Search

Repetitive overhead tasks during factory work can cause shoulder injuries resulting in impaired health and productivity loss. Soft wearable upper extremity robots have the potential to be effective injury prevention tools with minimal restrictions using soft materials and active controls. We present the design and evaluation of a portable inflatable shoulder wearable robot for assisting industrial workers during shoulder-elevated tasks. The robot is worn like a shirt with integrated textile pneumatic actuators, inertial measurement units, and a portable actuation unit. It can provide up to 6.6 newton-meters of torque to support the shoulder and cycle assistance on and off at six times per minute. From human participant evaluations during simulated industrial tasks, the robot reduced agonist muscle activities (anterior, middle, and posterior deltoids and biceps brachii) by up to 40% with slight changes in joint angles of less than 7% range of motion while not increasing antagonistic muscle activity (latissimus dorsi) in current sample size. Comparison of controller parameters further highlighted that higher assistance magnitude and earlier assistance timing resulted in statistically significant muscle activity reductions. During a task circuit with dynamic transitions among the tasks, the kinematics-based controller of the robot showed robustness to misinflations (96% true negative rate and 91% true positive rate), indicating minimal disturbances to the user when assistance was not required. A preliminary evaluation of a pressure modulation profile also highlighted a trade-off between user perception and hardware demands. Finally, five automotive factory workers used the robot in a pilot manufacturing area and provided feedback.

Commercial-scale research translation has been muted.

Rapid technological development has revolutionized the industrial sector. Internet of Things (IoT) started to appear in many fields, such as health care and smart cities. A few years later, IoT was supported by industry, leading to what is called Industry 4.0. In this paper, a cloud-assisted fog-networking architecture is implemented in an IoT environment with a three-layer network. An efficient energy and completion time for dependent task computation offloading (ET-DTCO) algorithm is proposed, and it considers two quality-of-service (QoS) parameters: efficient energy and completion time offloading for dependent tasks in Industry 4.0. The proposed solution employs the Firefly algorithm to optimize the process of the selection-offloading computing mode and determine the optimal solution for performing tasks locally or offloaded to a fog or cloud considering the task dependency. Moreover, the proposed algorithm is compared with existing techniques. Simulation results proved that the proposed ET-DTCO algorithm outperforms other offloading algorithms in minimizing energy consumption and completion time while enhancing the overall efficiency of the system., Competing Interests: No competing interests exist.

Industrial separation technologies can be improved and greatly simplified by using the methods of counter-current chromatography (CCC). We have previously proposed the use of currently available solvent extraction equipment (a series of multistage columns, a cascade of centrifugal mixer-settler extractors) as large-scale CCC devices. For industrial separations, the application of closed-loop recycling counter-current chromatography (CLR CCC) methods seems to be the most promising. To improve the performance of the CLR CCC separations, semi-continuous three-stage processes (1 - continuous loading of the mixture solution over a definite time; 2 - separation of solutes in recycling closed-loop; 3 - elution of the fractions of the separated solutes with the mobile phase) can be used. The purpose of this study is to present a simple and easy to use mathematical model allowing the simulation and design of various options for implementing such separation processes and analyze the influence of its main parameters on separation efficiency., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

