This study has been conducted in a new constructed building of NIOSH Malaysia located at Bandar Baru Bangi, Selangor. The goal of the case study is focusing on the level of Indoor Air Contaminants (IAC) including chemical contaminants within three consequent stages which are before furniture install, after furniture install and during one month occupancy. This study was divided the sampling area into two main facilities which are training and office setting. The contaminants has been measured consist of sixparameters such as Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Total Volatile Organic Compounds (TVOC), Formaldehyde, Respirable Particulates (PM10) and Ozone. The result of Carbon Monoxide (CO), Total Volatile Organic Compound (TVOC), Respirable Particulates (PM10) and Ozone show an increasing trend across the three sampling stages. The Formaldehyde show an increasing trend in the first and second stages but were reduced significantly the last stage of sampling. These finding indicates that furniture and fittings installed might be a potential sources of indoor air contaminants. The management should be aware to their indoor air status to protect the occupant from the risk of unwanted exposure especially during the early stage of building occupancy.
Matched MeSH terms: Interior Design and Furnishings
Work-Related Hand Injuries (WRHIs) may result in disability and diminished productivity and cause economic impacts not only to the individual, worker’s families and industries, but to the local community as well.
Objectives: To determine the prevalence of severe Work-Related Hand Injuries (WRHIs) and factors associated at a tertiary hospital.
Methods: A pre-tested validated questionnaire was used to obtain data. All patients 18 years and above with WRHIs seen at a tertiary hospital between January 2010 and June 2010 were included in the study. Data was analysed using SPSS version 18.
Results: Out of the 297 industrial accidents, 74 (24.9%) were WRHIs. Among those with WRHIs, (47.3%) of them had severe hand injuries. The overall mean age of the respondents was 30.36 (± 9.54 SD) years. Majority (82.5%) of the injuries occurred between Mondays to Friday. Majority (70.1%) of hand injuries were caused by machine and 48.6% of the hand injuries occurred when the hand was caught in the operating part of the machine. Majority (62.1%) of the respondents had fingers’ injuries and 32.4% had open fracture. Bivariate analysis showed that there was significant association between severity of WRHIs and locations of injury, mechanisms of injury, sources of injury and sectors of industry (p < 0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that WRHIs was significantly associated with source of injury and sector of industry. Respondents with hand injury resulted while operating on mechanical machine was 26 times more likely to report severe WRHIs than those with other sources of their hand injury like (sharp tool, heavy door, and wet floor). Respondents working in metal-machinery industries were eight times more likely to report severe WRHIs than those who working in other sectors of industry like (wood-furniture, constriction, food preparing, service and automotive).
Conclusions: WRHIs contributed to 24.9% of all industrial accidents seen at the emergency department and orthopaedic clinic and 47.3% of the respondents with WRHIs had severe hand injuries. Severity of WRHIs was significantly associated with sources of injury and sectors of industry.
Study site: emergency room, orthopaedic ward, general surgery ward and the orthopaedic outpatient clinic of a tertiary hospital
Matched MeSH terms: Interior Design and Furnishings
This study of the implementation of enterprise resource planning (ERP) in a customer driven environment analyzes the critical success factors throughout the initialization phase. The dynamic and stochastic nature of customer driven environments results in a massive workload of product structure configuration tasks related to new arrivals on one hand and a constant updating process on the other. Meanwhile, the development and implementation of an ERP system was studied from the very first step (i.e. the feasibly study for implementing an ERP) to the last step (i.e. testing the outputs of the implemented system) in an office furniture company for three years. The study involved analyzing of the data collected that were from a series of interviews, as well as direct observations and reviewing of the company’s documents. Based on the output of the analysis phase, a top-down hierarchical analysis of goals and CSFs were carried out according to the CSF analysis method. Three top level objectives included reducing project failure risk, project cost, and project time. Analysing the primary results of the study (i.e. activity model, data flow diagram DFD of different levels, system problems and potential solutions descriptions, etc.) revealed that the critical phase of the implementation project would be product structure initialization and this should be taken into consideration as the bottleneck of production planning in customer driven environment, which dramatically reduced the ERP efficiency in this kind of environment. Moreover, initializing issues of the same process is the main obstacle to the success of the ERP implementation, as it considerably raises the project failure risk and cost. Therefore, the simplification, facilitation, and automation of the PSCM process, which lead to acceleration of this process, are the most significant success factors for the ERP implementation projects in customer driven environment.
Matched MeSH terms: Interior Design and Furnishings
Composting of Palm Oil Mill Sludge (POMS) with sawdust was conducted in natural aerated reactor. Composting using natural aerated reactor is cheap and simple. The goal of this study is to observe the potential of composting process and utilizing compost as media for growing Cymbopogun citratus, one of Malaysia herbal plant. The highest maximum temperature achieved is about 40 degrees C and to increase temperature bed, more biodegradable substrate needs to be added. The pH value decrease along the process with final pH compost is acidic (pH 5.7). The highest maximum organic losses are about 50% with final C/N ratio of the compost is about 19. Final compost also showed some fertilizing value but need to be adjusted to obtain an ideal substrate. Addition of about 70% sandy soil causes highest yield and excellent root development for C. citratus in potted media. Beside that, compost from POMS-sawdust also found to have fertilizer value and easy to handle. Composting of POMS with sawdust shows potential as an alternative treatment to dispose and recycle waste components.
