International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics最新文献

{"title":"A study of upper-body postural parameters for measures of human-seat interaction","authors":"Xianzhi Zhong ,&nbsp;Jason Xi ,&nbsp;Basaam Rassas ,&nbsp;Christian Figuracion ,&nbsp;Obidah Alawneh ,&nbsp;Reza Faieghi ,&nbsp;Fengfeng Xi","doi":"10.1016/j.ergon.2024.103683","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ergon.2024.103683","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigates how five selected upper-body parameters, including Neck Angle (NA), Head Angle (HA), Shoulder Alignment Angle (SAA), Thoracic Kyphosis Angle (TKA), and Sitting Acromial Height (SAH), are related to the measures of human-seat interaction in headrest region, which involve the perceived comfort, contact loading, and muscle activity. Experiments with 25 participants were carried out on a conventional aircraft seat at different conditions to identify and understand the significant upper body parameters that affect the human-seat interaction through cross-correlation analyses. The results show the occupant's initial HA, SAH, and SAA are correlated with multiple human-seat interaction measures for general seating. Among the body parameters investigated, HA appears to be the most influential factor in the seating experience in the upper body region under various sitting conditions. The head movement (<span><math><mrow><mo>Δ</mo><mi>H</mi><mi>A</mi></mrow></math></span>) with different backrest inclinations is found to be closely associated with the headrest contact loading. This study highlights the dependence of the sitting experience on the characteristics of an individual's natural upper-body position and movement when seated, considering both subjective and objective measures. The findings from this study can be used as anthropometric reference guidelines in seat design and optimization to satisfy more customized demands from the perspective of the individual's body characteristics.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50317,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics","volume":"105 ","pages":"Article 103683"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143183006","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Association between musculoskeletal symptoms and psychosocial factors in tropical crop workers of Spain using standardized Nordic questionnaire and Mini Psychosocial Factors method","authors":"Marta Gómez-Galán ,&nbsp;Manuel Díaz-Pérez ,&nbsp;Juan-Carlos Rubio-Romero ,&nbsp;Ángel-Jesús Callejón-Ferre","doi":"10.1016/j.ergon.2024.103672","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ergon.2024.103672","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Southern Spain (Andalusia) is the only region in Europe capable of producing tropical fruits (avocado, cherimoya, and mango). The sector employs more than 4000 workers. The objective of this research is the integrated assessment of musculoskeletal symptoms and psychosocial factors of tropical crop workers in Andalusia using the 'Standardised Nordic questionnaires for the analysis of musculoskeletal symptoms (NMQ)' and 'Mini Psychosocial Factors (MPF) method'. NMQ is a 28-question multiple-choice questionnaire covering the neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists/hands, back, hips, knees, and ankles. The MPF method comprises 15 questions and analyses a total of 12 psychosocial variables (Autonomy, Compensation, Control, Demands, Emotional, Health, Mental Load, Mobbing, Recognition, Relationships, Rhythm, and Support). In total, 401 interviews were completed with an error/accuracy of 4.66%. The method for selecting the agricultural plots where the workers work was carried out in a random, non-stratified way using UTM (Universal Transverse Mercator) coordinates. Multiple correspondence analysis, the Burt table, and descriptive statistics (with a chi-square test) were used to analyse the results. The results indicate that no high risk exists in any of the psychosocial factor although there is a medium risk. The psychosocial factor \"Compensation\" stands out. Musculoskeletal symptoms are identified in the back and neck. The symptoms do not prevent the workers from performing their agricultural tasks. Furthermore, the drought conditions over the last three agricultural seasons had the impact of decreasing agricultural wages, and this was slightly detected as an effect on the workers’ moral and economic recognition.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50317,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics","volume":"105 ","pages":"Article 103672"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143183641","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Fostering resilient safety culture to boost safety performance of young construction workers: Insights from empirical and simulation studies","authors":"Guofeng Ma ,&nbsp;Yuanyuan Zhang ,&nbsp;Shan Jiang ,&nbsp;Xinming Pan ,&nbsp;Zhijiang Wu","doi":"10.1016/j.ergon.2024.103687","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ergon.2024.103687","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Frequent occupational accidents in the construction industry highlight the significance of improving workers' safety performance (SP), particularly among young workers (YWs, i.e., Millennials and Generation Z), who suffer more occupational