The hybrid electromagnetic and elastic foil gas bearing is explored based on the radial basis function (RBF) neural network in this study so as to improve its stabilization in work. The related principles and structure of hybrid electromagnetic and elastic foil gas bearings is introduced firstly. Then, the proportional, integral, and derivative (PID) bearing controller is introduced and improved into two controllers: IPD and CPID. The controllers and hybrid bearing system are controlled based on the RBF neural network based on deep learning. The characteristics of the hybrid bearing system are explored at the end of this study, and the control simulation research is developed based on the Simulink simulation platform. The effects of the PID, IPD, and CIPD controllers based on the RBF neural network are compared, and they are also compared based on the traditional particle swarm optimization (PSO). The results show that the thickness, spread angle, and rotation speed of the elastic foil have great impacts on the bearing system. The proposed CIPD bearing control method based on RBF neural network has the shortest response time and the best control effect. The controller parameter tuning optimization starts to converge after one generation, which is the fastest iteration. It proves that RBF neural network control based on deep learning has high feasibility in hybrid bearing system. Therefore, the results provide an important reference for the application of deep learning in rotating machinery., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Introduction: Saw-related injuries can be found in all parts of the body. Especially hand saw-related injuries are frequently encountered in the literature. The aim of the study is to present our demographic data, treatment strategy and prevention of the saw-related injuries in the lower extremity., Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted between 2010 and 2015 and only cases with saw-related lower extremity injuries were included in the study. These patients were analyzed according to demographic data, occupational status, procedures performed, hospitalization length of stay, return to work, and complications., Results: There were 48 male and 1 female patients; their mean age was 44.06 ± 13.6 (22-77) years. The average referral time after injury was 1.51 ± 0.16 (1-7) hour. The average hospitalization length of stay was 3.76 ± 3.9 (1-22) days. Fractures were also present in 13 (26.5%) patients. Postinjury complications occurred in 18 (36.7%) patients. 4 (8.2%) of the cases did not return to the job after the injury. The average return time to the work was 2.95 ± 1.5 (1-7) months., Conclusion: Lower extremity saw-related injuries tend to be overwhelmingly male and most often seen distal to the extremity, especially on the medial side of the extremity. A significant number of patients did not return to the job after the injury., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interests The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Industrial networks are currently the only communication means designed for real-time systems used in industry. Networked control systems (NCS) are still important and commonly used type of such systems operating on shop floor. As a computerized node of NCS, a programmable logic controller (PLC) is usually used. In most cases, contemporary devices of such kind are equipped with more than one network interface of various types. Typically, only one interface is activated in NCS. Sometimes, the other is used for communication between NCS and supervisory systems. Occasionally, it is additionally involved in the data transmission in the factory IT systems. In general, however, using a single network interface is a more common solution. In this paper, the mutual utilization of more than one interface is discussed in order to back up the NCS network and to manage the node-related traffic within the scope of higher level services. The question of dependability of such a system from the electromagnetic compatibility point of view is discussed. The example is provided based on Profinet via wired and wireless connection., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Organizations that develop or operate complex engineering systems are plagued by systems engineering failures like schedule overruns, budget exceedances, and project cancellations. Unfortunately, there is not much actionable guidance on why these failures happen or how to prevent them. Our approach contains two novel aspects. First, we argue that system accidents and other failures in systems engineering are manifestations of similar underlying problems. Therefore, we can leverage the literature on accident causation and the many publicly available accident investigation reports to better understand how and why failures in systems engineering occur, and to identify ways of preventing them. Second, to address the lack of concrete guidance on identifying and preventing incipient failures, we provide specific examples of each type of failure cause and of the recommendations for preventing these causes. We analyzed a set of 30 accidents and 33 project failures, spanning a range of industries, and found 23 different failure causes, most of which appear in both accidents and other project failures, suggesting that accidents and project failures do happen in similar was. We also identified 16 different recommended remedial actions. We link these causes and recommendations in a cause-recommendation network, and associate over 900 specific examples of how these causes manifested in failures, and over 600 specific examples of the associated recommended remedial actions, with each cause or recommendation., Competing Interests: DA currently works for Dynetics, an engineering company based in Huntsville, Alabama. None of the cases we discussed in this paper are related to Dynetics, nor was Dynetics involved in the selection of cases. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials. There are no patents, products in development or marketed products to declare.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to determine the effect of parameters of the thermal modification process and machining on the size distribution of dust particles of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) generated during lengthwise milling., Method: Unmodified wood and thermally modified wood at temperatures of 130, 160, 190, and 220°C were milled lengthwise at cutting depths of 0.5 and 2 mm. Particle size analysis was done using the sieving method. The content of the finest particles was measured using the laser diffraction method., Results: The results indicate that at smaller cutting depths, more smaller particles were formed regardless of the wood modification temperature. Thermal treatment of wood does not cause significant differences in the general particle size distribution of dust. However, the content of the finest dust particles depends on the temperature of wood modification. When machined, wood thermally modified at higher temperatures results in the formation of more dust particles that may pose health risks to employees. This is particularly noticeable at a smaller cutting depth., Conclusion: With the increase of the temperature of the modification, the share of the finest dust particles, which are a potential threat to the health of employees, increases. To reduce dust emissions during milling of thermally modified wood, the highest possible cutting depth should be used., (© 2019 The Authors. Journal of Occupational Health published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of The Japan Society for Occupational Health.)

The harmony search (HS) algorithm is one of the most popular meta-heuristic algorithms. The basic idea of HS was inspired by the music improvisation process in which the musicians continuously adjust the pitch of their instruments to generate wonderful harmony. Since its inception in 2001, HS has attracted the attention of many researchers from all over the world, resulting in a lot of improved variants and successful applications. Even for today, the research on improved HS variants design and innovative applications are still hot topics. This paper provides a detailed review of the basic concept of HS and a survey of its latest variants for function optimization. It also provides a survey of the innovative applications of HS in the field of intelligent manufacturing based on about 40 recently published articles. Some potential future research directions for both HS and its applications to intelligent manufacturing are also analyzed and summarized in this paper.

Background: Sponsorship of research and education occurs commonly in the pharmaceutical, medical device, and food and drink industries. This sponsorship is a conflict of interest, creating a situation where there may be bias in favour of the sponsors' interests. General practitioners (GPs) need to be aware of potential conflicts of interest in industry-sponsored research and education., Objective: The aim of this article is to alert GPs to the risk of bias in research and education funded by for-profit organisations, and to provide strategies to avoid being influenced by information that may be biased., Discussion: Types of bias known to be associated with industry sponsorship include: methodological bias, where there is a systematic error in the design, conduct or analysis of the study such that it deviates from the truth; agenda bias, where study topics align with increased use of industry products; publication and reporting bias, where unfavourable studies or results are suppressed or omitted; and marketing bias, where supportive evidence is preferentially disseminated and sympathetic opinion leaders are given a broad platform. Industry influence can be reduced by seeking out independent reviews and avoiding industry-funded educational events.

