Automobile Factory Research Articles

Detection of Retinal Affection among Arc Welders Using Optical Coherence Tomography

Introduction: Arc welders are at high risk for developing phototoxic maculopathy, as diagnosed by using Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), which describes some structural changes in the fovea of welders with maculopathy, as disruption of the inner high reflective layer corresponding to the outer neurosensory retina. Aim of work: To evaluate the use of Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) as a method for monitoring workers involved in arc welding for early detection of any retinal damage. Materials and methods: The study included 66 exposed workers in an automobile factory in Helwan, Cairo. A matched group of 66 control subjects were included from administrative workers in the same factory. Diabetic and hypertensive were excluded from both groups. The studied groups were subjected to full history taking including occupational history, clinical eye examination, fundus examination using ophthalmoscope, Best Corrected Visual Acuity testing (BCVA) and Optical Coherence Tomography testing. Results: All exposed workers reported using welding goggles or face shield during welding. Diminution of vision and manifestations of photo-kerato-conjunctivitis were significantly more prevalent among exposed group compared to the controls. Best Corrected Visual Acuity (BCVA) was significantly lower among the exposed group with significant negative correlation between BCVA and duration of exposure. Fundus ophthalmoscopic examination of the exposed group revealed yellowish spots of the macula and fovea. OCT findings among the exposed workers included mainly macular edema, inner/outer segment disruption of the retinal pigment epithelium and macular thinning. Conclusion: OCT is useful in the diagnosis of welders’ maculopathy. Using welding goggles and face shield might not provide enough protection against welders’ maculopathy.

Assessment of the prevalence of Respiratory Symptoms among the Workers of Automobile Industry

Objective: To assess the prevalence of respiratory system symptoms among the workers of automobile industry who are frequently exposed to hazardous chemical agent and dust. Study Design: Cross-sectional observational study. Place and Duration of Study: Nishtar Hospital Multan, Bahawal Victoria hospital Bahawalpur. from August 2018 to March 2019. Methodology: Sixty eight participants of which 34 were exposed and 34 were non-exposed workers of an automobile factory were selected. Age, BMI, smoking history, lung functions including FEV 1 , FVC, FEV1/FVC, PEF, PEF 25-75 and VC before and after the work shift, symptoms including dry throat, runny nose, headache, fatigue, cough, phlegm, dyspnea, and wheeze; and chest tightness were compared between the cases and controls. Independent t-test, paired t-test and chi-square tests were applied. Data was analyzed with SPSS v.23.0 after considering p<0.05 statistically significant. Results: FEV 1 , PEF, and VC were significantly decreased in the exposed workers as compared those who were not exposed (p-value <0.001, <0.001 and 0.001, respectively). The decrease in FVC and FEV1/FVC and FEV1/VC ratio was also significant (p-value 0.011, 0.002 and 0.048, respectively). Dry throat, runny nose and fatigue were significantly more in cases (p-value 0.022, 0.016 and 0.018, respectively). Cough, phlegm, wheeze, and dyspnea; and chest tightness were more prevalent in the cases (p-value 0.015, <0.001, 0.001, <0.001 and 0.001, respectively). Conclusion: Decline in lung functions and prevalence of respiratory symptoms were significant in the workers exposed to dust and BTEX warranting the performance of lung function tests before and after the employment for the identification of the sensitive personnel. Keywords: automobile factories, respiratory symptoms, prevalence. DOI: 10.7176/JMPB/65-07 Publication date: April 30 th 2020

Ergonomic risk factors of carpal tunnel syndrome in workers of an automobile factory

