Evaluation Of Workload Research Articles

P030: Protocol: Is direct access by breast patients to specialist units bypassing primary care feasible? A prospective evaluation of primary care breast workload and referral patterns (BYPASS)

Introduction: In the UK, symptomatic breast patients are managed in primary care in the first instance and are referred to One-Stop Specialist Clinics (OSC) only if specialist management or investigation is required. Yet, OSCs are struggling to meet rising demand, within the two-week mandate. The main issues are OSC model is very resource dependent, and despite their academic advantage, specialist units are generally not authorized to vet/prioritize referrals or deviate from the OSC model or the two-week target for low risk referrals.

Cyber-physical postural training system for construction workers

Risks of work-related musculoskeletal injuries can be reduced by adequately training construction workers on performing work in safe postures. Traditional training approaches provide limited support for performing work tasks and receiving real-time feedback. This paper describes a cyber-physical postural training environment where workers can practice to perform work with reduced ergonomic risks. The proposed system uses wearable sensors, Vive trackers, machine learning and virtual reality to track body kinematics, and engagement with physical construction resources, and provides feedback via an interactive user interface. The postural training system was developed for training workers engaged in wood frame construction. User study of the effectiveness of the feedback and user interface was conducted. Findings showed that the user interface was perceived as convenient with limited interference with the workspace. The feedback was understandable in learning risks associated with participant's postures. Further research will involve conducting formative workload evaluation of the user interface and developing a reinforcement learning model for adapting the feedback based on the state of learning.

Evaluation of physical workload during work behavior for work environment design from biomechanical perspective: a case study in initial orientation selection of work object for manual handling tasks

To improve workability, designing the work environment by considering physical workload can be effective. This paper proposes a new quantitative evaluation method of physical workload during work behavior, which uses quaternion and joint torque ratio. As an indicator of physical workload, the proposed method calculated a dimensionless value based on joint rotation angle, joint rotation axis angle, and joint torque ratio. Joint rotation angle and joint rotation axis angle are angle changes in the joint and its rotational axis from those in the previous sampling, respectively. These angles were calculated using quaternions. Joint torque ratio was calculated using a three-dimensional rigid link model that simulates the human body. The applicability of the proposed method was examined in several conditions of manual handling tasks set by varying the initial pose of the work object. In the experiments, posture and electromyogram (EMG) of the upper limb were measured. The results showed that the proposed method can evaluate workability of initial orientation of work objects on biomechanical perspective, whereas EMG could not.

Evaluation of Workload and Performance during Primary Flight Training with Motion Cueing Seat in an Advanced Aviation Training Device

<div>The use of simulation is a long-standing industry standard at every level of flight training. Historically, given the acquisition and maintenance costs associated with such equipment, full-motion devices have been reserved for advanced corporate and airline training programs. The Motion Cueing Seat (MCS) is a relatively inexpensive alternative to full-motion flight simulators and has the potential to enhance the fixed-base flight simulation in primary flight training. In this article, we discuss the results of an evaluation of the effect of motion cueing on pilot workload and performance during primary instrument training. Twenty flight students and instructors from a collegiate flight training program participated in the study. Each participant performed three runs of a basic circuit using a fixed-base Advanced Aviation Training Device (AATD) and an MCS. Flight data was analyzed in terms of a <i>workload</i> parameter as the product of pilot input and the deviation from a reference attitude or heading and performance as the deviation from a desired altitude or heading. Friedman ANOVA tests were used to determine the significance of differences in the parameters between the trials. Where the Friedman test indicated significance, post hoc pairwise comparisons were performed with a Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons. The results of the ANOVA tests were mixed. Few of the metrics were found to have statistically significant changes across the three trials during various phases of a flight. Where the changes were found to be significant between the comparisons (Seat ON#1-Seat OFF-Seat ON#2), it appeared that the MCS had a measurable effect and suggested a potential improvement in fixed-base flight simulation in primary flight training. Additional research across a greater span of maneuvers and training time, considering such human factors as training and fatigue, may yield greater and more nuanced insights into the benefits of MCS in primary flight training.</div>

A multidimensional scale of mental workload evaluation based on Individual-Workload- Activity (IWA) model: Validation and relationships with job satisfaction

A multidimensional scale of mental workload evaluation based on Individual-Workload- Activity (IWA) model: Validation and relationships with job satisfaction

