Working Conditions Research Articles

Health Effects Of Using Visual Display Terminal

Screen devices are widely used office tools around the world. We are also known as Visual Display Terminal (VDTs). The use of VDT causes health hazards due to the need for high levels of attention and concentration and constant sitting work. Musculoskeletal disorders such as back pain, upper extremity disorders, eye problems, fatigue, and stress are common in VDT users. The computer is a frequently used display device, and computer vision syndrome (CVS) has emerged as a leading occupational health problem. Symptoms of CVS include dry eye, eye fatigue, blurred vision, double vision, redness in the eyes, burning and stinging sensation in the eyes, increase or decrease in tears, double vision, delay in changing focus and color perception irregularities, and deterioration in near vision. Risks arising from screened vehicles can be avoided in healthy and safe working conditions where the work center is set up correctly and breaks are taken at regular intervals. Simple measures such as exercising regularly, taking short frequent breaks, and using a screen filter are important simple interventions to prevent work-related diseases in VDT users. Since VDT use is a frequent part of our lives, we wanted to draw attention to VDT-related disorders and provide simple interventions to prevent them.

Soft sensor model for endpoint carbon content and temperature in BOF steelmaking based on just-in-time learning with multilayer structure preservation and sparse information enhancement

Ensuring precise prediction of the endpoint carbon content and temperature is paramount in controlling the endpoint of the basic oxygen furnace (BOF) steelmaking process. However, due to the frequent fluctuations in real-time blowing conditions, the conventional just-in-time learning soft sensor approach encounters challenges in effectively anticipating the blowing endpoint. To address these aforementioned issues, this research introduces a novel approach known as the pattern-oriented multilayer structure preservation and sparse information enhancement model (POMLSP-SIE). This approach involves dynamically generating a dataset with the same distribution based on the characteristics of the query sample pattern. It is combined with a multi-pathway dimension reduction model to preserve multi-view spatial geometry information while reducing data dimension. The low-dimensional embedding serves as dictionaries containing various hierarchical structural characteristics. Significant information within these dictionaries is sparsely represented to amplify its influence during the regression prediction process while diminishing the impact of less relevant information. This refinement aims to rectify the problem of static regression models being weak to adapt to changing working conditions, ultimately enhancing prediction performance. The effectiveness of the proposed method is substantiated through an experimental study utilising real converter steelmaking process data, thereby confirming its practical applicability.

Benchmarking of key performance factors in textile industry effluent treatment processes for enhanced environmental remediation

This article presents a comprehensive benchmarking analysis of merit performance factors in the Effluent Treatment Plants (ETP) of the textile industry. The study aims to identify and evaluate key factors that contribute to the efficient operation and performance of ETPs. The performance of ETP was analyzed by valuable data gained from figures of PH, Dissolved oxygen, Dissolved solids, Suspended solids, Density, COD and BOD. The technical trends showed the deviations in the working conditions of Effluent Treatment Plant by variation in temperature. This variation is achieved by varying the settling time of wastewater in the sedimentation tank during the working process. The required dosing, plant efficiency and economic factors were taken into account. The Plant efficiency was determined to be 83.5% at normal conditions of water entering at temperature of 30°C and pressure of 1 atm along with addition of coagulants and flocculants in the wastewater. While the efficiency of the ETP plant was calculated about 88% using a Compact photometer at elevated conditions of temperature such as > 45°C, while at other temperatures the efficiency decreases significantly due to several reasons. The operating time of water treatment was decreased due to the variations in temperature of wastewater while other conditions kept constant like pressure, flow rates of water and chemicals (Polyacrylamide and Polymeric Ferric Sulfate). The usage of coagulants and flocculants at optimum conditions has been discussed in this study.

Numerical investigation of spindle position effects on steam ejector performance with a nonequilibrium condensation model

AbstractThis research studied the performance of a spindle‐controlled steam ejector using models such as ideal gas and wet steam under various operating conditions based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD). A wet steam model incorporating nonequilibrium condensation was employed to simulate the complex flow phenomena within the ejector. The structure of the flow, entrainment ratio (Er), and shock wave characteristics of the steam ejector were examined in two different models. Results indicate that the spindle position has a substantial impact on steam ejector performance. For the ideal gas and wet steam models, the optimal spindle position (SP‐5) at a .1 MPa motive pressure achieves the highest entrainment ratios (Er) of 1.01 and 1.042, respectively. However, an ejector with a fixed geometry achieves Er values of only .517 and .549 for the ideal gas and wet steam models, under identical working conditions. This represents a substantial improvement of 89.8% over the fixed‐geometry ejector. The wet steam model consistently predicts 2%–4% higher Er values compared with the ideal gas model across all spindle positions. The study also reveals that increasing the motive pressure from .1 to .3 MPa reduces Er by up to 45.8% at the optimal spindle position, with the shock train length extending to 35% of the mixing chamber at .3 MPa. These findings offer insights for improving the design and optimization of variable‐geometry steam ejectors, potentially increasing efficiency in industrial applications.

