EMPLOYERS’ ROLE IN THE IMPROVEMENT OF SAFETY LEVEL IN ESTONIAN ENTERPRISES

The key persons in safety activities at enterprises are: top manager, his(her) representatives, working environment specialist, all acting for the employer; and working environment representatives, selected by the workers and holding the workers’ rights in safety and health area. The main possibilities to improve the safety level in the firm have the working environment specialists, as they are usually educated and supported by the employer and the law. The current paper is looking for the possibilities to raise the employers’ interest for improvement of their knowledge in safety and through this also the safety level in the workplace. Safety level in 12 Estonian enterprises was investigated using MISHA method (based on standard OHSAS 18001). Some of the firms have implemented OHSAS 18001 or belong to the foreign companies. The investigated enterprises were from different industries and agriculture firms. The safety level is very much depended on the owner of the firm. The larger the enterprise is the better are the possibilities to educate the employers and employees. One of the ideas to improve the safety level at enterprise is the method “learning through the interviews”. The interview is worked out basing on MISHA method. The latter is a tool of quantitative study. The safety performance key elements were divided into three parts: formal, real, combined ones. Three hypothesis were formulated and the area in which they are proved concerning employer’s activities were as follows: H1) Standard OHSAS 18001 has an impact on Formal safety performance in companies (p value< 0.013) – if OHSAS 18001 has been implemented, then: the assignment of tasks and responsibilities in OHS is committed to the top management, the employer is revising the safety policy, and the personnel’s responsibilities in OHS are clearly defined. H2) Standard OHSAS 18001 has an impact on Real safety performance. (p< 0.013) - if OHSAS 18001 is implemented, then: the top manager promotes dissemination of safety policy: the policy is made available to all of the personnel; resources for improvement are arranged by the top management; the top manager arranges meetings in OHS; there is a system for redesigning the workplaces for the persons who have difficulties in coping with the work. H3) Standard OHSAS 18001 has an impact on Combined safety performance (p< 0.007) - if OHSAS 18001 implemented, then: the top management is participating in the preparation of safety policy, top manager is reviewing the safety policy, is it operating effectively? He is informing the external bodies about the company’s safety policy’s effectiveness; the top manager arranges safety training for all of the personnel; there is a plan for reduction of accidents; it has been elaborated by the top manager; the company has a system for measuring the social climate in the company

Improving job satisfaction with different intervention methods among the school personnel in Estonia and Latvia

ArticleThis investigation was carried out in two high schools: one in Estonia (EST1) and one in Latvia (LAT1). The offices EST2 and LAT2 were chosen from the countryside of the both countries. Office EST1 is situated in an atrium-type building for educational and research needs. The second building is mainly for education (auditoriums) and the offices LAT1 are situated on the ground floor. The third and the fourth offices were taken for comparison. Office EST2 is situated in a countryside in an old wooden building; the fourth office LAT2 is located in a new building in Latvian countryside. All together 181 office-workers were involved. At first, the work environment conditions were measured. The ergonomics of workplaces was assessed with ARTtool and Kiva-questionnaire was used to study psychosocial conditions and job satisfaction at computer-equipped workplaces. Occupational hazards were measured to clarify, do the work environment influence on the behaviour and the job motivation and satisfaction of the worker at workplace? After the first questioning of workers using Kiva-questionnaire, the Metal Age programme was implemented and after the intervention, the Kiva-questionnaire was carried out again. The results showed that if the preventive measures for solving the problems at workplace are implemented, and the employers and the employees are trained and consulted using the appropriate programmes, the stress situations could be avoided. The workers in all offices were confident that the discussion about the problems is very important as the work with computers is intensive and there is a very short time to communicate with each other. The educational work is also stressful

Human factors and ergonomics in safety management in healthcare: building new relationships

