Journal of Health and Safety at Work

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Introduction: Neighborhood environment plays an important role in the health of residents. This study was conducted to assess health, safety and environment (HSE) in poor and rich vicinities in order to improve health levels of the neighborhoods, using Community-Based Intervention (CBI) approach.

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Material and Method: In the present field study, HSE variables were assessed by a checklist (NHSES) through observation, interviews with neighborhood residents as well as document review.Of the 374 vicinities in Tehran, ten regions were selected through cluster sampling. The Control Chart approach was used in order to compare the field data and the possibility of decision-making about the neighborhoods.

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Results: Overall, results showed that status of health, safety and environment in both rich and poor neighborhoods in Tehran was in the warning level.

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Conclusion: The CBI is an appropriate model for empowerment of neighborhoodsin a way that promote HSE status.

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Introduction: Limited studies have been done to evaluate the whole-body vibration (WBV) exposure experienced by Taxi drivers. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the exposure to whole body vibration and repeated shocks in urban taxi drivers and also to compare different methods of evaluation in this job environment.

Material and Method: Measurement and evaluation process were conducted in accordance with procedure of the ISO 2631-1 and ISO 2631-5 standards. The measurements were done by SVAN 958 Sound and Vibration Analyzer and using tri-axial accelerometer centered on the contact surface between the seat and the driver in 9 taxis.  

Result: The measurements done according to ISO 2631-1 method showed greater risk compared to Daily Equivalent Static Compression Dose, Sed, presented in ISO 2631-5. Calculated daily exposure durations for exposure action level in root-mean square, vibration dose value, and daily equivalent static compressive stress methods were 4.55, 3.54 and 31.70 hours, respectively.

Conclusion: The large differences in estimated exposure durations of action limits and permissible limits resulted by different methods reflect the inconsistency of the selected evaluation methods. Therefore, future research is necessary to amend the limits presented in the standard.

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Introduction: Impairment of alertness, attention and performance associated with sleepiness and fatigue in nurses occur in night and long-term shifts that in the end of night shift reach to the maximum level can lead to traffic accidents when they returning home. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of night shift on psychomotor abilities of driving in nurses after shiftwork.
 

Material and Method: A cohort study was carried out on 23 night shift and 24 day shift female nurses aged 20 to 40 at Sina Hospital in Tehran city, using the Vienna Test System (VTS). The concentration and selective attention, reaction time, pheriperal perception, and coordination before and after night and day shifts were measured. A multiple linear regression model and Backward stepwise selection method was used for analyses.
 

Result: In the concentration and selective attention test, sum hits  (p = 0.038) and in the visual perception test , divided attention (p =0.006) and visual field (p =0.019), and in the  reaction time test the mean motor time  (p =0.034) showed a significant adverse relationship with working in night shift, but the visomotor coordination variables did not show any significant correlation.
 

Conclusion: The results showed that the concentration and selective attention, peripheral perception, and reaction time of psychomotor ability of driving were significantly adversely impaired in nurses after night shift. These results in evidence of the mechanism of increasing traffic accidents after night shift among nurses added to the previous studies in this subject.

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One of the main goals of all societies whether in developed or developing countries is sustainable development and quality of life improvement. Both of the mentioned fields are known as critical subjects for urban planners, health care systems authorities, organizations and industrial sectors managers. Sustainable development is a global and human-centered approach. Also, ergonomics as a multidisciplinary science has a user center approach in which the quality of life plays a prominent role. The main objective of this article is developing a synergy between ergonomics and sustainability. This research consisted of two parallel phases. The first phase included a review in which two keywords of “ergonomics and sustainability” were considered in PubMed and EBSCO. After following the including and excluding criteria, 12 final articles were assessed. The second phase, was a descriptive study based on questionnaires among 38 participants. According to articles, in-depth evaluation and data gathering throughout questionnaires, it seems that to make a synergy between ergonomics and sustainability especially based on social aspects of both mentioned firms will be ended to effective and feasible planning towards industrial ergonomics and work-related quality of life.  