Objective: To investigate the occurrence of pain symptoms and risk factors of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) in automobile manufacturing workers and provide theoretical basis for the prevention of CTS. Methods: From Nov.5th to Nov.19th, 2017, 446 workers in an automobile factory whose work age was above one year participate in questionnaires by cluster sampling. Chi square test and multifactor logistics regression analysis were used to analyze the factors related to the occurrence of CTS pain symptoms in workers. Results: The incidence of CTS pain among workers in this automobile factory was 20.8%. Working in the same position for a long time (OR=2.137, 95% CI:1.183-3.862) and unable to work reasonably because of uncomfortable posture (OR =2.067, 95% CI: 1.075-3.974) were identified as the risk factors of CTS pain symptoms by multifactor logistics regression analysis. Working age (OR=0.537, 95%CI:0.311-0.926) and work break (OR= 0.489, 95% CI: 0.282-0.849) were identified as the benefit factors of CTS pain symptoms. Conclusion: The incidence of CTS pain in automobile manufacturing workers is related to the posture in the process of labor . Effective ergonomic interventions should be carried out to prevent the occurrence of CTS pain in automobile manufacturing workers.

Stenographic transcriptions of reminiscences of the executives and employees of Moscow Automobile Factory as a source on socio-psychological aspects of the history of its establishment (1915-1924)

This research is dedicated to stenographic transcriptions of reminiscences of the executives and employees of the Moscow Automobile Factory named after I. A. Likhachev (AMO ZIL). The goal consists in determination of information capacity of stenographic transcription of reminiscences as a source for studying the socio-psychological aspects of the history of industrial enterprises. The author examines the following aspects: reflection in stenographic transcriptions of the views of company&amp;rsquo;s executives and technician engineers upon the industrial process; &amp;nbsp;different aspects of economic culture of the company; socio-psychological image of employees and their relation to development of the company, local and nationwide sociopolitical processes, technological difficulties; perception of collective environment by the staff members; working and living conditions. In the course of study, the author applied socio-psychological and illustrative methods based on the comprehensive analysis of sources. As a result, the author determines high informational vale of stenographic transcriptions of reminiscences, demonstrate possibilities its implementation in studying socio-psychological aspects of the history of industrial enterprises, namely economic culture, mentality of technical officers and staff members, atmosphere inside the collective, motivation and incentive system for employees, role of interpersonal relations in establishment and functionality of the company, views of executives and technician engineers on the industrial process, etc. Previously unstudied archival materials were introduced into the scientific discourse.

A Way to Evaluation the Process Immunity Time of Customers’ Sensitive Industries Processes

The premise of voltage sag mitigation for sensitive industrial processes is to reasonably assess the economic losses caused by voltage sag. And the process immunity time is the key information in the process of economic loss assessment. Existing research usually obtains process immunity time through monitoring systems or overall testing. However, in the actual situation, due to various constraints, the traditional method of obtaining the process immunity time is inconvenient. To get PIT more conveniently, a sensitive process immunity evaluation method based on response information flow is proposed in this paper. This method regards sensitive industrial processes as a composite system. According to the function of each part of the system and the response characteristics of voltage sag, it can be divided into three modular combinations, which are delayed structure, competitive structure, and conductive structure. According to the delay time and module combination characteristics of module response to the voltage sag, the propagation path of response information flow caused by sag can be determined, and the process immunity time can be evaluated.Finally, a case study of the painting process of a car factory in southern China shows that the proposed method can be applied to the sensitive process immune time assessment.

Vibration-based health monitoring of ball screw in changing operational conditions

Structural health monitoring (SHM) of the ball screw of machine tools relies on the repeated observation of the damage-sensitive features. The natural frequency is a characteristic inherent to the structure that is more robust than other signal features as a SHM index. However, a major problem is that regular changes in the operating conditions, such as the feed speeds, the worktable positions and other uncertain complex boundary conditions, also affect the natural frequencies, and these factors may mask the subtle variations induced by structural damage. Therefore, it is necessary to adopt an effective method to eliminate those effects to avoid false alarms during structural damage monitoring.In this article, Bayesian ridge regression modelling methods are developed to eliminate the effects of the worktable different positions and feed speeds on the natural frequencies. The proposed method can model the natural frequencies that are simultaneously affected by two dimensional operational factors and provide a rigorous quantitative assessment of the uncertainties associated with the complex boundary conditions of the ball screw drive system and the inevitable estimation errors. First, the different worktable positions and feed speeds were tested on the experimental bench to verify the proposed method. Then, two novel criteria were used as damage warning signals, which can reduce false alarm. Finally, this method was applied to monitor the wear of a ball screw of a CNC machining centre in an automobile factory. The validity of the method was provend using actual monitoring results.

