Effects of working conditions and safety awareness on job satisfaction of truck drivers in Korea.

BACKGROUND: Truck driving is one of the occupations with high injury rates. OBJECTIVE: This study investigates the relationships between age, work experience, workdays, monthly income, perceived job risk, satisfaction of working conditions, safety awareness, and job satisfaction of truck drivers. Also, this study analyzes the effects of satisfaction of working conditions and safety awareness on the job satisfaction of truck drivers. METHODS: This study interviewed 278 truck drivers and surveyed age, work experience, workdays, monthly income, perceived job risk, satisfaction of working conditions, safety awareness, and job satisfaction. A regression analysis was performed to determine leading factors affecting safety and satisfaction and the relationships. RESULTS: The results showed that the number of workdays was related to monthly income, perceived job risk, and job satisfaction. The monthly income of truck drivers was increased according to workdays and age. Perceived job risk increased with number of days worked. Safety awareness decreased with the monthly income, and job satisfaction decreased with perceived job risk level, workdays, and work experience. Finally, job satisfaction was directly affected by satisfaction with working conditions and indirectly affected by safety awareness. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that an increase in satisfaction of working conditions can enhance safety awareness and job satisfaction.

Older Female Farmers and Modeling of Occupational Hazards, Wellbeing, and Sleep-Related Problems on Musculoskeletal Pains.

Musculoskeletal pains seem to be the most prevalent among occupational diseases in older female farmers. This study analyzes the relationships between exposure to ergonomic or environmental hazards, sleep-related problems, wellbeing, and musculoskeletal pains in older female farmers. In this study, older farmer means a farmer aged ≥60, and 2005 older female farmers were selected. A structural equation model (SEM) was used to investigate the relationships. In the results of SEM, musculoskeletal pains were more affected by the level of wellbeing (standardized path coefficient = -0.149) than the level of sleep-related problems (standardized path coefficient = 0.131) or the exposure level of ergonomic hazards (standardized path coefficient = 0.086). Among the ergonomic risk factors felt by elderly female farmers, the influence level of "awkward posture" (0.735), "repetitive motion" (0.718), or "standing posture" (0.693) was greater than that of "manual material handling" (0.661). "Vibration" (0.786) and "noise" (0.683) were influential variables of environmental hazards. In addition, "upper limb pain" (0.796) and "lower limb pain" (0.751) variables were more influential variables of musculoskeletal pains than the "backache" (0.472) variable. This study shows that strategies to improve wellbeing or sleep problems are important to alleviate or prevent musculoskeletal pains among older female farmers.

Comparisons of working conditions and health-related problems between older male and female crop farmers.

BACKGROUND: Although the number of farmers in Korea is declining, the proportion of older farmers aged ≥60 increases. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to analyze gender differences in working conditions, exposure to risk factors, and health problems of older crop farmers aged ≥60. METHODS: This study used data from the 5th Korean Working Conditions Survey (KWCS) data of 818 male and 985 female crop farmers aged ≥60 years. RESULTS: This study showed that older female farmers had higher ratios of living alone (45.0% vs. 13.4%, p < 0.001), lower education levels (80.7% vs. 53.4%, p < 0.001), and lower average incomes (1.565 vs. 2.036 million KRW, p < 0.001) than that of males. Among subjective scores on the exposure of risk factors, only females' repetitive motion (4.923) and awkward posture (4.415) scores were higher than that of males' repetitive motion (4.601) (p < 0.001) and awkward posture (4.159) scores (p = 0.001). However, female's health problem rates on upper limb pain (68.3%), lower extremity pain (67.6%), backache (48.4%), overall fatigue (44.8%), and headache and eyestrain (25.0%) were higher than that of male's complaint rates on upper limb pain (48.5%) (p < 0.001), lower extremity pain (53.3%) (p < 0.001), backache (35.0%) (p < 0.001), overall fatigue (39.5%) (p = 0.024), and headache and eyestrain (19.4%) (p = 0.005). The rate of depression symptoms in females (54.6%), with a high proportion of single-person households, was higher than that of males (46.9%) (p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The musculoskeletal pains and depression symptoms of older female farmers are prevalent, and efforts and support are required to improve working conditions.

Risk assessment of educational support staff's work in schools.