Aims: The purpose of this study was the genotypic and phenotypic characterization of 57 strains of Staphylococcus epidermidis isolated from cleanroom environments, based on their biofilm formation and antimicrobial resistance profiles., Methods and Results: Biofilm formation was investigated using real-time PCR (icaA, aap, bhp genes), the Congo red agar method and the crystal violet assay. The majority of the strains (59·7%; 34/57) did not form biofilms according to the crystal violet assay, although the biofilm-associated genes were present in 94·7% (54/57) of the strains. Of the biofilm formers (40·4%; 23/57), 39·1% (9/23) have been identified as strong biofilm formers (>4× crystal violet absorbance cut-off). Resistance to a commercial disinfectant and its quaternary ammonium active component, didecyl-dimethyl-ammonium chloride (DDAC), was determined according to minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) and the presence of the qac (quaternary ammonium compound) genes. More than 95% (55/57) of the Staph. epidermidis strains had the qacA/B and qacC genes, but not the other qac genes. The MICs for the disinfectant and DDAC varied among the Staph. epidermidis strains, although none were resistant., Conclusions: Although 59·6% of the Staph. epidermidis strains did not form biofilms and none were resistant to DDAC, more than 94% had the genetic basis for development of resistance to quaternary ammonium compounds, and among them at least 14·0% (8/57) might represent a high risk to cleanroom hygiene as strong biofim formers with qacA/B and qacC genes., Significance and Impact of the Study: To assure controlled cleanroom environments, bacterial strains isolated from cleanroom environments need to be characterized regularly using several investigative methods., (© 2017 The Society for Applied Microbiology.)

Purpose: Over 50,000 power saw-related injuries occur annually in the United States. Numerous safety measures have been implemented to protect the users of these tools. This study was designed to determine which interventions, if any, have had a positive impact on the safety of the consumer or laborer., Methods: We queried the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System database for hand and upper-extremity injuries attributed to power saws from 1997 to 2014. Demographic information including age, sex, date of injury, device, location, body part involved, diagnosis, and disposition was recorded. We performed statistical analysis using interrupted time series analysis to evaluate the incidence of injury with respect to specific safety guidelines as well as temporal trends including patients' age., Results: An 18% increase in power saw-related injuries was noted from 1997 (44,877) to 2005 (75,037). From 2006 to 2015 an annual decrease of 5.8% was observed. This was correlated with regulations for power saw use by the Consumer Safety Product Commission (CPSC) and Underwriters Laboratories. Mean age of injured patients increased from 48.8 to 52.9 years whereas the proportion of subjects aged less than 50 years decreased from 52.8% to 41.9%. These trends were most pronounced after the 2006 CPSC regulations., Conclusions: The incidence of power saw injuries increased from 1997 to 2005, with a subsequent decrease from 2006 to 2015. The guidelines for safer operation and improvements in equipment, mandated by the CPSC and Underwriters Laboratories, appeared to have been successful in precipitating a decrease in the incidence of power saw injuries to the upper extremity, particularly in the younger population., Clinical Relevance: The publication of safety regulations has been noted to have an association with a decreased incidence in power saw injuries. Based on this, clinicians should take an active role in their practice as well as in their professional societies to educate and counsel patients to prevent further injury., (Copyright © 2017 American Society for Surgery of the Hand. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: Cortical bone drilling for preparation of screw placement is common in multiple surgical fields. The heat generated while drilling may reach thresholds high enough to cause osteonecrosis. This can compromise implant stability. Orthopaedic drill bits are several orders more expensive than their similarly sized, publicly available industrial counterparts. We hypothesize that an industrial bit will generate less heat during drilling, and the bits will not generate more heat after multiple cortical passes., Methods: We compared 4 4.0 mm orthopaedic and 1 3.97 mm industrial drill bits. Three types of each bit were drilled into porcine femoral cortices 20 times. The temperature of the bone was measured with thermocouple transducers. The heat generated during the first 5 drill cycles for each bit was compared to the last 5 cycles. These data were analyzed with analysis of covariance., Results: The industrial drill bit generated the smallest mean increase in temperature (2.8 ± 0.29°C) P < 0.0001. No significant difference was identified comparing the first 5 cortices drilled to the last 5 cortices drilled for each bit. The P-values are as follows: Bosch (P = 0.73), Emerge (P = 0.09), Smith & Nephew (P = 0.08), Stryker (P = 0.086), and Synthes (P = 0.16). The industrial bit generated less heat during drilling than its orthopaedic counterparts. The bits maintained their performance after 20 drill cycles., Conclusions: Consideration should be given by manufacturers to design differences that may contribute to a more efficient cutting bit. Further investigation into the reuse of these drill bits may be warranted, as our data suggest their efficiency is maintained after multiple uses.

Finding ways to manage the waste from the expected high number of wind turbine blades in need of disposal is crucial to harvest wind energy in a truly sustainable manner. Landfilling is the most cost-effective disposal method in the United States, but it imposes significant environmental impacts. Thermal, mechanical, and chemical processes allow for some energy and/or material recovery, but they also carry potential negative externalities. This article explores the main economic and environmental issues with various wind turbine blade disposal methods. We argue for the necessity of policy intervention that encourages industry to develop better technologies to make wind turbine blade disposal sustainable, both environmentally and economically. We present some of the technological initiatives being researched, such as the use of bio-derived resins and thermoplastic composites in the manufacturing process of the blades.