ArticleHuman factors are playing an essential role in ensuring occupational health and safety at work. In the healthcare sector, relevant factors include optimizing the interaction of humans with their technical, social working environment, and human characteristics such as knowledge and motivation. Those fac tors affect the ability to provide good quality of healthcare and safety performance. The aim of this paper is to analyse factors related to safety knowledge, communication and professional competence among caregivers in nursing homes. A group of professio nals studied (n = 241, includes nurses and caregivers) completed a validated questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and correlation analyses were applied, using SPSS Statistics 24. Our study revealed that over half of the respondents possess an occupational certificate and the majority of employers organize regular in - service training at workplaces. Respondents who claimed that in - service trainings are not regular still stated that they generally receive safety and ergonomic related trainings, trainings for working with special equipment. However, only a quarter of responden ts have access to occupational safety trainings that f ocus on specific risks at work. Based on the results of the study, we emphasize the need of integrating human factors in the safety ma nagement system in nursing homes with a special focus on adequate safety training in order to develop necessary skills and knowledge of workers. This would enhance employees’ ability to cope successfully with the elderly and people with special needs, to p rovide safe and high - quality care as well as confidence and the knowledge how successfully they manage conflicts in order to ke ep good relationships at work

IMPACT OF TELEWORK ON THE PERCEIVED WORK ENVIRONMENT OF OLDER WORKERS

Telework has become a natural part of regular work life of employees who use the information communication technology (ICT). Telework has a potential to support postponing retirement for mental workers. The objective of this research was to find out interaction between senior employees’ teleworking and well-being. The main research question was – can telework improve elderly employees’ well-being? Over 100 respondents from different areas in mental work were involved in a quantitative survey. The results of a conducted survey showed that telework is exaggerated to some extent as teleworkers’ well-being (M=7.79; SD=1.28) does not diverge from non-teleworkers’ well-being (M=7.75; SD=1.40). However, telework can be neither underestimated nor taken as interchangeable with traditional work. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to telework as a different way of working with its specialties. Systematic approach to telework enables companies to employ elderly by providing diversity of work forms.JEL Codes - J14, J26, J2

The formation of a good safety culture at enterprise

The aim of the study is to show innovative possibilities for improvement of safety culture at enterprises through complex approach to occupational health and safety (OH&S). The knowledge of the leadership and workers in OH&S is not sufficient at present in Estonia, particularly in small and medium‐sized enterprises (the number is 60 000). The small (up to 50 workers) or medium‐sized enterprises (up to 150 workers) have no possibility to hire the working environment specialist who would deal only with OH&S problems. Usually obligations in the field of OH&S in small and medium‐sized enterprises are delegated to one employee in addition to other responsibilities related to personnel, security, fire protection and environmental problems. Therefore, the complex approach to management of OH&S issues is needed in order to create a good safety culture and to achieve positive results in company safety performance. The complex method consists of risk assessment and determination of safety level. The authors offer possible tools ‐ simple computer applications which are available for managers, interviews with employers, employees and occupational health specialists for development and dissemination of safety culture. The opinion of workers and occupational health specialists has been taken into consideration in the planning of improvements of working conditions by the employers. The economic issues of safety and health improvement measures are presented. First Publish Online: 09 Jun 201

SNOW MICROWAVE REFLECTION AT MOBILE PHONE FREQUENCY BANDS

Snow should be accounted in electromagnetic fields' risk assessment, especially in Nordic countries where in winter months snow precipitation and coverage may significantly affect the propagation of microwaves. The risk assessment should be always carried out under worst case scenario conditions, including the reflective properties of the surfaces surrounding the antenna. In this study fresh snow microwave reflectance properties were investigated at the mobile communication bands from 1700 to 2700 MHz.The investigation revealed that reflection loss from snow is more dependent from the frequency than from the thickness of snow coverage. Amongst mobile communication bands, the strongest microwave reflection (reflection loss only 3.2dB) was registered at WiFi2G band. Averaging all the snow thicknesses, the highest reflection loss occurs at GSM1800UL (1710-1785 MHz) and UMTS2100DL (2110-2170 MHz) bands. The least attenuation of reflection occurs in adjacent DECT band

