Risk Of Work Injury Research Articles

Rancang Bangun Alat Penumbuk Adonan Guna Meningkatkan Efisiensi Produksi Dan Higienis Pada Produk Biskuit Dengan Pendekatan Ergonomi Dan Kelayakan Investasi

UMKM Banjar Biscuit "Bu Min" in Sumber Nongko Village, Jombang Regency produces traditional snacks made from sticky rice using manual methods, especially at the dough-pounding stage. This manual process causes physical fatigue in workers, affects production efficiency, and threatens product hygiene. With increasing market demand, UMKM faces major challenges in meeting consumer needs. To overcome this problem, an ergonomic dough-pounding tool was designed with dimensions of 140 cm high, 50 cm wide, 50 cm long, and a mortar diameter of 30 cm. This tool successfully reduced the Work Heart Rate (WHR) of workers from 118-149 to 93-124 beats/minute, indicating a significant reduction in cardiovascular load. In addition to increasing production efficiency, this tool maintains product hygiene and reduces the risk of worker injury. From a financial perspective, the cost of making the tool of Rp 5,306,000 has proven to be economical with an IRR of 5.26% per month (51.2% per year), a Profitability Index of 6.04, a positive NPV, and a Payback Period of only 2 months. This innovation helps MSMEs improve the quality and quantity of production while strengthening competitiveness in a competitive market. Keywords: Anthropometry, Cardiovascular Load, Engineering Economics

Association between temperature and occupational injuries in Spain: The role of contextual factors in workers’ adaptation

BackgroundExtensive evidence links both cold and hot temperatures to an increased incidence of occupational injuries. Contextual modifiers of the temperature-injury association have been scarcely researched. The present study addresses temporal and spatial variations to identify factors associated with (mal)adaptation to heat and cold among Spanish workers. MethodsWe assessed the association between daily mean temperature and work injuries using quasi-Poisson time-series regression models in 48 Spanish provinces over the period 1988–2019, with comparative analyses with census and economic data for the sub-periods 1989–1993, 1999–2003, 2009–2013 and 2015–2019. We explored the spatial and spatiotemporal modification of the association by demographic and socioeconomic variables via cross-sectional and longitudinal meta-regressions. Findings:We found an increased risk of work-injuries by 4 % [95 % CI: 3 %-6 %] and 12 % [95 % CI: 10 %-13 %], for the 1st and 99th percentiles of temperature, respectively, for period 1988–2019. Heat had a greater overall impact than cold, and the groups more vulnerable to heat were male workers, under 35 years, and working in agriculture, construction and hostelry. Vulnerability to heat was highest in the earliest sub-period, while vulnerability to cold rose during periods of both economic expansion and recession. High educational attainment emerged as a protective factor during the warm months in the cross-sectional meta-regressions. ConclusionsOur findings suggest an adaptation of Spanish workers to high temperatures over time. However, preventive measures are needed for traditionally exposed workers (agriculture and construction), non-traditionally vulnerable sectors (hostelry), and young, male, and less educated workers during warm months. For cold vulnerability, targeted measures should focus on women, the elderly, and tertiary service workers, especially in colder regions. Addressing temperature vulnerability would enhance worker safety, reduce injuries, and yield economic benefits.

Is precarious employment an occupational hazard? Evidence from Ontario, Canada

ObjectivesTo examine the association between precarious employment and risk of occupational injury or illness in Ontario, Canada.MethodsWe combined accepted lost-time compensation claims from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board with...