BACKGROUND: Educational support staff (educational staff) in schools perform widely distinctive activities according to their occupation and work process. OBJECTIVE: This study analyzes the possible incidents for each occupation and work process, and suggests a risk matrix prioritizing the risks of educational staff's work. METHODS: A total of 1,566 injuries of educational staff, registered for occupational injuries and illnesses between 2015 and 2016, were used to develop the risk matrix considering injuries, sick leave days, and disabilities. RESULTS: Among the 1,566 injuries, 'Cook-cooking/serving: Burn' (8.5%) was the most frequent incident. 'Cook-manual materials handling (MMH): musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs)' (241.6 sick leave days) was the most severe incident, and the number of disabilities was high in the forms of 'Cook-cooking/serving: MSDs.' According to risk assessment results, possible incidents predicted as 'High' level of risk management were in the forms of 'Cook-cooking/serving: MSDs,' 'Cook-MMH: Slip and trip,' 'Cook-cleaning/repairing: Fall from a height,' 'Cook-walking: Slip and trip,' 'Cook-MMH: MSDs,' 'Cook-cooking/serving: Burn,' 'Cook-cleaning/repairing: Slip and trip,' 'Custodian-cleaning/repairing: Fall from a height,' and 'Instructor-walking: Slip and trip.' CONCLUSIONS: The results can be used to develop an effective injury prevention policy, and to allocate resources for risk management in ensuring school safety.

Prevalence of occupational accidents and factors associated with deaths and disabilities in the shipbuilding industry: Comparisons of novice and skilled workers.

BACKGROUND: The shipbuilding industry has various risks such as slipping, falling, mechanical, chemical, and confined space work. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to compare the characteristics of the occupational accidents between novice and skilled workers in the shipbuilding industry and to analyze factors affecting death and disability accidents. METHODS: From the national work-related compensation data of South Korea, an experimental design was established to analyze a population of occupational injuries related to workers working in the shipbuilding industry. This study compares accident characteristics of 2,069 injuries registered as work-related accidents. Also, logistic regression analysis is performed to identify the factors affecting death and disability accidents. RESULTS: The prevalence of occupational accidents caused by novices was high in older workers, female workers, foreign workers, irregular workers, or companies with less than 100 employees. The proportion of source of accident by novices was high in 'manhole,''ladder,' and 'scaffold,' while the prevalence of accident type was high in 'fall,' 'cut/bruise,' and 'struck by.' According to logistic regression analysis, if the face was injured, the possibility of being death or disability was higher than that of other parts of the body. Also, if the rupture caused the injury, the possibility of being death or disability was higher than the different types of injury. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study are expected to be useful as basic data for the prevention of accidents of novice and death/disabilities in the shipbuilding industry.

Analysis of occupational injuries and the risk management of automobile parts manufacturing work.

Background. Unexpected occupational injuries frequently occur in the automobile parts manufacturing industry. This study investigates the characteristics of occupational injuries and risk management for the workers in the industry. Methods. From the national industrial accident compensation data in Korea, 1530 occupational injuries were analyzed by nature and source of injury and illness according to work process. Also, this study derived the risk management level for prioritizing preventative measures. Results. The most critical injuries were 'ACC (amputation or caught in or crushed or compressed)' caused by 'misoperation or malfunction of machine and equipment' in the 'fabrication' and the 'maintenance' processes. Possible incidents predicted as a 'high' level of risk management were 'struck' (struck by or against objects) caused by 'misoperation or malfunction of machine and equipment' and ACC during 'installation of jig and mold' in the 'fabrication' process. ACC during 'maintenance' of 'operating jig and mold' is also classified 'high'. Discussion and conclusion. Using the findings of this study, effective preventative measures to reduce occupational injuries according to the risk level are suggested and discussed for automobile parts manufacturing works.

Comparison of work-related traffic crashes between male taxi drivers aged ≥65 years and <65 years in South Korea.

