Proper Working Conditions Research Articles

Experimental Analysis of Hydrocarbons as Drop-in Replacement in Household Heat Pump Tumble Dryers

Mainly HFCs are nowadays used as refrigerants in commercial household heat pump tumble dryers; it is however crucial to look for long-term alternatives with low environmental impact. Hydrocarbons are considered a suitable alternative for this application. According to their characteristics and based on theoretical analysis, R290 and R441A were selected as substitutes of R407C in a commercial unit. While maintaining exactly the same components, the compressor was changed to comply with the required heating capacity and the expansion device was modulated to meet proper working conditions. Experimental results confirmed that R290 meets the reference energy performances; at the specific conditions, R441A underperforms R407C, due to increased compressor consumption. Technological focus on components is therefore important when refrigerant replacement takes place.

Investigation on thermal resistance of a novel evaporator wick structure

The perfect performance of a heat pipe or a vapor chamber is not only decided by the excellent structure design, but also closely related to the proper working conditions. In the present work, a novel evaporator wick structure was fabricated through chemical etching. A mathematical model of the thermal resistance was developed. To better understand the influence of the filling quantity of working fluid and the heat source power on the thermal resistance, an experiment was set up to simulate the working conditions of an evaporator. From the comparison between the experimental results and theoretical analysis, it revealed that the heat source power and filling quantity had different impacts on the wick's thermal resistance. As the thermal conduction resistance was relatively low, the total thermal resistance of the evaporator was mainly influenced by the thermal evaporation resistance. The total thermal resistance of the novel evaporator wick structure ranged from 0.13 to 0.19 K/W.

Social Investments as a Tool for Increasing the Social Capital of the Company

The attention is focused on issues of social capital enterprises as part of the post-Soviet space required to improve management and innovation, sustainable development and economic security. Reveals that social capital reduces turbulence, risk and uncertainty within the company and partially in the environment.Found that at the present stage of social investment of domestic enterprises their investments are more aimed at implementing internal programs that aim to develop their own human capital, resource and needs of employees. The lion's share of them occupy the program "baseline" level of social investment, covering the payment of contributions for compulsory social programs and private health insurance spending to ensure proper working conditions, training and educational programs for employees. However, in post-Soviet countries are still lacking professional business associations with social responsibility.The necessity of strengthening social investment modern enterprises to build social capital, and outlined challenges for the development of the social investment in Ukraine such as the lack of a common awareness of social investments, unsystematic approach to social investment, lack of generally accepted standards of public social reporting companies.In terms of permanent changes in the economy post-Soviet countries there is a need to develop effective methods of evaluating the impact of social investment on the development of social capital in domestic enterprises and finding ways to optimize the management of all components of social capital.

건물 청소노동자의 노동 경험

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe cleaning workers' working experiences in Korea. Methods: The data were collected in two focus-group interviews with 9 cleaning workers. The phenomenological analytic method suggested by Colaizzi was used to analyze the data. Results: Five theme clusters and thirteen themes emerged from the analysis. The first theme clusters, 'Dead-end choice' included Limits of elderly women workers, Financial difficulties, Lowered self-esteem. The second theme clusters, 'Facing with discriminatory working environments' included Fear and unfair working conditions. The third theme clusters, 'Potential health problems' included Physical overload, Repeated exposure to hazardous substances and Emotional labor. The fourth theme clusters, 'Excluded from protection of the law' included Gloomy reality and Sexual harassment. The fifth theme clusters, 'Desire to get out of social isolation' included Efforts to maintain the status, Desire to live confidently and Desire to change social recognition. Conclusion: The findings of the study provide understanding on cleaning workers' working experiences to explain by their vision and language and should ensure proper working conditions and environment to live a better life.

