Iranian Journal of Ergonomics

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Introduction: Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) represent one of the leading causes of occupational injury and disability in the developed and industrially developing countries. This study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of MSDs and evaluate the risk of these disorders among welders of a steel manufacturing industry.

 

Materials and Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was achieved on all 243 welders employed in a steel manufacturing industry. Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) was used to study the prevalence of MSDs. Meanwhile, QEC technique was employed to evaluate the risk of exposure to these disorders. For data analysis, central statistical indices, T-test and Chi-square test were used.

 

Results: The results suggested the highest prevalence of symptoms of musculoskeletal disorders in low back, trunk and knees, respectively. QEC technique showed a high and very high risk of exposure to MSDs in 64.6 % of welders.

Conclusion: This study demonstrated that the prevalence of WMSDs in welders under study was high. Based on the obtained results, the most significant ergonomic problems in welders were found to be awkward postures, manual material handling and back bending and twisting. Furthermore, the results suggested that QEC can present reliable findings in evaluating the risk level of exposure to WMSDs. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE AR-SA

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Background: Shift work is one of the inevitable consequences of technology in which in the recent years numerous studies have been done about its effect on health. Somatic, psychological and social disturbances are among the problems that are seen more in people with shift work than other people. The current study aims to determine the prevalence of these disturbances in one of the LPG and gas refinery complex, oil companies. Methods: This cross-sectional case-control study was carried out at 180 shift-work people as case group and 90 day-work people as control group at the security section of the oil refinery company. Data of shift workers were collected with Survey of Shift workers (SOS) questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of questions on demographic characteristics and health problems associated with shift work. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS Ver.19 at a significance level of 5%. Results: The mean (SD) of shift working and day-work workers were estimated to be 41 ± 4.8 and 39 ± 4.1 years, respectively. The results showed that health problems shift-workers were more prevalent than day-work workers. The differences were significant in gastrointestinal disease, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and fatigue (P < 0.05). Conclusion: According to the result of this study, shift work can be a risk factor for the incidence of somatic and psychological disturbances. Initiatives should be implemented to prevent these complications in shift workers.

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Introduction: One of the most important subjects in the analysis of driver’s behavior had been situation awareness during the past decade. However, no study has been investigated the relation among component of situation awareness and performance and cognitive abilities of bus drivers. Current study aimed to survey relationship between bus drivers’ situation awareness, driving performance and cognitive abilities using driving simulator.

Material and Methods: In this study, 30 professional bus drivers who have diploma or higher degree participated. Situation awareness measured by SAGAT technique and tests UFOV, EFT and WMS were used for measuring of cognitive abilities. Brake reaction time and lane departures were criteria for driving performance.

Results: Accordingly, the result showed significant relation between drivers’ situation awareness before and after hazard conditions. Among WMS, divided attention, selective attention and EFT with level 1 of situation awareness was seen significant relation. The result of current study released a significant correlation among WMS and divided attention with lane departure.

Conclusion: Results showed, in general, the driver's situational awareness in dangerous conditions increases. The study showed that cognitive ability affects only level 1 of situational awareness. According to role of situational awareness in driving performance, the results of lane keeping showed that perception might be a key factor in driving performance.