Advances in Social and Organizational Factors

AHFE International

Accelerating Open Access Science in Human Factors Engineering and Human-Centered Computing

Advances in Social and Organizational Factors

book-cover

Editors: Peter Vink

Topics: Social & Occupational Ergonomics

Publication Date: 2020

ISBN: 978-1-4951-2102-9

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe100304

Articles

Environmental Comfort Design Considerations for Future Control Room Interiors

Today, there is a significant amount of research projects focusing on human health and well-being and the connection between the environment and human psychological responses. A holistic approach to integrating control room communications with comfortable interiors is emerging. This paper discusses the socio-cultural aspects of comfort and the sensory communication aspects of environmental comfort design for future control room interiors.

Conne Bazley a, Peter Vink b

Conference Proceedings

The Future Aircraft Interior Design inspired by Crowd Well-Being

The role of the airplane in cross-continental travel is becoming more common today, asking for more attention for in-flight comfort and experience. Now the focus is on technology. However, humans have social needs and they gather and form various social groups in society. In this paper, the airplane is partly assimilated to a microcosm of society with groups of passengers that form a crowd. Through studying the knowledge of crowd well-being in combination with shaping the future context based on research related to technology and its environment an interior design configuration is proposed using a Blended Wing Body (BWB) aircraft. Passengers are suggested to fly with a group of people with similar connections on social media or other future group forming social and technology systems to sustain their physical and psychological well-being, e.g. staying active or having a quiet rest. Based on this vision a design is made including a new seating arrangement with concepts of in-flight entertainment and flight attendant service. This interior design is expected to improve passenger’s comfort and experience in long flights by supporting their social and personal needs with advanced technology.

Ma Yu Ting Christina Wang, Jie Li, Peter Vink

Conference Proceedings

The Vitalizing Office Workstation: Biomechanical, Physiological, Subjective and Performance Effects

The problem of physical inactivity, caused by both lifestyle and work-related factors, is affecting an ever greater number of the office-based workforce. In addition to this, physical inactivity has been associated with an increased risk for various chronic diseases as well as various musculoskeletal disorders. As the majority of an individual’s time is spent at work, a means of introducing more activity into the workplace environment would appear to provide potentially the most effective solution. One of these potential solutions is that of dynamic workstations. In a controlled laboratory setting, the biomechanical, physiological, subjective and performance effects of two dynamic workstations were contrasted against two more conventional workstations. Measures assessed included physical activity and percent of heart rate reserve. The performance of basic computer and office tasks was assessed using a standardized battery of tasks included a typing task, a reading task, a telephone task, a task examining mouse dexterity and a set of cognitive tasks. The set of cognitive tasks included two reaction tasks, a memory test and an Erikson flanker test. To determine the acceptability of these workstations, subjective experiences of the participants were recorded using a questionnaire.

Rolf Ellegasta, Juliane Bottera, Eva-Maria Burforda, Britta Webera, Reinier Könemannb, Suzanne Hiemstra-van Mastrigtb, Diane Commissaris b

Conference Proceedings

Comfortable Rear Seat Postures Preferred by Car Passengers

The joint angles of three most common postures of passengers sitting in the rear seats (sleeping, standard, upright) were recorded to develop an ideal posture model for rear seat passengers within a car. The passengers were positioned in a realistic mock-up of a whole car interior with a fully adjustable back seat and postures recorded. The results showed that the upright and standard postures have similarities to the postures of the driver’s seat in the literature. The relaxed posture showed a higher angle between trunk and thigh compared with the driving position and the variation in leg postures was much larger, which can be explained by the fact that the legs have more freedom in the rear seat than in the driving position.

Ümit Kilincsoyab, Alexa-Sibylla Wagnerac, Klaus Benglerb, Heiner Bubbb, Peter Vinkc

Conference Proceedings

Adaptive Customization –Value Creation by Adaptive Lighting in the Car Interior

In this paper adaptive customization by color changing LEDs is investigated. Two forms of customization are studied: one system reacts on the color of subjects’ clothes and one system was influenced by a color blending App. Both are built up in a real car. The emotional responses were recorded before and after the test with 70 subjects. Emotions as attraction, hope and joy were found as reactions and 58.6% preferred this approach of steering the interior lighting. Half of the sample preferred the color mixing and half the automatic color detection system showing that there are two clear interaction preferences. The expectations recorded prior to the test influenced the level of experience massively and also interfered with the subjects’ emotions.

Alexa-Sibylla Wagner ab, Ümit Kilincsoy ad, Maximilian Reitmeir c, Peter Vink b

Conference Proceedings

Ergonomic Aspects of an Intelligent Building

The issue of intelligent building is one of the most important design challenges in today's world. The main factors that influence the development of an intelligent building are cultural, civilization, technical and economical conditioning. The development of information technology and control engineering has allowed the construction of a building that responds to the needs of people in an automatic and flexible way. Full integration of electronic systems allows a building to be categorised as smart objects and attest to its quality. Human factors are considered in the context of intelligent building design that is to adapt to the requirements of users in order to improve the quality of life. The purpose of this article is to show the ergonomic aspects of an intelligent building taking into account factors affecting the peace of mind and well-being of people in two environments: work environment and housing environment (work environment and housing environment are the primary spaces where people spend a major part of their life). These are not only technical factors, but also elements associated with the arrangement of space. The article discusses factors which also determine the quality of an intelligent building. It examines the ergonomic aspects within the interdisciplinary context taking into account, above all, convenience, comfort and safety of users.

Krystyna Strumiłło

Conference Proceedings

Can Design Teachers Evaluate Students’ Products from an End-User Point-of-View?

The purpose of design education is to teach future designers to create products that fulfil the needs, wishes and expectations of the targeted users. Therefore, it seems reasonable that teachers in design education should have knowledge on how users experience products and apply this in the evaluation of design assignments. The question is whether ‘teachers are able to estimate the user experience?’. To answer this question the correlation between the assessment of products done by users and by teachers is analysed, by assessing 76 products designed by students. The teachers assessment correlated strongly to the assessment done by a jury of end users, (ρ = 0.743, α < 0.000), if the products designed for general target groups (i.e. adults between 18 and 65 years of age without special disabilities or very specific problems and needs). However, no correlation was found between the assessment of teachers and a jury of end users of products designed for people with disabilities or very specific problems and needs (such as bed bound hospitalized children).

Barbara N.E. Kok abc, Karin Slegers b, Peter Vink c

Conference Proceedings

Cerebellar Diseases and Occupation

Cerebellar degenerative disorders are neurological diseases that may result in functional difficulties affecting autonomy and employability. Besides being a personal problem, cerebellar diseases are also a social issue in terms of costs incurred by the national health system and in the employment sphere. The aims of our study were to characterize and analyze the most important individual and organizational variables in a sample of working and non-working subjects affected by cerebellar ataxia. For the purposes of our research, we prepared two sets of tests, one for workers and one for non-workers. Both versions contain a socio-demographic, organizational and clinical diagnostic section and the Resilience Scale for Adults. The version for workers is composed of the Work Ability Index and the Health Service Executive Management Standards Indicator Tool. The version for non-workers consists instead of the Search for Work Self-Efficacy Scale. We have enrolled 45 patients (spinocerebellar ataxia, Friedreich’s ataxia and sporadic adult-onset cerebellar ataxia). Ataxic subjects display moderate levels of work ability. Workplace accessibility remains a critical issue that must addressed through targeted rehabilitation as well as ergonomic and training interventions. Such interventions are likely to be effective because ataxic workers positively perceive their abilities, strengths, planning and control capacity.

Alberto Ranavoloa, Mariano Serraob, Carlo Casalib, Monica Ghellia, Alessio Silvettia, Francesco Pierellib, Alessandro Fillac, Alessandro Rocac, Giacomo Bianchia, Federico Forzanoa, Silvia Maria, Sergio Iavicolia, Francesco Draicchioa

Conference Proceedings

Comparative Study of Noise and Thermal Load Levels by General and Individual Sampling

This paper is a comparative study of the levels of two environmental parameters in a job, heat and noise, analyzed from two different perspectives, the general and the particular. The study was conducted in a university dining for analysis considering two individuals that work in the field of cooking. The objective of the study is to evaluate the two environmental factors in this sector, noise and thermal load, and determine the variations between the levels of both aggressors measured in the general work environment, and levels that are perceived directly by the operator. To carry out the experience the instrumentation used for measurement of general environmental conditions were hygrometer, anemometer and sound level meter; and the instrumentation for measuring individual parameters were noise dosimeter, heart rate monitor and calorimeter consumption. Recorded data were analyzed and the valuesobtained from sampling equipment of the general environment and the personal sampling devices were compared. The comparison of the results obtained revealed that in a work environment as the analyzed, where operators have a continuous movement between different jobs, the use of individual measuring instruments are more accurate than measuring equipment of the general environment to set the exposure to dangerous levels of heat load and noise.

