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.. | Volume 7 Number 1, 2001 (free)

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND ERGONOMICS
Volume 7 Number 1, 2001

CONTENTS:

Articles:

PROTECTION OF HUMAN IN THE WORKING ENVIRONMENT

PROTECTION OF HUMAN AT THE WORKSTATION

Announcement:
IEA/JOSE Best Paper Award     Identification of Driver Model Parameters
Andrzej Reński, 79-92      

Occupational Safety and Health in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises During Social and Economic Transformation
Danuta Koradecka

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Central and Eastern Europe at the turn of the 1980s and 1990s were characterised by many people exposed to hazardous working conditions. Statistics recorded a considerable increase in the number of occupational diseases. They also showed that it was more dangerous to work for a small company.
The transition from planned to market economy has brought about an increase in the number of SMEs in Poland. Data on them are provided. The role of the Central Institute for Labour Protection in studying SMEs is presented. A pilot study of employers and employees is discussed.

Anthropometry for Design for the Elderly
Kamal Kothiyal, Samuel Tettey

This paper presents anthropometric data on elderly people in Australia. Data were collected in the metropolitan city of Sydney, NSW, Australia. In all 171 elderly people (males and females, aged 65 years and above) took part in the study. Mean values, standard deviations, medians, range, and coefficients of variation for the various body dimensions were estimated. Correlation coefficients were also calculated to determine the relationship between different body dimensions for the elderly population. The mean stature of elderly Australian males and females were compared with populations from other countries. The paper discusses design implications for elderly people and provides several examples of application of the anthropometric data.

Interactions of Some Organic Solvents: Hydrocarbons and Chloroalkene
Jolanta Skowroń, Katarzyna Miranowicz-Dzierżawska, Lidia Zapór, Małgorzata Gołofit-Szymczak, Andrzej Starek

Metabolic and toxicodynamic interactions of some organic solvents in rats repeatedly treated with medium dose levels were examined. It was shown that both n-hexane and ethylbenzene significantly inhibited tetrachloroethylene metabolism during a 2-week period. n-Hexane and tetrachloroethylene enhanced metabolism of ethylbenzene whereas ethylbenzene suppressed n-hexane metabolism only at the end of the experiment. Biochemical changes, especially the drop in the level of non-protein sulfhydryl groups in tissues of rats treated with organic solvent mixtures, were significantly less pronounced than those observed after these chemicals were administered separately. These results demonstrate that metabolic interactions between hydrocarbons and chloroalkene may lead to a modification of the biological response to these compounds.

Users' Demands Regarding Dental Safety Glasses. Combining a Quantitative Approach and Grounded Theory for the Data Analysis
Emma-Christin Lönnroth, Houshang Shahnavaz

Eye infections are common among dentists and many are concerned, but few are using proper eye protection. To understand users' demands behind the low use of safety glasses, all dental teams in Sweden were asked which factors they found most important when choosing dental safety glasses, and rate the importance of 31 statements regarding ergonomic aspects of dental safety glasses in a questionnaire. Data were analysed using the Grounded Theory and a quantitative approach. Results showed that dentists ranked the visual aspects as most important and chair assistants the protective aspects. The highly visual demanding work performed by dentists requires safety glasses that are not yet available on the market, which might explain the low use.

Effects of Neutral Posture on Muscle Tension During Computer Use
Elizabeth Dowler, Bruno Kappes, Andrea Fenaughty, Gregory Pemberton

This study focused on developing a new approach to seated work positions was conducted on 67 office workers who use a Visual Display Terminal (VDT) as a major function of their working day. Muscle tension was measured by surface electromyography (sEMG) while participants were asked to adopt 4 selected working postures. Pain was measured before and after ergonomic intervention on the Nordic scale, which was modified for this study. Adjustable workstations were used to place participants in desired positions during the clinical testing sessions and the extended intervention period. Results indicate the effects of this ergonomic intervention may have positive effects on muscle tension and pain, significant enough to encourage employers to implement training and workstation modifications following these guidelines.

Identification of Driver Model Parameters
Andrzej Reński

The paper presents a driver model, which can be used in a computer simulation of a curved ride of a car. The identification of the driver parameters consisted in a comparison of the results of computer calculations obtained for the driver-vehicle-environment model with different driver data sets with test results of the double lane-change manoeuvre (Standard No. ISO/TR 3888:1975, International Organization for Standardization [ISO], 1975) and the wind gust manoeuvre. The optimisation method allows to choose for each real driver a set of driver model parameters for which the differences between test and calculation results are smallest. The presented driver model can be used in investigating the driver-vehicle control system, which allows to adapt the car construction to the psychophysical characteristics of a driver.

