• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.213-225
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• 2020

Objectives: In order to prepare measures to enhance construction workers' satisfaction with their working environment, the effects of working conditions and the mediating effects of safety and health information on workers' satisfaction with their working environment in the construction industry have been studied. The results of this study can be used as basic data for further studies in this field. Method: Data on 1,361 male construction workers from the 5th Korea Working Condition Survey (KWCS) were used for this study. The effects of working conditions were analyzed using SPSS 25.0 and the mediating effects of health and safety information were analyzed with SPSS PROCESS macro using the bootstrap method. Results: The safety and health management system and the self-determination of break time had a statistically significant positive effect on satisfaction with the working environment. Chemical and ergonomic risk factors had a statistically significant negative effect on satisfaction with the working environment. The provision of safety and health information, the mediating variable, had a statistically significant positive effect on satisfaction with the working environment. Therefore, it had a mediating effect between working conditions and satisfaction with the working environment. Conclusion: In order to enhance construction workers' satisfaction with their working environment, the above results suggest that the safety and health management system should be well established; self-determination of break times should be guaranteed; and chemical and ergonomic risk factors should be controlled. In addition, workers should be provided with necessary health and safety information related to their work. This study will be useful if these findings are used as basic data in further studies in related fields.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.233-239
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• 2009

The regulatory recognition, regulatory approval, and observance for employer, inspector, and worker groups were investigated for the Korean measurement system in working environments. The employer, worker, and inspector showed an agreement of 90~97 % for the measurement of working environments. This survey showed that the measurement system of working environments has been settled in Korea. However, this survey showed an agreement of 81~87 % for reporting the results of working environment, involvement of worker representative, improvement of working environment, and holding presentations for working environment measurement. The employer recognized well for the measurement of working environments, involvement of worker representative, improvement of working environment, and holding presentations for working environment measurement, but the employee did not recognize well them as much as the employer did. Thus, the improvements for the recognition for involvement of worker representative, improvement of working environment, and holding presentations for working environment measurement by the employee are needed.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.181-191
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• 2012

Objectives: Small enterprises have higher exposure to occupational hazards compared to larger enterprises and further, they have fewer resources to control the risks. In order to improve the working environment, development of efficient measures is therefore a major challenge for regulators and other stakeholders. The aim of this paper is to develop a systematic model for the design of tailored intervention programmes meeting the needs of small enterprises. Methods: An important challenge for the design process is the transfer of knowledge from one context to another. The concept of realist analysis can provide insight into mechanisms by which intervention knowledge can be transferred from one context to another. We use this theoretical approach to develop a design model. Results: The model consist of five steps: 1) Defining occupational health and safety challenges of the target group, 2) selecting methods to improve the working environment, 3) developing theories about mechanisms which motivate the target group, 4) analysing the specific context of the target group for small enterprise programmes including owner-management role, social relations, and the perception of the working environment, and 5) designing the intervention based on the preceding steps. We demonstrate how the design model can be applied in practice by the development of an intervention programme for small enterprises in the construction industry. Conclusion: The model provides a useful tool for a systematic design process. The model makes it transparent for both researchers and practitioners as to how existing knowledge can be used in the design of new intervention programmes.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.113-119
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• 2015

This study is to examine the workers' awareness of the safety in logistic centers. For that purpose, the exploratory factor analysis of workers' safety awareness in logistic centers was performed at first, and the 6 variables extracted from the factor analysis were then used to investigate the difference in intergroup awareness of the safety environment in the logistic centers. We administered a survey to 147 workers attending the logistic centers and collected data from them. The results of the study showed that the intergroup awareness of the safety environment turned out to be statistically different from each other in terms of working environment, safe behavior, work risk, safety knowledge and effort, risk justification and compromising attitudes. Experiences in industrial accidents influenced awareness of working environment, work risk and risk justification. The group who experienced accidents is more likely to feel risky and unsatisfied with working place, and their awareness toward risk justification was high as well. It was also observed that there exists awareness difference between manager group and worker group. The group who manages the working place showed more positive awareness of working environment, safe behavior, work risk, safety knowledge and effort, risk justification and compromising attitudes than the worker group. On the contrary, the worker group showed high recognition in risk of working place, and felt that they are willing to compromise on safety for increasing production. The scale of the logistic center produced negative influence on awareness of safety. The group in small logistic center showed the highest awareness in safety, whereas the group in large logistic center with more than 100 workers showed the highest awareness in risk. They are more likely to deviate from correct and safe work procedures due to over-familiarity with the job, as well. The findings suggest that there is a need for the safety management and education to change the workers' understanding and attitudes towards safety.

• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.53-69
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• 2010

This study compared the work environment colors and the colors of working clothes by conducting a field survey of domestic machinery manufacturers who are playing a central role in Korean industries so as to develop and evaluate working clothes based on the safety of workers and environmental harmony. For the study method, after the color-related requirements were collected through interviews and field surveys, the fabrics for working clothes were woven and the colors were selected using the requirements. The designs of working clothes were developed with an emphasis on color design. The colors of the working clothes were also analyzed in their relationship to the working environment. The evaluations were separately performed for the appearance and the colors with workers of D machinery manufacturing company. The appearance and color satisfaction, safety, psychology, and harmony with environment were evaluated on a 5-point scale by workers and their safety managers. Furthermore, pictures of the workers in their existing working clothes and the newly developed working clothes were taken with a digital camera while they were working in the field. The RGB values of the pictures were extracted using Photoshop ver. 7.01, which were converted to HVC values using Munsell Conversion ver. 4.0.1. This study found that higher satisfaction levels were shown for the newly developed working clothes compared to the existing ones. The actual measurements also showed that the newly developed had higher brightness and clearer chromatic contrast than the existing ones, indicating higher explicitness and attention for safety of workers. These types of studies can contribute to the integrated working environment plan of machinery manufacturers.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.53-63
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• 2012

The purpose of this study is to grasp foreign worker's industrial safety and health state, which find out the improvement to secure the basic safety net for foreign workers. We have investigated 2,050 workers through direct interviews during the period from April 12, 2010 to May 31, 2010. And the result of analysis, foreign worker's daily average working time is 10.6 hours(40.8% workers in total work 10~12 hours), the extent of exposure to harmful and dangerous working environment is 'the position which cause pain in neck, waist, hands, shoulders, legs'(69.3%), 'repetitive hands and arms movement'(66.1%). It showed 'experience of accident damage or disease related work'(27.3%), 'never apply for industrial accident compensation' is revealed high at 73%. As a result of completing a safety health education for a year, it showed 'never educated'(40.2%), 'the institute that foreign workers have used for help and advice is the foreign worker's support center'(61.9%) Thus, hiring foreign workers in the company are small in site, the environment is too harmful and dangerous. In addition, no safety and health managers, legally blind spot located in the health and safety, because it is an urgent meet for these measures to improve.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.107-118
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• 2012

Objectives: This study examines the occurrence of disease resulting from low back pain and factors of working environment meaningfully influencing the occurrence of lumbago as well as analyzes '2nd Korean Working Condition Survey (KWCS)' conducted in 2010 so as to establish the prevention and improvement measures. Methods: The analysis method is that it is to compare the prevalence rate of low back pain according to working environment via odds ratio and to implement the test about the factors having the difference in working environment between low back pain group and normal group through weighted t-test. Results: As a result, it indicates that there is a meaningful difference for prevalence rate of low back pain according to age, status in employment and education level which are socio-demographical factors. The analysis in working hours shows that the period of work is a factor raising the prevalence rate of low back pain rather than weekly working hours. The analysis in the work risk factor indicates that the increase in prevalence rate of low back pain takes place to either workers with repetitive movement and continuously standing posture or those with heavy stress and emotional labour. Conclusions: Workers with low back pain have suffered from accident, depression, anxiety disorder and sleep. The factors in which the prevalence rate of low back pain decrease are to provide information on health and safety and working speed, and enough rest.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.556-565
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• 2014