Analysis of Work Posture in the Car Body Assembly Process Using the Rapid Entire Body Assessment Method

CV. Faisyal Putra Mandiri located at Kandangan Rejo Lebar street No.11 Surabaya City, is one of the manufacturing industry companies engaged in car body production. In their work activities there are still workers who do not apply ergonomic work postures while working. Unergonomic work positions can cause some parts of the body to not be in their normal position so that they are very vulnerable to musculoskeletal disorders. To overcome these problems, work posture improvement is carried out. Based on the results of the study, it was found that after simulating the use of tools in the metal cutting process, namely the Hydraulic Scissor Lift Table, it can reduce the risk of worker injury through a final REBA value of 7 with a moderate risk level to a final REBA value of 2 with a low risk level. Then in the welding process can reduce the risk of worker injury through the final REBA value of 9 with a high risk level to the final REBA value of 3 with a low risk level. In addition, it is recommended to use a chair as a tool, which is proven through work simulation to reduce the risk of injury. In metal cutting, the REBA value drops from 7 with a moderate risk level to 3 with a low risk level, and in welding, from 9 with a high risk level to 3 with a low risk level.

Risk of obstructive sleep apnea among health workers: results of a screening in a large Italian University Hospital.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common respiratory sleep disorder, related to increased mortality, poor quality of life, and higher risk of work accidents and injuries. Studies on the risk of OSA (rOSA) among health workers (HW) are scant. The aims of this study were to investigate this issue in a large University Hospital and to assess the effectiveness of a screening program. The STOP-BANG questionnaire (SBQ) was sent via e-mail to the 5031 HW employed at the University Hospital of Verona. HW who completed the SBQ were classified at low, moderate, and high rOSA. HW at high rOSA were invited to undergo nocturnal polygraphy. The determinants of rOSA were studied by non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test, Pearson's chi-squared, and multinomial logistic model. Of 5031 HW, 1564 (31.1%) completed the online questionnaire. Responders with low, moderate, and high rOSA were 72.7%, 13.7%, and 13.6%. Male gender, older age, and higher body mass index (BMI) were significant predictors of high rOSA, as expected. Physicians had the lowest probability of being in the high-risk category. Polygraphy was performed in 64 subjects. The positive predictive value of the self-administered SBQ was 68.8% (95%C.I. 55.9-79.8%) but raised to 96.9% (95%C.I. 89.2-99.6%) when re-administered by medical staff. SBQ showed its effectiveness as a screening tool in detecting undiagnosed OSA in HW. Systematic screening for OSA in work settings could allow early diagnosis and treatment, reducing short- and long-term health effects of OSA.

Key issues of health and safety for workers in residential aged care: An expert study.

Residential aged care (RAC) represents a fast-growing sector within Australia's health care system and is characterized by high levels of workplace injury. To better understand this injury problem, this study investigated key informant perspectives concerning sector occupational health and safety (OHS) focused on key issues associated with the risk of worker injury. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with nine key informants representing (OHS) specialists, healthcare employers, regulators, worker association representatives, and academic researchers in OHS or healthcare. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using thematic analysis. This study identified six themes on OHS within RAC including (i) the physical and emotional nature of the work, (ii) casualization of employment, (iii) prioritization, (iv) workforce profile, (v) OHS role construction, and (vi) clinical standards. The study highlighted differences in OHS roles between RAC and other safety-critical sectors regarding governance and management of OHS. The key informants identified a propensity within RAC to downplay or disregard worker OHS issues justified through prioritizing resident safety. Further, neither OHS professional nor institutional logics are prominent in RAC leadership and decision-making where the emphasis is placed on mandatory standards to maintain funding purposes. Several recommendations are made to address identified issues.

Optimization of the Stacking Plans for Precast Concrete Slab Based on Assembly Sequence

Precast concrete (PC) slabs are widely used in the assembly of concrete residential buildings. The PC slabs are manufactured at the factory and then arranged in stacks for transport to the construction site for assembly. Currently, optimization of the stacking plans for PC slabs focuses on yard-space utilization and transportation efficiency and rarely considers the assembly sequence; secondary sequencing of prefabricated elements is required during construction to meet the lifting scheme, which leads to increased construction preparation time and risk of worker injury. To enable stacking crews to generate stacking plans rapidly and systematically to improve the on-site lifting efficiency of the components, this paper proposes a storage-location allocation model with two objectives: reduce secondary-sorting workload and increase stacking stability for PC slabs. At the same time, it must match the characteristics of the problem. To prevent the solution from falling into the local optimum during the evolution of the particle swarm optimization algorithm, we introduce an elitist learning strategy, which can improve the solutions when the group converges. Finally, we verify our allocation model and optimization algorithm through example simulations. The simulation results show that, compared with the traditional method, the stacking plans generated by this method have a lower secondary-sorting workload and higher stacking stability when using the same number of storage racks.

