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Eyesight testing
Offices, Shops and Railway Premises The Report on the working of the Offices, Shops and Railway Premises Act during 1972 (HMSO 36½p) says that the extensive redevelopment of many town and city centres, coupled with the acceptance by occupiers, architects and builders of the standards laid down by the Act,has made a significant contribution to the improvement in working conditions. Nevertheless, the Report makes specific criticisms or architects and designers. On overcrowding, it points out that in new building, conditions are mixed. Some architects still tend to work to the minimum standards required by the Act. Architects and designers often overlook ventilation. The movement of removeable partitioning can cut off parts of offices from fresh air supplies. Many architects, striving to create contemporary designs, do not appear to be conscious of the need to protect open sides of staircases or to provide guards to prevent anyone accidentally slipping through the space between the handrails and raised floor areas. There were only 15 fatal accidents in 1972, compared with an average of 29 since 1965. Although all fatal accidents are reported to local authorities, estimates suggest that as many as 75% of notfflable accidents are not reported to the enforcing authorities. Suitable working temperatures are difficult to maintain in modern glass and concrete buildings. The Report suggests more technological development in non-reflective and glareresistant glass, The most common
causes of ventilation problems are windows being bricked-up or barred for security reasons or windows sealed with paint. Often, traffic noise is blamed for windows being kept permanently shut° The Report singles out employees' footwear for particular criticism in relation to falls which accounted for over a third of all notified accidents, Investigations revealed that many fashion shoes and boots are dangerous in the working environment. Investigations of accidents where fork-lift trucks had been involved revealed poor standards of driving and behaviour, It is commonly assumed that if a person is licensed to drive a car he is competent to drive a fork-lift truck with no further instruction or training, but the Report states that no person should be permitted to operate fork-lift trucks until he has been thoroughly trained and until the adequacy of his training has been verified by a suitable test. The Report points to the hidden danger of chemical fumes from duplicating and photographic machines. Frequently placed in small badly ventilated offices, they are often operated by staff who are unaware of the health hazards from the speeialised solvents. The solvents are often sold under proprietary trade names and precautions are rarely taken against the fumes emitted.
Anthropometry and anatomy Work place and equipment design Head gear design Available muscular torque
254
AppliedErgonomics December
Protective equipment Over a dozen members of the International Organization for Standardization are working to develop guidelines on protective clothing and equipment. This work is the province of ISO/TC 94, and one of the projects is designed to provide interntionally accepted rules and elementary precautions for users of special clothing for protection against heat and fire. A special subcommittee of TC 94 has already developed a Draft International Standard in this area - DIS 2801. The document is intended to be understood by people without any scientific background and for use as a check-list by those responsible for safety requirements and recommendations. Other subcommittes of TC 94 are engaged in standards programmes involving protective helmets, safety bootsand shoes, industrial safety belts, protective gloves and life jackets.
Readability of printed information Four reports have recently been published by the Readability of Print Research Unit, Royal College of Art, 6a Cromwell Place, London SW7.
ERS Conference The 1974 annual conference of the Ergonomics Research Society will be held at King's College, Cambridge, from 2 - 5 April. At the time of going to press, the programme was expected to include the following sessions: Ergonomic approach to systems engineering Small power presses Mining Ground - to - air communication Aircraft head-up displays Air traffic control
Price £1 each, post free. They are: 1) The relative effectiveness of ten alternative systems of typographic coding in bibliographical material; 2) A report on the relative legibility of alternative letter shapes; 3) A comparison of the effectiveness of selected typographic variations (all by Herbert Spencer, Linda Reynolds and Brian Coe); and 4) A report on a system of computer-generated alphanumeric characters (by David Cranch).
Health, travel and human efficiency Long distance travel Rail travel Development of back pain in industry Validity of measurement techniques Physiological monitoring Psychological and physiological measures of stress Use of statistics Design of visual information Influence of machines Effect on decision making
Advanced Conference Facilities The conference complex at The Heathrow Hotel's York Theatre features delegate seating incorporating electronic consoles and an audio-visual installation, comprising a comprehensivelyequipped colour television studio, monochrome closed-circuit television network, film projection equipment, document scanning, both stereo and qua draphonic sound reinforcement systems, public address systems, and internal audio communications network. Each of the 262 delegate seats has a built-in console facing the delegate. This unit incorporates a 230 mm (9 in) television monitor, microphone, computer-controlled delegate response facilities, simultaneous translation earphones and folding desk. Three divisions within EMI Sound Vision Equipment Ltd were involved.