Kolodziej Sebastián Federico, Cruz Eugenio Rubén

Conference Proceedings

Vessel Information - Rich Meta-file to Increase the Life Cycle of Small Craft Passenger Boats

The aim of this paper is to present a methodology that will focus on the increase of the life cycle of small craft passenger boats made of composite materials (Glass Reinforced Plastic, GRP). Passenger boats (small craft, with length overall up to 30m), are sea-going vessels which carry passengers for recreational purposes, such as small charter cruises, for the purposes of scheduled routes or transportation of professional personnel or ship crews. The goal is to develop a user-friendly, dynamic information-rich vessel's technical metafile will include all aspects of the vessel from initial customer specifications and required regulations, to shipyard designs, final sea-trial data to post-delivery surveys and inspections. Using the meta-file as the main knowledgebase, a number of applications will be developed to allow the collaborative building of the vessel with synchronous update of the current rules and regulations, allowing this way all the interested parties to be up-to-date and fully aware.

Nikos Frangakisa, Vassilis Stratisb, Vaggelis Papakonstantinouc, Eric Caughi d

Conference Proceedings

Industrial Ergonomics: The Impact of aMacroergonomics Program with a Well-Defined Performance Goal in Reducing Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders

This study describes a corporate macroergonomics program designed to identify jobs with work-related musculoskeletal disorder (WMSDs) risk exposure, reduce that exposure, and evaluate the subsequent effect upon WMSD cases. The adoption of a company-wide ergonomics program comprised of: a plan to address WMSDs (ergonomics plan), risk identification and reduction process, clearly defined responsibilities, and employee training is reviewed. Various technical initiatives facilitating program implementation including standardized job risk assessment tools, training and certification process for individuals performing risk analyses, central database to record assessment results, and management system to track progress are described. Between 2004 and 2008, 2020 jobs from 116 locations were analyzed, risks identified, interventions completed, and results documented. A statistical analysis of the results from 33 US locations showed a significant relationship between number of at-risk jobs addressed and a subsequent reduction in WMSD Incidence Rates (IRs) and lost-time IRs. The percent reduction of risks at each facility was also found to significantly reduce lost and restricted workdays. The reduction in WMSDs supports the effectiveness of the key program elements of management commitment, identification and improvement of problem jobs, and knowledgeable location-based resources and underscores the importance of well-defined performance-based metric for effective WMSD reduction.

N. Larsona, H. Wicka, T. Albinb, S. Hallbeckc, P. Vinkd

Conference Proceedings

3M Poland Manufacturing: An Ergonomics Success Story

As a member of the European Union (EU), 3M Poland must comply with both Polish and EU law. The primary Polish Health and Safety law and EU norm (EN 614-1:2006+A1:2009 - This paper describes two successful ergonomics case studies from two 3M manufacturing locations in Poland. It describes the job assessment process, details job assessment results, describes solutions implemented, and provides information about cost and benefits realized. In this session, two case study projects, one from Janinów and the other from the Rabka site, will be presented. One of these projects (Janinów) won 3M’s internal Applied Ergonomics Innovation Awards (AEIA) in 2012, and the second from Rabka will be nominated for this same prize in 2013. The projects describe the application of the Ergonomics Risk Reduction Program, which improved workers’ quality of life, productivity, and product quality, as well.

Marcin Szpaka, Tomasz Szpakb, Nancy L. Larsonc

Conference Proceedings

Blending Corporate Ergonomics with European and French Regulations

For global corporations with operations in France, a challenge has been to merge the European Union (EU) and French ergonomics regulations with the company health and safety requirements in order to achieve efficient and effective results without unnecessary work. In this case study the company’s corporate ergonomics program focuses on reducing work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSD) and is more detailed and prescriptive than EU or French regulations. This paper details the way a global company with manufacturing operations in France meet both company and governmental regulations related to WMSDs. In 2008 a comparison of the company and EU requirements was completed. This paper describes the process, from the initial audit to the ongoing implementation of the ergonomics program as part of the health and safety management system throughout France. Using the company’s risk reduction process and job assessment tools resulted in compliance with EU and French regulations and standards. It took only a year to see the first jobs evaluated and the reduction of unacceptable WMSDs risk exposures due to ergonomic intervention.

Martial Bouvina, Nancy L Larsonb

Conference Proceedings

WRMSD Survey. A Comparison Between Assembly and Manufacturing Tasks

A survey about the presence of WRMSD was conducted at an industrial concern where automotive parts are produced, in the central region of Mexico. Two samples were involved. One of them consisted of 114 workers who perform assembly tasks using CNC hydraulic presses. The other contained 153 CNC lathe operators, who manufacture the parts to be later assembled. All subjects were male. Both groups operate Advanced Manufacturing Technology (AMT) machinery, facing both physical and cognitive demands. The subjects completed a questionnaire on the presence of musculoskeletal complaints, rating its severity on a 0-10 scale. Ninety percent of the assembly workers pointed to at least one body region with complaint; 85% of the manufacturers did the same. Most of the ratings fell in the 4-5 markings. Upper and lower back, neck and both wrists were the body regions most affected for the whole sample. Our findings are very much in line with the current trends, and clearly point to the need for ergonomic intervention in regards of workspace layout and tasks procedures, in order to diminish the risk of musculoskeletal damage for both groups.

J Nieves Serratos Pereza, Juan Luis Hernandez Arellanob, Carmen Negretec

Conference Proceedings

Design, Maintenance and Refurbishment of Turbines in a Collaborative Environment

In this paper, a conceptual prototype of a collaborative tool for supporting decision making in the context of power plants maintenance is presented. The context of this industrial problem together with an analysis of the need for such a tool is also described. Then, a use case analysis is performed, as a conceptual specification of this tool. This conceptual prototype was evaluated using the cognitive walkthrough technique and the results of that evaluation process are also presented here.

Arcadio Reyes-Lecuonaa, Luis Molina-Tancoa, Daniel González-Toledoa, Susana Floresb, Eva Frutosb, Harshada Patelc, Robert Houghtonc

Conference Proceedings

Field of Actions of Industrial Engineering and of the Human Resource Management Influenced by Ageing People

The demographic structural shift drives a change towards an increasing employee orientation, to which the German businesses have to find strategic and operative answers. Businesses acts and efforts are promising, if organizations make sure that ergonomic findings are kept. There is no unique standard approach to solve the demographic challenge yet. The following article represents core theses to a demographic personnel work, as well as possible fields of action, which guarantees businesses a solid handling of the demographic change. The consideration of due to the demographic change altered parameters at designing the qualification, personnel progress and career prospects, are an important field of actions and will be examined at full length as a result.

Sascha Stowasser

Conference Proceedings

Development of the Management Cycle and Supporting Tool for Assisting Organizational Workers in Learning Themselves How to Detect Safety-related Problems

For employees to allow the improvement of safety in their own organization, researchers have developed a learning cycle to enhance the ability to notice that it becomes a safety hazard. Safety is important aspect organization’s activities. Organization that had caused the accident has a sense of distrust. It will start losing users and customers as a result. It is necessary to have great safety promotion activities as an organization in order to avoid such a situation, but the activity can be conducted more efficient by personnel of a handful instead of driving, all employees to participate. However, some educators conduct safety training to all employees to avoid increasing costs. Therefore, by building a system that enables learning, employees devised a cycle to allow safety training while reducing the cost after finishing the initial training by building the software with the goal to enable employee to learn themselves. Finally, authors have devised a system that enables the safety training while reducing the burden on educators.This system consists in a "factor analysis" and "analysis software". Factor analysis is a technique that a phenomenon might cause an accident (extracted factors). It is necessary to consider in a variety of perspective like relationships and working environment and so on for analysis. However, it is possible to achieve without the feedback of the analysis it is difficult. By entering into analysis software factors that have been extracted, the software will give us information, such as trends and perspectives missing. To repeat the cycle is performed factor analysis with reference to the information, and to enter into further analysis software. Then employees are going to learn a way of thinking about safety. Taking advantage of it, the employee is going to notice and avoid mistakes and accidents themselves and able to review the day-to-day operations or near-miss cases, and accidents. When applied to five groups of participants who have no experience of factor analysis at all the following results have been obtained. First, researchers compared the number of factors to be extracted. The second run time added a factor of 182% delay on average compared to the first. Similarly, the third run time was the result 252% of the second, and 456 percent for the first time for a third time. Researchers concluded that as the number of factors to be extracted increase, the more the information will be needed serve as a reference when to take safety measures.

