Occupational exoskeletons: A roadmap toward large-scale adoption. Methodology and challenges of bringing exoskeletons to workplaces

The large-scale adoption of occupational exoskeletons (OEs) will only happen if clear evidence of effectiveness of the devices is available. Performing product-specific field validation studies would allow the stakeholders and decision-makers (e.g., employers, ergonomists, health, and safety departments) to assess OEs’ effectiveness in their...

Evaluating assumptions of scales for subjective assessment of thermal environments – Do laypersons perceive them the way, we researchers believe?

People's subjective response to any thermal environment is commonly investigated by using rating scales describing the degree of thermal sensation, comfort, and acceptability. Subsequent analyses of results collected in this way rely on the assumption that specific distances between verbal anchors placed on the scale exist and that relationships...

Dermal Advanced REACH Tool (dART)-Development of a Dermal Exposure Model for Low-Volatile Liquids

This article describes the development of a mechanistic model for underpinning the dermal Advanced REACH Tool (dART), an extension of the existing ART model and its software platform. It was developed for hand exposure to low volatile liquids (vapour pressure ≤ 10 Pa at 20°C) including solids-in-liquid products. The model is based on an existing...

Fostering relatedness between children and virtual agents through reciprocal self-disclosure

A key challenge in developing companion agents for children is keeping them interested after novelty effects wear off. Self Determination Theory posits that motivation is sustained if the human feels related to another human. According to Social Penetration Theory, relatedness can be established through the reciprocal disclosure of information...

ADAPTER: Analysing & Developing Adaptability & Performance in Teams to Enhance Resilience

In the current study, the concept of team resilience was operationalized by developing a first version of a questionnaire (ADAPTER) driven by the four essential abilities of resilience (Hollnagel, 2011) and expanded with more relation-oriented abilities of leadership and cooperation. The development and administration of ADAPTER took place...

Office workers' computer use patterns are associated with workplace stressors

This field study examined associations between workplace stressors and office workers' computer use patterns. We collected keyboard and mouse activities of 93 office workers (68F, 25M) for approximately two work weeks. Linear regression analyses examined the associations between self-reported effort, reward, overcommitment, and perceived stress...

Identifying behavioral determinants and dynamic processes improving team resilience abilities

Team resilience: an explorative literature study

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Real-time task recognition based on knowledge workers’ computer activities

Motivation– Supporting knowledge workers in their self-management by providing them overviews of performed tasks.Research approach– Computer interaction data of knowledge workers was logged during their work. For each user different classifiers were trained and compared on their performance on recognizing 12 specified tasks.Findings/Design–...

Development of a Self-Rating instrument to Measure Team Situation Awareness

The goal of this paper is to describe the development of an instrument to measure team situation awareness (TSA). Individual team member SA may or may not be shared through communication processes with other team members. Most existing instruments do not measure these processes but measure TSA as a product. Because team members have access to...

Effects of the new fast forward rotating five-shift roster at a Dutch steel company

This article reports a field study of a shift roster change in a large steel producer. The changes in the roster are threefold: (1) from backward rotating to forward rotating; (2) from rather slow (three) to fast rotating (two consecutive shifts); (3) the number of days off after the night shifts was changed from two to three. Company data cover...

Validity and reproducibility of motion sensors in youth: A systematic update

Purpose: To review recently published studies on the reproducibility, validity, and feasibility of motion sensors used to assess physical activity in healthy children and adolescents (2-18 yr). Methods: On October 2004, a systematic literature search in PubMed, EMBASE, and PsycINFO was performed. This search has been updated on October 2007. In...

Test-retest reliability and concurrent validity of a web-based questionnaire measuring workstation and individual correlates of work postures during computer work

Introduction: "Ergonomic" questionnaires are widely used in epidemiological field studies to study the association between workstation characteristics, work posture and musculoskeletal disorders among office workers. Findings have been inconsistent regarding the putative adverse effect of work postures. Underestimation of the true association...

Validation of transferability of DBA derivatization and LC-MS/MS determination method for isocyanates via an interlaboratory comparison

An adapted method for the quantitative determination of isocyanates in air was implemented and validated in-house. The method was based on air sampling using an impinger flask containing di-n-butylamine (DBA) in toluene and a glass fibre filter in series. The DBA derivatives were determined using liquid chromatography and tandem mass...

Dynamic simulation of color blindness for studying color vision requirements in practice

We report on a dynamic simulation of defective color vision. Using an RGB video camera connected to a PC or laptop, the captured and displayed RGB colors are translated by our software into modified RGB values that simulate the color appearance of a person with a color deficiency. Usually, the simulation of deficient color vision is restricted...

Posture and movements during seated office work: Results of a field study

To gain insight into postures and movements during office work, 47 employees were observed during their daily work. The observations included: duration of trunk and leg postures, duration of different sitting positions on the seat, duration of different numbers of supported arms, number of minor trunk and leg motions, and number and duration of...

The use of actimetry to assess changes to the rest-activity cycle

The endogenous circadian oscillator (the body clock) is slow to adjust to altered rest-activity patterns. As a result, several negative consequences arise during night work and after time-zone transitions. The process of adjustment can be assessed by measurements of the sleep electroencephalogram (EEG), core temperature or melatonin secretion,...