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Introduction: 1,3-Butadiene is a carcinogenic compound that can be emitted to the atmosphere from several sources like petrochemical industry. One way to determine the level of carcinogenic and health effects of respiratory exposure to pollutants in the workplace is to use risk assessment methods. The aim of this study was to comparative assessment of carcinogenic risk of respiratory exposure to 1,3-Butadiene in a petrochemical industry by the US Environmental Protection Agency and Singapore Health Department methods.
Material and method:  This cross-sectional study was carried out in 2018 in a petrochemical industry that producing copolymer ABS (acrylonitrile, butadiene, styrene) in Iran. Occupational exposure to 1,3-Butadiene was measured according to the NIOSH 1024 method. Cancer risk assessment was done according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and Singapore semi-quantitative methods.
Results: The average occupational exposure to 1,3-Butadiene during work shift among all participants was 560.82 ± 811.36 µg.m^-3 (0.253 ± 0.367 ppm) and in all cases was below the occupational exposure limit. The average lifetime cancer risk in USEPA method in the present study was 2.71 × 10^-3, Also in this method 82.2% of all exposed workers were in the definite carcinogenic risk level and 17.8% were in the probable carcinogenic risk level. The results of the Singapore health department method showed that 91.2% of all subjects were in the probable carcinogenic risk level and 8.8% were in the definite risk level.
Conclusion: The findings of the present study showed that the results of the Singapore semi quantitative risk assessment method are not in good agreement with the results of the quantitative risk assessment method proposed by the US Environmental Protection Agency. Therefore, given the high accuracy and thoroughness of the US Environmental Protection Agency's risk assessment methodology as a worldwide reference method for assessing the carcinogenic and health risk of exposure to chemicals, it is recommended to use this method instead of the Singapore method in future studies.

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Introduction: Styrene (C₆H₅CH=CH₂) is known as one of the volatile organic substances produced or used in petrochemical industries. Exposure to this chemical compound can thus lead to respiratory diseases. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate occupational exposure to styrene vapor and to determine the risks of its health consequences in petrochemical industry workers through a quantitative method.
Material and Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, a total number of 150 samples from 50 employees were studied using the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) 1501 method. The samples were then analyzed by the Varian CP-3800 chromatograph. Upon determining exposure to styrene vapor, the risk assessment of the health consequences of styrene in the workers in the given industry was evaluated via the relationships established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US/EPA).
Results: According to the results, the polybutadiene latex unit (PBL) was observed with the highest average exposure (0.44 mg.(kg-day)-1). Therefore, the top predictors of carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks were valued 0.44 and 0.71, respectively, for the PBL unit. Given the lowest average exposure (0.0012 mg.(kg-day)-1) in the drying unit, the prediction revealed the most moderate carcinogenic (0.1 ×10-5) and non-carcinogenic risks (2×10-3) for the same employees.
Conclusion: Overall, the health risk was higher than the permissible limit in the petrochemical industry studied, especially in the PBL unit. Therefore, it is recommended to make use of artificial ventilation, notably the local type, in addition to the natural ones.

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Introduction: Designing behavioral modification interventions for the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) warrants the audiences identification and analysis. This study aimed to determine the predictive factors for using (PPE) based on Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) constructs among workers of Iran Aluminum Factory, 2018.
Material and Methods: In this descriptive analytical study with cross-sectional method, a researcher-made questionnaire including demographic information, knowledge questionnaire and designed items based on the SCT construct, was fulfilled by 188 workers employed in production line of Iran Aluminum Factory in Arak. The collected data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, Chi-square and logistic regression analysis on SPSS 24. The significance level was set at P< 0.05.
Results: Among the participants, 46.8% (n=88) and 52.2% (n=100) of workers had moderate and high level of knowledge, respectively. Demographic variables such as marital status, educational level, income, age, work experience and employment status (p <0.05), as well as all SCT constructs (p <0.05) had a significant relationship with knowledge. Logistic regression analysis revealed that the level of education and employment status with probability of 80.6% and self-control, environment and self-efficacy of perceived barriers constructs, with a 64% probability could explained workers in high-knowledge group.
Conclusion: The present study revealed that the variables such as level of education, employment status, self-control, environment and self-efficacy of perceived barriers could be effective in designing educational interventions to improve workers’ knowledge on using personal protective equipment.