Association Between Absenteeism and Low Back Pain in an Automobile Factory

Absenteeism due to low back pain increases the financial burden on society. Therefore, the assessment of LBP-related absenteeism and its associated factors can be helpful. In this cross-sectional study, 771 workers with history of low back pain during last year have been evaluated. Information was collected from examinations carried out by physicians. About 29.2% of the participants had a history of absenteeism, and regression analysis showed that number of children, medication use, and doing MRI were associated with absenteeism. A high frequency of absenteeism was observed (about 30% of workers had LBP), which could be due to the lack of proper management or correct treatment. The other interesting results were the lack of use of medications and primary treatments for the improvement, along with the need to perform an MRI. In terms of the variable of the number of children, higher daily costs and the need for more income can be attributed to their lower absenteeism.

Intuitionistic fuzzy cognitive map approach for the evaluation of supply chain configuration criteria

Because of the growing global competence and effectiveness concepts, supply chain becomes more important for organizations. Therefore, managers object to find best supply chain configuration for their firms. This study proposes a comprehensive configuration for supply chain management process, and it enables to understand relationships among supply chain integration, supply chain strategies, supply chain risk factors, and performance criteria. By reviewing the literature and using experts' knowledge, supply chain configuration criteria are determined. Intuitionistic fuzzy cognitive map methodology is employed to consider the interrelations between criteria. Intuitionistic fuzzy cognitive map methodology is a suitable tool due to the presence of causalities and relationships among criteria and the difficulty of expressing the interrelations with crisp numbers. It also deals with uncertain and vague data and allows representing hesitation. The application is conducted in an automobile factory, which is one of the largest manufacturers in Turkey. The results show that selection of proper supplier is the most significant supply chain configuration criteria. Thus, the importance of supplier selection criteria is also analyzed as the second phase of the study.

Smoking Cessation Education Program Among Automobile Factory Workers: An Interventional Study from Bam, Iran

Objectives: Smoking is a serious, highly prevalent health problem worldwide. This paper aimed to evaluate the effects of an educational program on quitting smoking among automobile workers in Bam, Iran. Patients and Methods: In this interventional study, one hundred male automobile workers were randomly allocated to the intervention (N = 50) and control group (N = 50) at automobile manufacturing factory in Bam, Iran in 2017. Just the intervention group participated in an educational program. The short form of Transtheoretical Model (TTM) questionnaire and also Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND) were used. Chi-square test was used to compare the categorical variables and repeated measure ANOVA was utilized to compare parametric variables between the two groups. Results: Totally 50 participants in each group of the intervention (mean age = 30.90 ± 4.22) and control (mean age = 31.44 ± 3.55) groups completed the study. The mean scores for the decisional-balance in the control versus intervention group, immediately after the intervention, 3, and 6-month follow-up were 22.73 ± 2.28 vs. 18.68 ± 2.20, 21.96 ± 2.19 vs. 18.20 ± 2.08, and 22.18 ± 2.40 vs. 18.62 ± 1.97, respectively. The mean scores in the control versus intervention group for temptation were 32.30 ± 5.10 vs. 20.72 ± 3.01, 31.88 ± 5.09 vs. 24.04 ± 3.05, and 32.58 ± 4.72 vs. 24.08 ± 2.65, respectively; and for the processes of change were 70.96 ± 6.27 vs. 58.68 ± 5.89, 71.50 ± 6.88 vs. 60.48 ± 6.37, and 72.30 ± 6.66 vs. 63.02 ± 6.38, respectively. The mean scores of change in the intervention group compared to the control group at 6 months after the intervention compared to baseline were significant in terms of decisional balance (3.96 vs. -0.42; P < 0.001); situational temptation (-9.7 vs. -1.34, P < 0.001), and process of change (-6.22 vs. 1.64, P < 0.001). Conclusions: This study revealed that the designed educational program could be effective in quitting smoking among automobile factory workers through decreasing temptation and increasing decisional balance and process of change.