Matched MeSH terms: Interior Design and Furnishings
Personal computers are one of the commonest office tools in Malaysia today. Their usage, even for three hours per day, leads to a health risk of developing Occupational Overuse Syndrome (OOS), Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS), low back pain, tension headaches and psychosocial stress. The study was conducted to investigate how a multiethnic society in Malaysia is coping with these problems that are increasing at a phenomenal rate in the west. This study investigated computer usage, awareness of ergonomic modifications of computer furniture and peripherals, symptoms of CVS and risk of developing OOS. A cross-sectional questionnaire study of 136 computer users was conducted on a sample population of university students and office staff. A 'Modified Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) for office work' technique was used for evaluation of OOS. The prevalence of CVS was surveyed incorporating a 10-point scoring system for each of its various symptoms. It was found that many were using standard keyboard and mouse without any ergonomic modifications. Around 50% of those with some low back pain did not have an adjustable backrest. Many users had higher RULA scores of the wrist and neck suggesting increased risk of developing OOS, which needed further intervention. Many (64%) were using refractive corrections and still had high scores of CVS commonly including eye fatigue, headache and burning sensation. The increase of CVS scores (suggesting more subjective symptoms) correlated with increase in computer usage spells. It was concluded that further onsite studies are needed, to follow up this survey to decrease the risks of developing CVS and OOS amongst young computer users.
Matched MeSH terms: Interior Design and Furnishings
The study aimed at reducing the occupational health and safety problems faced by the manual component insertion operators. Subjective and objective assessments, and direct observations were made in the printed circuit assembly factory. Simple and low-cost ergonomic interventions were implemented, that is, repairing chairs, reducing high workloads, assigning operators to a maximum of 2 workstations, confining machines that emitted bad smell and much noise, and providing finger work aids. The results of the interventions were reductions in operators' work discomforts, that is, chair discomfort (by 90%), high work stress, and discomfort due to profound change in their workstations. Their health hazards were also eliminated, that is, inhalation of toxic fumes, exposure to too much noise, and pain due to pressing sharp components.
Matched MeSH terms: Interior Design and Furnishings
Some numerical methods for solving diffusion-convection equations in two dimensional space are formulated. Iterative scheme for each method is studied and numerical test to model problem is conducted. Comparison of methods is given in table form.
Beberapa kaedah berangka bagi menyelesaikan persamaan resapan-olakan dalam ruang dua dimensi telah dirumuskan. Skema lelaran untuk setiap satunya dikaji dan pengujian berangka kepada masalah model dilakukan. Perbandingan antara kaedah telah diberikan secara berjadual.
Matched MeSH terms: Interior Design and Furnishings
BACKGROUND: The prevalence and morbidity of asthma vary greatly among different ethnic communities and geographical locations, but the roles of environmental and genetic factors are not fully understood. The differences in prevalence of adult asthma among Chinese, Malay, and Indian ethnic groups in Singapore were examined, and the extent to which these could be explained by personal and environmental factors were investigated.
METHODS: A stratified disproportionate random sample (n = 2868) of Chinese (n = 1018), Malays (n = 967), and Indians (n = 883) of both sexes was drawn from households in five public housing estates, and an interviewer administered questionnaire was used to determine cumulative and current prevalence of "physician diagnosed asthma" (symptoms with a physician diagnosis of asthma).
RESULTS: Lifetime cumulative prevalence (standardised to the general population) of "physician diagnosed asthma" was 4.7% in men and 4.3% in women; 12 month period prevalences were 2.4% and 2.0%, respectively. Cumulative prevalence of asthma was significantly higher in Indians (6.6%) and Malays (6.0%) than in Chinese (3.0%); period prevalences of asthma were 4.5% in Indians, 3.3% in Malays, and 0.9% in Chinese. Ownership of cats or dogs was more frequent in Malays (15.4%) and Indians (11.2%) than in Chinese (8.8%). Rugs and carpets were also more frequently used by Malays (52.2%) and Indians (40.7%) than by Chinese (8.9%). Current smoking prevalences were higher in Malays (27.3%) than in Indians (19.4%) and Chinese (23.0%). Malays and Indians did not have higher rates of atopy (11.1% and 15.2%, respectively) than Chinese (15.4%). Adjustment for these factors in multivariate analyses reduced the greater odds of asthma in Malays and Indians, but not to a significant extent.
CONCLUSIONS: There are ethnic differences in the prevalence of asthma in Singapore which are not entirely explained by differences in smoking, atopy, or other risk factors. Other unmeasured environmental factors or genetic influences are likely to account for residual differences in the prevalence of asthma.
Matched MeSH terms: Interior Design and Furnishings