Slip Resistance of Industrial Floor Surfaces: Development of an Elastomer Suited to In-Situ Measurement
Sylvie Leclercq, Henri Saulnier

Slips contribute to 12% of occupational accidents. A slip resistant floor is a mean to prevent slipping accidents occurring in workshops. Floor slip resistance is often evaluated by measuring a friction index, proportional to the force opposing slipping of a reference elastomer on the floor surface under test. When implementing a portable appliance, slip resistance measurements carried out on lubricated floors were not stabilized. The authors advanced the hypothesis of oil impregnating the elastomer. A new elastomer suited to in-situ measurement has been developed to achieve stable measuring conditions. This study highlights the fact that the nature and characteristics of a reference elastomer must be specified when slip resistance measurements are carried out.

Effects of ErgorestR Arm Supports on Muscle Strain and Wrist Positions During the Use of the Mouse and Keyboard in Work With Visual Display Units: A Work Site Intervention
Maija Lintula, Nina Nevala-Puranen, Veikko Louhevaara

The effects of ErgorestR arm supports on wrist angles and musculoskeletal strain in the neck-shoulder-arm region and electrical activity in the shoulder and arm muscles were studied during typing or the use of the mouse in work with a visual display unit (VDU). Twenty-one women were randomized into 3 groups (1 arm support, 2 arm supports, and control). Measurements were carried out before and after the 6-week intervention. The wrist extension of the mouse hand, the muscle activity of the trapezius muscle, and the subjective discomfort ratings indicated that 2 arm supports were better than 1 in work with a mouse. The ErgorestR arm support alleviates muscle and joint strain in VDU work when used for both arms.

IEA/JOSE Best Paper Award
The International Ergonomics Association and the International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics are pleased to announce the new IEA/JOSE Best Paper Award
  • The award is given every 3 years to the author (or authors) of the best paper published in the International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics (JOSE) since the previous award. The paper must adhere to the requirements of good science and/or practice.
  • The award consists of a diploma and an honorarium of US $1,000. Up to three runners-up will receive diplomas.
  • There is a two-stage procedure, nominations being the first stage.
  • Members of the International Editorial Board of JOSE, subscribers, and readers of JOSE can nominate candidates for the award.
  • In order to nominate a paper it is necessary to post, fax, or E-mail to the Editorial Office of JOSE a nomination form. A copy of the nomination form will be published in every volume of the journal and posted on the JOSE www page. The nominations should reach the Office by the date given in the form.
  • Authors cannot nominate their own papers.
  • The JOSE Editorial Office will make a list of all nominated papers, beginning with the paper with the highest number of nominations. The list µ with the off-prints of ten papers with most nominations µ will be sent to the Chair of the Jury.
  • The second stage of the process consists of the Jury selecting the best paper out of the ten papers with most nominations.
  • There are seven permanent members of the Jury. Five members are designated by the following individuals: President of the International Ergonomics Association, Chair of the Polish Ergonomics Society, President of the Ergonomics Committee of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Minister of Science µ Chair of the State Committee for Scientific Research of Poland, Director-General of the International Labour Office. Two other members are the Chief Editor of JOSE and another member of JOSE (designated by the Chief Editor), who also serves as Secretary of the Jury. The Jury selects Chair and Vice-Chair. President of the International Ergonomics Association µ in consultation with Chief Editor of JOSE µ can nominate additional members of the Jury.
  • Members of the Jury will receive off-prints of the ten papers with most nominations and will vote for the best paper by sending the Chair of the Jury information on their selection.
  • The award is given to the publication, which received most votes (cf. point 10). If two or more papers receive the same number of votes, the award goes to the one the Chair of the Jury voted on. If the Chair voted of a paper other than one with the top number of votes, there is a second round of voting. Votes are then cast for one of the papers with most votes. Rounds are repeated until one paper has received most votes. In every round, the Chair of the Jury has the decisive vote.
  • Should the Chair of the Jury be unable to fulfil his/her duties, including voting in a stage, the Vice-Chair will take them over.
  • The winner will be announced in JOSE and on the JOSE www page.
  • The award will be presented to the author (representative of authors) of the winning paper by President of the International Ergonomics Association, Chair of the Jury, and Chief Editor of the International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics at the Triennial Congress of the International Ergonomics Association.

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