Educational institutions as healthy working environments: well-being and stress management in education professionals

The present study explores how a healthy working environment affects the well-being of education professionals and the role of stress management skills in mediating this relationship. A total of 405 education professionals took part, 69.6 % of whom were female. Of these, 36 % were under the age of 39, while 64 % were aged 40 or over. The Ecosystems of Healthy Work (EATS) instrument was used to assess the work environment, comprising 62 items in nine dimensions based on the World Health Organisation model. The results show a relationship between well-being, stress management skills, and the perception of a healthy work environment. Differences emerged according to gender and job stability. The mediation model revealed a relationship between a healthy work environment and the well-being of professionals, mediated by stress management skills. The study recommends strategies to promote well-being and healthier working conditions for education professionals.

The enhancement effects of internal convection on the heat transport of condensing droplets out of pure steam and moist air

In this work, the effect of internal convection on the heat transport of condensing droplets is theoretically and numerically focused on considering two typical working scenes (pure steam and moist air). A three-dimensional transient multiphysics model is first constructed by elaborately coupling time-dependent multiple physics during the dynamic growth of condensing droplets. Considering variable surface wettability and industrially universal applications, heat transport characteristics of condensing droplets in these two scenes are comparatively analyzed over a wide range of the droplet radius (500–1000 μm), contact angle (60–120°), and subcooling (1–50 K). It is found that internal convection resulting from the thermocapillary effect and curved vapor/liquid interface plays a progressively prominent role as the contact angle and subcooling increase, accordingly dominating heat transport within droplets. In the steam scene, internal convection is activated neighboring the triple-phase contact line at which the temperature gradient exists solely. In comparison, in the air case, the external vapor diffusion promotes a non-uniform temperature profile over the droplet surface, and the temperature gradient is extended toward the whole surface with stronger internal convection and heat transport enhancement. In general, the quantitative analysis demonstrates that driven by strong internal convection, the total heat flow rate through the droplet can be increased by several times for both two scenes. Furthermore, using the fundamental dimensionless groups governing internal convection, we put forward an empirical correlation of the droplet Nusselt number in two condensing scenes over wide working conditions.

Optimization of Rotary Drilling Rig Mast Structure Based on Multi-Dimensional Improved Salp Swarm Algorithm

The mast is a critical component of rotary drilling rigs, which has a cross-section consisting of a rectangular shape formed by two web plates and two flange plates. Structural optimization of the mast is necessary to address the issue of excessive weight. The shortcomings of the traditional structural optimization algorithms are summarized as follows: the optimized steel plate thickness is a non-integer, where rounding upwards may increase the cost to a certain extent, but it can ensure the safety of the structure; rounding downwards its load carrying capacity may not satisfy the requirements, and thus a novel Salp Swarm Algorithm is proposed to solve the optimization problem. First, this study improves the initialization and update strategy in the traditional Salp Swarm Algorithm. In order to obtain a solution for engineering, an innovative multi-dimensional running comparison is carried out. Secondly, the optimization model of rotary drilling rigs is established based on the division of the working conditions. The objective function of the optimization model is to minimize the weight of the mast while considering the constraints of strength, stiffness, stability, and welding process. Finally, the proposed optimization algorithm and the established optimization model are applied to optimize the design of the mast for a rotary drilling rig. The empirical results demonstrate that the weight of the mast has been reduced by 20%. In addition, the Improved Salp Swarm Algorithm exhibits higher solution quality, faster iteration capability, and extreme stability in optimizing welded box sections compared to the conventional algorithm. The example shows that the Improved Salp Swarm Algorithm is applicable to the optimization problem of box sections.

