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Abstract. There is a growing concern these days that children are carrying way too much weight on their backs. School students are at risk of developing Musculoskeletal Disorder or possibly long term back pain due to the frequent exposure of carrying heavy schoolbags. In Malaysia, this problem is currently an overlooked issue as not many are aware of the importance of maximum allowable load that should be carried by school students together with proper posture and how all these will affect the children in the future. An interview was conducted based on 90 school students of age 7 to 9 year old regarding the body part discomfort that they experience while carrying the schoolbag. Furthermore, the weight of the schoolbag and the student's height and weight was taken for this study. The responses were classified based on age and gender as the anthropometry differs on ages and gender. A statistical analysis is carried out with the results obtained. The finding of the statistical analysis showed that the prevalence of neck and back pain does exist among 7-9 year old school students and almost 90 of them are affected. Among the main problems are that the schoolbag design, the incorrect ways of carrying the schoolbag, the excessive weight of the schoolbag and the prolonged duration of constantly carrying the schoolbag. Necessary action should be taken to overcome these problems.

Work at fossil-fuelled power plant is physically strenuous and could expose workers to Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorder (WMSD) such as Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS), low-back pain (LBP), or shoulder tendonitis. WMSDs are considered as a leading factor in disabilities and absenteeism, reduced production, and increased costs. WMSDs in the workplace have been studied extensively and it is a common notion that the work itself is a major cause of MSDs. Work environment contributed to these types of disorders and are made worse by the working conditions or workplace risk factors. All those mentioned common occupational injuries are related with the ergonomic field of study. By implementing appropriate ergonomic interventions, the above-mentioned work-related injuries and resulting disability is potentially preventable. The major workforce in these plants are either associated with handling of machineries or serving as control room operators. Hence, this category of manpower is subjected to physical stress and workplace injuries if there is no form of ergonomic interventions. Previous studies have shown that common tasks performed by workers in the electric power industry often involve the use of a manual tool and revealed that less than 1% of the general population has sufficient strength to manually perform the task resulting in decreased productivity and worker injury. Departing from the aforementioned need, this study embarks to assess exposure to risk factors for WMSDs and to provide a basis for ergonomic intervention at the workplace. Therefore, by focusing on health and safety matter of workers at our power plants, we are actually applying a form of business risk management (BRM) to consider possible impacts of related foreseeable significant risks on any electricity utilities performance. It is envisaged that this study could identify the ergonomics interventions which will reduce staff medical bills, compensation, and lost time injury from MSDs.

Nowadays, detection of driver's comfort and fatigue is a major concern in vehicle design, road safety and transportation research. Driving tasks require full attention from the drivers while controlling the vehicle. This study aims to analyse the driver's performance via three types of physiological measurements in a simulated condition. An integrated approach by combining subjective and objective methods were used in this study. There are Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS), Electroencephalogram (EEG) and Heart Rate (HR). Twelve participants were recruited to evaluate their responses in 25-minutes of driving activities under monotonous road by using suburban area in simulated condition. The findings showed that there are differences in physiological responses for this driving session. KSS value, HR and event-related power modulation at Beta activity shows higher values at the end of the driving activity compared to the beginning and mid of driving. In conclusion, the road environment, driving condition and driving duration plays significant role in determining drivers' response. This study can be used as reference to drivers and related agencies by taking into account the physiological effects of driver's performance based on road complexity and driving duration.

Driving vehicles has become more complex. Thus, drivers who are not engaged with any non-related driving activities, that is performing in-vehicle secondary task, are unusual nowadays. Statistics also shows the higher number of crashes come from distracted driving. In addition, currently, there is limited review have been done to compile and review the physiological method, driving distraction and its effect on the driver. Therefore, this paper aims to review the effect of driver’s in-vehicle distraction and secondary task during driving on driver’s health and safety. A systematic search was conducted on the basis of the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews by using PRISMA guidelines. Any criteria were imposed for the included sample. The search was focused on in-vehicle secondary task and distraction. Results showed that 21 articles investigated the major ability for in-vehicle secondary task distraction using physiological measures. Findings showed a significant effect of the in-vehicle secondary task and distraction on driver’s condition. Drivers’ characteristics such as their experience and age are also factors in determining the effect of distraction and secondary tasks on their condition. However, further studies are needed to understand the physiological effect of secondary task on young driver’s condition due to the relatively higher number of crash rates from those at a young age.