The Effect of Wave Motion Intensities on Performance in a Simulated Search and Rescue Task and the Concurrent Demands of Maintaining Balance

2020 ◽  
pp. 001872082095290
Author(s):  
Carolyn A. Duncan ◽  
Nicole Bishop ◽  
Vicki Komisar ◽  
Scott N. MacKinnon ◽  
Jeannette M. Byrne
Keyword(s):  
Wave Motion ◽  
Muscle Activation ◽  
Balance Control ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Search And Rescue ◽  
Worker Safety ◽  
Motion Platform ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Maritime Search And Rescue

Objective The purpose of this study was to examine how intensity of wave motions affects the performance of a simulated maritime search and rescue (SAR) task. Background Maritime SAR is a critical maritime occupation; however, the effect of wave motion intensity on worker performance is unknown. Methods Twenty-four participants (12 male, 12 female) performed a simulated search and rescue task on a six-degree-of-freedom motion platform in two conditions that differed in motion intensity (low and high). Task performance, electromyography (EMG), and number of compensatory steps taken by the individual were examined. Results As magnitude of simulated motion increased, performance in the SAR task decreased, and was accompanied by increases in lower limb muscle activation and number of steps taken. Conclusions Performance of an SAR task and balance control may be impeded by high-magnitude vessel motions. Application This research has the potential to be used by maritime engineers, occupational health and safety professionals, and ergonomists to improve worker safety and performance for SAR operators.

scholarly journals The Influence of Music Preference on Exercise Responses and Performance: A Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 33
Author(s):  
Christopher G. Ballmann
Keyword(s):  
Muscle Activation ◽  
Perceived Exertion ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Music Preference ◽  
Psychophysiological Responses ◽  
Music Selection ◽  
Practical Standpoint ◽  
Improved Performance ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Individual

Listening to music has been repeatedly shown to have ergogenic benefits during various modes of exercise, including endurance, sprint, and resistance-based activities. Music is commonly incorporated into training regimens by recreational exercisers and competitive athletes alike. While specific modalities of exercise elicit varying physiological responses, listening to music has been shown to modulate many of these responses (i.e., heart rate, catecholamines, muscle activation) often leading to improved performance. Furthermore, listening to music during exercise may positively impact psychological (i.e., mood, motivation) and psychophysiological (i.e., rate of perceived exertion, arousal) changes, which may allow for favorable responses during an exercise challenge. However, there is mixed evidence regarding music’s efficacy, which may be mediated through differences in music selection and preference. Emerging evidence has shown that, whether an individual prefers or does not prefer the music they are listening to during exercise greatly influences their ergogenic potential in addition to physiological, psychological, and psychophysiological responses to exercise. From a practical standpoint, music may be controlled by the individual through headphones but is often played communally over speakers in locker rooms, gyms, and health clubs, which may have consequences on performance and training. The following review will describe the physiological, psychological, and psychophysiological responses to exercise while listening to music and how music preference may particularly alter them. Current knowledge and new evidence on how music preference factors into enhancing performance in various modes of exercise will be further discussed, incorporating practical considerations for individuals and practitioners in real-world applications to optimize performance.

COMPARATIVE ERGONOMIC ASSESSMENT OF SLAB FORMWORK SYSTEMS

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dieter Schlagbauer ◽  
Detlef Heck
Keyword(s):  
Selection Process ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Economic Factors ◽  
Construction Site ◽  
Single Task ◽  
Safety Issues ◽  
Average Work ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Cost

The economic efficiency of formwork systems does not depend only on the cost of the product; the achievable performance on the construction site has also a big influence on the selection process. This performance is connected to various factors, such as the number or weight of the individual items, or the required height of the formwork surface. In the course of this research project, four different slab formwork systems performing similar jobs were investigated, enabling a comparison based on an ergonomic assessment. The evaluation of the different systems proved that results and expectations correspond, in this case tasks were reviewed separately for individual systems. Comparing the systems directly, by using the calculated points of the ergonomics evaluation for an average work process, the results display that the least onerous system achieved the highest individual score values. These results led to the assumption that ergonomic scores should not be the sole base for a decision; therefore the performance progress was included and relative ergonomic values for a typical formwork surface were calculated. The result of this evaluation is in line with expectations for the strain of individual systems. The different results between single-task and performance-related evaluations illustrated that, for the assessment of health and safety issues combined with economic factors, not only was the single-task evaluation important, but also an overall view should be taken for a typical scope of work.

