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Running Head: Environmental Science 1

Environmental Science 10

Environmental Science Assignment

Student’s Name

Professor’s Name

Date

Environmental Science.

Question 1

Ergonomics are widely applicable at the work station, made up of a chair, desk, and a desktop placed on the working desk. A typical day involves sitting in a posture at the chair that enables access to the computer keyboard and mouse for working operations that are accessed through the internet and computer manipulations. The positioning of the keyboard and mouse is one of the ergonomics employed to maintain a neutral and relaxing positioning of the shoulders, fingers, arms, and wrists. The purpose of the set-up is to reduce unwanted strain on the body parts that are in motion while using the computer. A foam pad is then placed at the keyboard front as a rest for the wrist when not typing. To minimize wrist aches or tires, ergonomic keyboards have been provided to ensure that the center is angled out, making it simpler to position the wrist in a straight posture that eliminates bending, which causes strain and tire (Karsh, 2009, p.).

The other ergonomic enhanced is the positioning of the mouse, which is placed close to the keyboard to avoid stretching the arms when using it. The ergonomic mouse that is moved by the help of a finger instead of the wrist has been installed. The finger-operated mouse minimizes wrist aches and discomfort that comes with prolonged movements of the wrist. The monitor position is then placed straight ahead and slightly below the level of the eyes. The monitor is then placed at a distance that makes reading from the screen easy such that one does not need to lean the head forward, which induces strain on the neck. Lastly, the chair is positioned in a manner that promotes good posture. The chair supports the back in an upright and relaxed arch position. The pose involves keeping muscles and bones inline without a slouch, thus eliminating the exposure of ligaments and muscles from the strain. The chairs are also adjustable to ensure that the feet rest on the ground, and the hips are parallel to the floor. For other workmates of shorter height, a footrest is provided for them to ensure that their feet are not hanging. The right posture supports a neutral spine position.

Question 2

As a safety improvement initiative, the hierarchy of ergonomics controls is employed to implement and verify the said improvements. The basic approach is the identification of a hazard and a solution brought forward to gain control of the danger. The hierarchy process involves five steps that include elimination, substitution, engineering controls, administrative controls, and PPE. The elimination level involves the physical removal of the hazards; substitution works by replacing the risk. Engineering controls partakes isolation of people from the endangering hazards while the administrative controls change the way people work, and PPE protects the workers' protective equipment.

With the above hierarchy, some gaps in our workspace that surmount to inefficiencies will be subjected to a run-through process from hazard identification to the last element. More has to be done to provide a more effective and safe environment for workers. At a work station that serves as a production line, products are delivered by a forklift in pallets at a distance of 20m from the worker's working station. The workers have to walk the distance to get the components from the pallets then retreat to their respective working stations for the assembly of the different elements. On assembling the complete products, they have to place them in different pallets some distance away from the work stations. Analysis of the assembly process shows that the line is fragmented. The lifting tasks pose injury hazards to the workers as well as possible low-quality products (Karwowski & Marras, 2003, p.).

To eliminate the hazards and increase efficiency, a conveyor belt should be installed where components are delivered to each workstation by the conveyor system, thus increasing the speed of delivery and reduction of lifting. Then on completion of the assembly, the products can be placed on the conveyor for the next stage of quality checking. The conveyor's ramifications are the elimination of the previous hazard, reduced cycle time, and improved flow. The engineering controls employed are rearrangements that minimize the distance of access to pallets and reduce lifting height. As an administrative control, a job routine is introduced where the amount of time a worker is exposed to lifting is significantly reduced. Although the lifting is not eliminated since the nature of the work requires lifting, workers should be encouraged to take stretching workouts that make them more resilient. The employees should also be trained in proper lifting techniques. For PPEs, back belts should be provided to the workers.