injuries. Drawing on the social learning theory and job demands-resources theory, this study attempts to uncover how the resilient safety culture (RSC) of construction organizations boosts the SP of YWs. A mixed research design, combining the “top-down” empirical study and the “bottom-up” agent-based modeling (ABM) simulation experiment was developed in this study. First, a moderated mediation model was developed wherein job crafting served as a mediator, while supervisor support and coworker support were considered as boundary conditions. Using 218 samples of YWs from construction projects in China, the proposed theoretical model was validated by the structural equation modeling approach. Based on the empirical results, an ABM experiment was subsequently conducted to dynamically exhibit the SP emergent process of YWs. The empirical results affirmed that RSC significantly enhanced the SP of YWs, and job crafting was a mediator between this link. Supervisor support was found to amplify the positive impact of RSC on YWs’ job crafting and further enhance their SP, while coworker support played the opposite moderating role. In addition, the results of ABM experiment further reinforced the cross-section findings of the empirical study with a dynamic picture. This study advances the RSC research in the broad industrial and occupational ergonomics field by emphasizing its potential as an effective approach to enhancing productivity, health, and safety in construction workplaces. Additionally, it offers valuable practical insights on how to leverage RSC to improve the SP of YWs, thus effectively reducing human factor-related accidents.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50317,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics","volume":"105 ","pages":"Article 103687"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143183514","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Attractiveness factors of the use of retro products to young people: A mixed-method approach with user experience analysis","authors":"Toshihisa Doi ,&nbsp;Minori Murata ,&nbsp;Aoi Nagata","doi":"10.1016/j.ergon.2025.103695","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ergon.2025.103695","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study adopted a mixed-method approach to identify attractiveness factors from multiple perspectives. First, a qualitative survey (Survey 1) was performed to obtain the hypothesis factors of three retro products by analyzing user experiences using the UX curve method and the KJ method. From these results, nine categories were extracted as hypothesized factors that create attractiveness in the use of retro products. Second, a quantitative web-based questionnaire (Survey 2) was conducted to verify the hypothesized factors. The questionnaire items were created based on the nine hypothesized factors extracted from Survey 1. Next, a five-factor model of the attractiveness of retro products was extracted through factor analysis of the results from Survey 2. The five factors are: “excitement,” “attractiveness due to time and effort,” “instinctive attractiveness,” “attractiveness due to inconvenience,” and “novelty. Finally, multiple regression analysis was performed, which revealed that \"attractiveness due to time and effort,” “instinctive attractiveness,” “attractiveness due to inconvenience,” and “novelty. Finally, multiple regression analysis was performed, which revealed that \"attractiveness due to time and effort\" and \"instinctive attractiveness\" have the greatest impact on the attractiveness of retro products.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50317,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics","volume":"105 ","pages":"Article 103695"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143183517","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Postural stability and risk of slips in lifting tasks: Effects of load weight and load knowledge","authors":"Junshi Liu ,&nbsp;Xingda Qu","doi":"10.1016/j.ergon.2024.103675","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ergon.2024.103675","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Load transfer during lifting leads to increased postural perturbations that may compromise postural stability, so lifting is an occupational task associated with high fall risk. This study aimed to gain improved knowledge about fall risk in lifting tasks. The effects of both load weight and load knowledge were examined. Load weight was set at three levels according to individuals' maximum acceptable lifting capacity. Unlike previous studies, load knowledge was set by considering load material fragility. Twenty-four male participants were involved in the experimental study, in which they were instructed to perform both symmetric and asymmetric lifting tasks under conditions defined by various combinations of load weight and load knowledge. Fall risk was assessed by using measures accounting for postural stability and risk of slips. The results showed that when being defined near individuals’ maximum acceptable lifting capacity, increased lifting load weight not only improved postural stability in the rising phase of lifting, but also increased the risk of slips. These findings suggest that improved postural stability due to increased load weight in the rising phase could be a compensatory postural control strategy for the increased risk of slips so as to maintain balance and avoid the occurrence of a potential fall. We also found that load knowledge of fragility and weight may not contribute to fall risk reduction during lifting. The findings obtained from the present study are useful for practitioners to design safe lifting tasks.