be a fundamental study to develop an assessment method for lifting task analyses according to body postures.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Automotive Engineers
• /
• v.17 no.1
• /
• pp.176-181
• /
• 2009

The passenger airbag(PAB) designed for standard sized adults may induce unexpected results to children in out-of-position(OOP) postures. In this work, using MADYMO software, simulations of the OOP injury of children have been performed with respect to PAB design parameters and child dummy positions. The attention is focused on some details with respect to the injury of 3 and 6 year old children in two OOP postures. Among the various design parameters of the passenger airbag systems, four parameters are selected for the sensitivity analysis of the injury with the Taguchi method: bag folding pattern, vent hole size, position of the cover tear seam and the type of door tear seam. An optimal combination of the parameters is suggested.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
• /
• v.32 no.6
• /
• pp.549-555
• /
• 2013

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare the performance of drilling on the ceiling in three different postures (standing, standing on the ladder and supine on the height adjusted board) and the subjective responses of perceived discomfort after the drilling. Background: Overhead work has been identified as a major occupational risk factor and has been a main research subject. Method: Ten young participants drilled 20 holes at the pre-marked places on the ceiling in three different postures. The drilling duration, resting and drilling heart rate were measured. The levels of perceived discomfort at neck, shoulder, elbow, hand and overall body were asked at the end of each task. Results: The working posture affected the heart rate after the drilling. Perceived discomfort in the neck decreased significantly in supine compared to drilling on the ladder. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that drilling in supine can be an alternative way to reduce the drilling heart rate and the level of perceived discomfort in the neck without sacrificing the productivity. Application: The results of this study would be considered when drilling on the ceiling is required in construction workers.