Hybrid tree harvester with a 60 kW diesel engine combined with a battery pile could be a "green" forest harvesting and transportation system. With the new design, the diesel engine maintains a constant engine speed, keeping fuel consumption low while charging the batteries that drive the forwarder. As an additional energy saving method, the electric motors work as generators to charge the battery pile when the vehicle moves downhill. The vehicle is equipped with six large wheels providing high clearance over uneven terrain while reducing ground pressure. Each wheel is driven via a hub gear by its own alternating current motor, and each of the three wheel pairs can be steered independently. The combination of the diesel engine and six electric motors provides plenty of power for heavy lifting and pulling. The main component parameters of the drive system are calculated and optimized with a set of dynamics and simulated with AVL Cruise software. The results provide practical insights for the fuel tree harvester and are helpful to reduce the structure and size of the tree harvester. Advantage Environment provides information about existing and future products designed to reduce environmental impacts.

Production equipment designers must ensure the health and safety of future users; in this regard, they augment requirements for standardizing and controlling operator work. This contrasts with the ergonomic view of the activity, which recommends leaving operators leeway (margins for manoeuvre) in performing their task, while safeguarding their health. Following a brief analysis of design practices in the car industry, we detail how the Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) approach is implemented in this sector. We then suggest an adaptation that enables designers to consider real work situations. This new protocol, namely, work situation FMEA, allows experience feedback to be used to defend the health standpoint during designer project reviews, which usually only address quality and performance issues. We subsequently illustrate the advantage of this approach using two examples of work situations at car parts manufacturers: the first from the literature and the second from an in-company industrial project.

Energy consumption and tribological properties could be improved by proper design of surface texture in friction. However, some literature focused on investigating their performance under high temperature. In the study, different groove surface textures were fabricated on steels by a laser machine, and their tribological behaviors were experimentally studied with the employment of the friction and wear tester under distinct high temperature and other working conditions. The friction coefficient was recorded, and wear performance were characterized by double light interference microscope, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and x-ray energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS). Then, the performances of energy consumptions were carefully estimated. Results showed that friction coefficient, wear, and energy consumption could almost all be reduced by most textures under high temperature conditions, but to a different extent which depends on the experimental conditions and texture parameters. The main improvement mechanisms were analyzed, such as the hardness change, wear debris storage, thermal stress release and friction induced temperature reduction by the textures. Finally, a scattergram of the relatively reduced ratio of the energy consumption was drawn for different surface textures under four distinctive experimental conditions to illustrate the comprehensive energy consumption improving ability of textures, which was of benefit for the application of texture design.

This review of the literature covers the major articles published during the past 40 years that treat the problem of forensic medical expertise of the injuries to human organs inflicted by the power saws with high-speed reciprocating motion of the blade (power jigsaws and sabre saws.) The authors analyze the current state-of-the-art in this field and the available possibilities for the forensic medical expertise to evaluate the injuries inflicted by the sawing devices.

The objective of the present study was to elucidate the characteristic morphological signs of the power saw injuries to human long tubular bones and thereby make possible distinguishing between those inflicted by different types of power jigsaws. The experiments were carried out with the use of the power saws with high-speed reciprocating motion of the blade (power jigsaws and sabre saws). The study was focused on the experimental saw injuries to the human long tubular bones inflicted by the power jigsaws and sabre saws. The mathematical analysis has demonstrated the possibility of determining the properties of the saws and blades employed to inflict the injury based on the morphological and dimensional changes in the long tubular bones. The results of the study indicate that the forensic medical expertise of the injuries inflicted by power saws with high-speed reciprocating motion of the blade based on the morphological and dimensional changes in the long tubular bones makes it possible to identify with a probability of 98.6-99.7% both the construction and the size of the instrument used for sawing.

Concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) were estimated for different particle size distributions in a carbon black feeding process at a tire manufacturing plant on 15 days in March and April of 2014. A total of 75 integrated air samples were collected using a micro-orifice uniform deposition impactor (MOUDI). Particle-bound PCDD/Fs were analyzed using a high-resolution gas chromatograph/high-resolution mass spectrometer (HRGC/HRMS). Concentrations of thoracic particles and total particles produced in the carbon black feeding process of a tire manufacturing plant were measured in ranges of 0.19-2.61 and 0.28-4.22 mg/m(3), respectively. On all sampling days, the three most abundant species of PCDD/Fs were OCDD, 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HpCDF, and OCDF. The mean concentrations of total PCDD/Fs were 0.74-6.83 pg/m(3) within five particle size ranges. Total I-TEQ in particulate matter (PM)<1.0 was 2.2 and 3.2 times higher than those in PM>18 and PM2.5-10, respectively. However, the total I-TEQ of thoracic PM contributed approximately 74 % of the total I-TEQ of total PM. The assessment of health risk indicates that exposure to fractions of thoracic PM by inhalation poses a significant cancer risk (>10(-6)).

Background: This paper describes trends of occupational machine-related fatalities from 1992-2010. We examine temporal patterns by worker demographics, machine types (e.g., stationary, mobile), and industries., Methods: We analyzed fatalities from Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries data provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. We used injury source to identify machine-related incidents and Poisson regression to assess trends over the 19-year period., Results: There was an average annual decrease of 2.8% in overall machine-related fatality rates from 1992 through 2010. Mobile machine-related fatality rates decreased an average of 2.6% annually and stationary machine-related rates decreased an average of 3.5% annually. Groups that continued to be at high risk included older workers; self-employed; and workers in agriculture/forestry/fishing, construction, and mining., Conclusion: Addressing dangers posed by tractors, excavators, and other mobile machines needs to continue. High-risk worker groups should receive targeted information on machine safety., (Published 2015. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.)