Workload evaluation of clinical pharmacists in the ambulatory care setting

AbstractIntroductionInpatient clinical pharmacists' roles and contributions to team‐based care are well established; however, there is limited evidence describing the activities and processes for the delivery of care by ambulatory care clinical pharmacists.ObjectivesThe primary objective was to measure time spent on daily activities that comprise the workload of clinical pharmacists providing direct patient care services in an integrated ambulatory care setting.MethodsA prospective, ethnographic, and observational pilot study was conducted at six pharmacist‐integrated multidisciplinary ambulatory care clinics. Clinical pharmacist participants were observed for up to three nonconsecutive clinic workdays. Participant demographics, site characteristics, and self‐reported engagement in direct patient care activities were collected. Workload was evaluated through direct observation of time spent on daily clinical and administrative activities. Time allocated, visit type, number of disease states assessed, and use of clinical support staff were collected for each visit. Results were stratified based on participant engagement in targeted, dual, or comprehensive medication management (CMM) visits, in which one, two, or three or more disease states were assessed, respectively. The primary outcome was analyzed using descriptive statistics.ResultsTen clinical pharmacists were observed for a total of 26 clinic workdays. Of prespecified activities, clinical pharmacist participants spent the most time documenting care activities, spending a mean (SD) of 6.6 (6.7), 8.0 (8.2), and 7.6 (7.7) minutes after targeted, dual, and CMM visits, respectively. There was a large variation in the distribution of prespecified clinical and administrative activities among participants. Years of practice experience, postgraduate training, board certification(s), duration of practice at the site, and site characteristics did not affect the distribution of time spent on activities (P > .05).ConclusionsThis evaluation articulates the daily activities that contribute to the work of ambulatory care clinical pharmacists and may serve as the foundation to perform more comprehensive evaluations of their contributions to patient outcomes.

Mental Workload Assessment of Health Care Staff by NASA-TLX

The National Aeronautics Space Administration Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) is the most frequently used mental workload assessment method. This article reviews 26 papers which report mental workload evaluation in health care staff, categorizing them into laparoscopic surgery, anesthesia, ICU, electronic record, patient controlled analgesia, emergency, display and others. Although indices other than NASA-TLX were also used in these papers, this review describes the results of NASA-TLX only.

Achieving consensus using a modified Delphi Technique embedded in Lewin's change management model designed to improve faculty satisfaction in a pharmacy school.

Faculty job satisfaction (or dissatisfaction) is reported in the literature, and many surveys designed to measure satisfaction exist in higher education fields. However, measuring satisfaction does not inherently change satisfaction. Change must be agreed upon by faculty and administration if it is to be successful. The aim of this study is to describe a qualitative, iterative approach to drive consensus, promote change, and address pharmacy faculty job satisfaction using a modified Delphi Technique embedded in Lewin's Change Management Model, and to identify the top three faculty priorities to improve their job satisfaction as an exemplar of the approach. Using the modified Delphi Technique embedded in Lewin's Change Management Model, faculty in a private pharmacy school were anonymously asked to respond to questions about priorities that would most improve their job satisfaction. Answers were divided into themes, and themes and responses were sent back to faculty to anonymously rank in order of importance. Two priorities for the College were established. However, a tie breaker necessitated a third round (modified from traditional Delphi) where faculty discussed and voted on the third priority. Survey response rates were 78% and 82.9% for Round One and Round Two. Round One responses (91) were divided into 13 themes for faculty to rank for Round Two. Round Three established the third faculty priority. Priorities for job satisfaction included workload evaluation, recruitment, and faculty development. The Delphi Technique embedded into Lewin's Model of Change Management successfully guided administration toward new priorities at the College level directed at improving faculty job satisfaction.

Inter- and intra-rater reliability of the OCRA checklist method in video-recorded manual work tasks

Observation-based risk assessments are often used for evaluation of biomechanical workload and the condition of the workplace ergonomics. However, the inter- and intra-rater reliability of the methods used for the assessments are insufficiently studied. The OCRA checklist method, included as a reference method in the ISO and CEN standards regarding upper limb repetitive risk assessment, was in this study investigated regarding its reliability. Eleven ergonomists were educated within the method. Each ergonomist risk-assessed ten video-recorded manual work tasks, on two occasions. The average inter-rater agreement of the five overall risk levels was 39% and the linearly weighted kappa was 0.43, the intra-rater dittos were 45% and 0.52. Both indicating a moderate reliability, but lower than what could be expected. The levels might be sufficient for coarse surveys. However, for risk assessments before and after an intervention, complementing technical methods should be considered.

