Ergonomics and safety in societies in transfer

Abstract

In Central Europe, the influence of transformation on science and practice in both ergonomics and occupational safety has been positive. The opening of markets has automatically resulted in the quality of products of various countries being compared. The comparison of the state of science has been equally revealing. The spontaneous willingness of leading world centres to co-operate in both occupational safety and ergonomics has resulted in positive changes, e.g. intensive work on creating the instruments for: implementing ILO conventions and EU directives into national laws; implementing international and European standards into national standards; accrediting testing laboratories in the field of occupational safety and ergonomics; accrediting centres for product certification for the safety mark (obligatory) and for conformity with ergonomic parameters (voluntary); and computer-aided designing and creating databases in occupational safety and ergonomics conforming to international standards. These are the laws of the emerging common market for products and services. There is still a much more difficult area of necessary changes in the approach to: the value of life and health; the belief in the possibilities and the effectiveness of initiatives towards changing the working and life environment; and the form and content of the information in occupational safety and ergonomics taught from school to adult education. Transformation has led to a renaissance in which man has become the subject of all aspects of life and activity. There is also a renaissance of occupational safety and ergonomics. The fields of research that have gained importance in this new approach in Central Europe are discussed.

Modelling assessment of farmers workload

“…), whose values are given in Table 1. The method to assess the physical load on the basis of the sum of points obtained in the evaluation of the attributes that determine the load is used to build the network [3,12,13]. The assessment of the physical load was based on the principle of energy expenditure assessment used in the simplified Lehmann method.…”

“…Animal care is also an important part of the work. With such a range of tasks and responsibilities, it is important to be aware of the type of activities performed as well as the efficiency and physical strength of the farmer [3,4].…”

The Influence of Driver's Working Environment οn Thermical Changes of Their Organism

“…As early as 1877 Erisman made an observation concerning changes in the organisms of transport workers [1,2]. The vibration complaint affects road transport drivers, although the effect is smaller due to modern methods of vibration reduction.…”

“…In spite of the attempts to eliminate vibration from the work environment there are still some complaints among drivers such as back pains called LBP (low back pain). The first symptoms of LBP can be observed very early among drivers, while among other under 35-year-old machinery operators after about 5 years of work [2]. The reason of this pain may be the uncomfortable driving position, badly shaped seat, lack of or old support to protect the spine [5].…”

The Influence of Physical Fatigue on Work on a Production Line

“…This type of fatigue is responsible for the decrease in concentration, attention, motivation and psychomotor efficiency. Vice versa, the peripheral fatigue leads to a decrease in muscle strength and muscle contraction due to fatigue (Koradecka, 1999). Fatigue does not increase gradually during the working day, but it appears and disappears at certain times.…”