Improving the working performance of automatic ball balancer by modifying its mechanism

An automatic ball balancer consists of several balls that are free to move in the circular race containing a damping fluid. Although a traditional ABB can improve the vibration behavior of an unbalanced rotor under proper working conditions, at speeds below the first critical speed, it makes the vibration amplitude of the rotor larger than that of a rotor without an automatic ball balancer. Moreover, it has a limited stable region of the perfect balancing configuration. Considering these deficiencies, in this study a new design for automatic ball balancer is proposed. To analyze the problem, the nonlinear governing equations of a rotor equipped with the new ABB are derived using Lagrange׳s equations. Then, stability analysis is carried out on the basis of linearized equations of motion around the equilibrium positions to obtain the stable region of the system. It is shown that the new ABB can prevent the rotor from increasing the vibrations at the transient state. Also, it increases the stable region of the perfect balancing configuration. Comparing the results with those corresponding to the traditional ball balancer shows that the new ABB can reduce the vibration amplitude at speeds below the first critical speed and it increases the stable region of the perfect balancing configuration.

Light press of sheet metal edge for reducing residual stress generated by laser cutting considering mechanical properties and intensity of residual stress

Laser cutting has started to be used as an effective method for cutting out blanks from rolled sheet metals because of its high flexibility for cutting lines and high productivity. However, residual stresses, which are generated by laser cutting, have been the greatest obstacle for the popularization of laser cutting. One of the problems is the warp which appears in the sheet metal after being subjected to bending processes after laser cutting. The authors present a light press method for reducing residual stress generated by laser cutting. The method is to give a light press on the sheet metal edge and to reduce tensile residual stress generated near the laser cutting surface. In particular, this present paper especially focuses upon optimization of working conditions depending on mechanical properties of the blank and the effect of the heat affected zone in laser cutting. Experiments of U-bending after applying light press were conducted for usability of this method. The FEM analyses were carried out in order to investigate proper working conditions depending on various mechanical properties. As a result, the optimum press pressure of the light press method for various mechanical properties was found out for reducing residual stress which caused by laser cutting, by taking warp after U-bending as an evaluation parameter. The relationship between the optimum pressure and the proof stress was quantitatively and specifically clarified for several sets of mechanical properties. It was also found that the influence of heat-affected-zone area and intensity of residual stress by laser cutting on the optimum press pressure was small.

Stress Factors and Solutions for the Phenomenon of Burnout of Preschool Teachers

The article wants to describe the stressors for teacher for preschool level from Bucovina County. We try to investigate the perceptions of teacher upon the stress factors and the solutions for this stress. In this study we apply a questionnaire which was administrated to 150 teachers who teach in kindergartens from two Romanian counties. The research showed that Romanian preschool teachers experience high levels of stress, almost half of them being tempted to give up this profession. The most used coping actions reported were the positive ones, such as enjoyable activities. Final finding is that increasing qualified personnel with reasonable salary in proper work conditions would be the most effective measure of the competent institutions to reduce stress.

Roughness of the Revolution Surfaces Processed by Honing

The honing is one of the most common processes used for finishing, especially for vehicles motors, ships motors etc. The national and international researches in the field were developed long time ago. They regarded the establishment of some proper working conditions for actual situations, based on the type of the processed material, the type of the abrasive material and on the working equipment. The objective of this research was to establish optimal working parameters: the spindle speed and the linear-alternative speed of the hone and the processing period in order to obtain the desired values of roughness, necessary for the proper functioning of the motors.

Investigation of the cavitation fluctuation characteristics in a Venturi injector

The suction flow rate in a Venturi injector increases to a maximum and appears to be unstable when critical cavitation occurs. This study analyzes changes in the cavitation length in high-speed videos of a Venturi injector with critical cavitation to find periodic fluctuations in the cavitation cloud. Pressure fluctuation measurements show a dominant low frequency fluctuation that is almost as large as the oscillation frequency seen visually for the same conditions. The variation of the cavitation numbers and the measured transient outlet pressure show that critical cavitation occurs in the Venturi injector when the peak-to-peak pressure difference is greater than a critical value. Moreover, when the cavitation numbers become very small in the cavitation areas, the peak-to-peak pressures begin to decrease. The relationship between the suction performance and the outlet pressure fluctuations has a significant inflection point which can be used to determine proper working conditions. These experimental statistics provide a pressure range based on the inlet and outlet pressures for which the improvement of suction performance will not substantially change the outlet pressure fluctuations. Both the high-speed photography and the pressure measurement show the periodic oscillations of the cavitation cloud in a Venturi injector and can be used to detect the occurrence of critical cavitation.

