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An effective safety management requires attention to human factors as well as system components which make risky or safe situations at technical components. This study evaluates and analyze ergonomic behaviors in order to select the best work shift group in an Iranian process industry, in 2010.The methodology was based on the Ergonomic Behavior Sampling (EBS), and TOPSIS method. After specifying the unergonomic behaviors and with reference to the results of a pilot study, a sample of 1755 was determined, with a sampling accuracy of 5% and confidence level of 95%. However, in order to gain more confidence, 2631 observations were collected. The results indicate that 43.6% of workers' behaviors were unergonomic. The most frequent unergonomic behavior was amusing of legs while load lifting with 83.01% of total unergonomic behaviors observations. Using TOPSIS method, the most effective shift group and the least attractive alternatives for intervention were selected in this company. Findings declare high number of unergonomic behaviors. Catastrophic consequences of accidents in petrochemical industry necessitate attention to workers' ergonomic behaviors in the workplace and promotion of them.

BackgroundSince the presence of a co-driver can be considered as a companion, partner, or friend for a driver through eliminating driver's loneliness, it plays a significant role in health and safety of drivers. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of co-drivers on depression and occupational stress on male truck drivers.MethodsThis study was an interventional case-control study. Seventy truck drivers were selected and divided into two groups: case (33 truck drivers with co-drivers) and control (37 truck drivers without co-drivers). Two Goldberg depression inventories (for evaluating driver's depression) and the Karasek job content questionnaire (for evaluating driver's job stress) were used to collect data which were completed by interview.ResultsThe results showed that job content values for the case group were higher in all dimensions except job nature. The comparison of the percentages showed significant difference between two groups. Depression rate in drivers with co-driver is truly less than depression rate in drivers without co-driver. There was significant positive relationship between dimensions of job content and depression rate.ConclusionAccording to the results of this study, it can be claimed that a co-driver decreases stress and loneliness of drivers, as well as increases work performance and job satisfaction, and, in turn, leads to a decrease in job-related depression.

One of the most important ways to prevent accidents is to consider safety climate or culture. Moreover, some studies suggest that behavior contributes to 86%-96% of all injuries. This cross-sectional study took place in an Iranian petrochemical company in 2010. Vinodkumar and Bhasi's safety climate questionnaire and an ergonomic behavior sampling checklist were the data collection tools. Cronbach's α for questionnaire reliability was .928. With reference to the results of a pilot study, a sample of 1755 was determined for behavior sampling. We used principal component analysis (PCA) to derive the coefficient of paths in the path model and the Anderson-Rabin method to calculate factor scores. The results showed that safety climate was an effective predictor of ergonomic behavior (p < .01). They also showed the importance of decreasing the number of workers with negative safety climate. Moreover, it is necessary to promote workers' ergonomic behaviors in the workplace.