Effect of work related variables on human errors in measurement

Author(s):  
Vinodkumar Jacob
Keyword(s):  
Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (7) ◽  
pp. 2332
Author(s):  
Andrea Giorgi ◽  
Vincenzo Ronca ◽  
Alessia Vozzi ◽  
Nicolina Sciaraffa ◽  
Antonello di Florio ◽  
...  

The capability of monitoring user’s performance represents a crucial aspect to improve safety and efficiency of several human-related activities. Human errors are indeed among the major causes of work-related accidents. Assessing human factors (HFs) could prevent these accidents through specific neurophysiological signals’ evaluation but laboratory sensors require highly-specialized operators and imply a certain grade of invasiveness which could negatively interfere with the worker’s activity. On the contrary, consumer wearables are characterized by their ease of use and their comfortability, other than being cheaper compared to laboratory technologies. Therefore, wearable sensors could represent an ideal substitute for laboratory technologies for a real-time assessment of human performances in ecological settings. The present study aimed at assessing the reliability and capability of consumer wearable devices (i.e., Empatica E4 and Muse 2) in discriminating specific mental states compared to laboratory equipment. The electrooculographic (EOG), electrodermal activity (EDA) and photoplethysmographic (PPG) signals were acquired from a group of 17 volunteers who took part to the experimental protocol in which different working scenarios were simulated to induce different levels of mental workload, stress, and emotional state. The results demonstrated that the parameters computed by the consumer wearable and laboratory sensors were positively and significantly correlated and exhibited the same evidences in terms of mental states discrimination.


2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 220
Author(s):  
Helmi Rashid ◽  
Abdul Rahman Omar ◽  
Zamalia Mahmud ◽  
Wan Muhammad Syahmi Wan Fauzi

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) related to occupational work or termed as WMSDs are the most common health issues that are experienced by many workers. Either due to the human errors or inconvenient and faulty workplaces, this illness has caused both employers and employees great economic losses. However, when observing the prevalence of MSDs among motorcyclists, again the focus was put among those that use motorcycles during their duties making it very much work-related. For example, police riders, postal delivery workers, and currently food delivery services. But how about those non-occupational motorcyclists or commuting workers or students that only use their motorcycle to commute to work, riding to class or weekend-motorcyclists going for prolonged motorcycle rides? Upon this matter, it became the motivation of this study to look into the possibilities of MSDs prevalence especially related to muscle fatigue among these groups of motorcyclists based on a survey and indoor prolonged motorcycle riding simulations that were conducted earlier. This includes how education and proper training could help them to reduce the risk of experiencing MSDs. Outcomes of this study suggested several other MSD issues that are possible to take place involving other body regions and establishing a prolonged riding guideline could educate them to be more aware of this issue. These possible MSDs were found to not being highlighted in work-related MSDs literature with respect to motorcyclists and very few detailed guidelines are available to educate motorcyclists for a much safer prolonged riding which provide gaps for further investigation and validation.   Keywords: Guidelines, Low back pain (LBP), Motorcyclists, Muscle fatigue, Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) Prolonged riding.


Author(s):  
Fábio Bernardo ◽  
Raquel Martins ◽  
J. C. C. Guedes

Muscle fatigue refers to the transient decrease in the capacity to perform physical actions and can cause productivity loss, human errors, unsafe actions, injuries and work related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs). A total of 13 participants repetitively lifted a 2.5 kg load at a total elevation of 0.5 m, until voluntary exhaustion or intensive pain. Several indicators of muscle fatigue were found, including increased forward bending, micro expressions, changing load support strategy, holding load closer to the chest during elevation and increase in eccentric movement speed. Volunteers that practiced sports regularly lasted longer in the experiment and it was found that smoking and sedentarism limited the exercise capacity of some subjects. Volunteers increased the wrists and elbows velocity during the experiment. It was verified that half of the volunteers had less fluid movement during lifting, with higher acceleration values in some parts and lower values in others, translating into more impulsive movements. It was concluded that to compensate muscle fatigue, people adapt their working strategy, changing movement patterns, recruiting different muscles and changing kinetic or kinematic components of the movement (like joint angles and velocities).