BACKGROUND: The percentage of drivers aged ≥65 years among all Korean taxi drivers has risen sharply from 3.2% in 2006 to 22.0% in 2016. OBJECTIVE: This study compared the characteristics of work-related traffic crashes between male taxi drivers aged ≥65 years and <65 years. METHODS: Using the national compensation data of South Korea, 586 injured male taxi drivers were analyzed based on driver-related (work experience, company size, employment status, injured body part, and injury type) and crash-related factors (time and day of the crash, weather condition, road type, violation and drowsiness) by age group. RESULTS: For the injured drivers aged ≥65, percentages of the crashes related to some factors were lower than those of the drivers aged <65 years: at night (55.2% vs. 64.0%), on rainy or snowy day (7.8% vs. 21.3%), on straight road (40.5% vs 50.9%) and on the expressway (6.9% vs. 13.0%). However, the percentage of the crashes related to a violation for the injured drivers aged ≥65 years (23.3%) was higher than that of the drivers aged <65 years (13.4%). Furthermore, the taxi drivers aged ≥65 years had a higher death rate (14.7%) than the drivers aged <65 years (8.5%). CONCLUSIONS: The results can be useful for injury prevention policies and guidelines for elderly taxi drivers such as strengthened qualification tests for the aged drivers and improvement of the working environment.

Universal safety and design: Transition from universal design to a new philosophy.

BACKGROUND: The philosophy of universal design contributes to providing age-friendly products and environments in the ageing society. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to establish the philosophy of universal safety and design to ensure the safety and health of product users and production workers. METHODS: The concept and principles of universal safety and design are developed based on the limitations of universal design and the necessity of a new philosophy. RESULTS: Requirements of physical support, flexibility, accessibility, ensuring safety and health, diversity and inclusion, and sustainability are proposed for implementing the universal safety and design philosophy. Also, the guidelines for applying the universal safety and design philosophy are presented. CONCLUSIONS: The principles presented in this study can be applied to reduce incidents and ensure productivity in customers and production workers by helping them to work efficiently, comfortably, and safely.

Effects of age and violations on occupational accidents among motorcyclists performing food delivery.

BACKGROUND: Risk factors for motorcycle injuries are associated with rider-related factors and crash-related factors. OBJECTIVE: This study investigates the effects of age and violations on occupational accidents among motorcyclists performing food delivery. METHODS: This study analyzed 1,317 injured couriers regarding rider-related factors and crash-related factors according to rider's age or violations. RESULTS: Among injured riders, 67.4% were temporary workers, 76.1% worked in small companies with <5 employees, 58.7% in the nighttime, and 51.5% had a work experience of <1 month. However, among the injured teens, 93.5% were temporary workers, 87.0% in companies with <5 employees, 79.5% in nighttime, and 61.4% with work experience of <1 month. The proportion of novice with <1 month, of the temporary worker, of 'head/face/neck' injury, or of the 'concussion/hemorrhage' type of injury all decreased with age. However, the proportion of 'fracture,' 'rider alone,' or 'death or disability' accidents increased with age. Furthermore, the violation rate was high in teens (17.4%), at night (15.4%), or in type of 'crash with a car' (26.2%). The violation rate decreased with age. CONCLUSIONS: The results are expected to be useful for injury prevention policies and guidelines in the food delivery industries.

Effects of female worker's salary and health on safety education and compliance in three sectors of the service industry.

BACKGROUND: According to a survey of the working population of women by industry, service industries accounted for the majority. OBJECTIVE: The effects of female worker's salary and self-rated health on safety education and compliance in three sectors of the service industry are reported. METHODS: A sample of 700 women service workers were surveyed; their age, work experience, salary, self-rated health, safety educational participation, and compliance were recorded. RESULTS: The salary of female service workers was directly related to safety educational participation and compliance, as well as the health levels they reported. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that an increase in the self-rated health and salary of female workers can contribute to enhancing safety educational participation and compliance. Development of educational programs in prevention and safety compliance is expected to contribute to the prevention of industrial accidents in the service sector.

Human errors and occupational injuries of older female workers in residential healthcare facilities for the elderly.

This study aimed to describe the characteristics of occupational injuries of female workers in residential healthcare facilities for the elderly, and to analyze human errors as causes of accidents. From the national industrial accident compensation data, 506 female injuries were analyzed by age and occupation. The results showed that medical service worker was the most prevalent (54.1%), followed by social welfare worker (20.4%). Among injuries, 55.7% had <1 year of work experience and 37.9% were aged ≥60 years. Slips/falls were the most common type of accident (42.7%), and the proportion injured by slips/falls increases with age. Among human errors, action errors were the primary reasons, followed by perception errors and cognition errors. In addition, the ratios of injuries by perception errors and action errors increase with age. The findings of this study suggest that there is a need to design workplaces that accommodate the characteristics of older female workers.

