Effective vehicle width in self-paced tracking

In self-paced tracking tasks, such as driving, the speed is related to the lateral tolerance. This lateral tolerance has been varied in two ways in previous studies by changing the track width for constant vehicle width and vice versa. The current study used both an automobile driving task and a computer/mouse task to show that these two ways of varying lateral tolerance did not produce equivalent results. Subjects behaved as if vehicle width were less important than track width. Speeds and errors both increased as vehicle width increased for a constant lateral tolerance. This could have safety consequences when driving in confined spaces.     

Employee stress and health complaints in jobs with and without electronic performance monitoring

Current applications of electronic performance monitoring based on job design theories that consider worker performance rather than stress issues are likely to generate unsatisfying and stressful jobs (Smith et al, 1986). This study examines critical job design elements that could influence worker stress responses in an electronic monitoring context. A questionnaire survey of employees in telecommunications companies representative of each region in the United States examined job stress in directory assistance, service representative and clerical jobs with specific emphasis on the influence of electronic monitoring of job performance, satisfaction and employee health. Useable surveys were received from 745 employees representing seven operating companies and AT & T; a response rate of about 25%. The results of this survey indicated that employees who had their performance electronically monitored perceived their working conditions as more stressful, and reported higher levels of job boredom, psychological tension, anxiety, depression, anger, health complaints and fatigue. It is postulated that these effects may be related to changes in job design due to electronic performance monitoring.     

When is light work heavy? Components of the physical workload of sewing machine operators working at piecework rates

Epidemiologists have associated the job of sewing machine operators with a high incidence of musculoskeletal and other health problems, despite its classifications as light work according to energy expenditure criteria. An ergonomic analysis was undertaken in a trouser factory in order to describe components of the physical load of this work: force exerted, repetitions, time allocation and postures. Work activity of ten operators was observed and timed in situ, and forces were measured with a dynamometer. The time required to sew one seam is very short, 10-15 s per trouser leg. This short cycle is repeated more than 1500 times during the work day, involving quasi-continuous movements of the same parts of the body. The fact that movements are repeated so many times means that small details of the task assume a great importance. During the work day, a substantial force is exerted, only part of which can be measured with current technology. By these measurements, operators lift an average 406.1 kg of trousers per day and exert an average total force of 2858.4 kg with the upper limbs and 24 267.9 kg with the lower limbs. The work posture is static: seated with upper back curved and head bent over the sewing machine. Movements of the upper limbs involve abduction and adduction of the shoulders while exerting a force. For the same task, there is considerable variation in the dimensions of workstations. Interviews were conducted to determine the types of musculoskeletal complaints. The components of work activity could be treated to these complaints and to existing epidemiological data on musculoskeletal problems among sewing machine operators. This type of detailed examination can be applied by health and safety personnel to identify task components which could be changed to minimize the probability of musculoskeletal problems.     

Operator stress and monitoring practices

This study attempted to identify the major sources of work-related stress among telephone operators, with special emphasis on computer monitoring and telephone surveillance. A cross-sectional random sample of over 700 telephone operators participated in a questionnaire survey (response rate = 88%). The survey included items designed to measure perceived stress, management practices, specific job stressors and monitoring preferences. Call-time pressure items were most strongly linked to job stress by operators, with 70% reporting that difficulty in serving a customer well and still keeping call-time down contributed to their feelings of stress to a large or very large extent. About 55% of operators reported that telephone monitoring contributed to their feelings of job stress. If given the opportunity, 44% of operators stated they would prefer not to be monitored by telephone at all, while 23% stated they would prefer some monitoring; 33% had no preference. The setting of inappropriate individual-call-time objectives, which may be consistently unachievable for some operators and which create conflict between management demands for quantity and quality and also between workers values concerning quality and productivity demands, appears to be the most stress-inducing aspect of the job. In terms of telephone surveillance, the issues of timeliness and specificity of feedback appear to be less important than call-time pressure.     

High-resolution photoelastic pressure sensor using low-birefringence fiber

The effect of birefringence induced in a single-mode fiber by a lateral force has been applied to measure the absolute value of force or pressure with high resolution. A sensor configuration with an extended detecting surface has been investigated by means of calibrated weights. The sensor is sensitive to an incremental force of 2 x 10(-3) N, independently of the length of the fiber. The maximum force applied was 10 N/m of fiber length.