JOURNAL OF OCCUPATIONAL HYGIENE ENGINEERING
Year:2018 | Volume:5 | Issue:3 |Papers Count:8

Background and Objective: Firefighting is a stressful job with a great level of physical and psychological demands. The effort-reward imbalance and the need for fatigue recovery in this occupational group can lead to serious consequences. The present study aimed to assess the effects of the personal variables on effort-reward imbalance and the need for fatigue recovery. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 107 industrial firefighters were recruited in 2018. The effort-reward imbalance questionnaire, need for fatigue recovery scale, and individual information checklist were utilized to collect the required information. The data were analyzed using multiple linear regression by SPSS software (version 16). P-value less than 0. 05 was statistically considered significant. Results: More than 70% of the participants were reported with a desirable level of effort-reward imbalance and the need for fatigue recovery. The results of the regression analysis revealed a significant relation among the variables of occupational position and contract status with the need for recovery scale. In addition, a significant association was observed between the type of contract status, sleep disorders, and hypnotic drugs with over-commitment. However, there was no significant relationship regarding the perception of effort-reward imbalance. Conclusion: The obtained results of the present study showed a relative desirable status for the parameters of perception of effort-reward imbalance and need for fatigue recovery in the study population. It is recommended to plan and design appropriate interventions in order to provide more favorable working conditions.

Background and Objective: Nail extension is a profession which has been entered Iran recently and is expanding vastly. Every profession has its own harmful effects. Accordingly, nail salon workers are exposed to ergonomic risk factors due to their awkward posture and equipment and the applied tools. Regarding this, the present study was conducted to evaluate the ergonomic status of nail salon workers in Sabzevar, Iran. Materials and Methods: This descriptive analytical study was performed on nail workers working in beauty salons. The determination of the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders was accomplished using Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire; furthermore, a novel ergonomic postural assessment (NERPA) method was utilized to evaluate body posture while working. Additionally, the lighting of the work surface was measured to determine its association with musculoskeletal disorders. The data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 17). Results: According to the results, the highest prevalence of pain was observed in the neck (63. 8%), followed by the upper back (51. 3%), waist (42. 5%), shoulder (41. 3%), and wrist (37. 6%). Body posture assessment by means of NERPA method also showed that the final score was at the highest level (i. e., score 7 representing the need for immediate change) in all cases (100%). In addition, the intensity of the work surface local lighting was lower than the mandatory occupational exposure limit value of Iran (46. 81%). Conclusion: As the finding indicated, musculoskeletal disorders are highly prevalent among nail workers given the unfamiliarity of this profession and lack of sufficient monitoring by occupational hygiene inspectors. Consequently, health care organizations should pay more attention to establish rules and standards to reduce these complications.

Background and Objective: Work-related accidents are among the most important hygienic, social, and economic factors in industrial and developing societies. Moreover, the work-related accident is the third cause of mortality in the world. Accordingly, this study aimed to examine cognitive failure, safety consciousness, and fatigue as the predictors of work-related accident among the employees of National Iranian Drilling Company in order to suggest the ways to reduce this type of incidents. Materials and Methods: This retrospective correlational research aimed to predict the membership of employees (both injured and healthy ones) through regression analysis. The population of the study consisted of the employees working in the National Iranian Drilling Company. A total of 260 participants were selected through a random sampling method. The variables of the study were measured by Cognitive Failure (Broadbent et al, 1983), Safety Consciousness (Westaby & Lee, 2003), and Fatigue (Chalder et al., 1993) questionnaires. Results: Data were analyzed by SPSS software (version 16). The results showed that cognitive deficits, safety consciousness, and fatigue variables were significant at P<0. 05, P<0. 001, and P=0. 11, respectively. Moreover, all three variables could predict the possibility of accidents in the workplace. Conclusion: Given the obtained results, it is recommended to investigate the effect of variables, such as cognitive failure, safety consciousness, and fatigue, among workers to reduce the rate of the accidents in the workplace. Moreover, it is suggested to employ workers with low scores in both cognitive failure and fatigue and high scores in safety consciousness in the accident-prone workplace.

Background and Objective: Steel manufacturing industry is one of the most dangerous industries worldwide because the steel mill workers are vulnerable to a big deal of hazards regarding the job nature. This study evaluated the risk levels in the steel manufacturing unit of Iran National Steel Industrial Group in 2017. Materials and Methods: Energy trace and barrier analysis were used in order to identify the risks. The data were collected with the help of observation, interviews with workers and experts, questionnaires as well as accidents records in the safety unit. Pairwise Comparison was done and the probability of occurrence of various risk factors was determined by "Fuzzy analytical hierarchy process solver". The obtained score was considered as the risk occurrence probability value. The incident intensity and the controlling systems were also scored. Then, the risks were prioritized based on three factors, namely incident intensity, the probability of occurrence, and control systems using "BT TOPSIS Solver". Results: According to the results, 27 risk factors were specified in terms of safety, health, and the environment. Exposure to the molten materials and gas consumption were ranked the highest (0. 9001) and lowest (0. 0263), respectively. In addition, the results were categorized based on four risk levels of the high (44%), serious (41%), and medium and low (15%). Conclusion: The most important sorts of energies in steelmaking plant are chemical, heat, and potential. With regard to the risk assessment, safety risks are ranked the highest in terms of priority compared to the health and environmental risks in the steel manufacturing palnt. The administrative solutions were proposed to control and reduce the risks.

