Testing for protection performance and human factors in personal protective devices (PPD) can be undertaken using a standardised methodology. The standardised methodology for performance testing is used for the certification of PPD. However, it is unfortunate that methods of testing for human factors and wearability of PPD are scarce, and even the methods that do exist are not always refined or standardised. In both hot and cold environments, thermal comfort is an important user need of PPD. To test the thermal characteristics of PPD, methods providing objective data are available, yet they are not always standardised. An exception exists for insulation testing of clothing, for which standardised methods have been developed. The fit of PPD is also a priority need among wearers. Clothing fit is often tested subjectively. The objective methods developed to test the fit of PPD and clothing again require refinement and standardisation. Wearability of PPD urgently requires the development and standardisation of both objective and subjective testing methods. This paper provides insights into some testing methods on human factors of PPD that have been particularly useful over the years.

Due to the large variability in heads and faces in one population, the standard anthropometric dimensions of the head, measured from anatomical landmarks alone, may not suffice for the design of fitting headgear, e.g., helmets. To provide adequate data of the shapes and contours of the head to the designer, appropriate head models sculptured using comprehensive head dimensions, must be developed. This paper describes (a) a procedure of collecting comprehensive anthropometric data of the head using a photogrammetric method and (b) a simple sculpturing technique to reconstruct a head model of the user population

The Industrially Developing Countries (IDC) today, to a great extent, depend on Industrialized Countries (IC) for the supply of most industrial goods. An attempt has been made to ascertain the degree of design incompatibility experienced by users of these imported goods due to differences in the body sizes of people in producer and user countries. A comparative study of variations in body sizes is made from data available in literature and from anthropometric surveys. The results reveal differences in almost every part of the human body. The need for reliable anthropometric data in respect of IDC is stressed. Urgent measures are required to introduce changes in equipment, particularly for the benefit of users in IDC.

The suitability and effectiveness of four different types of British made respirators were studied with respect to comfort, convenience and fit on wearers in Sri Lanka (a developing country). Objective and subjective assessments were made to evaluate the degree of discomfort and interferences to the use of senses. The study revealed that factors such as breathing resistance, work-rate and activity period affected the physiological responses. The weight of the respirator and the skin temperature had no direct relationship with the cardiovascular stress. Positive-pressure respirators that gave lower face temperatures than negative-pressure masks gave this type of respirator an additional advantage in hot environments. Respirators that restricted jaw movement affected the speech intelligibility of the wearer. Orinasal masks restricted vision more than the other types. The problem of fit was found negligible though head and face dimensions significantly differed between the British and the Sri Lankans. Subjective assessment correlated well with objective tests.

Hotness, weight, fitting problems etc., have been found to be the chief causes of the unpopularity of industrial safety helmets in tropical environments in developing countries (DC). Some selected safety helmets manufactured in industrialized countries (IC) were modified to provide extra head ventilation and to reduce weight, in order to make them more acceptable to users in hot environments. The modified helmets were subjected to ergonomics evaluation both objectively and subjectively in the laboratory (in simulated tropical conditions) as well as in the field situation. There was evidence that white helmets had some advantages in comfort, viz. reduction of hotness, compared to the other colours, e.g. red, green etc., when worn in the presence of radiant heat in the laboratory. Ventilation holes provided at the top of the shell seemed to reduce the greenhouse effect within the helmet shell which therefore felt less uncomfortable than a fully covered helmet. Even with a small reduction of weight, such as 45 g in helmets weighing about 350g, the difference in weight was perceived by the wearers. In adapting helmets made in IC for use in tropical climates, head ventilation and low weight perception are important aspects in comfort which need to be considered. In addition to low cost, a harness material suitable for sweat absorption is required. Adjustability and sizing to fit 90% of the user population also needs to be considered in the design and manufacture of safety helmets for people in DC.