Evaluation of mental workload during automobile driving based on anomaly detection with machine learning

Evaluation of mental workload during automobile driving based on anomaly detection with machine learning

Workload assessment of air traffic controllers

Air traffic controllers (ATCOs) are exposed to high workload even during routine operations. Their job carries a lot of responsibility and consists of complex tasks. In order to enhance high safety standards, a systematic evaluation of workload levels is required. This study explores an objective measurement of workload. Heart activity of ATCOs was monitored in order to indicate psychological status of ATCOs while being exposed to different levels of workload - in terms of changing traffic loads and airspace complexity. A standard method was used for the evaluation of heart activity. This method includes the frequency analysis in context of heart rate variability; time intervals of consecutive R waves in the heart activity record are assessed. The evaluation of the ratio of power in the low-frequency and high-frequency bands (indicator of sympathovagal balance) as well as parameters derived from fluctuation analysis were used. The results indicated that parameters of heart rate variability based on spectral analysis were significant in case of workload evaluation.

A Study on the Appropriate Manpower Estimation according to the Evaluation of the Blood Collection Workload of Medical Technologists

본 연구는 채혈실의 적정인력에 대한 표준산출모형을 제시하기 위하여 임상병리사의 채혈 업무량 평가에 따른 적정인력 규모를 산정하였다. 연구대상으로 600에서 2,000병상 사이의 11개 대학병원을 선정하였다. 표준산출모형을 위한 채혈 관련 주요 인자를 선정하고 국내현황조사, 인자의 병원 간 분석, 표준채혈시간을 제시하여 채혈 적정인력을 산정하였다. 연구대상으로 600에서 2,000병상 사이의 11개 대학병원을 선정하였다. 소아와 노인을 제외한 20세 이상∼60세 미만의 성인 외래채혈환자를 대상으로 측정한 14단계 표준채혈시간은 4분 8초이었다. 하루 8시간 기계적 채혈을 한다고 가정할 경우 1명의 임상병리사가 채혈 할 수 있는 최대건수는 100건으로 분석되었다. 결론적으로 채혈에 종사하는 임상병리사의 1일 적정채혈 환자 건수는 100건 이하로 하는 것이 적정할 것으로 사료된다. 그리고 채혈적정인력은(채혈업무 100% 비중)=연간적정건수/((1일 근로시간/건당 소요시간)×연간 근무일수)이므로 채혈 적정인력(채혈업무 100%비중)=연간적정건수/(100×연간 근무일수)라 할 수 있다.

A Three-Class Classification of Cognitive Workload Based on EEG Spectral Data

Evaluation of cognitive workload finds its application in many areas, from educational program assessment through professional driver health examination to monitoring the mental state of people carrying out jobs of high responsibility, such as pilots or airline traffic dispatchers. Estimation of multilevel cognitive workload is a task usually realized in a subject-dependent way, while the present research is focused on developing the procedure of subject-independent evaluation of cognitive workload level. The aim of the paper is to estimate cognitive workload level in accordance with subject-independent approach, applying classical machine learning methods combined with feature selection techniques. The procedure of data acquisition was based on registering the EEG signal of the person performing arithmetical tasks divided into six intervals of advancement. The analysis included the stages of preprocessing, feature extraction, and selection, while the final step covered multiclass classification performed with several models. The results discussed show high maximal accuracies achieved: ~91% for both the validation dataset and for the cross-validation approach for kNN model.

Physiological Characteristics and Nonparametric Test for Master-Slave Driving Task’s Mental Workload Evaluation in Mountain Area Highway at Night

With the rapid development of advanced mobile intelligent terminals, driving tasks are diverse, and new traffic safety problems occur. We propose a new research on physiological characteristics and nonparametric tests for the master-slave driving task, especially for evaluation of drivers’ mental workload in mountain area highway in nighttime scenario. First, we establish the experimental platform based driving simulator and design the master-slave driving task. Second, based on the physiological data and subjective evaluation for mental workload, we use statistical methods to composite the physical changes evolution analysis in a driving simulator. Finally, we finished nonparametric test of the drivers’ psychological load and road test. The results show that in compassion with the daytime scenario, drivers should pay much effort to driving skills and risk identification in the nighttime scenario. Thus, in the same driving condition, drivers should bear the higher level of mental workload, and it has been subjected to even greater pressures and intensity of emotions.

Mental workload evaluation and its application in train driving multitasking scheduling: a Timed Petri Net-based model

Mental workload (MW) plays an important role in the task design of safety–critical systems, which varies across different operators in a given task and affects the performance. It is still a problem to provide a quantitative definition of MW and apply it to the system task optimization design more effectively. Based on this idea, this paper presents a Timed Petri Net (TPN)-based MW evaluation model. The departure phase multitasking scheduling of train driving was treated as an application to concretely represent how does the model improve task design and performance based on the MW evaluation results of individuals. A validation experiment was deployed in a driving simulator, and the Euclidean distance between MW and reaction time was taken as the index of task optimization. Results indicate that the index of the optimized task has a lower value than the original, which means participants achieve a better balance between MW and reaction time in the optimized task design. Besides the design of driver advisory systems, the method is expected to be useful for improving the evaluation accuracy and application efficiency of MW.