Pengaruh Kesehatan Keselamatan Kerja (K3) dan Disiplin Kerja Terhadap Kinerja Karyawan: Survei pada PT. Bank Sinarmas Kota Sukabumi

This research aims to find out how much influence occupational health and safety (K3), work discipline has on the performance of PT employees. Bank Sinarmas Sukabumi City. The 40 respondents in this research were employees of PT. Bank Sinarmas Sukabumi City. This research method uses quantitative methods with descriptive and associative approaches. In the research, a normality test, a simultaneous statistical test (F test) and a partial statistical test (T test) were carried out. The results of the research show that there is a simultaneous positive influence between occupational health and safety (K3), work discipline and employee performance, with a result of 16,539 > 3.25, which means the calculated F value is greater than F Table. Meanwhile, partially, occupational health and safety (K3) has a positive and significant effect on employee performance, this is proven by the value obtained from the T Calculation results, which is 2,021, which is greater than the T Table, which is 1,684, with a significance value of 0.000 < 0.05. And work discipline has a positive and significant effect on employee performance, this is proven by the value obtained from the T Calculation results, which is 5,747, which is greater than the T Table, which is 1,684, with a significance value of 0.000 < 0.05

Multi-point temperature or humidity prediction for office building indoor environment based on CGC-BiLSTM deep neural network

The aim of this study is to predict the temperature or humidity changes at multiple relevant points in a building using a deep neural network architecture with multi-task learning to provide more reference information for the design and optimal operation of heating and ventilation systems. For this purpose, traditional multi-task prediction algorithm architecture is combined with Customized Gate Control and other neural networks to build deep neural network architectures for indoor environments with multi-point temperature or humidity prediction tasks. To test the prediction effectiveness of the architecture, a task of predicting temperature or humidity 24 h in advance was designed on a real office building indoor environment dataset, and the prediction results were compared with other single-task and multi-task prediction models. Two experimental conditions were designed for this study, one using the complete training set and the other reducing the training set at a certain point. Through the final prediction results, it is found that the multi-task prediction architecture used in this paper shows better or nearly optimal results compared to other prediction models under both working conditions. This study provides some reference value for the application of multi-task prediction algorithms to the task of predicting indoor environments in buildings.

Developmental coordination disorder questionnaire – translation and adaptation into Danish

Background Developmental Coordination Disorder is a commonly occurring, but poorly recognised developmental condition characterised by difficulties with motor functions. Danish tests of children’s motor functioning, which are currently available, are outdated and only applicable up to the age of seven years old. New tools are needed to enable easy and efficient screening of motor difficulties experienced by children living in Denmark. Aims/Objectives We translated and adapted the Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire (DCDQ’07) into Danish and aimed to evaluate its utility. Materials and Methods A team of translators prepared the Danish version of the DCDQ’07 – DCDQ-DK. In total, 36 parents completed the questionnaire. The children completed fine and gross motor tests. Concurrent validity was tested using Pearson correlation on the DCDQ-DK and motor performance scores. Internal consistency was tested using Cronbach’s alpha. Results The results show good concurrent validity (r = .311) and internal consistency (α = .80). Conclusions DCDQ-DK is well suited for use with Danish-speaking parents. Significance The tool will aid early assessment of motor difficulties in children of Danish-speaking parents. DCDQ-DK can be used by occupational therapists, educational and health professionals as well as researchers in national and international contexts.

An experimental investigation on the performance of a single cylinder diesel engine at various partial loads

This study investigates various partial load characteristics of a diesel engine, including brake specific fuel consumption, torque, and power, to get insight into these performances in practice. Firstly, these characteristics were experimentally examined with approximate 25, 50, 75, and 85 % fuel rack settings at 900–2400 rpm engine speeds. Then, more operating modes were investigated to build characteristics corresponding to constant fuel quantity per engine cycle. The results indicate that the practical partial load characteristics significantly differ from the theory of full-load characteristics since the fuel quantity per cycle varies even though the rack is fixed. Especially at low loads, the fuel quantity per cycle increases enormously with engine speed due to the significant influence of pressure waves. Hence, torque and power increase continuously, making it challenging to control the engine operation. In contrast, because the reduction in fuel viscosity and pump efficiency balances the pressure wave effects at high loads, fuel quantity per cycle remains relatively constant, making the characteristics more similar to the theory. Besides, if fuel quantity per cycle is kept constant, the trends in partial load curves follow the theory, which can be approximately predicted. These findings reveal that considering fuel quantity per cycle is significant when studying diesel engine partial loads, notably at low loads. The study contributes a vital basis for further investigating and modeling the partial characteristics of diesel engines. Also, it is a crucial reference for estimating the suitable working conditions of engine-driven systems in practice.