Question 3

A stretch routine for my work environment would involve neck and shoulders stretching. The first exercise is the shoulder shrug, which is meant to release any early symptoms of tension in the shoulder and neck area of the body. The exercise is accomplished by raising the top of the shoulders towards the ears until pressure is felt in the neck and shoulder region. The tension feeling is held for about 3-5 seconds, and then the shoulders are relaxed downwards to their initial position. This process can be repeated twice or thrice. The second exercise is the head glide, which helps one stretch the shoulders, chest, and neck muscles. This workout can be done while sitting or standing by gliding the head back without lifting the chin up. The head should be head in the rear position for about 20seconds. This process can be repeated five to ten times. The third exercise is the neck relaxer, which helps to relax the neck only. It is done by dropping the head on the left side until the left ear touches the left shoulder. The same process is done again on the right side and downwards towards the chest in slow motion. Repetitively the exercise is done for 20seconds. The fourth workout is the shoulder roll, which helps to relax the shoulder muscles. Shoulders are rolled backward in a circular motion four times. The same process is repeated on the forward side to complete a full set of this exercise. Last is the chest stretch in which hands are placed behind the head while the shoulder blades are being squeezed together. The activity can be done while sitting or standing.

Question 4

Jimmy, a co-worker, suffers from aches due to the effort to view the monitor on his desk. The parameters involved with such discomfort are the viewing distance and the viewing angle. Viewing distance is the space between his eyes and the monitor. In contrast, the viewing angle is the degree above or below an imaginary horizontal line at the level of the user's eyes and the monitor. The comfortable viewing angle should be set at 15degrees below the horizontal line. Through that viewing angle, a comfortable viewing zone of 30degrees is created. For a proper viewing distance, the default accommodation distances should be observed: the Resting Point of Accommodation (RPA) and the Resting Point of Vergence (RPV). The RPA should be set at 75cm, while the RPV should be set at 80cm, which are the standards set for most computer users. The viewing range should be between 40-70cm at any point that the user sees the images.

Question 5

The difference between engineering controls and administrative controls

Engineering controls are the physical rectifications done on a work cycle to reduce the exposure of harm to workers effectively. The physical changes may include changing new equipment, improving aeration by increasing more ventilation, or changing the lighting by installing bulbs that adjust to the light of the room to ensure there is no much brightness that can harm the eyesight of employees. Administrative controls are non-physical alterations that limit the amount of exposure to hazards by changing the job schedule. For example, the harm caused by overworking employees through long hours is a problem that needs a non-physical solution. Administrative controls would solve such a problem by employing more workers to reduce the load of work per employee and perhaps reduce the working hours to diminish fatigue among employees.

While both controls provide solutions and eliminate or minimize existing hazards, engineering controls involve physical replacements of the impending harms. For example, poor lighting along the staircase can be rectified by providing proper lighting or even ramps for wheelchairs where there aren't any that can be used by the disabled. Automation for information systems can also be done to enhance virtual storage in companies that risks losing data on physical filing. On such grounds, retrieval of information becomes simplified rather than the perusal of hardcopy documents, which is tiring and time-consuming. Therefore engineering controls take physical redesigning while administrative controls are theoretical and virtual oriented for the same purpose of redesigning.

Question 6

Administrative controls are the modifications done on the safety culture or the manner in which employees work. Administrative controls attempt to change employees' work behavior in an effort to limit the worker's exposure to hazards. These controls do not remove hazards. These controls are used concurrently with other tools like engineering tools with the assumption that risks cannot be eliminated. Examples of administrative control include working procedure changes, warning signs, labels and alarms, employee training, and company policy. These controls have one thing in common that the presence of a hazard is not eliminated in totality, but guides are provided to ensure that the risk they poise is minimized.

To start with are the company policies where standard safety policies are crafted to protect employees from any posing hazards. Some of the policies include the mandatory wearing of PPEs during the working operation or disbandment of using cell phones when working. Warning signs, labels, and alarms serve to create awareness of the existing hazards. Warning signs and labels are used to alert workers on hazardous environments like chemicals, explosives, and easily combustible materials. Signage can be used as a warning to workers against an action that exposes them to risk, such as touching electricity wires that bear high voltage current. Alarms are then used to notify workers that they are within the limits of hazard exposure. Lastly, procedure changes are the alterations on how work is done. For example, suppose there is lifting work done in a specific area. In that case, procedural changes may propose that the lifting be done by more members than only one person so that the hazard exposed to a single worker is minimized. Exposure to noise hazards can be reduced by wearing more effective earplugs and the introduction of rotating shifts to ensure that the exposure to noise hazards is less.