Objectives: This study is aimed at inquiring into the grasp of real condition of working environment and improvements by calculating the hypertension distribution consequent on job stress risk and exposure level of alleviating factors. In addition, this study is intending to estimate the hypertension distribution through socio-demographic factors and level of stressors occurring at working environment, such as high workload, low control, low support, job insecurity, long working hours, low income. Methods: This study estimated the hypertension distribution using the tertiary Korean Working Conditions Survey data, and conducted comparative analysis according to the category of individual questionnaire items using odds ratio. Result: As a result of study, it was found that in the event that working environment satisfaction is low and business & an immediate superior's attitudes are negative, the hypertension distribution was high. Particularly, it was found that physical risk factor musculoskeletal risk factor, and mental risk factor in a workplace were all increasing the hypertension distribution. Conclusions: With the aged workers' labor market participation ratio increasing, hypertension could be a major issue in the field of Occupational Safety and Health. Thus, it's necessary that the relevant employer should lower the hypertension distribution through creation of pleasant working environment and inducement of workers to improve in the relations with their superiors. As for the uppermost limit of this study, there is a limit to clarifying the mechanism of hypertension through multivariate statistics analysis because it's difficult to establish causal relationship by individual questionnaire item as the working conditions survey is made by cross-sectional study. In the follow-up research, this study is going to do research on the mechanism of hypertension through questionnaire supplementation and in-depth analysis.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.355-364
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• 2011

Objectives: Though sulfur dioxide (SO2) is used widely at workplaces, itseffects on humans are not known. Thresholds are reportedwithout reference to gender or age and occupational exposure limits are basedon effects on lung functioning, although localized effects in the upper airways can be expected. This study's aim is to determine thresholds with respect to age and gender and suggests a new approach to risk assessment using breathing reflexes presumably triggered by trigeminal receptors in the upper airways. Methods: Odor thresholds were determined by the ascending method of limits in groups stratified by age and gender. Subjects rated intensities of different olfactory and trigeminal perceptions at different concentrations of $SO_2$. During the presentation of the concentrations, breathing movements were measured by respiratory inductive plethysmography. Results: Neither age nor gender effects were observed for odor threshold. Only ratings of nasal irritation were influenced bygender. A benchmark dose analysis on relative respiratory depth revealed a 10%-deviation from baseline at about 25.27 mg/$m^3$. Conclusion: The proposed new approach to risk assessment appearsto be sustainable. We discuss whether a 10%-deviation of breathingdepth is relevant.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.137-143
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• 2015

Fire fighter are exposed to the situations which are hard to predict due to continuous and accidental changes which hinder their fire fighting activity. As these threats of safety accident act as fear factors, they are doing insecure fire fighting activities. Therefore, as unclear and abnormal risks of working environment such as the riskiness of expansion of disaster, instability, obstacles of activities, abnormality, urgency, etc. increase, safety accidents are caused. This study analyzes the actual condition of safety and health and awareness of fire fighter who are exposed safety accidents during their fire fighting activities and utilize such result as the basis data to secure safety of fire fighter, keep efficient safety control and prevent accidents. The results of analysis are as follows. As rescue works among all fire-fighting works shows the highest emotional stabilization and the highest post-traumatic stress disorder is shown in fire sergeant level positions, and fire fighters whose working period is 10-15 years, reinforcing safety training to long-term workers is necessary. As the result of survey regarding safety awareness, the highest awareness level was shown in fire sergeant level positions, and fire fighters whose working period is over 20 years, and when it comes to operation of fire fighting equipments, fire-fighting workers and workers having 1-4 years of working period showed high safety awareness. The more serious injury in a fire fighter experienced as the first injury after working as a fire-fighter, the more cause-and-effect relationship was shown between personal physical condition and work, and it is shown as obstacles of fire fighting activities and affects to post-traumatic stress disorder. Moreover, as after-work off duty activities also affect to official disaster, systematic improvement of working environment is required. Occupational medical work compatibility evaluation considering the distinct characteristics of works to secure fire-fighter' health care together with fire-fighting capability is shown to be necessary.