scholarly journals Wearables for Biomechanical Performance Optimization and Risk Assessment in Industrial and Sports Applications

2022 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 33
Author(s):  
Sam McDevitt ◽  
Haley Hernandez ◽  
Jamison Hicks ◽  
Russell Lowell ◽  
Hamza Bentahaikt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Performance Optimization ◽  
Performance Enhancement ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Industrial Applications ◽  
Data Types ◽  
Measurement Units ◽  
Numerous Data ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Individual

Wearable technologies are emerging as a useful tool with many different applications. While these devices are worn on the human body and can capture numerous data types, this literature review focuses specifically on wearable use for performance enhancement and risk assessment in industrial- and sports-related biomechanical applications. Wearable devices such as exoskeletons, inertial measurement units (IMUs), force sensors, and surface electromyography (EMG) were identified as key technologies that can be used to aid health and safety professionals, ergonomists, and human factors practitioners improve user performance and monitor risk. IMU-based solutions were the most used wearable types in both sectors. Industry largely used biomechanical wearables to assess tasks and risks wholistically, which sports often considered the individual components of movement and performance. Availability, cost, and adoption remain common limitation issues across both sports and industrial applications.

Regulatory and sustainability initiatives lead to improved polyaminopolyamide epichlorohydrin (PAE) wet-strength resins and paper products

TAPPI Journal ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (09) ◽  
pp. 519-532 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Crisp ◽  
Richard Riehle
Keyword(s):  
Health And Safety ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Worker Safety ◽  
Regulatory Requirements ◽  
Wet Strength ◽  
The Past ◽  
Consumer Safety ◽  
Federal Institute ◽  
Sustainability Initiatives ◽  
The Impact

Polyaminopolyamide-epichlorohydrin (PAE) resins are the predominant commercial products used to manufacture wet-strengthened paper products for grades requiring wet-strength permanence. Since their development in the late 1950s, the first generation (G1) resins have proven to be one of the most cost-effective technologies available to provide wet strength to paper. Throughout the past three decades, regulatory directives and sustainability initiatives from various organizations have driven the development of cleaner and safer PAE resins and paper products. Early efforts in this area focused on improving worker safety and reducing the impact of PAE resins on the environment. These efforts led to the development of resins containing significantly reduced levels of 1,3-dichloro-2-propanol (1,3-DCP) and 3-monochloropropane-1,2-diol (3-MCPD), potentially carcinogenic byproducts formed during the manufacturing process of PAE resins. As the levels of these byproducts decreased, the environmental, health, and safety (EH&S) profile of PAE resins and paper products improved. Recent initiatives from major retailers are focusing on product ingredient transparency and quality, thus encouraging the development of safer product formulations while maintaining performance. PAE resin research over the past 20 years has been directed toward regulatory requirements to improve consumer safety and minimize exposure to potentially carcinogenic materials found in various paper products. One of the best known regulatory requirements is the recommendations of the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), which defines the levels of 1,3-DCP and 3-MCPD that can be extracted by water from various food contact grades of paper. These criteria led to the development of third generation (G3) products that contain very low levels of 1,3-DCP (typically <10 parts per million in the as-received/delivered resin). This paper outlines the PAE resin chemical contributors to adsorbable organic halogens and 3-MCPD in paper and provides recommendations for the use of each PAE resin product generation (G1, G1.5, G2, G2.5, and G3).

scholarly journals Heat Pump Bridge Analysis Using the Modified Energy Transfer Diagram