Question 7

Air pollution is one of the biggest challenges that the world and significant cities particularly are facing with an equal measure of robustness in solving the persistent problem. To be specific, carbon fuel cars have posed a challenge to the environment with the emission of carbon dioxide gases that are detrimental to the ozone layer. Policies have been enhanced to tame the use of fuel guzzler vehicles, but the challenges are yet to end. Emission policies have been created on the allowable amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere, but the tune of it to eliminate pollution has not been well captured. However, technology has improved, and gradually manufacturing of vehicles has embraced electric vehicles propelled by electric motors with energy storage in batteries. Electric cars have shown a positive impact on the environment since they do not produce any carbon emissions. These vehicles are cleaner and do not pose harmful health implications to people, plants, and water. Electric mobiles have been projected as the only way to greener societies in the near future. Due to advanced Tesla technology, the production of electric vehicles has improved and resulted in a tremendous impact on a clean environment with less carbon emission (Shah, 2009, p.).

Question 8

Living close to an aquatic biome promotes different activities that can be done in the area. Among them are activities like fishing and different sports done on an ocean, such as surfing and boat riding. Due to the high temperatures experienced around aquatic biomes, afternoons are characterized by less activity as compared to other biomes that result to lower temperatures. Higher temperatures experienced during the afternoon hours consequently reduces the productivity of a person. Due to the salty nature of the marine biome, vehicles, houses, and any other metal structures in these areas are more exposed to corrosion. As a precaution, compounds that are not rust are more likely to be used near marine biomes to minimize rusting effects. Examples of ecological communities that exist in this biome are biotic and abiotic. Abiotic factors include water depth, temperature, nutrients level, and salinity. The salinity of a water body is a crucial determinant of the type of living organisms that exist in that particular environment. Biotic characteristics are defined by organisms that occur in them. For example, wetlands have dense canopies extending to large areas that support the existence of geese and snails that feed on the vegetation.

Question 9

The most important points contained in a hypothesis are the change that is under test, the impact the change will make, who you expect it to impact, and by how much and the period of running the test. When making a move, the design change is meant to bring a solution that works, producing a completely new product and not an improvement of the previous. The expected impact should reflect the results as a consequence of the changes made. The intended parameters should be measurable in a way that reflects positive changes. The other component is who will be impacted by the changes brought forward. The purpose of analyzing the impact is to make sure that the changes affect the majority. The rating of how much impact will be made by the changes helps test whether the hypothesis is valid or has failed—getting a different percentage of effects from the one that has been hypothesized means that it has failed. The time that is also needed to achieve the projected changes should be precise and define. Too much time might lose the meaning of the intended changes since results are time-bound. The above five components make up a reasonable hypothesis.

Question 10

Technologies used to detect earthquakes and monitor earthquakes include creep meters, seismographs, and laser beams. The seismograph measures the intensity of the earthquakes through a measure of seismic vibrations. The earthquake waves are detected by the seismometer, which displays the sequence of the vibrations that lead to an eventual earthquake. The direction, the amount of slip on the generating fault line, and the epicenter are also monitored. The location of the quake employs the time between the P and S waves. Laser beams are also used on fault lines across land boundaries to detect movements. Creep meter uses horizontal movements on fault lines to detect the presence of an earthquake.

Moreover, monitoring of Randon gas escaping from the cracks of the earth is used to identify an impending quake. An increase in the amount of that gas indicates a possibility of an earthquake. Injection walls into the ground trigger earthquakes due to the increased vibrations along the fault lines. The foundation of walls that go very deep disturbs the elements that cause earthquakes leading to more exposure or probability of having movements along the fault line. It is therefore advisable for Geotechnical engineers to study the rock pattern of any establishment to advise if there are fault lines in the vicinity.

References

Karsh, B. (2009). Ergonomics and health aspects of work with computers: International Conference, EHAWC 2009, held as part of HCI international 2009, San Diego, CA, USA, July 19-24, 2009, proceedings. Springer Science & Business Media.

Karwowski, W., & Marras, W. S. (2003). Occupational ergonomics: Engineering and administrative controls. CRC Press.

Shah, V. (2009). Emerging environmental technologies. Springer Science & Business Media.