AERATED CONCRETE MICROWAVE REFLECTION AND TRANSMISSION PROPERTIES IN A WET ENVIRONMENT

Excess water content within the building material could greatly alter the interaction of the microwave with the material. In this study aerated concrete (AEROC) block walls (60x60cm) were investigated for their microwave (2.4 GHz) properties under wetting conditions. The spray wetting of the wall was conducted to simulate the environmental processes such as raining or water damage. 50ml/m² water dosage was applied on the surface of the concrete 21 times in 1 min intervals. The results show a noticeable decrease in microwave penetration power through the material after the sample gets enriched with water. As the water content on the surface of the material rises, so does the transmission loss. During the different water content of the aerated concrete, the reflection loss varied from -15.04 dB (dry wall) to -5.03 dB (wet wall’s surface). The transmission loss continues to rise during the entire length of the experiment, from -4.5 dB as a dry sample to -8.3 dB after 441 ml (1035 ml/m² during 23 min) of sprayed water. The variation of reflected microwave power was approximately ten times, which is quite a significant indicator of alteration of microwave propagation. The results demonstrate wetting process as an considerable factor in assessing microwave propagation in near the sources, such as mobile phone base station antennas, industrial microwave heaters and ovens etc

Prevention the impact of chemicals on the health of workers in fibreglass industry

ArticleMost of the chemicals make our everyday life easier and safer. However, there are a lot of new emerging risks connected with chemicals causing damage to people’s health and environment. The results of the investigation: the chemical exposure index (EI) is between 0.16 to 25.98 (the last determined by the mould spray-up, outside of the protective masks). The air pollution index determined was between 16 to 760%. The ventilation rates for the remove of the volatiles from the workplace air are settled, the possibilities for substitution of hazardous chemicals to less hazardous are presented. When the concentration of a volatile is measured under the protective mask, which has a new filter, the tested substance concentration is lower that under the mask with an old filter, although the differences between these two were rather small. When the volatiles were measured under the protective mask, the concentrations of tested substances met the requirements

Prevención de trastornos musculo-esqueléticos y estrés psicológico en los lugares de trabajo equipados con computadores