Analisis Postur Kerja Karyawan Pada Proses Pemotongan Kain Di UD Wijaya

UD. Wijaya is manufacturing bag products that was established in 2016. Currently, cloth cutting activities at UD Wijaya still use human labor manually. The cloth cutting activities are carried out with the work position bent and the legs bend so that workers often feel pain in the waist, back, calves, knees, ankles, and soles of the feet. In addition, there are no facilities in the form of tables or chairs for cutting places. Activities at UD wijaya is carried out for analysis of the worker's posture to find out the complaints felt in the workers' muscles in the cutting section and can provide recommendations for improving work methods or tools to minimize the risk of worker injury. Based on the analysis of employee work posture in the fabric cutting process using the Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) method, a high REBA score of 9 was obtained and corrective action was needed. If the posture is not corrected immediately, then the workers may have injuries of Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs) in the long and short term. The working posture repairment suggested is by making tools in the form of chairs and work tables with the anthropometric data of workers.

Differences between men and women in their risk of work injury and disability: A systematic review.

BackgroundHealth responses associated with occupational exposures can vary between men and women.AimsThis study reviewed the work injury and disability risks associated with similar types of occupational exposures for men and women within and across occupations.Materials & MethodsA systematic review was undertaken of observational studies published between 2009 and 2019. Studies were required to empirically compare men and women for associations between occupational exposures and work injury or disability outcomes. Included studies were appraised for methodological quality and medium to high rated studies were compared for risk differences between men and women.ResultsOf 14,006 records identified, 440 articles were assessed for methodological quality, and 33 medium to high rated studies were included and reviewed. Among all occupations, the association between physical exposures, job demands, noise, and repetitive tasks, and injury risk were stronger among men. The relationship between repetitive tasks and sickness absence was stronger among women. Most studies examining psychological exposures found no risk differences for men and women across occupations. Men were at higher injury risk in certain occupations in primary and secondary industry sectors involving physical exposures and some chemical/biological exposures. Women were at higher injury risk for the physical demands and repetitive tasks of health care and aluminum production occupations.ConclusionThis review found that men and women can have different work injury and disability risks, both across and within the same occupations, for some physical exposures and to a lesser extent for some chemical and biological exposures. These differences might be a result of occupation‐specific task differences.

Alcohol use and risk of work injuries among health care workers: a pilot study

Alcohol use and risk of work injuries among health care workers: a pilot study

Risk Factors of Prolapse Lumbar Intervertebral Disc (PLID): A Synthesis of Short Review

Introduction: LDH, defined as the localized displacement of disc material beyond the margins of the intervertebraldisc space is considered the most common cause of lumbosacral radiculopathy. Compared with nonspecific lowback pain without radiating leg pain, LDH is associated with radiating pain/ radiculopathy,severe pain, disability,healthcare use and intervention.Objectives: To explorethe risk-factors associated with PLID/ LDH.Literature: In this review, best evidence synthesis included systemic reviews, cohort studies and case-controlstudies that investigated the risk factors for LDH/ PLID.Critiques: LDH with radiculopathy results from complex relationships between individual, behavioural, andwork-related variables. Evidence revealed that- age, sex, education, BMI, cardiovascular risk factors, smoking,occupational lumbar load by forward bending postures and manual materials handling, perceived risk of workinjury, decision freedom at work, regular or irregular three-shift work or regular night work in and time pressureat work are associated with the development. It is also found that manual occupation, genetics, and previous backpain may contribute to the development of LDH with radiculopathy in adults.Conclusion: Although the literature is varying quality and heterogeneous, but the evidence revealed that LDH/PLID is an important source of pain and disability in society. Future research should focus on prospective designsexamining modifiable risk factors and prevention strategies.