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Introduction: The respiratory system, one of the most important organs of the body, can be affected by adverse effects, disorders and consequences in the workplace. Spirometry is one of the most important screening and testing tools in the periodic medical examination of every employee. This study was aimed to evaluate the factors affecting the respiratory function of staff of Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS).
Material and Methods: This descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional study carried out on 300 employees of TUMS according on during the enrollment phase of the Tehran University of Medical Sciences employee’s cohort (TEC) study was in order to survey the parameters affecting pulmonary function. Demographic data were collected through a demographic questionnaire. Spirometry was used to evaluate respiratory function parameters and bioelectric impedance was used to analyze body composition. Data analysis was performed by SPSS software version 25. Two-sample t-test, one-way ANOVA, and Pearson correlation coefficient were used for statistical analysis. Multiple linear regression was used to determine the effect of independent variables on the parameters of pulmonary function.
Results: It was found that 73.6% of the subjects had a normal lung pattern, 7% had an obstructive pattern, 14.7% had a threatening pattern and 4.7% had a mixed pattern. There was a significant negative correlation between FVC and FEV1 parameters and smoking (P-value <0.05). There was also a significant relationship between FFM, age and BMI with FEV1/FVC (P-value <0.05). Similarly, there was a meaningful relationship between type of job and FVC parameter (P-value <0.05). The findings showed that the highest and the lowest averages of all parameters of pulmonary function was in administrative and occupational services, public and technical services and facilities, security and guard, respectively.
Conclusion: In the present study, it was found that occupation type affects lung function due to exposure to contaminants in different groups. Other factors affecting lung function included age, body mass index, fat mass, fat free mass and smoking. Therefore, changing lifestyle such as proper diet, regular exercise and not smoking can be an effective step towards improving the parameters of lung function.

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Introduction: Considering the importance of implementing occupational safety and health management systems for the prevention of various diseases in the workplace, as well as determining the notability and role of induction and implementation of occupational health management systems in controlling and reducing COVID-19 outbreak in work environments, as one of the most sensitive and important of society sectors, this study aimed to compare the prevalence of Covid-19 disease in two groups of industries with and without occupational health management systems and related management risk factors in several industries, in Iran.
Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed in May 2020 during the outbreak of coronavirus in some industries under Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences’ supervision. During the present study, 70 industries included 24 industries active in chemical products, 6 industries of automotive parts manufacturing, 14 industries of home appliance manufacturing, 16 industries of health and cosmetics products, 4 industries of metal products, and six service companies were studied. The studied population included two industries with an occupational health management system (33 industries) and industries without an occupational health management system (37 industries). In this study, a checklist was designed to collect study data based on the requirements and parameters of occupational health management systems, as well as information related to infectious diseases such as COVID-19, which included information on COVID-19 disease in two groups of studied industry, occupational medicine, biological hazards risk management, occupational health information management system, training, and employee participation, as well as the management parameters of COVID-19 outbreak. Statistical analysis of the study data was performed using the Chi-square test and Fisher’s exact test by SPSS. 23 software.
Results: The number of workers working in the two groups of industries with and without occupational health management systems was 673 and 708, respectively. Among 33 industries with occupational health management systems, 12.1% industries had health, safety, and environment management system (HSE-MS), 66.7% industries had OHSAS 18001:2007 standard, and 21.2% industries also had ISO 45001:2018 certification. It was found that the prevalence of Covid-19 disease in those industries without occupational health management systems was significantly higher (p <0.05). It has been found that Covid-19 outbreak in industries without occupational health management systems was significantly higher (p<0.05). The findings also showed that there was a significant difference between the parameters of occupational medicine, risk management of biological hazards, occupational health information management system, training and employee participation, as well as the management parameters of COVID-19 disease in the two groups of studied industries (p<0.05).
Conclusion: The findings of the present study indicated that there was a significant relationship between the scores of occupational medicine parameters and occupational health information management system, risk management of biological hazards, training and employee participation, management of COVID-19 and finally the prevalence of the disease among industries with or without occupational health management system. So, implementation and establishment of occupational health management systems can be an effective step in reducing the prevalence of viral and infectious diseases such as COVID-19.