The objective of the present study was to detect the deposition of foreign particles and other introduced objects in the human skin region damaged by the electrical saw cutting elements and to use the data thus obtained for the estimation of the speed and the type of the instrument, the main characteristics of the cutter covering and/or composition of its surface. The experiments included the sawing of the skin fragments using the small steel saws differing in the type of the surface cover, such as the uncoated (steel), stained, nickel- or chromium-plated, blue-finished saws with the movement speed of the cutting element 500, 1000, 2500, 2,000, and 3,000 revolutions per minute. The study provided information about the peculiarities of deposition of foreign particles and other introduced objects in the damaged regions of the human skin that allow not only to establish the fact of using the electrical saw with a high-speed back-and-forth movements of the cutting element but also the type of the instrument and the main characteristics of its cover and/or the composition of its surface.

Information age technology has the potential to change the game for conservation by continuously monitoring the pulse of the natural world. Whether or not it will depends on the ability of the conservation sector to build a community of practice, come together to define key technology challenges and work with a wide variety of partners to create, implement, and sustain solutions. I describe why these steps are necessary, outline the latest developments in the field and offer actionable ways forward for conservation agencies, universities, funding bodies, professional societies, and technology corporations to come together to realize the revolution that computational technologies can bring for biodiversity conservation.

In spite of its long demonstrated potential, microbeam radiosurgery (MBRS) has yet to be developed into a clinical tool. This article examines the problems associated with MBRS, and potential solutions. It is shown that a path to a clinically useful device is emerging., (Copyright © 2015 Associazione Italiana di Fisica Medica. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

A study of wood dust exposure in 20 small- and medium-scale wood-processing enterprises was performed in Ethiopia. Sampling was conducted daily from January to June, 2013 and a total of 360 samples from 113 workers were collected with Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM) personal samplers. Eight-hour time-weighted average exposure to wood dust ranged from 0.24 to 23.3mg m(-3) with a geometric mean (GM) of 6.82mg m(-3) and a geometric standard deviation of 1.82. Although Ethiopia did not have any defined standard of Occupational Exposure Limit for wood dust exposure, 71% of the measurements exceeded the limit of 5mg m(-3) set by the European Union (EU). Higher than the EU exposure limit was measured while workers perform sanding and sawing activities with a GM of 9.72 and 7.60mg m(-3), respectively. In conclusion, wood workers in the small- and medium-scale enterprises are at a higher risk of developing different respiratory health problems with continuous exposure trends., (© The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Occupational Hygiene Society.)

Background: Work of crane operators is very difficult and demanding. Therefore, it is very important that the cabin of a crane be designed on the basis of relevant anthropometric data. However, it is very difficult to find a research that considers anthropometric convenience of crane cabins., Objective: From the theoretical viewpoint, it is important to perceive and to classify effects of the anthropometric incompatibility of crane cabins. Globally, the objective is to consider the anthropometric convenience of existing crane cabins, and possibilities for improvements of their design from the ergonomic point of view. In this regard, it is significant to detect constraints that impede or hinder the work of the crane operators, which could be overcome with certain anthropometric solutions. The main objective is to examine whether and to what extent is justifiable to use anthropometric data that are obtained on the basis of general (national) population, during designing the crane cabins., Methods: For the assessment of existing crane cabins and the work of operators, four methods were used: observation of the work of the operators and design solutions of the cabins, the checklist approach, interviewing of operators and the experimental research based on obtaining the data on the population of crane operators., Results: Results of the analysis based on the method of observation, analysis based on the application of the checklist, as well as interviewing of the operators indicate that certain construction constraints of the components in the cabins are the main reasons of reduced visibility and improper working postures of operators. All this has caused the emergence of continuous musculoskeletal loading of the crane operators. The results of the anthropometric research that were obtained on the population of crane operators in this case study suggest that there is a statistically significant difference, when compared data of this population of workers with anthropometric data from the general population., Conclusions: Analyzed workplaces in crane cabins do not correspond to the majority of operators from the anthropometric standpoint. The conducted anthropometric analysis has been indicated that could be made the mistake, if dimensions of the cabin and layout of equipment would be relied on data derived from the general population of citizens. In order to achieve greater precision in the design and configuration of equipment, it is recommended using the data that are obtained directly on the population of the crane operators when designing the cabin.

Clinically useful diagnostic methods for chest pain triage often fail to reach everyday practice where they can improve patient outcomes. One means to bridge the gap is through adoption of ECG interpretive algorithms with enhanced accuracy or expanded features into established commercial products. The transition from innovation to industry can be facilitated if researchers consider three factors aiding a successful handoff to companies. First, they should assess their algorithm to assure that it meets a real market need and can be easily assimilated by commercial partners. Second, their design documentation and databases should support the regulated development processes required of manufacturers. Finally, they should hold appropriate expectations for the structure of commercial partnerships that lead to release of a marketed product., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The objective of the present work was to study the morphological features of skin wounds inflicted by joinery hand saws designed for longitudinal, transverse, and mixed sawing. A total of 60 injuries to the thigh skin inflicted by the recurring and reciprocating saw movements were simulated. The hand saws had 5 mm high "sharp" and "blunt"-tipped teeth. The analysis of the morphological features of the wounds revealed differences in their length and depth, shape of edge cuts and defects, and the relief of the walls depending on the sawtooth sharpness and the mode of sawing. It is concluded that morphological features of the wounds may be used to determine the type of the saw, the sharpness of its teeth, the direction and frequency of its movements.

