It has been reported that there are many cases where care workers develop musculoskeletal disorders such as backaches. They frequently manually move patients horizontally up or down when they are lying in a dorsal position, which puts a large load on care workers’ skeletal muscles, particularly the lower back. In this study, researchers examined whether the physical burden on care workers could be mitigated by adjusting the bed height and using sliding sheets when they manually fix patients’ sleeping positions.

The results showed sliding sheet usage decreased the chest acceleration signal when working at higher position than a lower one. When care workers worked with a lower position without sliding sheets, their average heart rate increased. Additionally, with a higher bed position while using sliding sheets, muscular active mass was mitigated by 60% on deltoids, 51% on biceps brachii and 59% on paraspinal muscles of the back compared to results without sliding sheets (P<0.05). It indicated that bed height and sliding sheet usage can mitigate the physical burden on care workers.

This study examined the relationship between vocal and physiological indices of pilots subjected to mental stressors during flight to determine the optimum voice indices for estimating psychological stress by using structural equation modeling. The results of modeling demonstrate that the variables of voice index, average fundamental frequency, and absolute jitter, as well as variables of physiological index, including pupil diameter and average heart rate, are strong measures to assess fit of the model.

Correlations between types of near misses, daily driving behaviors, and consciousness in drivers when working or commuting were analyzed to examine reasons for the occurrence of human errors and measures for preventing traffic accidents. A questionnaire was administered, and data about types of near misses, daily driving behaviors, and driving consciousness were collected. Multivariate ordinal logistic regression analysis was conducted, and daily driving behaviors that might become risk factors for near misses and the degree of risk were identified. Moreover, the results of exploratory factor analysis indicated the following factors related to near misses: unsafe driving, hesitation in judgment, and self-centeredness. Correlations between types of near misses and the frequency of their occurrence, as well as age, were examined using an analysis of variance for each factor. The results indicated that correlations were different depending on the types of near misses, and that the risk for traffic accidents increased through complex interactions among habitual inappropriate driving behaviors, environmental factors, individual differences, and age. It is considered important to recognize characteristics of individual drivers objectively when taking measures for preventing traffic accidents. Furthermore, it is suggested that safety education and guidance should be provided at organizational and individual levels.

Marine casualties are relatively small in number compared to other industrial accidents, but they cause enormous damage. Ship crews are continuously working in shifts, 24 hours a day, making the ship a place to live as well as work. Ideally, marine casualties should not occur from occupational hazards. To prevent casualties and ensure safe voyages, it is important to confirm ship positions using landmarks. It can be difficult for students, however, to identify landmarks by matching landscape views and nautical charts. Students have various levels of experience, proficiency, and training with these skills. Therefore, it is necessary to consider adapting teaching methods to efficiently correlate with individual student characteristics. This paper examines students’ abilities concerning their sense of direction and identifying landmarks in maritime transportation, using sketch map drawing and a questionnaire. The results suggest that students’ sense of direction was an important factor. Moreover, the need for new training methods corresponding to students’ sense of direction was also highlighted.

In 2011, the standard for automatic electric shock prevention devices and the technical guiding principle of the safety standard for connection and use of automatic electric shock prevention devices for AC arc welding equipment were revised. In September 2017, we conducted a questionnaire survey on whether respondents recognize the safety standard and guiding principle and measure the starting sensitivity of automatic voltage-reducing devices. We obtained the following results: (1) Approximately 30% of the respondents recognized the standard and guiding principle. (2) Approximately 13% of the respondents measured the starting sensitivity of automatic voltage-reducing devices. (3) Further, approximately 50% of the respondents used an automatic voltage-reducing device that conformed to the standard for automatic electric shock prevention devices for AC arc welding equipment. (4) Finally, the percentage of assignment of leader for power cut work and the percentage of companies making the operation a manual procedure for prevention of electric shock accidents increased with the number of employees.