What is it about?
With the development of underground spaces, a significant number of workers are entering these environments, facing occupational hazards much higher than those experienced by above-ground workers. An underground workplace (UGW) is a complex system comprising people, the environment, and equipment. However, the research on UGW from a systemic perspective has not received due attention. Based on occupational ergonomics, this paper constructs an evaluation index system for assessing the orderliness of UGW systems. Furthermore, it develops an evaluation model incorporating information entropy, synergetics, and Brusselator models to systematically evaluate the UGW system across three dimensions: human, equipment, and environment. This study aims to assess the operational status of the system, predict its development trends, identify adverse factors in underground workplaces, and assist policymakers in preventing, controlling, and eliminating occupational hazards in these environments.
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Why is it important?
Our findings suggest that: a) the UGW of the metro depot has not yet reached the dissipative structure and is in a medium-order state. However, the system is in the trend of orderly development. b) The entropy increase caused by the physical environment and health status is the main obstacle for the system to move toward order. The equipment configuration is an essential source of system negative entropy. c) The coordination between equipment configuration, health status, and physical environment is low, and that of work effectiveness, equipment aging and failure, and organizational environment is high.
Perspectives
As land resources become increasingly scarce, more workplaces are expected to move from above ground to underground in the future. To address this trend, it is particularly necessary to systematically study underground workplaces from the perspectives of humanism and occupational ergonomics. I hope this article will draw the attention of more researchers and policymakers to jointly improve underground working environments and enhance workers' well-being.
Jianna Li
Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Evaluation of orderliness of underground workplace system based on occupational ergonomics: A case study in guangzhou and chengdu metro depots, Work, January 2024, IOS Press,
DOI: 10.3233/wor-230017.
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