Deck 26: Computers, Automation, and Robots

Question 1

Health and safety problems associated with office automation include eye fatigue, double images, complementary colors, and whole body tiredness.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

The advent of computers has brought about health and safety problems concerned with which of the following?

A) Video display terminals
B) Work envelope areas
C) Industrial work stress
D) Psychosocial stressors
E) Radiation

Answer 2

Psychosocial stressors

Question 3

Automation has increased the feelings of loyalty that workers feel toward employers

Answer 3

False

Question 4

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
E) Repetitive strain injuries

Question 5

Among the features of robots that makes them potentially dangerous to humans are their flexibility and range of motion.

Question 6

Power and speed of movement make robots more potentially dangerous than other machines in the workplace.

Question 7

Most legislation dealing with office automation concerns standards for VDT interaction.

Question 8

When did broad-based efforts at automating mechanical processes and systems begin?

A) 1950s
B) 1960s
C) 1970s
D) 1980s
E) 1990s

Question 9

Technological alienation is the phenomenon of workers being so engaged in their technology devices that all outside distractions are dismissed.

Question 10

Problems that are likely to be associated with automation in the future include the tendency to overlook health and safety precautions for short-term productivity.

Question 11

The introduction of automation in the workplace has had several different effects on workers, including a reduction in the amount of physical labour required.

Question 12

Robots can dramatically increase productivity and, at the same time, reduce worker stress and injury from tasks associated with numerous occupations.

Question 13

The control panel for automated systems or robots should be inside of the safety fence, to avoid inadvertent operation.

Question 14

Autonomous vehicles are currently not a workplace health and safety concern.

Question 15

The feeling workers have when they are not able to control the work environment is:

A) Meaninglessness
B) Normlessness
C) Mindlessness
D) Powerlessness
E) Alienation

Question 16

Automation and integration have reduced the amount of mental work required in the workplace.

Question 17

The beginnings of broad-based efforts at automating mechanical processes and systems began during the high-tech boom of the late 1990s.

Question 18

Specific health and safety risks associated with robots include being struck by a moving robot while inside the work envelope.

Question 19

Any time a worker enters a functioning robot's work envelope, the probability of an accident decreases.

Question 20

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
E) Design theory

Question 21

Which component in the sociotechnical system theory involves the classification of work?

A) Variance control
B) Boundary location
C) Work group organization
D) Design process
E) Quality of work life

Question 22

What is the "work envelope" for industrial robots??

A) The total area within which the moving parts of a robot actually move
B) The protective covering to protect the robot's wiring and hydraulic conduits
C) Guarding over mechanical joints
D) The total area beyond which the moving parts of a robot actually move
E) The zone designated safe for workers to occupy while the robot operates

Question 23

Automation has had which effects on workers?

A) Increasing the need for traditional blue-collar workers
B) Decreasing the stress levels of managers
C) Increasing the amount of physical labour workers must perform
D) Increasing the amount of mental work required
E) Decreasing workers' feelings of powerlessness and helplessness

Question 24

What makes robots more potentially dangerous than other machines?

A) Their ability to be hacked or sabotaged through programming
B) Their flexibility and range of motion
C) Their speed of movement
D) Their power
E) All of the above

Question 25

Which of the following recommendations are recommended for robot safety?

A) Use minimum lighting to avoid glare (since robot does not need light).
B) Store tools and maintenance items on or as close to the floor as possible, in the work envelope, to avoid interference with the robot's motion.
C) Remove and account for all tools and equipment used to maintain the robot after starting it.
D) Equip electrical and pneumatic components of the robot with fixed covers and guards.
E) Apply lockout after entering the work envelope.