Preface

The Automotive Engineers Association (AAE) is an independent public association which was formed in September 1991. The necessity of such institution was determined by the change in the management structure of the economy of the country in general and the automotive industry in particular. The branch institutes, that generally carried out scientific and technical studies, were weakened or lost. It led to a great need of an organization which provided an opportunity for specialists of various levels and areas to communicate with each other and engage in work together.In October 1990, a constituent conference was held with representatives of 30 organizations, including automobile factories, research institutes, higher education institutions, etc. The Association’s Board and the President were elected in that day. On September 25, 1991, the AAE was registered with the Ministry of Justice of the USSR as an all-Union public organization. In 1992, the AAE was admitted to the International Federation of Automotive Engineering Societies - FISITA. Nowadays, the AAE is a member of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation (CCI RF) and the European Automotive Engineers Community (EAEC). On September 30, 1993, the Association was re-registered with the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation.The 108eth International Technical Scientific Conference of Automotive Engineers Association (AAE) “Intelligent automotive systems: development, research, certification” took place in Nizhny Novgorod State Technical University (NNSTU), Russia, September 25-26, 2019. The main objective of the conference was knowledge exchange, discussion of problems and inspiring cooperation in development, research, production and operation of modern vehicles with intelligent drivers assistant system.

William “Ed” Kois: whistleblower who exposed substandard care at a US veterans hospital

Peter Biello/New Hampshire Public Radio A specialist in rehabilitation and pain management, William “Ed” Kois was not your typical doctor. He swore a lot,1 he wore a goatee and muttonchop...

Measurement and Characterization of Electromagnetic Noise in Edge Computing Networks for the Industrial Internet of Things.

Edge computing and the Internet of Things (IOT) provide the technological basis for the development of intelligent manufacturing nowadays. In order to support the intelligent interconnection and application of all kinds of equipment in the industrial field, edge computing should be equipped close to or embedded in all kinds of equipment nodes in the industrial wireless network. Therefore, it is meaningful to investigate the wireless network design of the Industrial Internet of Things. Low power wireless sensor devices are widely used in the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), which are sensitive to electromagnetic noise. The electromagnetic noises in industrial scenarios are significantly different from the conventional assumed white noise. In this paper, the measurement results of electromagnetic noises at three different test positions are given in an automobile factory. The spectrum occupancy of the factory wireless environment in the 300 MHz–3 GHz band was obtained by frequency domain measurement. In the time domain measurement, four statistical parameters of the three bands of 315 MHz, 433 MHz, and 916 MHz were measured, and the electromagnetic noise distributions in different plant areas and different frequency bands were analyzed. According to the measurement results, the time-varying characteristics of electromagnetic noise can be characterized by continuous hidden Markov models (CHMM). These results are informative to the design and optimization for the edge computing networks for IIoT.

Developments in medical cannabis.

British Journal of Community NursingVol. 24, No. 6 TreatmentsDevelopments in medical cannabisAysha MendesAysha MendesCorresponding author: E-mail Address: [email protected]Freelance journalist specialising in healthcare and psychologySearch for more papers by this authorAysha MendesPublished Online:5 Jun 2019https://doi.org/10.12968/bjcn.2019.24.6.300AboutSectionsView articleView Full TextPDF/EPUB ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail View article References Clinical Pharmacist. Cannabis composition alters effects of drug on brain. 2019a. https://doi.org/10.1211/CP.2019.20206551 Google ScholarClinical Pharmacist. Patterns of medical cannabis use differ between cancer and non-cancer patients. 2019b. https://tinyurl.com/y2ydg7gz (accessed 22 May 2019) Google ScholarRobinson J. DHSC commissions ‘rapid’ evaluation of medical cannabis prescribing. 2019. https://tinyurl.com/y2tevllj (accessed 22 May 2019) Google ScholarWall MB, Pope R, Freeman TP. Dissociable effects of cannabis with and without cannabidiol on the human brain's resting-state functional connectivity. J Psychopharmacol. 2019; https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881119841568 Google Scholar FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsCited byPUBLIC-PRIVATE LEGAL RELATIONS IN THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY OF KAZAKHSTAN AND RUSSIA: COOPERATION AND INTERACTION OF THEIR AUTOMOBILE FACTORIES IN THE SPHERE OF FOREIGN ECONOMIC ACTIVITY DURING THE RECOVERY PERIODTyumen State University Herald. Social, Economic, and Law Research, Vol. 6, No. 4 2 June 2019Volume 24Issue 6ISSN (print): 1462-4753ISSN (online): 2052-2215 Metrics History Published online 5 June 2019 Published in print 2 June 2019 Information© MA Healthcare LimitedPDF download