Study on Performance Improvement of a Head-Feeding Rice Combine for Foxtail Millet Harvesting

Purpose: The study was conducted to investigate the proper working conditions like the mesh size of the concave and the chaffer angle of the oscillating sieve, and the fan speed of the head-feeding rice combine for foxtail millet harvesting. Methods: The study aimed to determine the harvesting conditions for the rice combine harvester at a 0.5 m/s working speed and at 40° and 55° sieve chaffer angles. The harvesting loss of the foxtail millet based on the speed of the fan and the oscillating speed of the sieve was measured at three levels of fan speed and oscillating sieve speed. Results: The threshing rates of different foxtail millet varieties were 64.1~83.5% at a mesh size of 7 mm of the concave. In experimental foxtail millet harvesting, the optimal operating condition of the rice combine harvester included a 40° sieve chaffer angle and a 4.8 Hz oscillating sieve (cleaning shoe) frequency. The grain loss was found to be lower at a 40° than at a 55° sieve chaffer angle. In field harvesting using the combine harvester, the lowest harvesting grain loss rate of the foxtail millet varieties ranged between 0.2~0.5% at a 7 mm mesh concave, 40° chaffer angle, 4.8 Hz sieve frequency, and a 20 m/s fan speed at an engine speed of 2,000 revolutions per minute (RPM). Conclusions: Findings showed that foxtail millet could be harvested using the combine harvester.

Ergonomic Study and Design of the Pulpit of a Wire Rod Mill at an Integrated Steel Plant

This paper presents ergonomic study and design of the pulpit in a wire rod mill at an integrated steel plant. The mill was facing problem of less productivity of workers due to lack of proper work posture and working conditions. The study data were collected from the interview of seven operators involved with the pulpit. Relevant ergonomic tools were used for assessing the survey data for identifying the risk factors involved with these operators. Ergonomically improved pulpit was proposed for reducing the musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) thereby increasing the productivity of the plant.

Man as Internal Customer for Working Environment Improvements

The primary purpose of improving the working environment is to ensure that workers feel well in their organizations and are inspired to work more productively and creatively. Working environment improvements rely on solutions whose effects are sustained. To secure opportunities for changing and effectively improving the working environment, it is critical to strengthen factors which affect working conditions. By adopting solutions having the desired impact on the quality of the working environment, business organizations gain the ability to design processes that are resistant to disruptions, i.e. immune to factors that may adversely impact worker health and safety. The article identifies some of the key factors for working environment improvement in connection with worker needs, as derived from the Maslow's hierarchy of needs. As has been found, organizations which see workers as a valuable resource will find such efforts particularly helpful in ensuring their market survival. To ascertain whether specific conditions are proper, organizations need to refer to their internal and external signals and information. In working environments, such signals reflect factors which influence safety levels. A proper working condition may be viewed as an absence of unacceptable risks.

Инновационный успех Японии: миф или реальность?

This article describes prerequisites and reasons for successful innovation in Japan. The main directions that promote innovative development are determined. E.g.: research and development, creation of technology parks and technopolises, provision of proper working conditions,compe tent management. Indicators confirm the results. There is a forecast of development prospects of the innovative technologies in the Land of the Rising Sun.