The objective of the present work was to study the differences between the morphological features of the wounds in the long tubular bones inflicted by joinery hand saws designed for longitudinal and transverse, sawing. The experimental injuries to the femoral bones were inflicted by the recurring and reciprocating saw movements. The hand saws had 5 mm high "sharp" and "blunt"-tipped teeth. A total of 40 experiments were carried out. It was shown that the sawcuts across the femoral bones and their edges have different size, shape, and morphological characteristics (defects, ledges, projections, bright spots) depending on the type of the saw, the sharpness of its teeth, and the mode of sawing. The results of the study may be used to improve diagnostics of injuries to the long tubular bones inflicted by different types of joinery saws.

A self-contained source characterization method for commercial ultrasound probes in transmission acoustic inverse scattering is derived and experimentally tested. The method is based on modified scattered field volume integral equations that are linked to the source-scattering transducer model. The source-scattering parameters are estimated via pair-wise transducer measurements and the nonlinear inversion of an acoustic propagation model that is derived. This combination creates a formal link between the transducer characterization and the inverse scattering algorithm. The method is tested with two commercial ultrasound probes in a transmission geometry including provisions for estimating the probe locations and aligning a robotic rotator. The transducer characterization results show that the nonlinear inversion fit the measured data well. The transducer calibration and inverse scattering algorithm are tested on simple targets. Initial images show that the recovered contrasts are physically consistent with expected values.

Decommissioning of manufacturing plant in the chemical industry includes inspection of the surfaces of production equipment for potential contamination and associated health risks. In the present study wipe-samples were taken from the surfaces of dicofol manufacturing equipment at a chemical factory in north China and analyzed for chemicals of concern (COCs). Occupational hygiene assessment was conducted to assess the risks to demolition workers and health risk assessment was performed to evaluate the risks to demolition and general industrial workers. The concentrations of COCs on the equipment surfaces were found to be 0.54-3.75 × 10(4)mg DDTs m(-2) and 0.15-4.38 × 10(3)mg dicofolm(-2). The average concentration of p,p'-DDT does not represent an unacceptable risk to the demolition workers using occupational hygiene assessment. Under the industrial scenario the carcinogenic risks of COCs ranged from 2.28 × 10(-7) to 1.79 × 10(-2) for p,p'-DDT, 6.18 × 10(-7) to 3.04 × 10(-3) for p,p'-DDD and 1.89 × 10(-6) to 0.16 for p,p'-DDE. The non-carcinogenic hazard indices ranged from 3.86 × 10(-3) to 3.03 × 10(2) for p,p'-DDT and 1.16 × 10(-3) to 33.94 for dicofol. Both carcinogenic risk and hazard index of COCs under the industrial scenario were higher than under the demolition scenario. Oral ingestion and dermal contact were the major pathways and accounted for >88% of the total exposure of COCs. Parameter sensitivity analysis shows that equipment surface concentration (Cs), frequency of contact with surface (EV), fraction of dust transferred from surface to skin (FTss) and exposure frequency (EF) were the most sensitive parameters and these should be acquired on a site-specific basis. The accuracy of the risk assessment was controlled largely by the variation in the sensitive parameters and the uncertainty of the exposure model for the inhalation pathway., (© 2013.)

Study covered systemic hemostasis in 69 males aged 47.6 +/- 2.1 years with 1 stage arterial hypertension and 1 stage vibration disease, exposed to various types of occupational vibration at work. Those exposed to bump vibration demonstrated an increase in platelets aggregation with all aggregation inductors, if compared to reference values, increased generaton and activity of von Willebrand factor, moderately depressed fibrinolysis system with increased serum content of fibrin and fibrinogen degradation products and decreased anticoagulation factors activity. Those exposed to rotation vibration demonstrated less changes.

Purpose: Most of the protective eye wear devices currently on the market are manufactured on simple polycarbonate shields, produced by injection molding techniques. Despite high importance of optical quality, injection molds are rarely inspected for surface quality before or during the manufacturing process. Quality degradation is mainly monitored by optical testing of the molded parts. The purpose of this work was to validate a non-contact deflectometric measurement technique for surface and shape analysis of injection molds to facilitate deterministic surface quality control and to monitor minor conformity of the injection mold with the design data., Material and Methods: The system is based on phase-measuring deflectometry with a operating measurement field of 80×80 mm(2) (±18° slope), a lateral resolution of 60μm and a local sensitivity of some nanometers. The calibration was tested with a calibration normal and a reference sphere. The results were crosschecked against a measurement of the same object with a tactile coordinate measuring machine. Eight injection molds for production of safety goggles with radii of +58mm (convex) and -60mm (concave) were measured in this study. The molds were separated into two groups (cavity 1 and 2 of the tool with different polishing techniques) and measured to test whether the measurement tool could extract differences. The analysis was performed on difference height between the measured surface and the spherical model., Results: The device could derive the surface change due to polishing and discriminate between both polishing techniques, on the basis of the measured data. The concave nozzle sides of the first group (cavity 1) showed good shape conformity. In comparison, the nozzle sides of the second group (cavity 2) showed local deviations from design data up to 14.4μm. Local form variations of about 5μm occurred in the field of view. All convex ejector sides of both groups (cavity 1 and 2) showed rotational symmetric errors and the molds were measured in general flatter than design data., Conclusion: We applied a deflectometric system for measuring and evaluating specular reflective injection molding tools to optimize the production process of occupational eye wear. The surface quality could be inline monitored in the production processes for actual spectacle models., (Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier GmbH.)