Yuya Tanabe, Yusaku Okada

Conference Proceedings

An Evaluation of Human Factors on Confirmation/Check Tasks in Organizational Safety Management

In organizations’ safety management, it is most important to ensure workers check their own work so that they can detect human error as early as possible. We study the checking task from the viewpoint of human factors with the aim of identifying factors impeding the performance of the checking task and proposing a method for mitigating the effects of such impeding factors. The checking task does not always play a good performance, making workers desirous of performance improvement. However, few attempts have been made to study the checking task beyond analyzing individual, concrete work contexts. We, first, identified and categorized problems regarding the checking task by statistically analyzing the result of the survey covering over 20,000 workers of 15 companies from several industries such as railway and general hospitals. The survey included distributing questionnaire and on-site interviews, both targeting site workers. We, next, got down on to further study the result of the above analysis as that we developed advice/tips data that can assist those who prepare a checklist. Based on the result of these analyses, we compiled a guideline on what to discuss and how to address it when adding new items to an existing checklist.

Kumiko Takahashi, Ryoko Ikeda, Yusaku Okada

Conference Proceedings

An Analysis of Drug Administration Taskson Safety Management in Medical Centers

The safety management in various hospitals recently has begun in order to reduce the incidents and prevent human errors. Among incidents that occurred in hospital, many are related to drug administration error. Drug administration error is a type of human error that occurs somewhere in the process spanning from medicine prescription by the doctor through administration by the nurse. We examined whether there is any problem with the incident report on the drug administration error in the hospital. Then, we found that it is difficult for safety manager with little experience, to find the problems in drug administration task. Also we found that they didn’t know how they would discuss countermeasures. Therefore we studied to help safety manager find and take measure in work including dangerous factors at drug administration tasks by evaluating the risk of the work. The method is evaluating the risk of the work in the drug administration tasks by using Factors List, Risk Score and Influence of the Factors. By using this method, it helps safety managers in the hospitals understand problems of the work in the drug administration tasks and activate the recurrence prevention activities of medical accident.

Naoki Yamao, Y. Okada

Conference Proceedings

Evaluation of Working Postures in Mexican Rural Workers and Their Effect on Musculoskeletal Discomfort

The study population consisted of workers who live in areas considered rural (less than 2, 500 people and have no regular water service, electric light, street paving, according to INEGI, 2010), distributed in the municipalities of Poncitlán and Ocotlan, Jalisco. Its economy depends to be workers or peasants in small family plots. Objective: To relate the positions taken and musculoskeletal discomfort in workers of a furniture industry in Ciénega region of Mexico, in 2011. Methods: Cross-sectional prospective analytical component. 258 workers participated. The instruments used were socio-demographic survey, Standardized Nordic Questionnaire (CNE) and OWAS method. The data were analyzed using basic statistics and correlation, organizing data in tables and graphs. Results: The greatest inconvenience positions were presented in sewing, upholstery, assembly and shipping. Variables in the correlation of the anatomical region of the back and expressed seniority factor had the highest risk, followed by positions with action category 3 and 4 OWAS and age. Conclusions: These are the positions derived from the task which causes musculoskeletal discomfort and not the activity itself. Reengineering posts, ergonomic education intervention, and automation of high-risk areas is proposed.

Adriana Angelica Gómez-Carrillo, Elvia Luz González-Muñoz

Conference Proceedings

PUMA - Development and Application of a Tool for Supporting Nuclear Power Plant Operating Teams in Unexpected and Unknown Situations

The method PUMA was developed to help operating teams coping with potentially critical situations that are unexpected and unknown, that means, situations that cannot be handled by standardized procedures. The method was developed with the participation of the operating teams of a nuclear power plant in Switzerland within the project TeamSafe (see also: Kleindienst, Brüngger, Koch & Ritz, 2014). By participation of the operating teams good practices were collected and condensed to the method PUMA, which consists of two essential components: "structure problem-solving process" and "coordination/communication during team discussion". Especially the encouragement of reflexivity and inclusion of all team members for information collection, situation assessment and planning of measures is supported by the tool. The method PUMA has been introduced to 10 operating teams (n=53) in the nuclear power plant. During the annually held simulator trainings in 2012 and in 2013, all control room teams of the plant have been trained theoretically and practically in applying PUMA for two simulation scenarios. After both training units all participants have been asked to evaluate the PUMA tool in a questionnaire. Analyses of the results clearly show that the tool is seen as a useful supplement to the existing standardized procedures.

Jonas Brüngger, Cornelia Kleindienst, Julia Koch, Frank Ritz

Conference Proceedings

Macroergonomic Premises for Organizational Innovations in Business Corporations

The paper discusses the issue of so-called multiagent systems ergonomics. This approach is addressed for organization structures that combine human societies and the organization and technological component. Such multiagent systems, called macroergonomic systems, concern only the internal organization of the enterprise. However, they can also enclose structural business conglomerates of groups of many enterprises. These systems, represented by modern business corporations, can have not only an organized functional form, but also a form of composite network relations, hybrid, or even (seemly chaotic) swarm. The macroergonomic interpretation of the functioning of modern business corporations shows the particular role of the Human Factor, represented by White and Blue Collars, which have the innovative, who have the innovative technology and innovative managerial solutions, social and business objectives. The article shows a case study of organizational innovations in two Polish business corporations in order to form a three-stage sequence of such events, enclosing: classic innovations, a so-called “new wave” and “creating a proposal for the buyer”. Conclusions of the paper present the idea of “macroergonomic organizational innovations’ matrix”. Such matrix can be treated as a theoretical generalization of the problem of implementing macroergonomic innovative solutions. These solutions have been illustrated in a form of two models: process and structural innovations. Each of them can be realized in two variants of events: endogenic and exogenous.

Leszek Pacholski*

Conference Proceedings

Occupational Risk In Improving The Quality Of Working Conditions

Adherence to the systemic approach to improving working conditions is increasingly becoming a central prerequisite for the successful operation of business organizations. By adopting systemic principles to improve the quality of working conditions, organizations gain access to effective tools for eliminating hazards and strenuousness and consequently acquire the ability to grow and improve themselves. Any measures adopted within that framework are undertaken in recognition of the roles and tasks of employees seen as the internal clients of specific processes.The article demonstrates that improvements can be achieved by assessing risks. In this context, risk assessment is viewed as a tool for gathering information on irregularities. By assessing risks, businesses can identify any hazardous, deleterious and strenuous factors which require improvement (through corrective and preventive measures) and whose scope and characteristics depend on the level of occupational risk. The use of occupational risk as a criterion for selecting improvement measures helps identify adequate technical means and organizational arrangements to be applied to bring the working environment to the required quality standard. In particular cases, such means and arrangements should be complemented by using personal protection items. An essential consideration in improving working conditions is to incorporate any selected elements of the systemic approach that are critical for shaping the working environment. Only then will the proper improvement measures be effective.

Adam Górny

Conference Proceedings

Analysis of Psychosocial Risk in the Context of the Objectives of Macroergonomics

The psychosocial risks in working environment can and must be coped with just like it would if they were physical, chemical or biological hazards. Yet the employer awareness in this field seems relatively small. One should recognize this as a fault because a working environment free of stress overload favors not only the workers' health but also may generate reasonable profit as enhanced productivity and increased quality of work may be noticed (Merecz, Potocka, Wężyk and Waszkowska, 2012). Ergonomic quality in contrast to previous does not depend on few strictly identified factors that may be influenced by user, but is a result of a number of elements of macro environment (Butlewski and Tytyk, 2012). It becomes necessary to better one's understanding of the concept of psychosocial hazard and risk connected with it to be able to evaluate and lessen the risks. In subject literature one can find many titles that suggest usage of risk managing paradigm to successfully manage psychosocial risk. According to this paradigm the correct identification of danger is most important and must be legible, simple and easy to apply. It seems so that the described in this paper checklists proposed by International Labor Office (ILO) meet these requirements.

Joanna Sadłowska-Wrzesińska

Conference Proceedings

Humanization of Work in Project Management

The experience gathered in the course of many IT projects ranging from the simplest to the very complex, shows that the key adverse factors affecting the productivity of project teams are: the stress that accompanies designers in the development and implementation of IT projects, poor use of the intellectual capacities of individual project team members, excessive focus on design support tools at the expense of project quality, excessive adherence to a specific method of IT project management, the pressures of time and budget restraints on projects where labor intensity has been underestimated. According to many IT project managers, the treating of people as “spare parts” often jeopardizes project outcome. Managers commonly forget the simple fact that the intellect and personalities of every employee are different and that often neglected in accomplishing project goals by not helping individual staff members to achieve personal satisfaction. My practice shows that the choice of a design method has little effect on design productivity and often reduces it where the system needs continuous customization to ever new client requirements and restrict the operating freedom on individual projects contributing to less innovative outcomes.