Crashes and Traffic Signal Violations Caused by Commercial Motorcycle Couriers.

BACKGROUND: Motorcycles are one of the important members of commercial transportation because of the convenient use during congested traffic conditions and the ease of parking in narrow streets. This study investigates the characteristics of crashes and traffic signal violations caused by motorcycle couriers. METHODS: From the national compensation data, this study analyzed the traffic crashes caused by 671 motorcycle couriers. RESULTS: Among 671 injured couriers, 50.6% were aged less than 40 years, 49.2% run in a small business of <5 employees, and 47.2% had work experience of <6 months. Motorcycle crashes occurred mainly due to "rider overturned alone" (67.5%), in the daytime (73.5%), or on cloudy or clear days (77.2%). However, the violation rate caused by motorcycle couriers was high in couriers in a small business of <5 employees (13.9%), with work experience of <6 months (13.9%), on cloudy or clear days (12.4%), on an intersection (29.8%), in the type of "crash with a vehicle" (31.2%), or in a death accident (35.7%). CONCLUSION: The findings of this study can be used as a baseline in devising policies for preventing crashes of motorcycle couriers.

Structural equation modeling of work-related conditions on safety perception and safety education in waste and recycling collectors.

Waste and recycling collectors are responsible for cleaning, collecting, transporting and sorting various garbage. The purpose of this study is to investigate relationships between work-related conditions, safety perception and safety education in waste and recycling collectors. A total of 675 workers who collect domestic, street, recyclable or food waste were selected by stratified sampling in the waste and recycling industry. A structural equation model was used to analyze whether work-related conditions and safety perception affect safety education factors and whether there exists a causal relationship between them. According to the results of structural equation modeling, work-related conditions directly affect the level of safety education and indirectly affect the level of safety education by having an impact on safety perception. Waste and recycling collectors are more likely to participate in safety education and to be more concerned about safety education as company size and salaries increase. The results of this study suggest that accident-prevention measures that are appropriate to job characteristics are effective because worker's features and their safety climate are different according to job type in the service industry.

Comparison of accident characteristics between manual materials handling (MMH) and non-MMH works in the automobile parts manufacturing industry: Based on South Korea and the US.

BACKGROUND: Despite ergonomic improvements in the workplace of automobile parts manufacturing industry, many jobs still require workers to perform repetitive tasks or manual material handling. OBJECTIVE: This study compares the characteristics of occupational injuries between MMH and non-MMH in the automobile parts manufacturing industry based in South Korea and the US. METHODS: Occupational injuries were analyzed by age, work experience, company size, employment type, injury severity, work type, type of accident, agency of accident, injured part of body, and injury type. RESULTS: Among 1,530 injuries, 271 people (17.7%) were MMH injuries, and 1,259 people (82.3%) were non-MMH injuries. The rate of MMH injury was higher in the logistics process, in the work experience with more than 10 years, and in the company size with more than 100 employees than that of the non-MMH injury. Also, the rate of MMH injury was higher in the types of sprain and herniated discs, and in the injured part of trunk/back, leg/foot, and shoulder than that of the non-MMH injury. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study can be used as essential data for establishing a systematic preventive policy for industrial accidents in the automobile parts manufacturing industry.

Work-related injuries of educational support staff in schools.

This study aims to describe the characteristics of occupational injuries to educational support staff (service worker) in schools. In this research, 803 injured workers registered in 2015 were analyzed in terms of their gender, age, work experience, school type, work type, accident type, agency of accident, nature of injury and injured part of the body for each occupation. The workers were classified into after-school instructor, custodian and cooking staff. Accidents occurred mainly due to slips (35.6%) on floor/stair or contact with high temperature (18.1%). Also, the workers mostly fractured (41.2%) or had burns (19.3%) on their leg/foot (37.1%) or arm/hand/finger (29.8%). The results showed the difference in characteristics and injury pattern of injured persons for each occupation type, addressing the need for customized preventative measures for each situation. The results of this study can be a baseline in devising policies and guidelines for preventing accidents of service workers in schools.

Occupational accidents and human errors in apartment custodians' work.