It is beyond doubt that high technology has elevated the standards of living of mankind. The modern technology created and developed to a great extent by Western or developed societies is now in great demand in Eastern and developing societies who are trying to leap-frog towards advancement. But unfortunately, in the transfer of technology, both the giver and the receiver seem to make many mistakes. A technology transferred without considering the ethnic variables in the societies and differences in the climates, has found to cause problems to the acquirer. Due to the basic human factor differences such as sizes of people, physical environment, physical capacities and organizational and cultural differences, a technology which is unadapted has found to be inappropriate, harmful, hazardous and unsuccessful. In the areas of health, working conditions, production and finance, undesirable effects have resulted through haphazard technology transfer, For a successful transfer, it is therefore stressed that technology has to be adapted or modified taking into consideration the technological, anthropological and socio-economic factors of the acquiring population

Sri Lanka has declared 1996 as the 'Year of Productivity'. With a significant share of her national income being diverted for defence and security, productivity development becomes supreme for Sri Lanka's economic survival. Ergonomics or human factors which is a science well known for improving working conditions, is hardly known in Sri Lanka. Ergonomics applications enhance job satisfaction and productivity and maximise the product or systems quality by improving usability. A recent survey of three randomly selected large industrial work establishments in Sri Lanka revealed that much mismatch exists between workers and the machinery they are forced to work with, which hampers productivity and causes friction in the work places. A series of lectures conducted by an ergonomist among different professional groups and university students helped to create considerable awareness of the science of ergonomics. The participants were convinced that ergonomics can contribute immensely to productivity development in the country. Some strategies for ergonomics education in Sri Lanka which can also be adopted in other similar industrially developing countries are proposed.

Slips and falls on icy roads often result in fractures or sprains and is a major problem in Nordic countries. Walking trials by 25 subjects wearing four types of winter shoes on five different icy walking surfaces provided subjective and objective measures of tendency to slip and number of slips, respectively. Since friction is a major determinant of a slip, the influence of material spread on icy surfaces, the surface temperatures and the shoe soling characteristics versus the Coefficient of Friction (COF) of the shoes were measured. Sand and gravel on icy roads had positive effects on improving COF. The study revealed that the aetiology of slips and falls is multi-faceted and attempts to solve the problem must adopt a systems approach. Perception of risk, aging, training, experience and postural balance are other factors to be considered in preventing slips and falls. Future research should concentrate on the degree of impact of each factor to the aetiology of slips and falls, which can help to decide priority action in preventing slips and falls.

Unless the basic user needs are satisfied in safety helmets, it is difficult to get workers to wear them habitually and for long periods. Hotness, weight and fitting problems are major wearability issues that require improvements. The enormous need for an optimally designed helmet in China prompted a case study on comfort aspects in helmets. The subjective impressions of the wearers of test helmets provided useful information for design changes to improve comfort. The heat transfer measurements through helmets indicated the need for ventilation openings to be provided on the shell of plastic helmets. Due to the advantage of low weight and good ventilation, it is recommended that cane helmets be further developed to improve protection, wearability and durability, and subsequently be produced in large scale

Apparel exports bring in sizeable foreign income to Sri Lanka. To protect and promote this industry is a paramount need. This can be carried out by applying Human Factors/Ergonomics (HFE) which has proved to control negative effects at work places. This paper reports a case study which describes the demands and benefits of HFE in MAS Holdings which owns a large share of the apparel industry in Sri Lanka.The study consisted of walk through observation survey, a questionnaire survey and ergonomic work place analysis followed by a training programme to selected employees in three companies.Positive responses to questionnaires revealed good ergonomic practices in the work places surveyed. Ergonomically unfit chairs and potential hazards e.g. exposure to noise and hot environment were detected. It is seen that MAS have introduced strategies originated by Toyota Production System viz. 5S, Kaizen, six sigma etc., which are in fact ergonomic methods. A progressive project MAS boast of viz. ‘MAS Operating System’ (MOS) empowers training and development to employees.MAS Holdings has adequately realized the benefits of applying HFE as evident by the number of awards received. Relevant companies were advised to take appropriate corrective measures to control the potential hazards.