Failure Evaluation of Thermal Spray Coating Using High-Velocity Oxy-Fuel (HVOF) on Steam Turbine Shaft 940-PT 2 A/B

The repair of worn steel shaft surfaces in power transmission systems is made possible by thermal spray procedures, which have become an essential technology in many sectors. With this novel approach, worn shaft components may be recycled effectively since an API 687-compliant wear-resistant coating designed for specialty rotating equipment repairs is applied. The process's efficacy stems from its capacity to extend the functional life of essential mechanical components, therefore decreasing replacement expenses and downtime. The variety of factors that affect the result highlights the intricacy of thermal spray techniques. Finding the ideal mix of these crucial process variables becomes essential to provide the required degree of wear resistance. The coated shafts perform better as a result of this careful tuning, which also guarantees dependability under challenging working conditions. The coated shafts' surface hardness data in this investigation showed that the initial coating hardness value was below the predetermined goals. Several parts that interact with the shaft were redesigned strategically in response to these discoveries. These adjustments were mainly motivated by economic considerations, to optimize effectiveness while resolving the noted hardness deficiencies. Furthermore, a thorough analysis of failure data showed important correlations between different operational parameters and how they interacted, offering a further understanding of how these factors affected wear resistance. This research allowed for the identification of crucial parameters that required change and emphasized the precise balance essential for optimum thermal spray application. All things considered, this study emphasizes how critical it is to use a methodical approach to improve thermal spray processes, guarantee successful shaft component restoration, and ultimately increase the operational longevity of such components in challenging applications.

The Duties of Sangging in the Implementation of the Hindu Religious Ceremony of Manusa Yadnya Metatah Mass in Bali: A Study of Occupational Health Science

Occupational Health and Safety (K3) is our effort to create a healthy and safe working environment, so that it can reduce the probability of work accidents / diseases due to negligence that result in demotivation and deficiencies in work productivity. According to the Basic Health Law of the Republic of Indonesia No. 9 of 1960 Chapter I Article II, Occupational Health is a health condition that aims for workers to obtain the highest level of health, both physical, spiritual and social, with prevention and treatment efforts for diseases or health disorders caused by work and the work environment or general diseases. in all work activities in human social and religious life such as research on mass metatah ceremonies that are often carried out by Hindus in Bali, in this case the position of the sangging is the key in this metatah ceremony. Sangging is a person who is tasked with cutting teeth during the metatah ceremony. The duties of the sangging in carrying out metatah are to sharpen the two canine teeth and four incisors in the upper jaw with a file. Providing toothpaste made from turmeric, betel lime and sandalwood rubbing. Following up on the Yama Pati Tatwa palm leaf, a sangging needs to understand the structure of tooth tissue and occupational health science to maintain the sanctity of the ceremony. The metatah ceremony or 'mepandes', 'mesangih' or 'metah ceremony' (Balinese) is a Hindu religious ceremony that must be carried out by all Hindus in Bali. The metatah ceremony contains meaning for life, namely changing behavior to become a true human being who can control himself from the temptation of lust, and fulfilling the obligations of parents to children in order to find the true nature of humanity. This study aims to analyze the nature of the implementation of the mass metatah ceremony in Bali Province in the study of occupational health science. The research design uses a case study based on its type, namely an explanatory case study, which focuses on the mass metatah ceremony. Data is analyzed descriptively and carefully until complete. The results of the study indicate that: 1) occupational health knowledge for the sangging in the mass metatah ceremony has the nature to achieve the maximum goal of the yadnya metatah ceremony, namely suppressing bad thoughts, words, and behavior by controlling themselves from the temptation of lust; 2) the process of implementing the metatah ceremony carried out by a sangging is done by filing both canine teeth and four jaw incisors. However, the process is carried out carefully according to health science and the impact of mass metatah, namely social, psychological, health and economic impacts. The implications of the research results, namely the implementation of the 'manusia yadnya' metatah must be carried out carefully by paying attention to health risks when the metatah ceremony is carried out, internence and application of occupational health science need to be carried out so that religious ceremonies become pure physically and mentally according to the purpose of the metatah ceremony.