Условия привлечения и закрепления специалистов в инновационно ориентированных организациях России

The paper discusses how to create proper arrangements to attract and retain high-class professionals, innovation-oriented organizations are in need of. Key
 elements of a vacant job attractiveness from the standpoint of a job seeker are highlighted. It is emphasized that conditional to retaining recruited workers is
 the ability of employing company to meet the needs and wants on part of workers, as these are increasing as the production, labor, social and psychological
 relations at work undergo changes. Attention is drawn to the fact, that wants and needs of well-qualifi ed employees diff er radically from those of conventional
 workforce and to meet these conventional needs is insuffi cient to recruit and retain highly professional specialists. The analysis of gaps between employers’
 requirements to personnel and counter requirements of innovation-driven specialists to job positions are analyzed based on the D. Goleman, R. Boyatzis and
 A. McKee model, which breakdowns employees’ intellectual activities in four groups of emotional intelligence competences, namely, emotional self-awareness;
 self-control; social sensitivity and relationship management. Based on results of analysis, the author puts forward a proposal, that the policies of recruiting
 and retaining innovation-driven workers should be built on the foundation of scientifi c principles, set forth in this paper, thus enabling employers to set up
 proper work conditions helpful to creative intellectual work in the given sphere of activities.

Challenges and Needs for Support in Managing Occupational Health and Safety from Managers’ Viewpoints

Proper working conditions and successful occupational health and safety (OHS) management help organizations achieve their targets and support the quality of working life and performance. Work-related stress, conflicts, work ability issues, ill health, and other challenging OHS situations in the workplace may impede the well-being and productivity of employees. According to OHS legislation, employers are responsible for managing risks and solving problems in the work community. Challenging situations can be viewed from the perspective of efficiency, since their economic effects may be remarkable. The objective of this study is to describe the challenging OHS situations managers encounter and the support they require in these situations. The results are based on thematic interviews and inquiries with top, middle, and front-line managers in three Finnish public sector service organizations. The most challenging OHS management situations are related to the administration of work under high economic pressure and constant changes in the work community, managing employee workload and time pressures, providing feedback, facilitating collaboration, and managing conflict. The managers’ own understandings, competences, and resources, as well as organizational supports, have an effect on successful resolutions of challenging OHS management situations.

A method of fretting wear reduction in an automatic wheel set gauge change system

The SUW 2000 railway vehicle wheel set with an automatic gauge change system is especially exposed to fatigue wear due to the specific working conditions. Taking into consideration the role which a wheel set has in both vehicle handling on a track and providing safety of railway traffic, the wheel set damage is impermissible. It also applies to the sleeve–axle rotational connection. This article presents research into both finding new and low-cost materials for a slide sleeve in the wheel hub node and looking for cheaper technologies for improving the surface layer of the wheel set under-hub which would eliminate fretting wear. The research was conducted on a simplified physical model of a real connection between a wheel and an axle. The results of the conducted wear tests show that fretting wear can be effectively limited by applying a metallic layer in the form of molybdenum coating. Grease with the addition of molybdenum disulphide can also protect the co-operating surfaces against fretting wear. It also allows for sustaining proper working conditions of frictional pair elements. This solution, however, is onerous due to the limited maintainability of the connection node. The studies carried out show that there is a full possibility of using this solution in real exploitation.

ACTIVITIES OF A MANAGER IN OPTIMIZATION OF A SOCIAL PEDAGOGUE’S WORK IN CHILD CARE HOMES: OPINION OF SOCIAL PEDAGOGUES

The issue of activities of a manager in optimization of work of social pedagogues in child care homes is discussed in the article. A child care home manager is responsible for the children’s welfare, their successful socialization and integration in the society. He seeks for favourable results of this institution by ensuring relationship based on cooperation. He takes care of impromevement of employees, provision of proper working and development conditions, cooperation with other institutions. When resolving these and other issues of children welfare a manager becomes the main person initiating optimization of employees’ activities. The following question arises: what are activities of a manager in optimization of work of a social pedagogue in a child care home? The aim of this article is to disclose possibilities of managers’ activities in optimizations of work of a social pedagogue in child care homes. A research was carried out for achievement of the aim wherein a total of 63 social pedagogues of Klaipėda child care homes participated (a total of 14 institutions). The research disclosed that social pedagogues are not satisfied with the current role of a manager in optimization of activities of a social pedagogue. The optimization of activities of a social pedagogue is manifested at work with learners and their groups when seeking for professional and personal development of a social pedagogue and organization of preventive work. A manager tends to leave optimization of activities of a social pedagogue to the very employees. KEYWORDS: Manager, child care home, social pedagogue, optimization of activities.