Rustbelt insurgency and cultural preservation: how guerrilla practices saved the blast furnaces and the automobile factory

The cities of the American rustbelt provide a broad canvas for insurgent and guerrilla practices. Copious plots of vacant land and vacant structures of cities that have experienced substantial deindustrialization, property abandonment and population loss offer opportunities to engage with formerly productive or inhabited landscapes, even if these engagements are unsanctioned or illegal. Former industrial complexes have been a particular target of guerrilla actors, yet little is known about how sustained occupation, engagement and creative actions at postindustrial sites impact official, longer-term design practices. Exploring two sites that have long histories of transgressive activity, the Carrie Blast Furnaces in metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and the Packard Automotive Factory in Detroit, Michigan, this paper examines whether unauthorized actors can be sustained agents of insurgent design that inform or break the trajectory of conventional urban development practices, which typically view vacant industrial sites as “brownfields”—to be cleared, remediated and prepared for eventual private sector development. Chronicling insurgent activities and examining their intersections with local development practices, this study considers the contributions that guerrilla actors have made in the evolving plans for these historic places and assesses the potential for broader change in planning and design practices at large-scale post-industrial sites.

Between Business Interests and Ideological Marketing: The USSR and the Cold War in Fiat Corporate Strategy, 1957–1972

Abstract This article analyzes the landmark deal between the Italian automobile corporation Fiat and the Soviet government to build and operate the Volga Automobile Factory (VAZ). Drawing on formerly closed corporate records and declassified Soviet documents, the article traces how the Cold War helped shape the strategy of a West European multinational corporation in its attempts to manipulate the national and international political context in which it was acting. In Fiat's strategy toward the uncertain Soviet market, car production represented more of a bridgehead than an ultimate objective. Fiat's Ostpolitik was carefully planned and coordinated with the U.S. government and with other large Italian businesses. Italian-Soviet cooperation in building VAZ, the symbol of material well-being and peaceful industrial reconstruction, facilitated the requests of Soviet officials and Western corporations to lift East-West trade restrictions on non-strategic goods, thus conferring political legitimacy on trade with the Soviet Union.

Measurement based Characterization of Electromagnetic Noise for Industrial Internet of Things

The Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT) can help the manufacturing enterprises improve the production efficiency, reduce costs and achieve intelligent factory production. In this harsh scenario, however, the electromagnetic noise performs a severe impact on IIOT which uses low-power wireless sensor devices. In this article, we aim to characterize electromagnetic noise for IIoT systems based on the realistic measurement data collected in an automobile factory. The measurements were taken in time and frequency domain into account. By using the frequency-domain measurement data, we can extract the frequency occupation and power amplitude information of electromagnetic noise in 300MHz~3GHz band. By using the time-domain measurement data, the amplitude probability distribution (APD) could be obtained of electromagnetic noise at 315MHz, 779MHz and 916MHz bands. Then, an improved bell shaped spectrum is used to characterize the frequency spectrum of wide band electromagnetic noise.