The prevalence, seriousness, and causes of teenage work accidents: A gender difference?

Teenage workers are prone to a higher injury risk than adult workers, and adult men are prone to a higher risk of work injuries than adult women. This study aims to examine whether gender differences exist in teenage work accidents, the level of the accidents, their causes, and the types of the injuries. A survey was sent to a sample of 2,800 13-19-year-olds, randomly selected from Registers Iceland. The response rate was 48.6%. A chi-square test, CI 95%, was applied to measure gender differences. In total, 16.3%of the respondents had at least one work accident, and 1.2%, an accident that lead to more than one week's absence from work. No gender differences were observed in the level of the accidents, but appeared in the types of injuries and their causes. Cuts were the most common injuries of the boys, but burns of the girls. Bone fractures were the most serious injuries of the boys, but sprains of the girls. Work accidents among teenagers are a particular threat to public health. Therefore, all stakeholders need to work together to prevent teenage work accidents in the future; and to keep in mind the gender diversity of the group.

296 Sex differences in sleep and wakefulness of police officers working shifts: evidence from a field study

Abstract Introduction National reports of work-related injuries found the excess risk of work injury attributed to shift work to be significantly higher among women. The Working Time Society (WTS) concluded that male sex is one of the few factors that is “consistently associated with perceived or actual shift work tolerance”. However, it is unclear if physiological parameters are involved. Laboratory-controlled studies report sex differences in circadian rhythms (body temperature, melatonin). In sleep deprivation protocols, alertness and cognitive performances were affected by sex, menstrual cycle phase and hormonal contraceptives [HC] use. Nevertheless, field studies that compare male and female shift workers are scarce. Methods An observational study including 76 police officers working on patrol: 56 males and 20 females (11 using [HC], 6 not using [non-HC] and 3 with unknown use of hormonal contraception) aged 32.0 ± 5.3 years. Participants were followed throughout a month-long work cycle (1,457 morning, evening, night, or other shifts, plus rest days). They filled out time-stamped questionnaires (Samn-Perelli, KSS, Visual Analogue Scales, ~5/day; sleep and work-related information, ~1–2/day), completed 5-min Psychomotor Vigilance Tasks (PVT, ~2/day), and wore an actigraph to collect activity data. Linear mixed-effects models were used to analyze the effects of group, time awake and time-of-day on fatigue, sleepiness, alertness, mood and PVT measures. Results Self-reported measures and psychomotor performance significantly varied with time awake and time-of-day. Fatigue and sleepiness levels were significantly higher among female compared to male police officers, both with time awake and across the 24-h day. These variations were similar between non-HC females and the other groups. Compared to males, HC females were more fatigued and less alert, both with time awake and across the 24-h day, and sleepier with time awake. Having children at home did not explain these differences. Conclusion The results of this study expand our knowledge on the sex differences in the sleep and circadian physiology and demonstrate a critical effect of HC on women fatigue, sleepiness and alertness when working shifts. Sex and hormonal parameters must be considered in occupational medicine as well as in future laboratory and field studies on shift workers and circadian rhythms. Support (if any) IRSST, FRQS.

Shorter work boot shaft height improves ankle range of motion and decreases the oxygen cost of work

Work boots featuring design elements implemented to protect the foot and lower limb are common in many industries. However, boot design can have negative unintended consequences such as increases in work related fatigue and injury risk. This study compared joint kinematics and the physiological cost of two commercially available steel-toed work boots with different shaft designs worn throughout a simulated work task. A boot with a lower-cut and scalloped shaft allowed greater sagittal plane range of motion at the ankle joint compared to a boot with a higher-cut straight shaft, particularly in the late stance phase of the gait cycle. This was coupled with a decreased physiological cost of treadmill walking (2.6 and 3.1% improvement in oxygen consumption and walking economy, respectively), likely caused by a more efficient gait pattern. A lower-cut and scalloped shaft could lead to decreases in work-related fatigue and the subsequent risk of injuries in workers. Practitioner summary: Gait kinematics and the physiological cost of work boots with different shaft heights has not previously been investigated. A randomised cross-over study design found that a boot with a lower shaft height and scalloped collar improved ankle range of motion and reduced the physiological cost experienced by the wearers. Abbreviations: ROM: range of motion; FS: full shaft; SS: scalloped shaft; COM: centre of mass; HR: heart rate; RPE: rating of perceived exertion; ES: effect size.