Layer-by-layer assembly is a powerful and flexible thin film process that has successfully reproduced biomimetic photonic systems such as structural colour. While most of the seminal work has been carried out using slow and ultimately unscalable immersion assembly, recent developments using spray layer-by-layer assembly provide a platform for addressing challenges to scale-up and manufacturability. A series of manufacturing systems has been developed to increase production throughput by orders of magnitude, making commercialized structural colour possible. Inspired by biomimetic photonic structures we developed and demonstrated a heat management system that relies on constructive reflection of near infrared radiation to bring about dramatic reductions in heat content.

Hull cleaning before repainting is a key operation in the maintenance of ships. For years, a method to improve such operation has been sought by means of the robotization of techniques such as grit blasting and ultra high pressure water jetting. Despite this, it continues to be standard practice in shipyards that this process is carried out manually because the developed robotized systems are too expensive to be widely accepted by shipyards. We have chosen to apply a more conservative and realistic approach to this problem, which has resulted in the development of several solutions that have been designed with different automation and operation range degrees. These solutions are fitted with most of the elements already available in many shipyards, so the installation of additional machinery in the workplace would not be necessary. This paper describes the evolutionary development of sensor systems for the automation of the preparation process of ship hull surfaces before the painting process is performed. Such evolution has given rise to the development of new technologies for coating removal.

Current wireless technologies for industrial applications, such as WirelessHART and ISA100.11a, use a centralized management approach where a central network manager handles the requirements of the static network. However, such a centralized approach has several drawbacks. For example, it cannot cope with dynamicity/disturbance in large-scale networks in a real-time manner and it incurs a high communication overhead and latency for exchanging management traffic. In this paper, we therefore propose a distributed network management scheme, D-MSR. It enables the network devices to join the network, schedule their communications, establish end-to-end connections by reserving the communication resources for addressing real-time requirements, and cope with network dynamicity (e.g., node/edge failures) in a distributed manner. According to our knowledge, this is the first distributed management scheme based on IEEE 802.15.4e standard, which guides the nodes in different phases from joining until publishing their sensor data in the network. We demonstrate via simulation that D-MSR can address real-time and reliable communication as well as the high throughput requirements of industrial automation wireless networks, while also achieving higher efficiency in network management than WirelessHART, in terms of delay and overhead.

We report an ultrafast web inspector that operates at a 1000 times higher scan rate than conventional methods. This system is based on a hybrid dispersion laser scanner that performs line scans at nearly 100 MHz. Specifically, we demonstrate web inspection with detectable resolution of 48.6 μm/pixel (scan direction) × 23 μm (web flow direction) within a width of view of 6 mm at a record high scan rate of 90.9 MHz. We demonstrate the identification and evaluation of particles on silicon wafers. This method holds great promise for speeding up quality control and hence reducing manufacturing costs.

According to international guidelines, the assessment of biophysical effects of exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) generated by hand-operated sources needs the evaluation of induced electric field (E(in)) or specific energy absorption rate (SAR) caused by EMF inside a worker's body and is usually done by the numerical simulations with different protocols applied to these two exposure cases. The crucial element of these simulations is the numerical phantom of the human body. Procedures of E(in) and SAR evaluation due to compliance analysis with exposure limits have been defined in Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers standards and International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection guidelines, but a detailed specification of human body phantoms has not been described. An analysis of the properties of over 30 human body numerical phantoms was performed which has been used in recently published investigations related to the assessment of EMF exposure by various sources. The differences in applicability of these phantoms in the evaluation of E(in) and SAR while operating industrial devices and SAR while using mobile communication handsets are discussed. The whole human body numerical phantom dimensions, posture, spatial resolution and electric contact with the ground constitute the key parameters in modeling the exposure related to industrial devices, while modeling the exposure from mobile communication handsets, which needs only to represent the exposed part of the human body nearest to the handset, mainly depends on spatial resolution of the phantom. The specification and standardization of these parameters of numerical human body phantoms are key requirements to achieve comparable and reliable results from numerical simulations carried out for compliance analysis against exposure limits or within the exposure assessment in EMF-related epidemiological studies.