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Introduction: One of the most important factors affecting quality of work-life (QWL) is the workload in the form of mental and physical. The increased workload may reduce the level of performance of workers. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the relation of the mental and physicalworkload with the QWLof workers in the foundry industry.
Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 218 male workers in a foundry industry and the work units with high work stress were selected. The NASA-TLX, physical load and the Walton questionnaires were used to collect and evaluate the workload and the QWL.The SPSS software was used for data analysis.
Results: It was clarified that there was a significant inverse relationship between QWL with physical load (P = 0.001) and mental workload (P = 0.01). The comparison of mean QWL between different groups of demographic variables showed that the only significant relationship was between different age groups and QWL (P = 0.003). Finally, it was found that the variables of physical load, mental workload and age had a significant simultaneous effect on the mean score of QWL (P<0.05).
Conclusion: The findings showed that there was a significant relationship between QWL and mental and physical workloads.

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Introduction: The manufacturing, service professions, and other occupations commonly require their employees to spend more than 2 hours of their workday in an upright position which can potentially cause temporary or permanent health effects. The objective of this study is to determine the effect of anti-fatigue mats on leg muscle discomfort and muscle activity due to prolonged standing.
Material and Methods: A total of 100 workers were involved in the study. The control and experimental group stood for 2 hours in a controlled room with or without the anti-fatigue mat while sorting an assortment of mixed items.  Borg’s scale questionnaire and EMG signals were used to monitor the muscle discomfort and activity of the respondents.
Results: The discomfort ratings and muscle activity in the experimental group were always at lower levels compared to the control group, which meant there was a reduction in mean perceived exertion rating for the knees, calves, and feet, i.e., 1.8, 2.5 and 2.6, respectively. The results showed that there was a statistically significant (P < 0.001) difference in the Borg’s scale of discomfort ratings and leg muscle activity between both groups.
Conclusion: The anti-fatigue mat can have a positive effect in preventing muscle discomfort and reduce muscle activity among the respondents during prolonged standing.

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Introduction: Strategic management involves determining the organization’s direction, preparing a strategic vision and mission statement, and providing the basis for growth, profitability, and production. It also includes the inclusion of employee safety and health programs throughout the organization. The existence of a strategic plan for the scientific and practical strengthening of occupational health and safety is one of the country’s academic and industrial priorities. The purpose of this study is to present a strategic plan for developing the specialized field of occupational health and safety engineering in Iran.
Material and Methods: The current study is a collaborative action research study that was conducted in 2021. The strategic planning committee consisted of 20 professors, experts, and doctoral students. Over the course of 14 weeks, they held regular weekly meetings, collected information from inside and outside the organization, analyzed the organization’s internal and external environment, and identified its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Based on this analysis, the committee determined the organization’s mission, perspective, values, and general and specific goals for 2021-2024. They also identified the necessary measures to achieve these goals and developed an operational plan to improve the performance of the specialized field of occupational health and safety.
Results: Conducting this applied research led to the strategy of internal and external analysis of the specialized OHS field, determining the direction of the basic strategy, mission, perspective, values, and general goals. Finally, seven specific goals and 286 actions were determined to improve the performance of OHS. The SWOT analysis of OHS’s internal and external environment identified 27 strengths, seven weaknesses, 26 opportunities, and 12 threats. According to the results of the SWOT matrix, the strategic position of the OHS field is to implement preventive strategies and maintain existing conditions.
Conclusion: This plan aligns with the 4-year OHS plan. In developing the program, attention has been paid to the documents and policies of upstream organizations. The strategic position of occupational health and safety engineering is a prudent strategy. In this situation, strategies for maintaining existing conditions can be applied. Therefore, it is suggested to reduce the weaknesses of OHS as much as possible and increase its strategic capabilities by focusing on prudent strategies. From the second year of implementing the strategic plan, the OHS field can gradually focus on developing activities.