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 137
Author(s):  
Florian Schlosser ◽  
Heinrich Wiebe ◽  
Timothy G. Walmsley ◽  
Martin J. Atkins ◽  
Michael R. W. Walmsley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Transfer ◽  
Heat Pump ◽  
Heat Recovery ◽  
Heat Pumps ◽  
Coefficient Of Performance ◽  
Combined Application ◽  
Recovery Potential ◽  
Composite Curve ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Individual

Heat pumps are the key technology to decarbonise thermal processes by upgrading industrial surplus heat using renewable electricity. Existing insight-based integration methods refer to the idealised Grand Composite Curve requiring the full exploitation of heat recovery potential but leave the question of how to deal with technical or economic limitations unanswered. In this work, a novel Heat Pump Bridge Analysis (HPBA) is introduced for practically targeting technical and economic heat pump potential by applying Coefficient of Performance curves into the Modified Energy Transfer Diagram (METD). Removing cross-Pinch violations and operating heat exchangers at minimum approach temperatures by combined application of Bridge Analysis increases the heat recovery rate and reduce the temperature lift to be pumped at the same time. The insight-based METD allows the individual matching of heat surpluses and deficits of individual streams with the capabilities and performance of different market-available heat pump concepts. For an illustrative example, the presented modifications based on HPBA increase the economically viable share of the technical heat pump potential from 61% to 79%.

scholarly journals Laboratory Safety, Biosecurity, and Responsible Animal Use

ILAR Journal ◽  
2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica McCormick-Ell ◽  
Nancy Connell
Keyword(s):  
Health And Safety ◽  
Chemical Exposure ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Worker Safety ◽  
Environmental Health And Safety ◽  
Safety Research ◽  
Education Levels ◽  
Animal Safety ◽  
Animal Care

AbstractResearch with animals presents a wide array of hazards, some of which overlap those in the in vitro research laboratory. The challenge for environmental health and safety professionals when making their recommendations and performing the risk assessment is to balance worker safety with animal safety/welfare. The care and husbandry of animals require procedures and tasks that create aerosols and involve metabolized chemicals and a variety of physical hazards that must be assessed in addition to the research related risks, all while balancing the biosecurity of the facility and NIH animal care requirements. Detailed communication between health and safety, research, and animal care teams is essential to understand how to mitigate the risks that are present and if modifications need to be made as the experiments and processes progress and change over time. Additionally, the backgrounds and education levels of the persons involved in animal research and husbandry can be quite broad; the training programs created need to reflect this. Active learning and hands-on training are extremely beneficial for all staff involved in this field. Certain areas of research, such as infectious disease research in high- and maximum-containment (biosafety level 3 and 4) facilities, present challenges that are not seen in lower containment or chemical exposure experiments. This paper reviews potential hazards and mitigation strategies and discusses unique challenges for safety at all biosafety levels.

scholarly journals Rotor Interaction Noise in Counter-Rotating Propfan Propulsion Systems

2011 ◽  
Vol 134 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Peters ◽  
Zoltán S. Spakovszky
Keyword(s):  
Polar Angle ◽  
Secondary Flows ◽  
Tip Vortex ◽  
System Level ◽  
Analysis Tool ◽  
Acoustic Analogy ◽  
Wake Interaction ◽  
Open Rotor ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Individual

