Chapter Twenty-Three – COMPUTERS, AUTOMATION, AND ROBOTS
TRUE OR FALSE: Place T or F in the space provided.
_____1. Automation and integration have reduced the amount of mental work
required in the workplace.
_____2. The introduction of automation in the workplace has had several
different effects on workers including the reduced amount of physical labor
required.
_____3. Power and speed of movement makes robots more potentially
dangerous than other machines in the workplace.
_____4. Any time a worker enters a functioning robot’s work envelope the
probability of an accident decreases.
_____5. The objectives of o&ce automation are increased e&ciency,
personnel reduction, and improved working conditions.
_____6. Safety and health problems associated with o&ce automation include
eye fatigue, double images, complementary colors, and whole body
tiredness.
_____7. What makes robots potentially dangerous to humans are their
,exibility and range of motion.
_____8. specific safety and health risks associated with robots include being
struck by a moving robot while inside the work envelope.
_____9. Problems that are likely to be associated with automation in the
future include the tendency to overlook safety and health precautions for
short-term productivity.
_____10. Most legislation dealing with o&ce automation concerns standards
for VDT interaction.
MULTIPLE CHOICE: Circle the letter before the correct answer.
1. Broad-based efforts at automating mechanical processes and systems
began when?
A. 1950s
B. 1960s
C. 1970s
D. 1980s
2. The feeling workers have when they are not able to control the work
environment is:
A. Meaninglessness
B. Normlessness
C. Mindlessness
D. Powerlessness
3. Which of the following conditions is most associated with robots in the
workplace?
A. Neck fatigue
B. Eye strain
C. Work envelope injuries
D. Work stress
4. The advent of computers has brought about safety and health problems
concerned with which of the following?
A. Video display terminals
B. Work envelope areas
C. Industrial work stress
D. Psychosocial stressors
5. Variance control, boundary location, work group organization,
management support, design process, and quality of work life are
components of:
A. Social pathological theory
B. Sociotechnical system theory
C. Polarization of work theory
D. Quality of work theory
10. T
5. B
1. Brie,y summarize how automation has changed the workplace.
2. List /ve effects that automation of the workplace has had on workers.
3. What are the safety and health problems most widely associated with VDT
use?
4. List three strategies for reducing the psychological and physiological
problems associated with VDT use.
5. Explain the four factors that make robots more potentially dangerous than
other machines.
6. List and explain the specific hazards associated with human-robot
interaction.
7. Explain four specific strategies for minimizing the hazards associated with
interacting with a robot.
8. Name six safety and health problems widely associated with o&ce
automation.
9. Explain three of the principles set forth by the Japanese Association of
Industrial Health for the development of safety and health measures for
o&ce automation.
10. De/ne the term maladaptation and explain how it manifests itself in
workers.
11. List /ve strategies for minimizing the potential for occurrences of
maladaptation.
12. De/ne the following automation-related terms: powerlessness,
meaninglessness, normlessness, mindlessness.
13. Mindlessness in the workplace can lead to a number of other problems.
Name /ve of them.
14. What is an ergonomic management program?
15. De/ne the term sociotechnical system theory. Explain each of its six
components.
16. Explain how you would ensure that a new robot system was safe for its
operators and other workers.
17. What effect might increasingly intense international competition and the
need to improve productivity have on workplace safety and health in the
future?
18. What role might you play as a new safety and health professional in
meeting the future challenges of an automated workplace?