Past studies have shown large differences in body size between people of Industrialized Countries (ICs) and Industrially Developing Countries (IDCs). These differences can have negative effects on the usage of technology which IDCs today acquire to a great extent from ICs. At the same time, the number of students from IDCs seeking education and training in universities in ICs is increasing. This paper reports on the impact of human factors differences particularly body size differences between foreign and local students on the use of university facilities, based on anthropometric and questionnaire surveys carried out on a small scale by foreign graduate students of Lulea University, Sweden. The study revealed large differences in body sizes between local and foreign students. The questionnaire survey of foreign students showed that there are other significant human factors differences such as the use of a foreign language, viz. Swedish which is unique to Scandinavia, and the exposure to long cold winters. Whether these differences in human factors influence the acquisition of knowledge or learning capacity of foreign students is worth further investigation.

Customer Demand Uncertainty is a big obstacle for companies to sustain their competitiveness in the market that responding customer requirements becomes essential. Besides companies need to consider also their cost structures which should have in high consistency to survive as well. Lean and Agile terminologies have been investigated so far in cost and responsiveness to customer manner within internal system perspective i.e. product volume and variety. This thesis aims to link lean manufacturing steps with customer demand uncertainty condition following information systems, marketing issues and human factor for management level in framework that firm’s (manufacturer) current condition can be tested according to answers from questionnaires and implementation of assessment tables since it is used as guideline and provides on which level firms are in demand uncertainty, lean and agile manufacturing. This support enables to firms to create their own flexible leagile decoupling point according to their interior characteristics and capabilities in the market.

Purpose - The goal of this research is to demonstrate that financial performance of current year is dependent to the amount of maturity of the supply chain processes. This aim is achieved through considering current supply chain process maturities of the firm together with financial performance of prior years.

Research question - How supply chain process maturities in relation to financial performance of prior years are related to current financial performance  

Methodology - The deductive approach has been followed to use theories and literatures to build the hypothetical model in order to test it empirically.

This quantitative research is benefited from the primary data of Swedish steel SMEs including the secondary data from financial ratios from Scandinavian financial database

Findings - The effect between supply chain process maturity and current year financial performance, the effect between prior year financial performance and current year financial performance, and also total effect of prior year financial performance and supply chain process maturity on current year financial performance proved empirically.

This bachelor´s thesis has been carried out at Parker Hannifin Manufacturing Sweden AB in Trollhattan. The thesis presents concept development for a workspace in a manufacturing group that processes details with a maximum weight of 13 kg. The details are moved between trolleys and the milling machine center Heckert 4, all work is performed on a height-adjustable floor to give the operator the right conditions for working with the machine. The affected workspace is currently not ergonomically adapted for the operators when ergonomic risks in the form of manual lifting, rotations and bent working positions occur in the daily work. The purpose of this thesis is therefore to improve the workspace of the milling machine center Heckert 4 in such a way that it becomes more ergonomic and risk-free for the operators. The goal of this thesis was to generate a concept for a more ergonomic workspace and to prevent the risk of injuries forthe operators.

The work began with information being collected in the form of observations and interviews. Through this, a description of the current situation could be established, and a list of needs and requirements was put together. A risk analysis was carried out on the current situation and contributed to additional requirements in the list. Subsequently, ideas were generated for solutions to the problems that were highlighted in the current situation description. These were then combined into concepts that contained solutions for the ergonomic risks that were earlier identified. With a concept screening matrix, the concepts were screened down and assessed against the current situation. The highest ranked concepts were further evaluated in a concept scoring matrix that ultimately resulted in a winning concept. The winning concept was further modeled and improved.

The resulting concept that is presented to Parker for continued work is concept I+. Concept I+ consists of two movable surfaces located on the height-adjustable floor at each side of Heckert 4. Two counters are located on either side of the floor to ease the work for the operators. One counter is equipped with a tool stand with space for the tool kittingtrays to be used to kit the necessary tools.

The concept I+ reduces ergonomic risks by allowing the parts to be pushed instead of manual lifting in combination with turning of the torso. As the details can be placed on the benches when the floor is raised, the bending act that the operators previously performed is eliminated. If Parker decides to continue developing this concept, they will have a more risk-free workspace with improved ergonomics and reduced risk of injuries.

Since the manufacturing industry is heading for a higher level of customization and implementation of Lean, at the same time as outmoded traditional costing methods is still used in modern industrial organizations, it is interesting to explore the relations between production flows of customized character, Lean and different costing methods.