When is work a cause of early retirement and are there any effective organizational measures to combat this? A population-based study of perceived work environment and work-related disorders among employees in Sweden

BackgroundThe ageing workforce has an impact on public health. The aim of this study was to evaluate work-related disorders, work tasks and measures associated with the possibility of working beyond 65 years of age or not.MethodThe data comprised two sample surveys based on the Swedish population: the Survey of National Work-Related Health Disorders, and the National Work Environment Survey.ResultsA logistic regression analysis showed that an active systematic work environmental management in the workplace was a statistically significant association with whether individuals could work in their current occupation until 65 years of age (OR 1.7). The final multivariate model stated that whether individuals could work until 65 years was associated with bodily exhaustion after work, frequent feeling of the own work effort being insufficient at the end of the day, experience of the work as restricted and with a lack of freedom, working alone and at risk of unsafe or threatening situations, and generally feeling dissatisfied with the work tasks. Women-dominated workplaces were more highly associated with both male and female employees not being able to work until age 65 (OR 1.6).ConclusionDeficiencies in the working environment seems to be a threat to the public health. An active systematic work environmental management in the workplace increases the possibility to extend the working life. Tools for managers, like the swAge-model, to easily perform active systematic work environmental controls could therefore be a possible way to decrease the risk of work injury as well as increase the possibility for a sustainable extended working life.

A qualitative investigation of factors affecting school district administrators’ decision to adopt a national young worker curriculum

Introduction: Even though the majority of youth in the U.S. work, and workers under the age of 18 are seriously injured on the job at higher rates when compared to adults, most adolescents lack instruction on workplace safety and health. Method: This qualitative study examines the extent to which selected U.S. school districts provide workplace safety and health instruction to students and explores the factors that influence districts’ decision to adopt a free, foundational occupational safety and health (OSH) curriculum. Results: Results from key informant interviews conducted with a purposive sample of 34 school administrators revealed that only a third of the districts have at least 75% of their students receive some instruction on workplace safety and health, while 15% indicated they provide no instruction on this topic. District staff who indicated that they provide OSH instruction stated that it is most often taught through career and technical education (CTE; 65%) and/or health classes (26%). They believed the benefits of providing this instruction include assisting students to get jobs (38%) and helping students learn about safety (32%), while competing demands (44%) and time constraints (41%) were identified as barriers to providing OSH education to students. Conclusions: Given the importance of work to teens and their increased risk of work injury, interested stakeholders—including parents, teachers, employers, and the public health community—should promote the inclusion of workplace safety and health instruction in U.S. secondary schools. Practical Applications: This research fills a gap in current knowledge about the extent to which OSH is currently taught within U.S. secondary schools, enumerates barriers and facilitators to the inclusion of workplace safety and health instruction in schools, presents a free, foundational curriculum in workplace safety and health, and provides directions for future research on the vital role schools can play in preparing the future workforce for safe and healthy employment.