A fully integrated analog front-end circuit for 13.56 MHz passive RFID tags in conformance with ISO/IEC 18000-3 protocol

A fully integrated analog front-end circuit for 13.56MHz passive RFID tags is presented in this paper. The design of the RF analog front-end and digital control is based on ISO/IEC 18000-3 MODE 1 protocol. This paper mainly focuses on RF analog front-end circuits. In order to supply voltage for the whole tag chip, a high efficiency power management circuit with a rather wide input range is proposed by utilizing 15.5V high voltage MOS transistors. Furthermore, a high sensitivity, low power consumption 10% ASK demodulator with a subthreshold-mode hysteresis comparator is introduced for reader-to-tag communication. The tag chip is fabricated in 0.18-μm 2-poly 5-metal mixed signal CMOS technology with EEPROM process. An on-chip 1kb EEPROM is used to support tag identification, data writing and reading. The core size of the analog front-end is only 0.94×0.84mm2 with a power consumption of 0.42mW. Measured results show that the power management circuit is able to maintain a proper working condition with an input antenna voltage range of 5.82–12.3V; the maximum voltage conversion ratio of the rectifier reaches 65.92% when the tag antenna voltage is 9.42V. Moreover, the power consumption of the 10% ASK demodulator is only 690.25nW.

Assessment of the relationship between physical working conditions and different levels of work ability.

Early leaving of workplace by work forces is one of the fundamental problems worldwide. Maintenance and enhancement of employees work ability are important for raising productivity.This study investigated the relationship between work ability index and physical working conditions and was carried out in 2013 on 641 workers at a manufacturing plant in Tehran. Work ability was assessed by the questionnaire of work ability index and the participants were classified into four work ability groups of poor, moderate, good, and excellent. Physical working conditions were evaluated by the MUSIC-Norrtalje questionnaire and the participants were classified into two groups with proper and poor physical working conditions. The mean score of work ability questionnaire was 42.40; and 2.5% (16 persons), 9.2% (59 persons), 38.2% (245 persons), and 50.1% (321 persons) of the participants were in poor, moderate, good, and excellent work ability groups, respectively. The mean score of physical working conditions questionnaire was 20.06. The results of logistic regression analysis showed that even after adjusting the confounding variables, a significant correlation existed between work ability and physical working conditions (p<0.05). According to the results of this study, there may be a correlation between physical working conditions such as awkward postures, repetitive movements, load lifting, exposure to whole body vibration and so on with work ability. Therefore it seems that enhancement of the quality of physical working conditions may increase work ability.

Knowledge of anaesthesiologists in Recife with respect to potential risks in the operating room—cross-sectional study

Objectivesthe health care should be a safe act, free of adverse events. However, in daily practice an excessive exposure to factors that endanger the health of the professional is observed. The surgical center stands out as one of the sites where the professional involved is more vulnerable. This environment is the anaesthesiologist's workplace, and this professional must deal with its potential complicators. This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge of anaesthesiologists in Recife on various situations of risk in the workplace. Methoda cross-sectional study in which structured questionnaires, completed voluntarily and anonymously by the anesthesiologist itself, were applied to assess the knowledge of the potential risks in the operating room. Data were analyzed using Epi Info version 7. Resultsa total of 162 anaesthesiologists responded to the questionnaire, 38.02% of these professionals registered at Cooperative of Anaesthesiologists of Pernambuco. Of these, 3.7% read the manual of the Committee on Hospital Infection Control (Comissão de Controle de Infecção Hospitalar) of their institution and 40.74% chose the correct option, “technical director”, as responsible for ensuring proper working conditions. Of the total, 5.56% stated that the anaesthetics’ pollution index in the operating theater was monitored. Only 1.85% of the sample was subjected to periodic screening for tuberculosis. By analyzing the hypothetical situation of contamination with a patient with hepatitis C, only 43.83% knew that there is no effective post-exposure prophylaxis. Conclusioneducational campaigns should be implemented to improve the knowledge of health professionals and clarify institutions and professionals’ rights and duties.