Eyesight testing Further information can be obtained from Mr. G. Simmonds, 8 Claybrick Avenue, Hockley, Essex.
1973
The Dioptron is a completely automatic instrument for the routine testing of common eyesight defects, which measures the sphere cylinder
causes of ventilation problems are windows being bricked-up or barred for security reasons or windows sealed with paint. Often, traffic noise is blamed for windows being kept permanently shut° The Report singles out employees' footwear for particular criticism in relation to falls which accounted for over a third of all notified accidents, Investigations revealed that many fashion shoes and boots are dangerous in the working environment. Investigations of accidents where fork-lift trucks had been involved revealed poor standards of driving and behaviour, It is commonly assumed that if a person is licensed to drive a car he is competent to drive a fork-lift truck with no further instruction or training, but the Report states that no person should be permitted to operate fork-lift trucks until he has been thoroughly trained and until the adequacy of his training has been verified by a suitable test. The Report points to the hidden danger of chemical fumes from duplicating and photographic machines. Frequently placed in small badly ventilated offices, they are often operated by staff who are unaware of the health hazards from the speeialised solvents. The solvents are often sold under proprietary trade names and precautions are rarely taken against the fumes emitted.
Anthropometry and anatomy Work place and equipment design Head gear design Available muscular torque
254
AppliedErgonomics December
Protective equipment Over a dozen members of the International Organization for Standardization are working to develop guidelines on protective clothing and equipment. This work is the province of ISO/TC 94, and one of the projects is designed to provide interntionally accepted rules and elementary precautions for users of special clothing for protection against heat and fire. A special subcommittee of TC 94 has already developed a Draft International Standard in this area - DIS 2801. The document is intended to be understood by people without any scientific background and for use as a check-list by those responsible for safety requirements and recommendations. Other subcommittes of TC 94 are engaged in standards programmes involving protective helmets, safety bootsand shoes, industrial safety belts, protective gloves and life jackets.
Readability of printed information Four reports have recently been published by the Readability of Print Research Unit, Royal College of Art, 6a Cromwell Place, London SW7.
ERS Conference The 1974 annual conference of the Ergonomics Research Society will be held at King's College, Cambridge, from 2 - 5 April. At the time of going to press, the programme was expected to include the following sessions: Ergonomic approach to systems engineering Small power presses Mining Ground - to - air communication Aircraft head-up displays Air traffic control
Price £1 each, post free. They are: 1) The relative effectiveness of ten alternative systems of typographic coding in bibliographical material; 2) A report on the relative legibility of alternative letter shapes; 3) A comparison of the effectiveness of selected typographic variations (all by Herbert Spencer, Linda Reynolds and Brian Coe); and 4) A report on a system of computer-generated alphanumeric characters (by David Cranch).
Health, travel and human efficiency Long distance travel Rail travel Development of back pain in industry Validity of measurement techniques Physiological monitoring Psychological and physiological measures of stress Use of statistics Design of visual information Influence of machines Effect on decision making
Advanced Conference Facilities The conference complex at The Heathrow Hotel's York Theatre features delegate seating incorporating electronic consoles and an audio-visual installation, comprising a comprehensivelyequipped colour television studio, monochrome closed-circuit television network, film projection equipment, document scanning, both stereo and qua draphonic sound reinforcement systems, public address systems, and internal audio communications network. Each of the 262 delegate seats has a built-in console facing the delegate. This unit incorporates a 230 mm (9 in) television monitor, microphone, computer-controlled delegate response facilities, simultaneous translation earphones and folding desk. Three divisions within EMI Sound Vision Equipment Ltd were involved.
Eyesight testing Further information can be obtained from Mr. G. Simmonds, 8 Claybrick Avenue, Hockley, Essex.
1973
The Dioptron is a completely automatic instrument for the routine testing of common eyesight defects, which measures the sphere cylinder