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50317,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics","volume":"105 ","pages":"Article 103675"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143183522","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Railway safety under increasing speed: Train drivers’ hazard perception of foreign object intrusion on railway tracks","authors":"Wenli Dong ,&nbsp;Weining Fang ,&nbsp;Xiaoxuan Jiang ,&nbsp;Haifeng Bao ,&nbsp;Hanzhao Qiu ,&nbsp;Yanjie Li","doi":"10.1016/j.ergon.2024.103684","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ergon.2024.103684","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Foreign object intrusion on railway tracks poses a significant safety threat to train operations. In this study, we investigate the impact of train operating speed on drivers’ hazard perception (HP). For this purpose, we developed a hazard perception test (HPT) system, simulating scenarios of foreign object intrusion on railway tracks using high-fidelity computer animation techniques. Thirty certified participants, who had passed the train driver psychological qualification test, participated in the HPT across four speed classes: 120 km/h, 160 km/h, 250 km/h, and 350 km/h, the maximum speeds of the levels 0–3 of the Chinese Train Control System in service. The analysis revealed that as speed increases, there is a significant decrease in HP response time, an intensification of visual tunneling, and a significant reduction in the leftward bias of visuospatial attention. These results highlight the critical role of speed in influencing HP and carry significant implications for the deployment of assistive technological systems for hazard detection and the enhancement of train design, especially in the context of high-speed railways.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50317,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics","volume":"105 ","pages":"Article 103684"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143183542","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A focus on quantitative methods to assess human factors in collaborative robotics","authors":"Alessia de Nobile ,&nbsp;Daniele Bibbo ,&nbsp;Marta Russo ,&nbsp;Silvia Conforto","doi":"10.1016/j.ergon.2024.103663","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ergon.2024.103663","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The advent of Industry 4.0 has transformed manufacturing by incorporating industrial robots to boost productivity and quality while cutting costs. Human-Robot Collaboration (HRC) is central to this shift, emphasizing seamless cooperation between humans and robots in shared workspaces. Evaluating the impact of such collaboration on human operators is crucial for efficiency, safety, and well-being. This systematic review explores methodologies for assessing human factors in HRC environments, spanning psychological, cognitive, and physical realms. Various evaluation methods have been identified, from subjective questionnaires to objective measurements. While subjective methods are the standard (especially questionnaires), there is a growing trend towards integrating physiological and physical measurements. The blend of subjective and objective methods offers a holistic understanding of human-robot interaction. This review adopts a more technical-oriented approach in the assessment of human factors in HRC. As a result, it consolidates existing methodologies and suggests avenues for further research, highlighting the significance of this assessment for enhancing productivity, safety, and well-being in industrial settings.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50317,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics","volume":"104 ","pages":"Article 103663"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142657030","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Discovering hidden strengths: How a passive lower extremity exoskeleton boosts the isometric pulling capacity to new heights","authors":"Jangwhon Yoon","doi":"10.1016/j.ergon.2024.103661","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ergon.2024.103661","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Wearable exoskeletons aim to balance physical work demands and individual capacity. This study assessed isometric pushing capacities in various directions using a chair-type exoskeleton (CEX) at different heights. Twenty participants of both genders underwent forward, backward, upward and sideways pushing. Using CEX increased posterior pushing by over 60%, decreased lateral pushing about 10%, but had no significant effect on anterior or superior pushing capacities. The weight distribution on the feet rose to 80% in posterior pushing and dropped to 20% in anterior pushing, while weight distribution between the feet and CEX, measured with two force plates, was about 5:5 in superior and lateral pushing. Despite increased posterior pushing, decrease in posterior stability with CEX should be considered. Workers and exoskeleton designers should be aware of this trade-off between increased pushing capacity and reduced posterior postural stability. With proper precautions to mitigate the risk of falling, introducing CEX can be especially beneficial for the workers needing to pull objects at lower levels.