Employment of the Weak: The Role of a Multinational Factory in the Life Trajectory of Early School Leavers in Sāmoa

Yazaki Electrical Distribution System Sāmoa (yes), a Japan-based car parts factory, ceased its operations in Sāmoa in August 2017 as a result of an Australian government decision to stop subsidizing the automotive industry. yes’s closure was a classic example of the flow-on effects of changes in global supply chains and illustrates how the neoliberal economy has undermined the circumstances of workers in developed and developing countries. This study, however, offers an alternative perspective. It explores the meaning of the factory closure from the standpoint of young workers in Sāmoa. I collected their stories and voices primarily through direct observations and conversations with them while working at yes as part of the management team for six years. During the company’s twenty-six years of operations, yes employed over sixty thousand local workers, predominantly young early school leavers. These youth sought employment at yes because, unlike most other jobs, the company offered job opportunities for school leavers without education qualifications or specialized experience. This study examines what the loss of this multinational factory meant to its young workers. It portrays the everyday world of shop-floor operators and describes how their factory employment contributed to their lives. I argue that from the perspective of yes operators, despite the admittedly exploitative nature of their operations, multinational factories can be seen as sites for self-empowerment. Factory employment provided increased opportunities for less powerful members of Samoan society who otherwise had very limited prospects to develop confidence in themselves and earn money and status in their families, their villages, and the workplace.

Intuitionistic linguistic multi-attribute decision making algorithm based on integrated distance measure

This study aims to integrate the intuitionistic linguistic multi-attribute decision making (MADM) method which builds upon an integrated distance measure into supplier evaluation and selection problems. More specifically, an intuitionistic linguistic integrated distance measure based on ordered weighted averaging operator (OWA) and weighted average approach is presented and applied. The desirable characteristics and families of the developed distance operator are further explored. In addition, based on the proposed distance measure, a supplier selection problem for an automobile factory is used to test the practicality of its framework. The effectiveness and applicability of the presented framework for supplier selection are examined by carrying comparative analysis against the existing techniques of aggregation.

ВНЕСОК РОДИНИ БЕКМАННІВ У РОЗВИТОК АВТОМОБІЛЬНОГО ТРАНСПОРТУ ЄВРОПИ НА ПОЧАТКУ ХХ СТ.

he formation of the automotive industry in Europe in the early twentieth century was considered. The data about car development in Great Britain, France and Germany is given. It was shown how the automobile racing influenced on the development of cars, in particular the transition from cars creation with a steam engine to cars creation with an internal combustion engine. More and more people became interested in this type of transportation. It was shown that at that time in Europe there were many workshops where cars were developed by scientists-innovators. Among such pioneers of the car industry is to Beckman's family. The activity of this family starting from Paul Beckman to his son Otto Jr. and even his daughter Ilse is presented. To date, it is extremely limited information about Beckmann's family contribution to the automotive industry in Europe. It was Paul Beckmann who started constructing cars in Wroclaw. At the factory which was founded by his father the production of both as small cars and as trucks and even sports was organized. It is noted that before the beginning of the World War I the most efficient cars developed a speed of up to 95 km/h. Beckmann's family cars became prize-winners of the international competitions of that time. It is stated that Paul Beckman can be considered the initiator of a safety belt. His cars were equipped with special leather straps. It should be noted that the company successfully developed and had a dealer network in Germany, Poland and Russia. During the interwar period, the company collapsed and was bought by a larger brand. However, Otto Jr., son of Paul Beckman, continued to take care of a family business. Today there is only one car with the mark of the Wroclaw car factory.

Flexible manufacturing technology of controlling exact bake hardening value in continuous galvanizing line

Flexible manufacturing technology for ultra-low-carbon bake hardening (BH) steels with different solute carbon contents in the range of (6–16) × 10−4 wt.% was systematically studied. The effects of soaking temperature, cooling rate and aging time on solute carbon content were explored. The bake hardening value in a continuous galvanizing line with an over-aging section was investigated. Optimal manufacturing parameters were calculated using the design of experiment to obtain the best and most flexible process parameters. Results indicate a relationship among carbon content, soaking temperature and cooling rate. When solute carbon is 9 × 10−6, cooling rate is 50 °C/s, the soaking temperature is 745 °C, and BH value is 45 MPa, the requirements of an automobile factory can be met.