Application of decision tree method in evaluation of nursing workload in surgical departments

Objective To evaluate the nursing workload in surgical departments by decision tree method. Methods The indexes of nursing workload of 23 surgical departments were analyzed with decision tree method from February 20 to March 26 in 2017. Results According to decision tree analysis, the number of admitted patients was high-priority variable (F=39.128, P=0.000), and the nursing workload was divided into four grades by number of admitted patients ≤ 1, 1 7, respectively. The suboptimal variables were number of operations (F=7.578, P=0.046) and number of electrocardiogram monitors used (F=28.306, P=0.000), the nursing workload was further divided into six grades by number of operations ≤ 5, number of operations>5 and number of electrocardiogram monitors use ≤ 5, number of electrocardiogram monitors use > 5, respectively. Conclusions The number of admitted patients, electrocardiogram monitors used and operative patients were significant indexes of nursing workload in surgical departments, which helps the nurse managers evaluate the nurse performance and optimize human resource allocation based on decision tree analysis and clinical practice. Key words: Decision tree; Nursing workload; Evaluation; Classification

Study on evaluation indicator system of disease prevention and control workload for Beijing′s public hospitals

Objective To explore the establishment of an evaluation indicator system for disease prevention and control workload at public hospitals, based on the current situation of disease prevention and control work undertaken by public hospitals of and above secondary level in Beijing, and to provide evaluation assistance for them to do better in this regard. Methods This research was based on our pervious study of the current situation description of disease prevention and control work undertaken by public hospitals in Beijing, by which the contents of routine disease prevention and control work at hospitals have been initially established. The unit strength of each work was consulted, and the disease prevention and control work was classified according to the results. Meanwhile the consistency test of the work intensity within the category was carried out. After integration, the classification and evaluation indicator of disease prevention and control work in public hospitals of and above secondary level in Beijing was finally established. Results The workload evaluation indicator system was divided into eight parts: report work, report quality control work, monitoring work, training work, work of public health related clinical diagnosis and treatment, work of clinical examination and vaccination, work of sampling and testing and public health related consultation work. The work intensity of each category ranged from 4.78 to 7.34. Conclusions The evaluation indicator system of workload is suitable for the evaluation of basic works. The unified transformation of workload by using the value of work intensity is conducive to management evaluation, but the limitation of the indicators exists in time and region, making it necessary to adjust by the local specific situation at the promotion and application level. Key words: Hospitals, public; Disease prevention and control; Evaluation; Indicator system

EEG-Based Mental Workload Estimation.

Knowledge of the level of mental workload induced by any task is essential for optimizing load share among the operators. This helps in assessing their capability; besides, helping in task allocation. Since a persistently high workload experienced by operators such as aircraft pilots and automobile drivers many times compromises their performance and safety. Despite the availability of various mental workload evaluation techniques such as heart rate variability, pupil dilation, sac-cades, etc., assessment of mental workload is still a challenging task. In this work, we aim to evaluate the workload of the operator involved in long duration tasks. For this, experiments have been carried out in a working environment which provides tasks to be done simultaneously, tasks with a pause or break in activity and cross-functional tasks. The experiment data is recorded continuously in different modes and analyzed in segments to show the change in mental workload. The artificial neural network (ANN) architecture classified the workload data with an accuracy of 96.6%. The brain connectivity analysis shows the efficacy of the proposed approach.

AHP 기법을 이용한 해상교통관제 업무의 상대적 중요도 및 작업부하 평가

AHP 기법을 이용한 해상교통관제 업무의 상대적 중요도 및 작업부하 평가

An Efficient Code-defect Testing Distributed System

How to improve the efficiency of testing code files has become an increasingly hot topic. This paper focuses on enhancing the efficiency by designing and implementing a distributed system. By showing the detail design of the parts constituting the system framework and the steps of the code project to be handled in the flowchart, this paper tells how to processes the code files with the workload evaluation, labeling, label handling and load balance to guide the system to take the testing work. During the whole procedure, as it is handled in a distributed system, the integrated code project need splitting into several parts, which will bring much problem of the dependency relationship among the files. This paper mainly aims to solve the problem of dependency from several aspects, achieves the goal of splitting the files and finally raising the efficiency of the code-defect testing work.