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50317,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics","volume":"104 ","pages":"Article 103661"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142657029","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The future of office and administrative support occupations in the era of artificial intelligence: A state of the art review and future research directions","authors":"Priyadarshini R. Pennathur ,&nbsp;Valerie Boksa ,&nbsp;Arunkumar Pennathur ,&nbsp;Andrew Kusiak ,&nbsp;Beth A. Livingston","doi":"10.1016/j.ergon.2024.103665","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ergon.2024.103665","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that by the year 2029, the United States will lose a million jobs in the office and administrative support occupations because technology, automation, and artificial intelligence (AI) have the potential to substitute or replace the office and administrative functions performed by office workers. Despite the potential impact AI will have on office work and the important role office workers play in the American economy, we have limited knowledge of the state of the art research in office work at the intersection of emerging artificial intelligence technologies. In this study, we conducted a bibliometric analysis of the scholarly literature at the intersection of office work, office automation and artificial intelligence. We extracted literature sources from Compendex and Scopus databases and used VOSviewer for visualizing and quantifying our bibliometric analyses. Our findings from keywords analysis indicate that office automation, humans, human-computer interaction, and artificial intelligence occurred more frequently in the scholarly literature and had high link strengths. Keyword clusters from co-occurrence analysis indicate that intelligent buildings, robotics, and the internet of things are emerging topics in the office work domain. The two clusters related to ergonomics, worker characteristics, human performance, and safety indicate the types of human factors concerns that are more widely studied in office work settings. In summary, our findings on the state-of-the-art research in office work indicate that more studies have been conducted on smart buildings, robotics, and technology development for office work, compared to studies on office workers and their professional development.</div></div><div><h3>Relevance to industry</h3><div>This review on the state-of-the-art in research on office work is relevant in every industry that has the potential to undergo significant changes due to AI in the future.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50317,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics","volume":"104 ","pages":"Article 103665"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142657031","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Ergonomic design of mastectomy bra based on emotion measurements","authors":"Chi Liu ,&nbsp;Yifei Chen ,&nbsp;Meng Yang ,&nbsp;Kui Jin ,&nbsp;Bugao Xu","doi":"10.1016/j.ergon.2024.103659","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ergon.2024.103659","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The mastectomy bra (M-bra) serves as an essential rehabilitative product for individuals who have undergone breast cancer surgery. This study aimed to develop an ergonomic design method for M-bras that addresses both the physiological and psychological needs of post-mastectomy breast cancer patients. Over 270 M-bras with diverse design options were collected from online markets, and more than 100 post-mastectomy patients participated in an online survey to rank their preferences regarding eight M-bra components and 19 design options. An orthogonal experimental design was applied to reduce the vast array of design combinations to 20 M-bra test samples. The Pleasure-Arousal-Dominance (PAD) emotion model and the Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM) scale were then used to collect PAD scores from 40 patients evaluating these test samples. Extreme difference analysis was conducted to evaluate the significance of the M-bra components and identify combinations that generated the highest and lowest PAD levels. Based on the PAD scores, 11 samples were categorized as \"delighted\" or \"relaxed\" M-bras due to their positive emotional polarity. Linear regression analysis showed strong correlations between the design options and PAD scores, with R² values of 0.962 for P, 0.819 for A, and 0.949 for D. A backpropagation neural network was developed to predict PAD values for various M-bra design options, achieving prediction errors of 8.06% for P, 6.15% for A, and 13.29% for D, demonstrating satisfactory performance given the subjective nature of the evaluations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50317,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics","volume":"104 ","pages":"Article 103659"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142553540","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}