Andrzej Borucki

Conference Proceedings

From ICT-Machine Determinism to a Socio-ICT Organic Design of Knowledge Sharing Systems

The transfer of knowledge between individuals, groups, practices, communities or systems is regarded as Knowledge Sharing (KS) in organizations. Research suggests that understanding social interaction between different interest groups within an organization is a critical component of effective KS. The relevance of social interaction approach has been debated in areas such as systems design, organizational process redesign, process improvement and artificial intelligence. Organizational science literature also highlights that information and communications technology (ICT) network structures provide insight about the communication patterns of individuals working in an organization. Therefore, an understanding of the ICT networks at play needs to be viewed as an essential element of the design of KS systems in organizations. We posit Mechorganics in terms of ‘the synergistic combination of civil mechanical systems engineering, social network dynamics, ICT and the management of interconnected knowledge, information (and data) infrastructures in the designing and composing of adaptive (resilient and sustainable) organizations’. It is further suggested that organization structures have both a formal and informal structure that may be considered to be a coalition of individuals, with implications for methods of communication and collective decision-making and taking, In this paper, we provide a background to organization as a network of people.

Simon Reay Atkinson, Sven Carlsson, Liaquat Hossain

Conference Proceedings

A Day-in-the Life of a Systems/Software Engineer 3-5 Years Ahead

Key technology shifts such as big data, social technologies, internet-of-things, and mobile are reshaping the landscape in which engineers operate. This paper will present a vision of software and systems engineering of the future, specifically considering development of complex large-scale real-time embedded systems. We will discuss the future of software/systems craftsmanship, and how this impacts the day-in-the-life of an engineer. In order to address challenges related to speed, quality, and cost we see organizations responding by driving initiatives in the following areas:Agile – deliver more often with focus on business outcomeLean – take out non-value adding tasksCollaboration – a culture of open information sharingInnovation – create room for risk-takingDevOps – breaking down organizational silosWe also see development practices evolving to respond to the changing landscape in the areas of architecture, steering/governance, people/teams as well as how to manage development platforms.

Maria Ericsson a, Sky Matthews b

Conference Proceedings

Management with Ergonomic Indicators: A Conception of Indicators System for Performance to the Industry of Construction from the Workers Perception

The main systems available for evaluating the performance of organizations, including the construction industry, leave out many aspects regarding the scope of Ergonomics and Environmental Sustainability. This gap imposes a partial understanding by organizations on their actual performance, compromising their strategies, efficiency, longevity and survival. This article aims at proposing a System of Performance Indicators for the Construction Industry, from the perception that professionals in this industry have on the indicators. This System, built from the Ergonomics approach, integrates the production, health, safety and sustainability criteria, aiming at assisting managers in making decisions. From a bibliographical research 62 (sixty two) indicators were identified. These indicators were classified into 9 (nine) categories, forming a system of indicators. All indicators composing this system underwent validation of 13 (thirteen) groups of professionals working in the construction industry. The proposed system of indicators aims at meeting the attention demand for workers, including indicators of occupational health and safety, and environmental management. It is expected that, consequently, this system can contribute to the development of maturity and organizational culture in construction, as the system expands and integrates the elements of productive efficiency to be measured and improved.

Isabela Xavier Barbalho Bezerra, Ricardo José Matos de Carvalho, Pedro Lima e Silva, Rodolfo Fernando Carvalho Vieira, Tatiane Emanuele Brito de Oliveira

Conference Proceedings

Influence of Macroergonomic Factors on Production Systems Organizing

The paper discusses the need to recognize factors determining the ergonomic conformity of production systems. The focus has been found to be vital for the design of such systems. To help adopt the approach, the authors have identified factors which affect the ergonomic conformity of production systems in the automotive industry and subsequently had them verified by experts. Furthermore, they employed the network thinking methodology to analyze the time and severity of impact of the individual factors. The studies carried out by the authors have made it possible to develop a model for the management of ergonomic factors. The authors additionally proposed conclusions on ergonomically-driven measures intended to eliminate barriers in designing production systems and on opportunities for enhancing the ergonomic conformity of working environment in manufacturing plants.

in Automotive Industry

Conference Proceedings

The Use of Web Application “Mobilne Miasto” [Mobile City] in the Conveyance of Information About Urban Space in the System Human Factor – Technology

This paper describes selected aspects of the research work carried out within the research and development project called “An integrated system for supporting the access to information". The objective of the study were the possibilities of using the web application "Mobilne miasto" in an urban space. Particular attention was paid to increasing the efficiency of access to information about the urban space, as well as to allowing impact on the environment through the application. The article discusses the issues related to a study of information needs, where key features which states have been optimized were analyzed, that is: usefulness of information (obtained by studying the needs), the reliability of information used in urban areas (accuracy, comprehensiveness) and the time of access to that information (analysis of the amount of necessary information).

Marek Golinski

Conference Proceedings

Macroergonomics in the Design of the Quality of Work Environment and of Human Life: Examples of Practical Applications

The purpose of this work is explaining what is the essence of macroergonomics, on basis of the analysis of the world achievements from the scope of disciplines: human factors ergonomics, project studies, science studies, organization theory, psychology and sociology. Moreover, what is the role of macroergonomics in the formation of not only the quality of the technical environment or the work environment, but also the quality of life of individuals, as well as entire populations. Macroergonomics is, according to the classification recognized in world, the third phase of the evolution of ergonomics, which is the most current and modern generation of ergonomics. In other words, macroergonomics is an organization – machine interface technology. Elements of macroergonomics (criteria and determined scientific areas, as well as tendencies that contribute the creation of the essence of macroergonomics) are presented from two sides: the conceptual and methodological side and the side of possibilities for practical implementations (the set of works realized by the author along with works made under her direction). The paper is composed from four integral threads. The first part presents views on the quality of life and the quality of the work environment. The second part is dedicated to the genesis of macroergonomics and to prospects of its development. The third part, in view to its limited volume, illustrates the general image of different possibilities to apply macroergonomics into practice in determined areas of technique and economy. The paper presents an example of a demand of enterprises for ergonomic knowledge in relation to the process of designing the company’s strategy and marketing plan, presented for the case of authorized passenger cars dealer companies. The work ends with a conclusion on the role of macroergonomics in the creation of the man’s quality of life and possibilities of the development of this discipline in the future.

Aleksandra Jasiak

Conference Proceedings

Efficient Control Tool of Work System Resources in the Macro-Ergonomic Context

The article analyzes macro-ergonomic methods in order to build a model that will enable the creation of patterns used during the monitoring of system resource deficits. Usage of ergonomic approach for this purpose has proved to be necessary due to the fact that the character of the system implies not only a very detailed knowledge of the various subsystems (e.g., technical subsystem, biological subsystem, psychological subsystem, ecological subsystem, etc.), but also above all knowledge about the relationship between the various subsystems and the overall structure of the whole system, such as an organizational unit. The tool obtained in this manner includes the following areas of activity: defining the problem, modeling the work subsystem structure, creating event scenarios, and gathering information during experiments using the previously established at the first stage work situation models and models of the course of objective tasks. The results of these experimental studies are the basis for the creation of systematic mechanisms of work system resource control, taking into account the context of tasks and the environmental influence on the organizational unit. The developed method of system analysis taking into account macro-ergonomic aspects is also presented in the form of a practical example.

Małgorzata Sławińska, Marcin Butlewski

Conference Proceedings

How Quality Management supports Sustainable Development?

In the following paper an attempt to present the role of quality management in enterprises following sustainable development strategy was taken. Methods striving for quality(defined in their broadest meaning) are the basic catalyzer for changes which enable identification of new opportunities and definition of alternative actions to be taken. They focus on the best practices and means leading to improvement in the areas jeopardizing economic, environmental and social infrastructure.

Malgorzata Jasiulewicz-Kaczmarek

Conference Proceedings

Macroergonomic Improvement the Development of Agri – Food Sector Company

Article aims to develop a methodology for obtaining logistical improvements contained within the discussed scientific discipline. An attempt to establish macro ergonomics logistics improvements micro-enterprises ,should therefore be supported by strict social approach . Strategy is to focus on these aspects in an environment of both internal and external . This can be achieved by proper selection of methods for answers , which is the most important component and is of utmost importance for the development of the company. Developed methodological selection can be operational and strategic . The results of the analysis may include lifting factor , such as correction recipe for the final product as well as the change in the technology park , which will translate into the quality of the final product. Raised the issue of concern is the micro company engaged in farming and breeding pigs, to its processing and trade. The company is local. The owners are considering a number of innovations, including expansion of the business in the other region, the development of a technology park and the creation of logistics and management.

Marek Szczuka

Conference Proceedings

Macroergonomic Model of the Quality of Life of Elderly Employees for Design Purposes

In the lives of the elderly, work and the related socio-economic conditions are a significant, and often essential, part of life. The quality of life is a cumulative and multifactorial indicator. Therefore, to evaluate it, macroergonomic analysis is particularly applicable. Quality of life is thus an aggregating factor, which generally describes factors in an undoubtedly subjective manner. Currently existing methods propose to ask questions about the quality of working life in categories such as: wages, incentive systems, relations with supervisors and co-workers, market position of the company, opinions on the organization expressed by others, and organization and nature of the work. However, the evaluation of individual categories helps to a small extent to identify particularly important systemic relationships as well as expectations directed at the technical and organizational environment. Therefore, this paper presents a synthesis of methods, utilizing, among others, Macroergonomic Organizational Questionnaire Survey (MOQS), Karasek’s Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ), NIOSH Job Stress Questionnaire and NASA Task Load Index. This combination results in a research tool that not only assesses the fulfilment of each category, but also recognizes the needs of people surveyed in the specific areas.