Background and Objective: The work conditions of nurses and laboratory technicians can lead to musculoskeletal disorders. The aim of the present study was to examine the working conditions of nurses in internal and surgical wards and laboratory technicians in a hospital. Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study which was conducted in a hospital in Tabriz in 2016. Thirty-two nurses and 20 laboratory technicians were participated in the study. The Nordic questionnaire and REBA method with a new scoring algorithm were used for ergonomic evaluation. For each occupation, the scores of upper body, upper quadrant, lower body, and the percentage of work-time spent with high-strain postures were calculated. One-way ANOVA and independent t tests were used for statistical analysis. Results: The musculoskeletal disorders in neck (63. 5%) and waist (55. 8%) were prevalent. The mean scores of upper body, upper quadrant, and lower body were 8. 16, 11. 01, and 9. 59, respectively. Only the score of lower body was statistically different among three occupational groups due to the difference in the score of the lower body of technicians with nurses. Internal nurses in 11% of and laboratory technicians in 8% of their work shift worked with high-strain postures of upper and lower body, respectively. Conclusion: The REBA method was easily accomplished in the workplace of nurses and laboratory technicians. The internal nurses experience more biomechanical stress than general surgery nurses, especially in upper body. To reduce the high strain postures, the implementation of ergonomic interventions are recommended to improve the postures of upper body of nurses and lower body of laboratory technicians.

Background and Objective: Safety training, as one of the safety interventions, is an important factor in safety climate and safety performance improvement within organizations. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of training and technical interventions to provide healthy safety climate in the workplace. Materials and Methods: In this interventional study, 480 workers of different job groups in construction Company have entered the study. Data were collected using demographic, safety climate, and safety performance questionnaires. Questionnaires were completed at three stages, including before the intervention, 1 month after the first intervention, and 1 month after the second intervention (4 months after the first intervention). Data were analyzed by paired t-test, one-way analysis of variance, and Bonferroni test using SPSS software (version 23). Results: The findings of this study revealed that there was a significant improvement in all safety training impact subscales, indicating the enhancement of safety performance among employees. The obtained result of this study was indicative of significant improvements in the safety climate. This means that the training role has been considered crucial in improving and supporting employees’ and organization’ s safety. Conclusion: Overall, the results of the current study paved the way towards raising the consciousness about the conceptualization of safety training impacts and its influence on safety climate, particularly with regard to the improvement of safety performance. However, there is a need for further research to investigate the effectiveness of specific safety training intervention with the addition of motivational factors, and its relation to safety climate over a period of time in various industries.

Background and Objective: In order to take control measures to protect the health of employees against occupational hazardous agents, it is essential to assess the occupational health risks. The purpose of this study was to develop a method for occupational health risk assessment in petrochemical industry. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out among operational and administrative occupational groups in one of the petrochemicals plants in the south of Iran. The “ comprehensive occupational health risk assessment” method was used to assess the risks of occupational hazards. For this purpose, the exposure rate (ER) and hazard rate (HR) for all hazards were determined based on the results of exposure measurements and health hazards data, respectively. Finally, the risk of occupational health hazards was evaluated and calculated by multiplying the ER by HR. Results: The level of risk in 13. 6% of the investigated occupational groups was evaluated as high. Among occupational health hazards, the risk of exposure to noise and inappropriate lighting, benzene and ergonomic factors were assessed at a high and moderate level, respectively. The risk of all occupational health hazards, except for ergonomic factors, were higher among operational jobs compared to administrative occupations. Conclusion: Comprehensive occupational health risk assessment could be used for prioritizing the occupational health hazards and making desicion about resource allocation and required control measures.

Background and Objective: Road accidents are among the major problems of transportation in Iran. There are four factors involved in road accidents, including the human, road, vehicle, and environment. Among these, human (driver) error has an important role in 70-90% of the accidents. Therefore, the present study aimed to identify and examine driver's errors using the Cognitive Reliability Error Analysis Method (CREAM). Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out to examine a specific scenario involving driving tasks. First, driving tasks for the scenario were analyzed using the Hierarchical Task Analysis. Then, using the primary and broad CREAM techniques, possible driver controls and cognitive errors were determined for the tasks. Results: Based on the obtained results of the scenario using the primary CREAM technique, nine diver tasks were determined, including wearing a seat-belt, controlling the indicators, acceleration changing, direction changing, adjusting the distance, stopping the car, turning off the car, unbuckling the seat belt, and the light type of tactical control. Then, using the broad CREAM technique, the error levels of execution, observation, and interpretation were reported as 71. 87%, 18. 75%, and 9. 38%, respectively. Conclusion: In the present study, four items were identified regarding the performance-reducing conditions using the primary CREAM technique. In this regard, the factor of working conditions with one case and performing two or more tasks simultaneously with three cases were introduced as the most effective performance-reducing factors that can decrease the risk of driver's errors through their reduction. Moreover, 32 driver's errors were identified according to the broad CREAM technique. Based on the results, the most common cognitive errors included execution and observation errors. With regard to the proposed controls, the risk of human errors can be reduced for the analyzed subtasks.