Author(s):  
Vajihe Khanali Zafra ◽  
Mohammad Reza Sadeghi Banis

Introduction: One of the important and growing organizational considerations is the staff health and safety. Workplace events cause death and disability in a large number of employees annually. So, employers have seriously focused their attention and organizational resources on this important issue. The purpose of this study was to investigate causes of the fatal industrial-production activities using the Morte's technique and to provide management solutions to reduce the incidents caused by the workshop in Yazd province, Iran. Methods: Initially, a total of 57 fatal accidents were identified and investigated in Isfahan industrial enterprises. Among this number, 12 cases of work-related incidents were studied. In the second stage, events were analyzed by Morte tree. This descriptive, correlational, and applied research was a fieldwork conducted as a library study to collect the required data. Results: The results showed that most causes of defect accidents were among the management system factors and covered 40.4% of the total causes. This was followed by the human errors and defects in working processes (36.5%), defects in fences and barriers (19.2%) in rescue process, and other causes of accidents (3.9%). Conclusion: By adopting safety measures in compliance with the protective regulations, extent and severity of the accidents can be reduced to a large extent. Many good practices can also be prevented by appropriate management measures.


2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-16
Author(s):  
Joel Weddington ◽  
Charles N. Brooks ◽  
Mark Melhorn ◽  
Christopher R. Brigham

Abstract In most cases of shoulder injury at work, causation analysis is not clear-cut and requires detailed, thoughtful, and time-consuming causation analysis; traditionally, physicians have approached this in a cursory manner, often presenting their findings as an opinion. An established method of causation analysis using six steps is outlined in the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine Guidelines and in the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Disease and Injury Causation, Second Edition, as follows: 1) collect evidence of disease; 2) collect epidemiological data; 3) collect evidence of exposure; 4) collect other relevant factors; 5) evaluate the validity of the evidence; and 6) write a report with evaluation and conclusions. Evaluators also should recognize that thresholds for causation vary by state and are based on specific statutes or case law. Three cases illustrate evidence-based causation analysis using the six steps and illustrate how examiners can form well-founded opinions about whether a given condition is work related, nonoccupational, or some combination of these. An evaluator's causal conclusions should be rational, should be consistent with the facts of the individual case and medical literature, and should cite pertinent references. The opinion should be stated “to a reasonable degree of medical probability,” on a “more-probable-than-not” basis, or using a suitable phrase that meets the legal threshold in the applicable jurisdiction.


2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 5-11
Author(s):  
E. Randolph Soo Hoo ◽  
Stephen L. Demeter

Abstract Referring agents may ask independent medical evaluators if the examinee can return to work in either a normal or a restricted capacity; similarly, employers may ask external parties to conduct this type of assessment before a hire or after an injury. Functional capacity evaluations (FCEs) are used to measure agility and strength, but they have limitations and use technical jargon or concepts that can be confusing. This article clarifies key terms and concepts related to FCEs. The basic approach to a job analysis is to collect information about the job using a variety of methods, analyze the data, and summarize the data to determine specific factors required for the job. No single, optimal job analysis or validation method is applicable to every work situation or company, but the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission offers technical standards for each type of validity study. FCEs are a systematic method of measuring an individual's ability to perform various activities, and results are matched to descriptions of specific work-related tasks. Results of physical abilities/agilities tests are reported as “matching” or “not matching” job demands or “pass” or “fail” meeting job criteria. Individuals who fail an employment physical agility test often challenge the results on the basis that the test was poorly conducted, that the test protocol was not reflective of the job, or that levels for successful completion were inappropriate.


1998 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 6-6
Author(s):  
Marc T. Taylor

Abstract This article discusses two important cases that involve the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (AMA Guides). First, in Vargas v Industrial Com’n of Arizona, a claimant had a pre-existing non–work-related injury to his right knee as well as a work-related injury, and the issue was apportionment of the pre-existing injury. The court held that, under Arizona's statute, the impairment from the pre-existing injury should be subtracted from the current work-related impairment. In the second case, Colorado courts addressed the issue of apportionment in a workers’ compensation claim in which the pre-existing injury was asymptomatic at the time of the work-related injury (Askey v Industrial Claim Appeals Office). In this case, the court held that the worker's benefits should not be reduced to account for an asymptomatic pre-existing condition that could not be rated accurately using the AMA Guides. The AMA Guides bases impairment ratings on anatomic or physiologic loss of function, and if an examinee presents with two or more sequential injuries and calculable impairments, the AMA Guides can be used to apportion between pre-existing and subsequent impairments. Courts often use the AMA Guides to decide statutorily determined benefits and are subject to interpretation by courts and administrative bodies whose interpretations may vary from state to state.


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