The purpose of this thesis is to increase the cost precision in the preliminary calculation for a product flow of customer adapted and Lean character, and to describe a generalizable work process for this. The purpose is also to develop general recommendations regarding the choice of costing methods by, on a basis of the character of this production, a comparative analysis of costing methods (traditional costing methods, ABC and Lean accounting/VSC). Through a literature study and a case study of a production flow with a high level of variety and influence from Lean, both of the purposes has been fulfilled.

The case study has been accomplished through interviews and observations. Problems and positive elements that according to literature characterize the production of customized products have also been found in the case company. That connection has been used to support the analysis of the relations. The relations between costing methods, Lean and production flows of customized character has been analyzed through a comparison between findings in literature and results from the case study. It has been found that Value Stream Costing (VSC) is the most appropriate costing method for production flows of customized products that has reached a high maturity level of Lean.

The preliminary costing is dependent on reliable operation times which have been produced on the case study company, while a general work process has been developed. The operation times were in this case identified through video recordings of the production moments and a following analysis in the software AviX. By following the general work process that has been developed, useful material for preliminary costing and continuous improvements in the production flow will be obtained.

Since research is showing that Lean should be implemented in the whole organization if full advantages of Lean shall be obtained, VSC is found to be an ideal costing method to replace outmoded, traditional costing methods at the same time as this costing method simplifies costing in production flows of customized character.

All young persons in Sweden have to complete 9 years of basic compulsory schooling. More than 95 percent opt for an additional 2 or 3 years of upper secondary school, after which they have free access to further education. The system of adult education is designed to bridge the gaps between generations and to provide opportunities for recurrent, lifelong education. The traditionally strong position of adult education is partly tied to the large number of providers. Formal adult education comprises basic education operated by authorities through government grants and municipal adult education. Popular adult educational activities are studies at folk high schools or under the aegis of adult educational associations. Labor market training takes the form of specially organized vocational training or uses the regular educational system. Personnel education and inservice training are educational activities aimed at employees and organized on the employers' terms and at their expense in companies and national or local authorities. The government has tried to establish the necessary preconditions for adult educational activities, including adult education in all municipalities, educational financing, educational leave, studies as part of the renewal of working life, and adult education as an expression of general welfare policy

Swedish adult education can be divided into three major periods. The concept of self-education symbolizes the first period. Study circles and folk high schools provided alternative learning options for adults. The second period can be characterized by a diversified system of publicly organized adult education. Special attention was given to broadening the options for adults with short prior educaiton to study during working hours. In the third period policy decisions were taken to open up for a more flexible organization of adult education. Parliament decided to create so-called renewal funds and 6 billion kronor were used for corporate learning strategies during five years starting from 1986. The next decade will be a crossroads for swedish adult education. To-day the main proposal is to change the legal status of the employment training board from a public agency to a free enterprise in the competence market.

Cooperative education, experiential learning, and personal knowledge are addressed in nine conference papers. Kenneth Abrahamsson considers the nature of experiential learning, the recognition of prior learning, educational design and the assessment of quality, and policy and practice for integrating learning and experience. Harry Hienemann considers the history of cooperative education, the evaluation of outcomes integrating classroom and work experience, and mandatory cooperative education at Laguardia Community College, New York. What is known about the educational effects and economic consequences of programs that recognize prior learning is reviewed by Alan P. Wagner. Solomon Arbeiter examines a model that can be used to evaluate students in programs recognizing prior learning, as well as the award of credit or advanced standing. Douglas M. Windham evaluates the economic effects of recognizing prior learning and considers the implications for institutional policy. The nature and value of relevant work experience in the education of primary school teachers is considered by Hannu Perha, followed by Staffan Larsson's review of five qualitatively different conceptions of experience as viewed by teachers. Maureen L. Pope suggests that a cultural transmission approach to teaching and knowledge dominates science education and that this has neglected the role of personal experience in the construction of knowledge. Erich Leitner examines the implications of cooperation between the University of Klagenfurt, Austria, and the Austrian Workers Union. Implications for the university pertain to the philosophy of higher education and innovations