Introducción: El cuerpo humano responde a los factores estresantes a través de cuatro sistemas – nervioso central, autónomo, endocrino e inmune- los cuales están constantemente interactuando como una red compleja. Los factores estresantes principales en los lugares de trabajo equipados con computadores son lugares de trabajo pobremente diseñados, específcamente el posicionamiento de los equipos en y alrededor de los puestos de trabajo. El número de enfermedades ocupacionales en los trabajadores de ofcina es el indicador específco de la infuencia de los peligros existentes y factores de riesgo sobre trabajador en el ambiente de trabajo. Objetivo: Encontrar los problemas en salud y realizar sugerencias para la promoción en salud para trabajadores con computadores.Materiales y métodos: Más de 400 condiciones en trabajadores con computadores fueron medidas con el equipo de medición pertinente; la fatiga muscular fue medida con el miometro, la opinión de los trabajadores sobre las condiciones de trabajo fueron registradas por medio de Nordic, el índice de habilidad de trabajo (WAI por sus siglas en ingles) y el cuestionario Kiva. Los trabajadores fueron divididos en diferentes grupos por edad (A: menores de 40 años y B: mayores de 40 años). En este artículo se investiga la satisfacción de los trabajadores de computadores con su condición de trabajo. Resultados: De acuerdo con los resultado de los cuestionarios Nordic y WAI, los trastornos musculo-esqueléticos (TME) fueron observadas en el 53.6%; los problemas cardiovasculares en un 20.4% y los problemas visuales en un 16.7% de los encuestados del grupo A (menores de 40 años). En grupo B, los TME fueron observados en un 50.1%; los problemas cardiovasculares en un 45.7% y los problemas visuales en un 23.2% de los encuestados (mayores de 40 años). Las quejas musculares y articulares fueron reportados solo en el 19.7% de los trabajadores. La mayoría de los encuestados reportaron la existencia de dos o más puntos locales de dolor. Los dolores de cuello, hombros, muñeca y espalda fueron registrados como las principales quejas. Conclusiones: Los resultados de las mediciones de los lugares de trabajo físicos revelaron que en algunas ofcinas hay defciencias en la iluminación, problemas con la contaminación del aire (altos niveles de CO2) y el bajo valor de la humedad relativa en la estación fría. La tensión muscular es a menudo a causa de la postura estática, esta puede estar infuenciada también por el estrés psico-emocional en lugar de trabajo. Los cuestionarios, métodos objetivos y mediciones ambientales son útiles para planifcar la prevención y la rehabilitación temprana antes de que aparezca la discapacidad.Palabras clave: Enfermedades osteomusculares, estrés psicológico, terminales de computador, lugar de trabajo.Prevention of MSDs and psychological stress at computer-equipped workplacesIntroduction: The human body responds to stress-factors through four systems – central nervous, autonomic nervous, endocrine and immune – which are constantly interacting as a complex network. The main stress-factor at the computer-equipped workplaces is a poorly designed workplace, specifcally the positioning of equipment on and around the workstation. The number of occupational diseases among offce workers is the specifc indicator of infuencing of existing hazards and risk factors on the worker in the work environment. Objective: To fnd out the health disturbances and to make the suggestions for health promotion for computer workers. Methods: Over 400 computer workers’ working conditions were measured with subsequent measuring equipment; the fatigue of muscles was measured with myometer; the investigation of the workers’ opinion on working conditions based on Nordic, Work ability index (WAI) and Kiva questionnaire was carried out. The workers were divided into different groups by the age (A: under 40 years and B: over 40 years). This paper investigates the satisfaction of computer workers with their working conditions. Results: According to the results of Nordic and WAI questionnaires, musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) were observed by 53.6%; the cardiovascular disturbances by20.4% and visual disturbances by 16.7% of the respondents in group A (under 40 years). In group B, MSDs were observed by 50.1%; cardiovascular disorders by 45.7% and visual disturbances by 23.2% of the respondents (over 40 years). Muscle and joint complaints were reported only by 19.7% of workers. The majority of the respondents declared the existence of two or more local pain points. Neck, shoulder, wrist and back pain were registered as the main complaints. Conclusions: The results of measurements of physical workplaces revealed that in some offces there are defciencies in lighting, problems with stuffy air (high CO2value) and low relative humidity value on cold season. As muscle strain is often coming from the static posture, it may be infuenced also by the psycho-emotional stress at workplace. The questionnaires, objective methods and environmental measurements are useful to plan prevention and early rehabilitation before the disability appears.Keywords: Musculoskeletal diseases, psychological stress, computer terminals, workplace.

Prevención de trastornos musculo-esqueléticos y estrés psicológico en los lugares de trabajo equipados con computadores