Due to their inherent noise challenge and potential for significant reductions in fuel burn, counter-rotating propfans (CRPs) are currently being investigated as potential alternatives to high-bypass turbofan engines. This paper introduces an integrated noise and performance assessment methodology for advanced propfan powered aircraft configurations. The approach is based on first principles and combines a coupled aircraft and propulsion system mission and performance analysis tool with 3D unsteady, full-wheel CRP computational fluid dynamics computations and aeroacoustic simulations. Special emphasis is put on computing CRP noise due to interaction tones. The method is capable of dealing with parametric studies and exploring noise reduction technologies. An aircraft performance, weight and balance, and mission analysis was first conducted on a candidate CRP powered aircraft configuration. Guided by data available in the literature, a detailed aerodynamic design of a pusher CRP was carried out. Full-wheel unsteady 3D Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) simulations were then used to determine the time varying blade surface pressures and unsteady flow features necessary to define the acoustic source terms. A frequency domain approach based on Goldstein’s formulation of the acoustic analogy for moving media and Hanson’s single rotor noise method was extended to counter-rotating configurations. The far field noise predictions were compared to measured data of a similar CRP configuration and demonstrated good agreement between the computed and measured interaction tones. The underlying noise mechanisms have previously been described in literature but, to the authors’ knowledge, this is the first time that the individual contributions of front-rotor wake interaction, aft-rotor upstream influence, hub-endwall secondary flows, and front-rotor tip-vortices to interaction tone noise are dissected and quantified. Based on this investigation, the CRP was redesigned for reduced noise incorporating a clipped rear-rotor and increased rotor-rotor spacing to reduce upstream influence, tip-vortex, and wake interaction effects. Maintaining the thrust and propulsive efficiency at takeoff conditions, the noise was calculated for both designs. At the interaction tone frequencies, the redesigned CRP demonstrated an average reduction of 7.25 dB in mean sound pressure level computed over the forward and aft polar angle arcs. On the engine/aircraft system level, the redesigned CRP demonstrated a reduction of 9.2 dB in effective perceived noise (EPNdB) and 8.6 EPNdB at the Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) 36 flyover and sideline observer locations, respectively. The results suggest that advanced open rotor designs can possibly meet Stage 4 noise requirements.

scholarly journals Management of workplace health & safety risks in new disability care arrangements

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sofia Stavropoulos
Keyword(s):  
Support Services ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Community Services ◽  
Online Information ◽  
Training Models ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Direct Guidance ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Types Of Information

The NDIS introduces changes to the level of control, choice and flexibility that persons with a disability can exercise over the services they require to support their individual needs. One of the main stays of NDIS is the ability for persons with a disability to utilise allocated funding how and with whom they choose to create a package of supports. Coinciding with the move towards the NDIS has been the introduction of the NSW WHS Act 2011. This Act introduces and broader new definitions relating to persons with responsibilities for ensuring health and safety at work. In some circumstances the individual person with a disability will be a direct employer, or an “other” in the workplace, and will take on responsibilities for health and safety for persons working in their home. For government organisations making funding decisions and allocating funds for the purchase of support services, there continues to be an obligation to ensure that services are conducted safely with risks to health adequately managed. NSW FACS can not “contract” out of their obligations. Instead we must work in partnership with all stakeholders to manage WHS risks as far as is reasonably practicable. Our role in government means we have the resources, experience, and must respond to the community expectation that we will support persons with a disability to understand and discharge their WHS obligations as far as is reasonably practicable. This is a way of operating presents the following questions: Do persons with disability understand the WHS obligations and risks associated with their care and supports? How to individuals with disability obtain sound advice and information on WHS risks that may be associated with their care arrangements? Can WHS information and resources that organisations like NSW Department of Family and Community Services (Ageing Disability and Home Care) have established be leverages to share with our “clients”? As Government partners in NDIS are we obligated to share our knowledge and information? What is the best way to bridge the gap in understanding and what types of information, tools and training can be made available on WHS for persons with a disability.A Joint WHS project currently underway within NSW FACS seeks to address the information and resources gap for all clients who participate in self directed funding arrangements (including NDIS). Our project will demonstrate how products and advice developed for internal staff use can be “reframed” and made accessible to persons with disability, their carers and individual service providers. The approach being applied within NSW FACS will potentially reduce costs in persons with disability being required to engage additional services to seek and develop WHS direct guidance and tools. The project being undertaken will deliver face to face training models, e-learning components and online information and tools to assist stakeholders in the NDIS and other Direct Funding Arrangements within NSW, to make informed decisions regarding WHS risk in the provision of care and support services. Guidance and information is provided on key risk areas utilising tested tools & WHS resources within the disability sector. E-learning solutions are made available to inform and train stakeholders of WHS obligations and potential risk management approaches. NSW FACS works with NGO stakeholders to ensure consistent advice and assistance is provided in the area of WHS obligations and performance expectations.

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