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Introduction: Due to the increase in the provision of electronic services to citizens in government offices, the number of computer users and the occurrence of musculoskeletal disorders have increased. Therefore, this study aimed to predict and model the complex relationships between the risk factors of musculoskeletal disorders in computer users working in government offices by an artificial neural network.
Material and Methods: The current cross-sectional study was conducted in 2020 on 342 employees of various government offices in Saveh city. First, the researcher visited the work environment to identify the problems and measure the environmental factors. Then, ergonomic risk assessment and psychosocial factors were evaluated using the Nordic questionnaire and the ROSA method. The effect of various factors in causing musculoskeletal disorders was investigated using a logistic regression test.Then the resulting data were collected and modeled by one of the neural network algorithms. Finally, artificial neural networks presented an optimal model to predict the risk of musculoskeletal disorders.
Results: The results showed that by increasing the level of social interactions, the level of demand, control, and leadership in the job, musculoskeletal disorders in men and women decrease. There was a significant relationship between the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and job demand, job control levels, social interaction levels, leadership levels, organizational climate levels, job satisfaction levels, and stress levels, in addition between reports of pain in the neck and shoulder and wrist/hand region. There was a significant relationship with the overall ROSA score. Also, there was a significant relationship between the report of pain or discomfort in the neck area with the phone screen risk score, wrist/hand with the keyboard-mouse risk score, and shoulder, upper back, elbow, and lower back with the chair risk score. The accuracy of the presented model for predicting musculoskeletal disorders was also about 88.5%, which indicates the acceptability of the results.
Conclusion: The results showed that several factors play a role in causing musculoskeletal disorders, which include individual, environmental, psychosocial, and workstation factors. Therefore, in the design of an ergonomic workstation, the effects of the mentioned factors should be investigated. Also, predicting the effectiveness of each of the mentioned factors using an artificial neural network showed that this type of modeling can be used to prevent musculoskeletal disorders or other multifactorial disorders.

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Introduction: Falls from height rank among the most frequent accidents encountered in construction workplaces. To mitigate such risks, the utilization of suitable personal fall protection equipment, including safety harnesses, proves to be an effective control measure.
Material and Methods: This study involved a comprehensive review of articles pertaining to the study’s objective, published in renowned scientific journals between 2000 and 2021. To achieve this, a meticulous search was conducted across ten scientific-specialized databases, employing eight keywords: “Full body harness,” “fall arrest systems,” “industrial harness,” “harness ergonomic,” “design procedures harness,” “standard for harness,” “fall protection,” and “P.P.E work at height.” The search yielded a collection of relevant articles for analysis and examination.
Results: A total of 101 articles were gathered through the utilization of the specified keywords. Subsequently, a meticulous review process led to the selection of 23 relevant articles for inclusion in the primary study. These chosen articles were categorized into two distinct groups: one focused on the “design of harnesses and optimization of fall arrest systems,” while the other delved into “studies on the consequences of suspension from a height and its effects.” Our findings revealed that 34.7% of the studies evaluated harness safety, 34.7% examined harness ergonomics, and 30.3% investigated suspension consequences.
Conclusion: When a harness is suspended, it leads to physiological changes. Notably, no studies have reported any fatalities resulting from harness suspension. However, the longevity of the suspension greatly depends on utilizing the appropriate harness accessories. The most significant challenge lies in the ergonomic design of the harnesses.

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Introduction: Lung cancer is the second most common cancer in the world. Smoking occupational and environmental exposures are the most important causes of lung cancer. Cadmium is known as a human carcinogen due to its ability to increase lung cancer risk. This study estimates the general results of all studies on the relationship between cadmium and lung cancer.
Material and Methods: In the present study, studies that evaluated the relationship between cadmium and lung cancer until May 2022 were searched and retrieved. From the funnel plot to determine the existence of diffusion skew, from the statistical tests Chi-squared test (x2) and I2 to determine heterogeneity, from the meta-regression method to identify the root of heterogeneity, and from the sensitivity analysis approach to identify the effect of each study on the result, it was generally used. This study performed all analyses with Stata statistical software version 15.
Results: In this study, it was observed that the chance of developing lung cancer compared to the base group, in the people exposed to a higher dose than the base level of cadmium is equal to 1.31 (95% CI: 1.06-1.62; p-value = 0.024), which is statistically significant. Based on Egger’s test (p-value = 0.178) and Begg’s (p-value = 0.276), no diffusion bias was observed in this study.
Conclusion: ccording to the final results of this review research, exposure to cadmium leads to a 31% increase in lung cancer risk, which is statistically significant. Therefore, cadmium is a risk factor for lung cancer.