Introducción: El cuerpo humano responde a los factores estresantes a través de cuatro sistemas – nervioso central, autónomo, endocrino e inmune- los cuales están constantemente interactuando como una red compleja. Los factores estresantes principales en los lugares de trabajo equipados con computadores son lugares de trabajo pobremente diseñados, específcamente el posicionamiento de los equipos en y alrededor de los puestos de trabajo. El número de enfermedades ocupacionales en los trabajadores de ofcina es el indicador específco de la infuencia de los peligros existentes y factores de riesgo sobre trabajador en el ambiente de trabajo. Objetivo: Encontrar los problemas en salud y realizar sugerencias para la promoción en salud para trabajadores con computadores.Materiales y métodos: Más de 400 condiciones en trabajadores con computadores fueron medidas con el equipo de medición pertinente; la fatiga muscular fue medida con el miometro, la opinión de los trabajadores sobre las condiciones de trabajo fueron registradas por medio de Nordic, el índice de habilidad de trabajo (WAI por sus siglas en ingles) y el cuestionario Kiva. Los trabajadores fueron divididos en diferentes grupos por edad (A: menores de 40 años y B: mayores de 40 años). En este artículo se investiga la satisfacción de los trabajadores de computadores con su condición de trabajo. Resultados: De acuerdo con los resultado de los cuestionarios Nordic y WAI, los trastornos musculo-esqueléticos (TME) fueron observadas en el 53.6%; los problemas cardiovasculares en un 20.4% y los problemas visuales en un 16.7% de los encuestados del grupo A (menores de 40 años). En grupo B, los TME fueron observados en un 50.1%; los problemas cardiovasculares en un 45.7% y los problemas visuales en un 23.2% de los encuestados (mayores de 40 años). Las quejas musculares y articulares fueron reportados solo en el 19.7% de los trabajadores. La mayoría de los encuestados reportaron la existencia de dos o más puntos locales de dolor. Los dolores de cuello, hombros, muñeca y espalda fueron registrados como las principales quejas. Conclusiones: Los resultados de las mediciones de los lugares de trabajo físicos revelaron que en algunas ofcinas hay defciencias en la iluminación, problemas con la contaminación del aire (altos niveles de CO2) y el bajo valor de la humedad relativa en la estación fría. La tensión muscular es a menudo a causa de la postura estática, esta puede estar infuenciada también por el estrés psico-emocional en lugar de trabajo. Los cuestionarios, métodos objetivos y mediciones ambientales son útiles para planifcar la prevención y la rehabilitación temprana antes de que aparezca la discapacidad.Palabras clave: Enfermedades osteomusculares, estrés psicológico, terminales de computador, lugar de trabajo.Prevention of MSDs and psychological stress at computer-equipped workplacesIntroduction: The human body responds to stress-factors through four systems – central nervous, autonomic nervous, endocrine and immune – which are constantly interacting as a complex network. The main stress-factor at the computer-equipped workplaces is a poorly designed workplace, specifcally the positioning of equipment on and around the workstation. The number of occupational diseases among offce workers is the specifc indicator of infuencing of existing hazards and risk factors on the worker in the work environment. Objective: To fnd out the health disturbances and to make the suggestions for health promotion for computer workers. Methods: Over 400 computer workers’ working conditions were measured with subsequent measuring equipment; the fatigue of muscles was measured with myometer; the investigation of the workers’ opinion on working conditions based on Nordic, Work ability index (WAI) and Kiva questionnaire was carried out. The workers were divided into different groups by the age (A: under 40 years and B: over 40 years). This paper investigates the satisfaction of computer workers with their working conditions. Results: According to the results of Nordic and WAI questionnaires, musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) were observed by 53.6%; the cardiovascular disturbances by20.4% and visual disturbances by 16.7% of the respondents in group A (under 40 years). In group B, MSDs were observed by 50.1%; cardiovascular disorders by 45.7% and visual disturbances by 23.2% of the respondents (over 40 years). Muscle and joint complaints were reported only by 19.7% of workers. The majority of the respondents declared the existence of two or more local pain points. Neck, shoulder, wrist and back pain were registered as the main complaints. Conclusions: The results of measurements of physical workplaces revealed that in some offces there are defciencies in lighting, problems with stuffy air (high CO2value) and low relative humidity value on cold season. As muscle strain is often coming from the static posture, it may be infuenced also by the psycho-emotional stress at workplace. The questionnaires, objective methods and environmental measurements are useful to plan prevention and early rehabilitation before the disability appears.Keywords: Musculoskeletal diseases, psychological stress, computer terminals, workplace.