BACKGROUND: According to a survey of the economically active elderly population in South Korea, most of them are employed in the service sector, with many men working as custodians. OBJECTIVE: This study investigates the characteristics of injuries affecting apartment custodians, one of the representative jobs for older male workers, as well as the characteristics of accident causes based on human errors. METHODS: The study used information processing as a framework to identify the cause of accidents that affected 831 male apartment custodians. This study investigated the characteristics of injured persons and features of accidents. RESULTS: The majority of accidents were caused by human errors, in particular perceptual (45.5%) and action (26.9%) errors. The rate of accidents caused by human errors rose from 85.3% among those aged below 60 to 91.4% among those aged 70 or above. Furthermore, the rate of accidents caused by perceptual errors was higher among those aged 60 or above (45.0%) than those aged below 60 (31.4%). CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study imply that accident prevention measures must be customized to older workers according to the different employment conditions.

Gender differences in public office workers' satisfaction, subjective symptoms and musculoskeletal complaints in workplace and office environments.

This study investigates differences between male and female public office workers' satisfaction levels, sick building syndrome (SBS) symptoms and musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) complaints in workplace and office environments. Questionnaire surveys were performed in 30 offices from 15 public institutions. Male and female workers of the same age were coupled and selected from each office, gathering a total of 120 male and 120 female subjects. The results show that differences exist between genders in noise and lighting satisfaction levels, SBS-related symptoms (eye, nose, skin) and MSD complaints of hand/wrist/finger, while there is no difference in overall satisfaction level of office environments. The study also suggests that office design for public office workers should take into account gender differences in preventing MSDs and also SBS. The findings of this study are expected to serve as basic data for designing effective public office environments.

Occupational injuries and sick leaves in household moving works.

BACKGROUND: This study is concerned with household moving works and the characteristics of occupational injuries and sick leaves in each step of the moving process. METHODS: Accident data for 392 occupational accidents were categorized by the moving processes in which the accidents occurred, and possible incidents and sick leaves were assessed for each moving process and hazard factor. RESULTS: Accidents occurring during specific moving processes showed different characteristics depending on the type of accident and agency of accidents. The most critical form in the level of risk management was falls from a height in the 'lifting by ladder truck' process. Incidents ranked as a 'High' level of risk management were in the forms of slips, being struck by objects and musculoskeletal disorders in the 'manual materials handling' process. Also, falls in 'loading/unloading', being struck by objects during 'lifting by ladder truck' and driving accidents in the process of 'transport' were ranked 'High'. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study can be used to develop more effective accident prevention policy reflecting different circumstances and conditions to reduce occupational accidents in household moving works.

Occupational deaths and injuries by the types of street cleaning process.

This study aims to obtain an overall picture of occupational injuries by the types of street cleaning process. Three hundred and fifty-four injured persons were analyzed in terms of the company size and details of the injured persons and accidents. Results show that 'roadway cleaning' was the most common type of cleaning process for injuries, followed by 'sidewalk cleaning,' 'going/returning to work by bike' and 'lifting/carrying.' The findings also show that most accidents which occur when 'going/returning to work by bike' are in the form of traffic accidents, while in other processes they happen most often in the form of slips. Most of the accidents related to 'lifting/carrying' affected workers in their 50s or younger while other processes had a large portion of injured persons in their 50s or older. The findings of this study can be used as baseline data for preventative policies.

Workplace Accidents and Work-related Illnesses of Household Waste Collectors.

BACKGROUND: Household waste collectors (HWCs) are exposed to hazardous conditions. This study investigates the patterns of workplace injuries and work-related illnesses of HWCs. METHODS: This study uses cases of workplace injuries and work-related illnesses of HWCs that occurred between 2010 and 2011. We analyzed 325 cases of injuries and 36 cases of illnesses according to the workers' age, length of employment, size of workplace, injured part of body, day and month of injury, type of accident, agency of accident, and collection process. RESULTS: There were significant differences in the effect of workers' length of employment, injured part of body, type of accident, agency of accident, and collection process. Results show that most injuries occur in workers in their 50s and older. This study also shows that 51.4% of injuries occur at businesses with 49 employees or fewer. Injuries to waste collectors happen most often when workers are electrocuted after slipping on the ground. The second most prevalent form of injury is falling, which usually happens when workers hang from the rear of the truck during transportation or otherwise slip and fall from the truck. Work-related illnesses amongst waste collectors are mostly musculoskeletal conditions due to damaging postures. CONCLUSION: These findings will be instructive in devising policies and guidelines for preventing workplace injuries and work-related illnesses of HWCs.