Marcin Butlewski, Edwin Tytyk, Kamil Wrobel

Conference Proceedings

Need of Safety Integration in Robust Design

Nowadays systems include more and more components and their variables. The effects of their changes tend to accumulate and may lead to unacceptable risks. Thus, the objective is to reduce the sensitivity of the design to uncertain or randomly varying factors. In order to achieve it robust design methods can be applied. They have already found many industrial implications mainly because of their simplicity and practicality. In this paper an attempt was made to show how to place safety issues in such design. For this aim a theoretical model was elaborated and its practical implication was shown.

Beata Mrugalska

Conference Proceedings

Environmental Problems Among Rural Women and Management of Occupational Health and Safety

Women have long occupied a central place in agriculture production in developing countries, ensuring food security for their household and communities, but this role is not performed without adverse consequences for health. The major consequences include health risks owing due to women’s use and exposure to hazardous agro-chemicals/pesticides, farm-related accidents or physical injuries and exposure to hazardous solid fuel in the interior house. Developing countries like India have many polluting sources that produce high level of human exposure. Indoor air pollution in developing countries from biomass smoke is considered to be a significant source of public health hazard, particularly to the poor and vulnerable women and children. Women and children face the greatest exposure to the harmful health effects of pollution. Women traditionally carry out most household chores and spend a considerable part of their time indoors. The pollution also affects young children under their mothers’ care. Another source of high risk of ill health in rural India is exposure to spray of pesticides in the fields. In India, 70% of the population is farmers and they are the target group to be affected by the hazards of pesticide applications. In India, 70% of the population is farmers and they are the target group to be affected by the hazards of pesticide applications. Moreover, in developing countries the users are rather careless in handling pesticides. The high risk groups exposed to pesticides include the production workers, formulators, sprayers, mixers, loaders and agricultural farm workers. During manufacture and formulation, the possibility of hazards may be more because the processes involved are not risk free. In India, 70% of the population is farmers and they are the target group to be affected by the hazards of pesticide applications. Moreover, in developing countries the users are rather careless in handling pesticides. All pesticides in a given chemical group generally affect the human body in the same way; however, severity of the effects varies depending on the formulation, concentration, toxicity and route of exposure of the pesticide. Descriptive cum experimental research design was chosen for the study. The study was carried out in two districts Udham Singh Nagar and Nainital. Purposive cum Random sampling design was used to select the study area. Total sample size was comprised of 240 women from rural areas of Uttarakhand state in India. Experimental data was recorded through various scientific instruments and descriptive data was collected through interview schedule, awareness scales, and observation sheet. On the basis of anthropometric measurements the 5th, 50th and 95th percentile was calculated for the designing of personal protective equipments (gloves and coverall) through CAD for reducing the hazards of pesticide spraying and designing of chimney for minimizing the hazards of smoke originated by traditional cooking source. It was found from investigation that indoor air pollution and pesticide hazards were almost same for the families of hill region but sufferings related to indoor air pollution and pesticide hazards were more in the plain region as compare to hill region. The healthy and natural environmental conditions in the hill region and less dense housing of this region were the cause of less suffering from cooking smoke and pesticide spraying conditions. Taking the above fact into account the chances of diseases, risks and hazards were less for families of hill region.

Rakhi Saxena, Promila Sharma, Pratibha Joshi, Kavita Narwal

Conference Proceedings

Risk Among Hill Families of Mountain Region of Uttarakahnd, India

The present study was conducted in mountain region of Uttarakhand, a hilly state of India. The objective of the study was to find the injury and accidents data due to poor lighting. It was assumed that injuries and accidents among hill people occur due to poor lighting. For this purpose descriptive research design was used. In Uttarakhand state, districts i.e Almora and Nainital were selected purposively from which purposive selection of 4 villages was done. From each village, 30 families were selected by simple random sampling technique without replacement to make a total sample of 120 families. The data was collected through interview schedule and observation. Descriptive and statistical analysis of data was done with the help of frequency, per cent and chi-square test respectively. The records focused that main accidents and injuries in last 10 years due to poor lighting were fall and slip outside the house, catching of fire during cooking and burning of finger while lighting kerosene lamp and cutting finger during vegetable cutting, animal/snake bite, attack of wild animate, catching fire to the cattle and burning of cattle with the use of kerosene lamp. The results were found to be significant at p<0.05, indicating that accidents like fall/slip during fetching fodder, fuel and water, accidents in kitchen, cases of wild animals/snake bite and other accidents dependent on availability of light. It was concluded that injuries and accidents among hill people occur due to poor lighting.

Janki Joshi, Promila Sharma

Conference Proceedings

sEMG Studies of Milking Activities in Two Different Working Conditions

The increasing degree of specialization of the work involved in milk production due to the growing size of herds often leads to upper limb repetitive movements. Despite the adoption of automation processes, milk production is still an occupation that is susceptible to biomechanical overload. Muscle activity of the extensor pollicis brevis (EXT), flexor carpi radialis (FLEX), biceps brachii (BB) and deltoideus anterior (DA) was studied in five workers while they performed udder cleaning and tapping tasks both before and after an ergonomic intervention consisting in 1) reducing the working plane height by means of a carpet; 2) changing the plastic bottles used in tapping tasks regularly to prevent them from hardening. The mean activation and the time percentage over 10% of the maximal voluntary contraction were calculated. Both tasks induced a marked effort from the EXT and DA muscles, and a milder effort from the BB and FLEX muscles. The ergonomic intervention was followed by a downward trend in both parameters. Further data are currently being acquired on a larger sample of workers to verify whether these preliminary findings are supported more robust statistical analyses.

Alessio Silvetti, Massimo Gismondi, Silvia Mari, Federico Forzano

Conference Proceedings

Relationship among Movement Trajectory of Body Parts, Center of Gravity Movement and Standing Postures while Chucking of an Expert and Non-Expert

The participants are an expert is 85 years has been working 70 years in lathe and the non-expert is 16 years that only 1 year of experience. The standing posture aligned with the chuck had the rotation pattern movement. It had a most distance movement of wrists, shoulders, elbows and hands. The standing on the right of the chuck was not a rotation pattern but trend line movement was a straight line. The standing posture of right side of the chuck always used his waist as like the base of movement. The standing postures did not influence the balance movement between left and right side of body. The standing postures affect the body movement on XZ plane. The expert always bent his elbow both left and right side and stretched it out of the body not only the standing aligned with the chuck but also the standing on the right of the chuck. The difference of hand holding position does not affect the standing posture on the right side of the chuck. The expert always sidle away from the machine around 45 degrees. The differences of hand holding position affect the distance and pattern movement.

Porakoch Sirisuwan a, Takashi Yoshikawa b, Hiroyuki Hamada a

Conference Proceedings

Work-Related Accident on Petroleum Industry: Beyond Human Errors and Immediate Causes

In 2005, there was an explosion during a repair at Barrancabermeja refinery in Colombia. The fire that followed caused the death of two people, left seven wounded and caused losses estimated at nine million dollars. The company presented a video with the description of this accident, pointing as immediate causes of the explosion a dripping of propane-butane mixture from a heat exchanger and a spark generated when a man lift was switched off. The analysis done by the company identified unsafe acts (the use of an inadequate tool to correct the dripping), unsafe conditions (inadequate cap installed on the heat exchanger) and also included in the assigned causes disregarding of rules (not using Safe Isolation System). The objectives of this paper are: to approach this accident analysis from a different perspective, discussing new hypothesis based on organizational factors; to formulate new recommendations in order to contribute to accidents prevention; to encourage an organizational approach for analyzing work-related accidents that goes beyond human errors, technical causes or standards perspectives. This paper used an Analysis and Prevention of Accidents Model (MAPA) based on ergonomics of activity and other concepts used in accident analysis. Info sources were taken from the video, the presentation that summarizes the research done by the company, some press articles and interviews.

Sandra Beltrana, Ildeberto Almeidab, Rodolfo Vilelac

Conference Proceedings

Analysis of Temperature on the Surface of theWrist in Individuals Emulating an Operation with Highly Repetitive Movements Using Sensory Thermography

This study focuses on the application of sensory thermography, as a non-invasive method to evaluate the musculoskeletal injuries that industry operators performing Highly Repetitive Movements (HRM) may acquire, which could enhance the pathological understanding of the Cumulative Trauma Disorder (CTD). Changes in wrist temperature throughout the test will be monitored and analysed, with the aim to show the feasibility of the sensory thermography method for wrists. To undertake the experiments, we had three individuals which had common physical conditions, to which the test was applied in a University, following a pre-defined set of conditions; four samples were taken for eachindividual.The maximum temperature was recorder during the 1st test of individual 1, in the left wrist, reaching a temperature of 34.16ºC after 2:06:47 hours, simultaneously at this time lower back pain surged. Analysed data showed that trends do not follow a normal distribution, but a Weibull distribution, with a correlation coefficient in the range of 0.86 and 0.91. It was concluded that it is possible to analyse patterns of temperature in the musculoskeletal areas of an individual performing HRM, which could lead to CTD. By using the sensory thermography CTD’s could be prevented, below an acceptable cost/benefit threshold.