Analysis of Work Posture Based on Quick Exposure Check & Manual Task Risk Assessment Method

Manual material handling (MMH) is one of the most vulnerable forms of activity with the emergence of risk of injury to the body, for example musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). This study aims to analyze the work posture carried out by workers at PT. Multitech Advanced Printing Indonesia on the work of moving raw materials. The work includes a series of activities, namely lifting, carrying, and lowering. Of the three activities, lowering was chosen as the most potentially dangerous for workers. This study uses the Quick Exposure Check (QEC) method and Manual Task Risk Assessment (ManTRA) to assess the risk of work injury. Based on the results of the QEC method, the value obtained is 59.88% while the ManTRA method gives the highest value of 2 points from the three conditions for the improvement work posture. Both methods assess work posture as dangerous becauses of the bending position of the back

Social Exclusion and Labor Market Integration of People with Disabilities. A Case Study for Romania

This empirical study contributes towards identifying the effect of social exclusion on labor market integration of people with disabilities in Romania. Certain categories of individuals with disabilities have longer unemployment duration than others and this empirical study is focused on identifying which variables have a significant influence on exit to job hazard on Romanian labor market. The significant gap between employees without disabilities and employees with disabilities in the Romanian labor market can be explain based on certain influential factors such as: Lower productivity levels, higher training costs, differentiated work schedules, special demands, higher risk of work injuries and work-related accidents, etc. The findings reveal the lack of statistical significance for the differences between median survival time and hazard rates of disabled individuals, a function of their disability. Moreover, our results show that only an age and unemployment allowance has had a significant effect on unemployment duration and exit to a job hazard of educated individuals with disabilities.

Differences in work injury risk between immigrants and natives: changes since the economic recession in Italy

BackgroundIt is known that occupational injury rates are higher for immigrant than for native workers, however the effects of the economic cycles on these differences has not been assessed to date. The aim of the paper is to test if the crisis has the same mechanism of selection in the two groups by comparing injury rates in 2005 (before the crisis) and in 2010 (after the crisis).MethodsThe Work History Italian Panel-Salute integrated database was interrogated to identify employment contracts in the metalworking and construction industries for the years 2005 and 2010 and the occupational injuries. A definition based on the type of injury, less likely to be biased by underreporting, was used to select serious events. Immigrants and natives were matched using the propensity score method and injury rates were calculated in the two years. Analyses were stratified by industry.ResultsIn the metalworking industry injury rates slightly increased over time for both groups, and were higher among immigrant than native workers in both 2005 and 2010. In the construction industry the 2005 injury rate was the same in the two groups, and there was a negative trend over time in both groups. However the decline in the 2010 injury rate for Italian workers was much larger, which led to a considerable increase of the incidence rate ratio of immigrants with respect to native (IRR 3.83, 95% CI 2.52–5.75).ConclusionsThe economic recession had an impact on the risk of workplace injury. Though the main observed factors (18 variables) usually reported in literature to explain the higher injury rates of the immigrant workers were controlled through the matching, there were still differences between immigrants and natives. The main reason is that immigrants continue to be assigned to the more dangerous jobs and the more dangerous tasks within these job. Furthermore, also differences in the perception of workplace injury risks, linguistic barriers, and cultural factors may have a role in explaining this gap.

Novel portable cooling system for hot and humid environments using atmospheric discharge of high-pressure carbon dioxide

Hot and humid workplaces affect highly the efficacy of a worker’s body’s cooling mechanisms. Given that the heat transfer from the skin to the surroundings by convection and evaporation of sweat is limited, heat stress may occur, which in turn may increase the risk of serious health problems and work injuries. To assist the body in dissipating its heat build-up, a novel portable cooling system is being studied using an atmospheric discharge of highly pressurized CO2 through an orifice. Over a period of 90 min, three CO2 states (liquid, two-phase saturated and gaseous CO2) occur prior to the atmospheric discharge, leading to variable mass flow rates through the orifice. The average maximum cooling power related to the expansion of the liquid state CO2 was 275.9 W (of which 209.5 W of latent cooling and 66.4 W of sensible cooling) and is considered to last 40 min. For the remaining 50 min of cooling, two-phase flows and a gaseous choked flow were observed with an average maximum cooling power of 68.8 W (56.8 W of latent and 12 W of sensible cooling). The high values of the latent cooling power created by the cooling system will assist the body to dissipate excessive heat by evaporating unevaporated sweat over the body and would make it suitable for use in hot and extremely humid environments.