A frequency channel-attention based vision Transformer method for bearing fault identification across different working conditions

Fault identification of rolling bearings plays a crucial role in maintaining the efficient and stable operation of equipment. Although traditional fault identification methods have made certain progress, they still lack in model feature extraction capabilities and generalization ability. In this paper, a frequency channel-attention based vision Transformer method is proposed for rolling bearings intelligent fault identification. Using frequency domain channel-attention mechanism, the proposed method is able to preserve fundamental fault information and integrate the frequency characteristics of the vibration signals. The proposed method also leverages the inherent self-attention mechanism of vision Transformer to recognize long-range dependencies within the signal data. This integration of attention not only enhances the model’s sensitivity to signal frequency characteristics but also enables the visualization of the attention mechanism, thereby increasing the model’s interpretability. Additionally, a shift linear layer is proposed to reduce the model’s computational demands while maintaining its robust feature extraction capabilities. This proposed method directly uses the collected vibration raw signals to achieve precise fault identification of rolling bearings, and experimental validation on two datasets demonstrates the model’s diagnostic accuracy under across working conditions.

Structural design and motion characteristics analysis of dual-mode active swing arm tracked robot

Focusing on the demand for complex terrain traversal capability of mobile robots, this paper presents a mobile and creep dual-mode tracked robot configuration with capability of autonomous extrication, in response to solving the problem of tracked robots trapped due to insufficient obstacle-crossing capability. Based on the geometrical characteristics of parallelogram and its dynamic computation on the ground, a topological configuration of mobile tracked mechanism with the ability of creep is studied. An integrated structural design method of mobile chassis that integrates the swing arm and the tracked mechanism is proposed and a dual-mode active swing arm tracked robot structural model is established. The mobile and creep characteristics of the dual-mode active swing arm tracked robot are revealed through comparative simulations in multiple working conditions; Through the prototype tests in such typical working conditions as climbing, turning and obstacle-crossing, the feasibility of creep for the robot is verified and it is proved that the obstacle-crossing ability can be effectively improved. The research results provide theoretical support for improving the adaptability and possibility of mobile robots in complex terrain.

Self-centering rocking steel frame with column mid-height uplift: Experimental and numerical investigation

This paper proposes a self-centering rocking steel frame with column mid-height uplift (SCRSF-CMU) that exhibits high post-yield stiffness and energy dissipation capacity. The hysteretic performance of the SCRSF-CMU was investigated through cyclic loading tests. A numerical model of the SCRSF-CMU was established and validated against experimental results. Subsequently, the seismic performance of the SCRSF-CMU was compared with that of the self-centering rocking steel frame with column base uplift (SCRSF-CBU) using nonlinear time history analysis. Finally, the seismic responses of the SCRSF-CMU and SCRSF-CBU under varying earthquake intensities were analyzed using the endurance time analysis. The results indicate that the designed SCRSF-CMU demonstrates excellent lateral force resistance, energy dissipation, and self-centering capabilities. The rocking effect and the restoring force of the post-tensioned steel strands effectively controlled the residual lateral displacement of the specimens. The multi-scale numerical model of the SCRSF-CMU accurately captured its hysteretic behavior and deformation patterns. Compared to the SCRSF-CBU, the SCRSF-CMU exhibited superior rocking deformation capacity, post-yield stiffness, and hysteretic energy dissipation. Under MCE excitation, both SCRSF-CMU and SCRSF-CBU showed uniform inter-story drift distribution with minimal residual deformation, creating a satisfactory condition for the post-earthquake repair work if necessary. The high post-yield stiffness of the SCRSF-CMU was more effective in reducing both maximum and residual displacements. Endurance time analysis revealed that SCRSF-CMU and SCRSF-CBU exhibited relatively uniform inter-story drift distribution under SLE, DBE, and MCE earthquakes. Under FE excitation, the inter-story drift ratio of both structures were nearly identical; however, under DBE and MCE excitations, the maximum roof drift ratio and inter-story drift ratio of the SCRSF-CBU were larger, indicating that the SCRSF-CBU had higher deformation demands than the SCRSF-CMU.

Climate change: the biggest challenge of the modern century for workers

Climate change, as the greatest challenge of the century, has widespread effects on workers. These changes can lead to an increase in heat-related diseases, loss of jobs, and economic damage to businesses, change labor migration patterns and a decrease in job productivity. Therefore, considering the fact that climate change is currently and in the future considered one of the most important environmental challenges, long-term forecasting of climate variables to understand the extent of changes and consequently taking necessary measures to reduce the adverse effects of climate change should be of concern to various experts, including environmental science professionals. In this regard, public health experts, in line with their mission (the science of prevention), are seeking and organizing strategies to reduce these harmful effects on the health of communities and workers. Conducting research related to climate change for better preparedness for adaptation to this phenomenon and also reducing the costs of damages caused by these changes is very essential.