Sandra K. Enriquez, Claudia Camargo, Enrique J. de la Vega, Jesús E. Olguín, Juan A. López

Conference Proceedings

Risk Assessment of Forging Workers in Unorganized Sector of Uttrakhand, India

A blacksmith is a person who forges, or shapes, metal by first heating it until it is red-hot, then uses tools like chisels and hammers to force the metal into the shape he desires. Blacksmiths usually work standing up and have to bend over to work on pieces of metal. The work can involve heavy lifting, use of power tools such as power hammers, drills, air chisels and hydraulic presses. However, use of such power tools and poor body posture lead to MSDs. Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are common health problem throughout the world and a major cause of disability in the workplace. MSDs are found due to Inappropriate and poor working postures, lack of task variation, poor ergonomic design of work places, and poor design of plant layout, long working hours, low salaries and awkward schedules are all areas where relatively simple intervention can significantly reduce the rate of exposure to MSDs. They also deal with extremely hot objects and face a constant worry about fire and heat. The blacksmiths perform repetitive hammering jobs that give shape to the instruments. This type of job not only requires skill but is also time consuming. Hammering jobs are responsible for most of the incidents. In Iron & Steel and other manufacturing industries, foundries and forges produce a lots of pollutants in the environment – both working and ambient environment. In these processes, metals are extracted and produced from ores by various metallurgical processes and processes for moulding, melting and castings etc. are accompanied by evolution of heat, noise, dust fines, fly-ash, oxides of Nitrogen, Sulphur and metals. Particulate matters are generated in large quantities when preparing mould core sands and moulds melting metals, pouring metal, knocking out poured moulds and loading and unloading raw materials. Here metals are given a specific shape by metal castings for various engineering purposes. Gaseous matters like gases, vapours, fumes and smoke are produced during melting and pouring operations. The major pollutants are emitted from various work areas in Foundry i.e. Pattern shop, Sand preparation, moulding and core making, mould drying and ladle heating, cupola, electric arc furnace, pouring and mould cooling, knockout, fettling, heat treatment etc. In addition, various air pollutants and noise pollutants (Davis, 2002) are produced from forge shops and other manufacturing industrial units. So keeping all these factors in mind, a study was conducted to assess the risks involved among forging workers of Uttrakhand state of India. For this purpose 120 workers were taken through snowball technique. The data revealed that the most common problem faced by the workers was improper working posture and inappropriate working environment. Due to poorly designed work place, working environment, and working tools, workers physiological and psychological cost of work was high they reported to have health problems like back ache, shoulder ache and difficulty in movement of hands while in operation. Workers were also observed to be found irritated and restless.

Kavita Narwal, Promila Sharma, Pratibha Joshi

Conference Proceedings

Influence of Footwear on Fall

It has been shown that several gait parameters are predictive for fall risk in older persons. There is evidence that footwear can influence foot position and gait patterns, especially in older persons. We carried out experiments to study the effects of type of footwear on gait patterns in persons aged 60+. We found an association between the type of footwear and certain gait parameters that are predictive for falls. In conclusion footwear can increase fall risk. Footwear for older people should be designed in such a way that risk of falls is minimized.

Risk in Older Persons

Conference Proceedings

Ergonomic Problems in Japan’s Medical Air Transportation Services

Special considerations must be given in medical air transportation to medical professionals, medical equipment, and flight crews due to the conditions of the critically ill patients transported, the intra-aircraft environment, and the need to make emergency flights. However, few studies have investigated the ergonomic problems faced by the medical air transportation services provided in Japan. Therefore, here we investigated ergonomic problems, including those related to medical device use, faced by medical personnel and the aviation community in Japan. Results indicated that basic education and training on aerospace physiology, intra-aircraft use of medical equipment, flight operation systems, and crew resource management are currently insufficient in standard medical education. In fact, most medical devices used during flights are conventional devices with no ergonomic considerations made for vibration or low cabin pressure. In particular, problems relating to human-machine interfaces, power supplies, electromagnetic compatibility, and the ergonomic and technical compatibilities of electronic medical equipment used during the flights must be improved. Improvements are also needed in relation to safety during emergency flights such as those made at night or in bad weather, crew training, and air traffic control systems during large-scale disasters. Interdisciplinary collaboration is required to further investigate and resolve these problems.

Kazuhiko Shinohara

Conference Proceedings

Adaptive Team Behaviors for Coping with Unexpected and Unknown Situations - An Observational Study

Industries with high risk-potential like nuclear power plants need to manage abnormal potentially critical situations on team level for assuring reliable and safe operating. Safety is looked at as a "dynamic non-event" (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2001) and therefore has to be continually built on by the operating team through adaptive actions in relation to the situational context. The team processes and behaviors used for achieving shared mental models (or common situation awareness) are especially interesting for good problem solving, decision making and adaptation. In our study we collected data from eight four- to seven-person control room teams working in a nuclear power plant in Switzerland during their annual training in the interactive simulator of the plant control room. Simulations of two different scenarios were videotaped. The simulator scenarios generate an unexpected unstandardized situation (situations that were not covered / could not be solved solely by standard operation procedure) the team has to solve in order to stabilize the plant. Additionally, we got individual data by a questionnaire to capture individual characteristics of the team, especially regarding professional experience. The results still have to be considered as explorative in nature, due to the small sample size and time consuming coding of further additional team behaviors.

Cornelia Kleindienst, Jonas Brüngger, Julia Koch, Frank Ritz

Conference Proceedings

Analysis and Development of Occupational Competencies of 21st Century Managers of Municipal Sector

In the article the implementation stages of 21st century manager’s competency profile in municipal sector were presented. The main managers’ occupational competencies were described: communication skills, organizational skills, ethics management skills, team management skills and creative thinking skills. In the practical part of this paper examination of managers’ professional competencies in selected enterprises of Wielkopolska municipal sector was performed. At the same time methods of occupational skills development were assessed. Current managers’ knowledge and skills level were taken into account during planning of their development.

Małgorzata Spychała

Conference Proceedings

Relative age effect in physical and psychological development in young Japanese children and associated problems for kindergarten teachers

In school classroom, a child born soon after the selection period’s cut-off date (early born children) may benefit by up to a full year in physical and psychological development compared with a child born just before the cut-off date (late born children). This phenomenon is called the “relative age effect” (RAE). RAE is defined as the consequence of age differences between individuals within the same cohort, either in school or on sports teams (Musch & Grondin, 2001). This study examines the effect size of RAE in physical and psychological development and discusses educational problems faced by kindergarten teachers due to this RAE. Data were collected from 100 five-year-old Japanese children (60 male, 40 female) and their kindergarten teachers. Significant main effects of birth month category on physical development and on psychological development were found (early born children were more developed than late born children). The effect size of RAE in physical development was greater than that in psychological development. We concluded that the RAE existed in physical and psychological development among young children. Further, RAE appeared greatly on physical than on psychological development. Thus, we propose that kindergarten teachers could benefit from an awareness of the RAE.

Yujiro Kawata a, b Akari Kamimura c, Shino Izutsu d, Kai Yamada c

Conference Proceedings

Descriptive Evidence of the Work-Family Compensation among Japanese Midwives: Using the Multiple Role Map Program

Working midwives actively perform various roles including midwife, manager, mother, marital partner and friend. From the “compensation” perspective, they try to cope with dissatisfaction caused in one role (e.g. midwife role) by obtaining satisfaction in other roles (e.g. mother role). Although the episodes about compensation were useful information for the practical career support, the previous studies didn’t show enough evidence. Hence, this study aimed to collect compensation episodes from Japanese working midwives and to show the descriptive evidence by using Multiple Role Map (MRM) program. The participants were female midwives working in a university hospital in Japan. We conducted the MRM program to all of the midwives working in the hospital and collected eighteen MRM sheets from them (recovery rate = 100%). According to the spreadsheet and descriptive episodes, major contents of compensable dissatisfactions were fatigue, frustration, pressure, distress and job stressors caused in the midwife and manager roles. Meanwhile, these dissatisfactions were compensated by satisfactions received in the friend, marital partner and mother roles and the private time. To obtain more practical findings for the career support, we will develop a statistical scoring method with the MRM data and conduct a validation study comparing the scores and external criterion for standardized health outcomes.

