Arunkumar Pennathur

The need for worker training in advanced manufacturing technology (AMT) environments: A white paper

The international globalization of the World markets for manufactured goods, particularly consumer goods, has placed an emphasis on nations to improve manufacturing productivity. This need to improve productivity is further prompted by a potential loss of competitive edge in the global marketplace. The market competitiveness and e

Quality improvement in manufacturing through human performance enhancement

ciency of any nation is primarily dependent upon the economy, reliability, quality, quickness, and ease of its manufacturing processes and the resulting quality of outcomes (products). To a major extent, the skills of the workforce determine the e!ectiveness and the e

Modeling hospital response to mild and severe influenza pandemic scenarios under normal and expanded capacities

ciency of the process of manufacturing and the quality of goods produced. And yet, there is a severe lack of standardized and consistent worker training programs for skills needed by workers in modern manufacturing organizations. This review paper shows that there is a dire need to train workers in manufacturing organizations and thereby improve the overall e!ectiveness and e

Nonfatal occupational injuries in the United States Part I - overall trends and data summaries

ciency of such organizations. Relevance to industry As technology changes, so do the skills workers need. In order to compete successfully in the global market, manufacturing organizations must aim at training workers in skills necessary to produce quality goods. ( 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Test-retest reliability of Yale Physical Activity Survey among older Mexican American adults: A pilot investigation

In the increasingly competitive global economy, survival of an industry depends on catering to customer needs by quickly producing quality products and providing quality service at an affordable price. In production, or in service, ergonomic considerations have manifested themselves in two distinct, yet related, domains. Focuses on the humans who contribute to product manufacture/service. It is frequently advocated that since humans are unreliable and less consistent, compared to machines, they are primarily responsible for lowering product and service quality. Ergonomic considerations, which, ironically, can improve human performance, are paid lip service during manufacturing system design. Compounding the problem is the current inability of most ergonomists to make ergonomic recommendations that do not run counter to the productivity and quality goals of system designers. Addresses these two issues by illustrating, through four case studies, the relationship between quality and variables that affect human performance.

Designing and manufacturing consumer products for functionality: a literature review of current function definitions and design support tools

William Beaumont Army Medical Center conducted quantitative modeling with FluSurge 2.0 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) to determine hospital capabilities in responding to patient arrival surges of the Fort Bliss population in mild 1968-type and severe 1918-type influenza pandemics. Model predictions showed that William Beaumont Army Medical Center could adequately care for all intensive care unit (ICU) and non-ICU patients during a mild pandemic, particularly if hospital capacity was expanded using the emergency management plan, excess surge plan, or activation of a contagious disease outbreak facility. For a severe influenza pandemic, model predictions showed that hospital beds, ventilators, and other resources would be exceeded within 2 or 3 weeks. Even at maximal hospital expansion, for a 12-week severe pandemic with a 35% attack rate there would be peak demand for 214% of available non-ICU beds, 785% of ICU beds, and 392% of ventilators. Health care planners and decision-makers should prepare for resource challenges when developing plans for the next influenza pandemic.

Nonfatal occupational injuries in the United States Part II-back injuries

Abstract This is the first of a three-part paper focusing on key overall nonfatal occupational injury trends in the United States; Part II of the paper focuses on back injuries, while Part III focuses on injuries to the upper extremities. In general, data on nonfatal occupational injuries in the United States are scattered and present in different formats. The primary goal of this work was to extract information from massive and voluminous databases of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the National Safety Council (NSC), and present it in usable form to ergonomics researchers and practitioners. A secondary goal was to make ergonomics and safety professionals aware of the existence and usefulness of the newly redesigned BLS injury reports. The data reveal the following: (i) The number of occupational injuries in the United States showed a slightly decreasing trend between 1980 and 1991. It is likely that the numbers reported earlier may have been gross underestimates. (ii) The overall BLS-reported incidence rates for all private US industry increased substantially in 1994 compared to 1984, but decreased in comparison to the rates in 1992 and 1993. (iii) In 1994, the manufacturing industry had the highest incidence rates followed by the construction industry. (iv) The total cost of occupational injuries continued to increase between 1972 and 1994. The sudden and large increment in total cost in 1992 (nearly

Effect of age on functional anthropometry of older Mexican American adults: a cross-sectional study

60 billion), from 1991, indicates a change in injury reporting and recording practices. The total cost of occupational injuries in the United States in 1996 was slightly more than

Functional limitations in Mexican American elderly

120 billion. (v) Lost time due to work injuries has continued to increase in the 1990s. More than 122 million workdays were lost due to work injuries in the United States in 1996 alone. (vi) The back was the most affected body part in work injuries. Relevance to industry This paper provides an occupational injury profile of the American industry. Knowledge of injury trends is essential for instituting efforts to control them.

Daily living activities in older adults: Part I—a review of physical activity and dietary intake assessment methods

The objective of the work reported in this paper is to assess test-retest reliability of Yale Physical Activity Survey Total Time, Estimated Energy Expenditure, Activity Dimension Indices, and Activities Checklist in older Mexican American men and women. A convenience-based healthy sample of 49 (42 women and 7 men) older Mexican American adults recruited from senior recreation centers aged 68 to 80 years volunteered to participate in this pilot study. Forty-nine older Mexican American adults filled out the Yale Physical Activity Survey for this study. Fifteen (12 women and 3 men) of the 49 volunteers responded twice to the Yale Physical Activity Survey after a 2-week period, and helped assess the test-retest reliability of the Yale Physical Activity Survey. Results indicate that based on a 2-week test-retest administration, the Yale Physical Activity Survey was found to have moderate (ρI = .424, p < .05) to good reliability (rs = .789, p < .01) for physical activity assessment in older Mexican American adults who responded.