In this paper, a new fault-tolerant control system is proposed for input-affine nonlinear plants based on Model Reference Adaptive System (MRAS) structure. The proposed method has the capability to accommodate both partial and total actuator failures along with bounded external disturbances. In this methodology, the conventional MRAS control law is modified by augmenting two compensating terms. One of these terms is added to eliminate the nonlinear dynamic, while the other is reinforced to compensate the distractive effects of the total actuator faults and external disturbances. In addition, no Fault Detection and Diagnosis (FDD) unit is needed in the proposed method. Moreover, the control structure has good robustness capability against the parameter variation. The performance of this scheme is evaluated using a CSTR system and the results were satisfactory., (Copyright © 2013 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Conventional abrasive sanding generates high concentrations of particles. Depending on the substrate being abraded and exposure duration, overexposure to the particles can cause negative health effects ranging from respiratory irritation to cancer. The goal of this study was to understand the differences in particle emissions between a conventional random orbital sanding system and a self-generated vacuum random orbital sanding system with attached particle filtration bag. Particle concentrations were sampled for each system in a controlled test chamber for oak wood, chromate painted (hexavalent chromium) steel panels, and gel-coated (titanium dioxide) fiberglass panels using a Gesamtstaub-Probenahmesystem (GSP) sampler at three different locations adjacent to the sanding. Elevated concentrations were reported for all particles in the samples collected during conventional sanding. The geometric mean concentration ratios for the three substrates ranged from 320 to 4640 times greater for the conventional sanding system than the self-generated vacuum sanding system. The differences in the particle concentration generated by the two sanding systems were statistically significant with the two sample t-test (P < 0.0001) for all three substances. The data suggest that workers using conventional sanding systems could utilize the self-generated vacuum sanding system technology to potentially reduce exposure to particles and mitigate negative health effects.

Shielded metal arc welding using covered electrodes is the most common welding process. Sometimes the covering contains naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORMs). In Spain the most used electrodes are those covered with rutile mixed with other materials. Rutile contains some detectable natural radionuclides, so it can be considered a NORM. This paper mainly focuses on the use of MCNP (Monte Carlo N-Particle Transport Code) as a predictive tool to obtain doses in a factory which produces this type of electrode and assess the radiological impact in a specific facility after estimating the internal dose.To do this, in the facility, areas of highest radiation and positions of workers were identified, radioactive content of rutile and rutile covered electrodes was measured, and, considering a worst possible scenario, external dose at working points has been calculated using MCNP. This procedure has been validated comparing the results obtained with those from a pressurised ionisation chamber and TLD dosimeters. The internal dose has been calculated using DCAL (dose and risk calculation). The doses range between 8.8 and 394 μSv yr(-1), always lower than the effective dose limit for the public, 1 mSv yr(-1). The highest dose corresponds to the mixing area.

Since the eco-efficiency of all industrial processes/plants has become increasingly important, engineers need to find a way to integrate the control loop configuration and the measurements of eco-efficiency. A new measure of eco-efficiency, the exergy eco-efficiency factor, for control loop configuration, is proposed in this paper. The exergy eco-efficiency factor is based on the thermodynamic concept of exergy which can be used to analyse a process in terms of its efficiency associated with the control configuration. The combination of control pairing configuration techniques (such as the relative gain array, RGA and Niederlinski index, NI) and the proposed exergy eco-efficiency factor will guide the process designer to reach the optimal control design with low operational cost (i.e., energy consumption). The exergy eco-efficiency factor is implemented in the process simulation case study and the reliability of the proposed method is demonstrated by dynamic simulation results., (Copyright © 2012 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The design of an X-Y table applying direct-drive linear switched reluctance motor (LSRM) principle is proposed in this paper. The proposed X-Y table has the characteristics of low cost, simple and stable mechanical structure. After the design procedure is introduced, an adaptive position control method based on online parameter identification and pole-placement regulation scheme is developed for the X-Y table. Experimental results prove the feasibility and its priority over a traditional PID controller with better dynamic response, static performance and robustness to disturbances. It is expected that the novel two-dimensional direct-drive system find its applications in high-precision manufacture area., (Copyright © 2012 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

ISO 9001 requires a company's product design and development process to include specific components [1]. These include design and development planning, design input, design output, design review, design verification and validation, and design transfer. The more our students become familiar with each of these components, the better prepared they will be for careers in the medical device industry. Ideally, capstone design projects would involve each of these components. In situations where this is not possible, lectures regarding the details of each design control component can be included in the capstone course.

At the Paul Scherrer Institute's Calibration Laboratory, neutron reference fields are provided for the calibration of ambient and personal dose equivalent (rate) metres and passive dosemeters. To ensure traceability to the standards of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) in Germany, the neutron fields are characterised by means of a PTB-calibrated Berthold LB6411 neutron probe which is used as a secondary standard. The LB6411 detector suffers from an unstable, increasing dose rate reading in the order of up to +5 % (according to the manufacturers, this is due to a charging effect in the (3)He proportional counter). In a calibration, this instability is usually corrected for based on the reading obtained with a test source. In this work, the instability was investigated by means of measurements under irradiation with ambient dose equivalent rates up to 24 mSv h(-1) for up to 20 h and compared with the behaviour of an LB6419 and a Thermo Wendi-2 probe. The reading of the instruments was found to reach a plateau, e.g. it becomes stable after ∼90 min during irradiation with 10 mSv h(-1) neutrons. The plateau is reached faster for higher dose rates. This supports the interpretation as a charging effect in the proportional counter. The effect could also be duplicated in an irradiation with photons from a (137)Cs source. The decay time of the accumulated charge was found to be very long, i.e. the instrument showed a stable reproducible reading for up to 6 h after the plateau was reached. From these observations, a conditioning procedure was derived which ensures a stable operation of the instrument after an irradiation of the instrument preceding its use in the reference measurements.