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Introduction: Shift work combined with the nature of duty in occupations such as nursing can lead to the spread of psychological consequences and disorders in nurses. The aim of this study was investigating the cognitive and psycho-social consequences associated with shift work in nurses.
Material and Methods: This study was performed in 7 hospitals in 2023. The study population was 636 nurses. Data collection tool in this study was part of a comprehensive questionnaire that translated and modified by Choobineh et al. The data were analyzed using IBM SPSS software v. 22.0, and significance level in this study was considered 0.05.
Results: Out of 636 studied nurses, 474 were shift workers and 162 were day workers. The means of age and work experience of the study population were 37.26±5.25 years and 11.60±4.78 years, respectively. The results showed that the prevalence of psychological consequences in the shift workers group was significantly more than day work nurses (p<0.05). The highest prevalence of cognitive and psycho-social consequences in shift work nurses were related to fatigue (39.66%), insomnia (36.08) and decreased sleep quality (35.44%), respectively.
Conclusion: The findings of this study indicated that the parameters of the shift work system, working hours per week, education and hospital ward are the most important factors affecting the prevalence of cognitive and psycho-social consequences and sleep disorders in the nurses. Therefore, it is suggested that a separate program should be designed and implemented for each hospital ward to control and manage the psychological consequences associated with shift work in nurses.

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Introduction: Microperforated panels (MPPs), often considered as potential replacements for fiber absorbers, have a significant limitation in their absorption bandwidth, particularly around the natural frequency. This study aims to address this challenge by focusing on the optimization and modeling of sound absorption in a manufactured MPP.
Material and Methods: The study employed Response Surface Methodology (RSM) with a Central Composite Design (CCD) approach using Design Expert software to determine the average normal absorption coefficient within the frequency range of 125 to 2500 Hz. Numerical simulations using the Finite Element Method (FEM) were conducted to validate the RSM findings. An MPP absorber was then designed, manufactured, and evaluated for its normal absorption coefficient using an impedance tube. Additionally, a theoretical Equivalent Circuit Model (ECM) was utilized to predict the normal absorption coefficient for the manufactured MPP.
Results: The optimization process revealed that setting the hole diameter to 0.3 mm, the percentage of perforation to 2.5%, and the air cavity depth behind the panel to 25 mm resulted in maximum absorption within the specified frequency range. Under these optimized conditions, the average absorption coefficient closely aligned with the predictions generated by RSM across numerical, theoretical, and laboratory assessments, demonstrating a 13.8% improvement compared to non-optimized MPPs.
Conclusion: This study demonstrates the effectiveness of using RSM to optimize the parameters affecting MPP performance. The substantial correlation between the FEM numerical model, ECM theory model, and impedance tube results positions these models as both cost-effective and reliable alternatives to conventional laboratory methods. The consistency of these models with the experimental outcomes validates their potential for practical applications.

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Introduction: The safety harness is a critical device for preventing falls from height, particularly in the construction industry. This study aimed to identify the factors contributing to the non-use of safety harnesses during work at height and to evaluate the comfort, satisfaction, and usability of these harnesses among construction workers in Tehran using a custom-designed tool.
Material and Methods: A semi-structured interview was conducted with construction workers to identify the factors influencing the non-use of safety harnesses. The collected data were analyzed using MAXQDA 10 software. Based on the results, which revealed dissatisfaction with the current safety harnesses, the levels of comfort, satisfaction, and usability were assessed using the Safety Harness Usability and Comfort Assessment Tool (SHUCAT) questionnaire.
Results: The reasons for not using safety harnesses were categorized into four main groups: management factors, worker attitudes, comfort, and harness design. These were further subdivided into 27 subgroups. The average satisfaction and comfort scores for safety harnesses were 26.8 ± 6.25, indicating that workers generally felt uncomfortable and dissatisfied with their harnesses. The average usability score was 38.70 ± 5.60, reflecting poor usability of the harnesses.
Conclusion: Improving the safety harness design could enhance workers’ comfort and satisfaction, increasing their willingness to use the equipment. Incorporating feedback from users and experts into the design process can help address the identified shortcomings and result in better product development.