Health Anxiety, Sleep Quality in Healthcare Workers Under Critical Conditions of Emerging Diseases

Background: One of the crises recently affecting human society is an emerging pandemic that has had a significant psychological impact on healthcare workers. Studies have shown that staff experience psychological disorders such as anxiety, depression, and insomnia when exposed to crises. Objectives: This study aimed to determine the association between health anxiety and the sleep quality of healthcare workers during crisis conditions. Methods: This cross-sectional, correlational descriptive-analytical study was conducted from late February 2019 to late March 2020. Using convenient sampling, 382 healthcare workers from medical universities in Golestan province participated in the survey. Data were collected via an internet link shared with participants through WhatsApp working groups. The instruments used in this research included demographic information, sleep quality, and health anxiety inventories. The data were analyzed using SPSS-21 with descriptive and analytical statistics. Results: Of the participants, 77.2% were women, 65.4% were single, 60.7% were nurses, and 64.4% had a bachelor's degree. The results revealed that 72.7% of the staff experienced moderate to high levels of anxiety. Regarding sleep quality, 28.3% (n = 108) of healthcare workers reported good sleep quality, while 71.7% (n = 274) reported poor sleep quality. Additionally, the results indicated a significant correlation between health anxiety scores and sleep quality scores (r = 0.129, P = 0.01). Conclusions: The results of this study showed that the critical conditions caused by emerging diseases have led to health anxiety among healthcare workers, negatively affecting their sleep quality. Therefore, medical center officials must address such psychological issues and implement preventive measures to maintain the mental health of healthcare workers.

Fractional-Order Mathematical Modeling of Methicillin- Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Transmission in Hospitals

This article investigates the environmental contamination and antibiotic exposure effect on the transmission dynamics of the Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) model in hospitals using the fractional Adams–Bashforth–Moulton Method (ABMM). This epidemic model simulates the dynamics of patient populations, bacterial contamination, and healthcare worker safety under varying conditions. This model provides critical insights into the interactions between hospital practices, environmental factors, and infection dynamics, demonstrating the importance of symmetry in balancing hospital admission and discharge rates to manage infection spread effectively. The analysis extends to the impact of environmental bacterial density and hospital admission rates on patient colonization. Increasing admission rates introduce more susceptible patients, exacerbating infection spread when bacterial density is high. Conversely, lower admission rates and bacterial density result in a more controlled infection environment. The model further investigates how varying discharge rates influence colonization dynamics, highlighting that effective discharge practices can mitigate infection spread, especially in high-bacterial density scenarios. It must be noted that this model is studied fractionally for the first time. Overall, this model provides critical insights into the interactions between hospital practices, environmental factors, and infection dynamics, offering valuable guidance for infection control strategies and hospital policy formulation. By adjusting fractional order constant (σ) values and analyzing different scenarios, this research aids in understanding and managing bacterial infections in healthcare settings. The proposed method is able to provide the results presented in the figures within this study considering the influence of many factors.

Policy utilisation of occupational safety and health research: results from a tripartite unicameral parliamentary system in Denmark

Background: Use of research evidence in policy decisions is under-researched. Especially, there is a need for more research in countries with different forms of government than bicameral legislatures. Aims and objectives: This article examines the impact of occupational safety and health (OSH) research on decision-makers in a tripartite unicameral parliamentary system (legislature and agreements). More specifically, we identify and discuss information acquisition and types of research use in policy decisions. Methods: Using both semi-structured and structured questions, we conducted 30 interviews distributed evenly within three groups of elite political actors: elected members of parliament; top-level public administrators; and social partner politicians. Analysis and reporting were subject to investigator triangulation. Findings: The three groups of elite political actors acquire information about OSH issues from different sources. The most important are: interest groups, networks and internal specialists. Findings show that elite actors generally use research knowledge conceptually and instrumentally, and to a lesser degree strategically and tactically. Many types of information influence politicians. They mostly perceive themselves as initiators of new research. The social partners primarily perceive themselves as users of new research results to initiate change and influence political decisions. Discussion and conclusion: How and when research knowledge is used differs between the three groups. It is important for researchers to tailor research communication to the particular needs of different stakeholders and interact directly with the elite actors and indirectly through lower level specialists from stakeholder organisations, and gain exposure through external sources such as the press and social media.