Yasuyuki Yamada, Yukari Kinooka, Takeshi Ebara, Motoki Mizuno

Conference Proceedings

A Study of the Organizational Support for Building Resilience of the Fitness Club Employees

The purpose of this study was to clarify the process of building resilience, to obtain the viewpoint of　organizational support for building resilience in fitness club. We stand on asserting that was required to build resilience for making best use of human resources from perspective of career management. Interview survey was carried out targeting 32 employees who belong to five major the fitness clubs, 28 (15males, 13females) valid samples were used for this study. KJ-method was adopted throughout analysis to lead the process and the support for building resilience. As a result, the process for building resilience was led. It was found that adversity played an important role in the process, the difference in recognition toward adversities separate the process for building resilience. Additionally, a wide various supports were provided in the process. Especially, following three were shown as significant matters to support building resilience on the process. 1) It was that to construct mistake systems for promoting to challenge adversity positively, 2) It was that to promote creating inter personal relationship of employees and key persons, 3) It was that to structure a frame for collecting and managing feedbacks from the clients.

Naoto Shojia, Yasuyuki Hochib, Hirotsugu Fujiia, Hiromitsu Moriguchia

Conference Proceedings

Development of QOC Matrix- The Worker's Voice (part 1)

The Faculty of chemical sciences and engineering form the Morelos University in México, has developed a tool called “QOC Matrix - the worker’s voice”. It is based on the logics of QOC (Questions, Options and Criterion), 6’s philosophy, ISO International Standers about Ergonomic guiding principles, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health – USA publications, among others. Quality concepts like the Voice of Customer VOC (activity to meet the customer’s requirements), are used to obtain “The worker’s voice”, that will be used in the decision-making process about the design or redesign their workstation. The results obtained from the matrix have the objective to define if the workstations meet standards about cleanliness, organization and safety. Also, identify, the waste of “Talent” (underestimating as the creativity and intelligence of the workforce). All these having as a goal: “to create formal means to add value to the voice of the worker to express quality of working life that they want and need”.

Erick Eduardo Lozano-Ramos, Martha Roselia Contreras-Valenzuela

Conference Proceedings

Organizational Design: Need for a Socio-technical Inclusive System Design Approach to meet 21st Century Workforce Challenges

Changes occurring in the business and socio-economic global environments increase the complexity of working systems. The global workforce is becoming more diverse where people from different social, cultural, geographical and technical backgrounds work together in spite of their existing differences. Existence of varying human responses caused due to variations in individual’s physical, physiological, psychological, social and cognitive responses to the organizational design becomes a real challenge for designers. Moreover, increase in the number of older workers, also requires the attention of designers, as they are different in many ways. These issues increase the complexity of organizational systems and have serious implications for human factors and ergonomics as this complexity challenges the way conventional organizational systems are designed and implemented. There is a great need to develop new strategies where human variations are rightly understood and then emphasized during organizational design process. A proposed Sociotechnical Inclusive System Design approach has been discussed for addressing social and technical issues of organizational design by integrating socio-technical principles with inclusive thinking so that these challenges might be addressed at the organizational and individual levels. This article briefly describes global workforce challenges like increase in diversity, ageing, and impact of individual level variations on workplace safety and task performance. Finally, it highlights the need to design organizational systems based on diversity and differences where social and technical inclusivity should be an integral part of any design decision so that organizations can effectively utilize their human capital. The suggested design approach can draw multiple benefits including employee satisfaction, workplace safety and well-being, high productivity and quality and retention of a skilled workforce for a longer time. All these benefits ultimately support the attainment of long term organizational sustainability.

Amjad Hussaina, Keith Caseb, Kamran Ali Chathac

Conference Proceedings

Possibilities and Challenges of Communication in Six Finnish Industrial and Planning Organizations

In this paper, I study work-related communication in six Finnish industrial and planning organizations. I analyzed the communication through a comparison of distant and face-to-face examples showing how distance negatively influences communication because the distant communicants don’t have same contextual information. Sharing of situational information can help mitigate the negative impact of distance. Face-to-face communication was seen as important in the case organizations, as it enables informal communication and builds trust and commitment. Nevertheless, face-to-face communication does not automatically produce documentation, and proper minute keeping and documentation were demonstrably important.

Henna Filppa

Conference Proceedings

Measurement of Cognitive Workload by Use of Combined Methods Including Brain-Computer Interfaces

Cognitive load measurement is a challenging research area that many methods have been provided to get more accurate results. Limitations which are pointed by Cognitive Load Theory (CLT) make this area both special and difficult. Subjective, behavioral, and physiological methods all have some advantages and disadvantages. That’s why the use of combined methods has been increasing to make more accurate and better cognitive workload predictions. Technologies such as eye tracking systems, physiological and physical parameters monitoring systems are able to support the relevant researches in this area. On the other hand, there have been some developments which aim different benefits. One of them is Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) technology that works based on Electroencephalography (EEG), detect P300 component of Event Related Potentials and Steady State Evoked Potentials (SSVEP) and offer motor imagery applications. Therefore, they have potential benefits to support cognitive workload measurement methods. In this study, relationships between brain potentials and cognitive workload are researched. Further, opportunities to create new combined cognitive workload measurement methods including BCI, eye-tracking, physiological, and physical parameters are discussed.

N. Firat Özkan, Emin Kahya

Conference Proceedings

Effects of Pen Holding Posture on Handwriting Motion

Exploring the nature of skill is useful to understand the specific feature of handwriting or calligraphy. Although we learn the holding posture in handwriting at elementary school, and we notice that the holding posture must be one of the important factors to improve skills in handwriting or calligraphy, it has not been explored how the holding posture of pen or brush affects the handwriting efficiency or performance. In this study, we categorized the holding posture of a pen into three types according to the angle of the joints of the fingers; weak grip which is generally recognized correct as holding style and recommended at elementary school education in Japan, strong grip under which fingers are strongly bent, and others (types I and II). The motion of fingers, the writing pressure and the holding posture of a pen, and the gripping pressure during handwriting were measured to verify the rationality of the weak grip type which is in general recommended at elementary schools in Japan.

Atsuo MURATA, Kousuke GOTOH

Conference Proceedings

Application of Sensory Thermography on Workers with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome of a Textile Industry in Mexico

This research study deals with the application of sensory thermography on workers of the textile industry who are working in areas where they do Highly Repetitive Movements (HRM). Objectives: To analyze those with variations of temperature generated in the wrist area during a period operation of 2 hours 30, showing the feasibility of the implementation of the sensory thermography in this area evaluated. Methodology: A total of the workers of the workstation called high risk were evaluated, where 3 men and 3 women (they showed Carpal Tunnel Syndrome CTS of their dominant hand), who carried out their normal activity using a defined protocol for this experiment. Results: The maximum temperature was obtained in the experiment of the worker 3 in the right wrist with 35.586°C attained in the time of 1 h 34 min 21; and in the worker 6 was obtained in the left wrist with 34.633°C for a period of 1 h 34 min 56. Conclusions: We conclude that in 86% of the cases analyzed in both wrists, there was similarity in patterns of temperature from a wrist to another regardless of the gender and of their dominant hand. All data adjust to the distributions of the three parameters Weibull and Weibull for the wrists.

Claudia Camargo, Enrique J. de la Vega, Jesús E. Olguín, Juan A. López

Conference Proceedings

Refining the Understanding of Workplace Characteristics from an Occupant Centered Perspective with Emphasis on the Influence of Seating Preference

Workplace design not only influences the people’s feeling, but also the work or task performance, knowledge innovation, and the employees’ loyalty and commitment to their employer. The main purpose of this research is to investigate the subjects’ seating preference at workplace and the environmental factors impact their decision. A field survey was carried out on the campus of Dresden University of Technology, and 119 subjects participated in this study. Furniture placement in three different functions of room was employed to conduct this survey. The self-pictured seating preferences indicate that room function influences the subjects’ decision of seating area. Having sense of control over physical workplace and privacy significantly impacted the subjects’ decisions. However, subjects are not always aware the environmental factors affect their behavior. Subjects attracted by outdoor view and good lighting condition in a general way.

Jing Lu, Joerg R. Noennig

Conference Proceedings

Ergonomic Principles and Regulatory Standards Related to Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Used in the Textile Industry

The article describes a survey that aimed to point ergonomic principles and regulatory standards related to personal protective equipment (PPE) used by workers in textile industries in Joinville, SC, Brazil. The research took place in the form of semi-open questionnaire, along with seventy-three workers from the productive sector of two textile companies in Joinville, including men and women of various ages. One of the companies was of medium size, with a focus on textile processing. The second was a large one, focused on manufacturing knitwear and clothing. Through research it was possible to identify types of safety equipment used in this industry segment and, thus, it emerged that are not used particular PPE but the same as used in other areas of work involving risks to physical and psychological integrity of the employee. From the relationship between the ergonomic principles and regulatory standards it could be suggested aspects that deserve attention in the design and analysis of PPE. As well, some questions emerged that may originate other studies in this area.

Fernanda Pozza, Isadora B.Dickie, Karla Pfeiffer e Gabriela Fink

Conference Proceedings

New Trend Line of Research About Comfort Evaluation: Proposal of a Framework for Weighing and Evaluating Contributes Coming From Cognitive, Postural And Physiologic Comfort Perceptions

In HMI design, several parameters have to be correctly evaluated in order to guarantee a good level of safety and well-being of users (humans) and to avoid health problems like muscular-skeletal diseases. ISO Standards give us a good reference on Ergonomics and Comfort: ISO 11228 regulation deals with several parameters for evaluating Postural Ergonomics in manual loads’ push/pull, in manual loads’ lifting and carrying and in repetitive actions. Those parameters can be synthesized in a “Postural Load Index” that represents the Ergonomics level of examined posture. Nothing has be done, by ISO, in order to give a method/criterion for evaluating comfort performances of products and workplaces. More than 100.000 scientific papers dealing with comfort and discomfort can be easily found in main scientific databases and most of these speak about relationship between environmental factors (like temperature, humidity, applied forces etc.) and perceived comfort/discomfort. Several papers follow the assumption that there is a relationship between self-reported discomfort and musculoskeletal injuries and that those injuries affect the perceived comfort; however, the theories relating comfort to products/processes and products/processes’ design characteristics are rather underdeveloped. One of the most recent and interesting paper about comfort perception and its evaluation is the Vink-Hallbeck (2012) one in which the Moes’ comfort perception model (2005) has been developed and improved. In our paper, a simplified model of comfort perception, that seems to work well with the Vink-Hallbeck one, has been proposed and takes into account four aspects that strongly affect the global comfort perception: (B) – User Biomechanics/Posture, (P) - Physiologic factor, (E) – Environment contribute, (C) – Cognitive factor. Each of these aspects can be split in sub-aspects that have to be taken into account in order to be evaluated and correlated to subjective comfort perception. This paper want to explain all those sub-aspects, analyze the state of the art about their evaluation and propose an easy-to-use framework for weighing and evaluating contributes coming from cognitive, postural and physiologic comfort perceptions (no environment’s factors have been studied) to the global comfort perception.

Alessandro Naddeo, Nicola Cappetti, Mariarosaria Vallone, Rosaria Califano

Conference Proceedings

Enhancing the Vigilance of Car Drivers:a Review on Fatigue Caused by the Driving Task and Possible Countermeasures

Before fatigue caused by the driving task becomes a safety threat, it already has a negative effect on well-being. Therefore, it is desirable to intervene in an early stage of the fatiguing process to decrease the perceived load from a monotonous driving task and to create a more pleasurable driving experience. Enhancing driver vigilance could also create a competitive advantage for the car manufacturer. This paper reviews the existing body of knowledge concerning driver fatigue theories and countermeasures against driver fatigue. Current (automotive) features concerning fatigue are also evaluated. A fatigue countermeasure system should measure and/or predict fatigue, intervene with a stimulus and subsequently restore performance and alertness. A distinction can be made between physical and cognitive fatigue. Physical fatigue results mainly from static sitting issues. This type of fatigue can be countered with micro-movements and the stimulation of postural change. Cognitive fatigue can be further divided into task-related and sleep-related fatigue. Fatigue resulting from task overload can be countered with automation and assist systems. Fatigue from task underload can be countered with a variety of stimulation. Sleep-related fatigue is considered intervention resistant by some researchers, although it also seems to be possible to manipulate the circadian rhythm with blue light.

Sigrid van Veen, Peter Vink, Matthias Franz, Peer-Oliver Wagner

Conference Proceedings

Mock-Up Test of Two Train Toilet Modules

Train toilets are perceived to be dirty and as a consequence train travelers rate the toilet as insufficient. While the train toilet is mainly used to urinate it is for men impossible to keep the train toilet clean without spilling urine outside the bowl while standing. This causes women to hover while urinating and as a result they add to the soiling of the train toilet, by spilling drips over the seat. A ‘hygienic train toilet’ will make train travel more attractive, and it can remove one of the obstacles to travelling by train, particularly for the elderly and families with young children.A possible solution to improve hygiene in the train toilet is splitting its interior based on the posture while urinating. Accordingly, a toilet with two modules was designed: One for urinating standing and the other for the seated or hovered toilet use which was ‘inclusively designed’, thus the interior is enhanced with adaptations such as toddler platforms, a diaper changing table, extra support and enough space for wheel-chair manipulation. The observation and questionnaire both with 26 users of 3-68 years old (some wheel chair users) showed that the mock-up of the train toilet indirectly scored a 7.1 on a 10 point scale (1= very bad, 10= very good), but there is room for improvement, for instance a sanitary waste bin, an extra support bar on the left side of the toilet and a toddler platform under the urinal were lacking.

Marian Loth, Daan van Eijk, Johan Molenbroek

Conference Proceedings

A Method for Assessing Customer’s Confidence in Safety in a Railroad Company

Users of railroad service have to choose a railroad company. When they choose them, they think about convenience, price, how safe they actually are, and how safe users can subjectively feel. We call the subjective degree of safety users feel confidence in safety (CIS). Some railroad companies need to assess CIS for their branding strategy. Therefore, we propose the assessment method of CIS in this paper.

Katsuya Seki, Yusaku Okada

Conference Proceedings

A New Generation of Tractor Seats

Tractor drivers have an 8-fold higher risk of getting back pain compared to office workers. Reasons therefore are being a long time in awkward postures and being forced to whole-body vibrations. With that biomechanics knowledge and the help of input user studies a totally new tractor seat generation was developed. Hereby a unique seat feature was integrated which has never been on the market before. The goal of this experimental study was to investigate the healthy and comfort potential of the new feature.Objective as well as subjective measurements have been done to observe whether the new seat feature is better compared to the serial seat without that feature. Objective methods were EMG measurements and body posture detection. The objective measures were done in the laboratory with 3 test persons. A field test has been done with 10 professional drivers to get the subjective ratings of the comfort. The results showed a difference in the muscle activity. The new feature reduced the activity of up to 30%. Slightly differences in the posture could have been seen. Posture detection revealed strong interindividual differences. All test drivers gave a good subjective feedback regarding the comfort of the new feature. In summary this is the most promising feature in the area of tractor seats with respect to short-term and long-term comfort. Additionally the feature leads to a muscle activity reduction. This comes along with a reduced fatigue and might protect the driver’s spine in the long term against impairments.

Katja Bühlmeyer, Johannes Theurer und Hubert Wittmann

Conference Proceedings

Comfort Design Through Music and Emotion: Effects of Passengers' Activities on Comfort

Comfort experiences are not caused by a single factor, but are the result of diverse components such as postures, cognitive- and emotional experiences, as well as a person’s activity. The present empirical study investigated the experienced comfort of car passengers in the rear seat. We varied typical car passengers’ activities such as listening to music, working, and looking out the window. Dependent variables were the passenger’s comfort rating, his emotional valence- and arousal-related experience, his heart rate, and his seating position. The results (N = 23/16) showed that music positively influences comfort experiences. Moreover, correlation analysis between the dependent variables showed that comfort was significantly correlated only to the positive emotional valence component, and not to more physiological components such as emotional arousal, heart rate or seating position. The results suggest that car designers can improve the comfort of rear passengers by focussing on music and emotion design in contrast to the more conventional approach of physical ergonomics.

Aernout Kruithof a, Valentijn Visch a, Peter Vink a, Owain Pedgley b

Conference Proceedings

Research on Motivation Management for Project Members

In recent years, the success rate of enterprise IT projects has been said to be about 30% to 40%. IT projects tend to change dynamically during the project period, and project managers (PMs) must maintain a high level of motivation among the project members during that period. However PMs currently identify the motivation levels of project members in a vague manner relying on experience and intuition. Therefore, it is difficult for PMs to obtain a clear picture of the motivation levels of the members. It is thus important to create or identify a mechanism by which project managers can understand the motivation levels of members, and in this paper we propose such a mechanism. In the proposed method, the motivation of project members is first classified into two categories. Next, we measure the motivation in a manner suited to the characteristics of each classification category. Then, we propose a method for visualizing the motivation of members. Finally, we verify the effectiveness of the proposed method through an experiment where the proposed method is applied to actual enterprise projects.

Yusuke Takahashi, Hiroshi Yajima, Takuya Dan, Takashi Murata

Conference Proceedings

Heads in the Sand: The Failure to Engage With Our Ageing Society

The increasing number of older people requires serious attention from policy makers and service providers if a crisis in care is to be avoided. This paper presents a biographical study of 9 months in the life of an elderly couple, looking at the problems experienced by them and their family when dealing with different stages of health and social care provision. The study covered periods of general health, hospitalization, reablement and separation. Studying the events arising in each period has provided insights into the requirements of the frail elderly and the adequacy of current provision.

Andree Woodcock

Conference Proceedings