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The objective of this paper is to describe how and why ergonomics should be promoted in total quality management (TQM). Ergonomics and TQM activities are compared. An approach is proposed to apply ergonomics in TQM using ergonomics circles. An eight-step approach is introduced for applying ergonomics using ergonomics circles and a study that employed this approach in Korea is discussed. In applying this approach, all processes were first evaluated by workers. Processes that were identified as problematic were analysed by a company-wide committee to set priorities for improvement. An ergonomics improvement team consisting of safety and health personnel, process engineers and management innovation personnel then worked on the processes using a low-cost approach. It was found that applying ergonomics using ergonomics circles as quality circles in TQM was effective in improving workplaces and resulted in increasing productivity, cost saving and improved safety.
The introduction of ergonomics programs throughout the world requires an easy to understand and inexpensive process. Participatory ergonomic intervention techniques have proven to be beneficial in the prevention of musculoskeletal disorders. The participatory approach to ergonomics has also been found to be a useful application within industrialized (developed) countries and industrially developing countries (IDCs). Grassroots Ergonomics principles utilize expertise within a workforce that focuses on participatory ergonomics interpretations of quantitative and qualitative risk and exposure assessment information that in turn results in a peer-developed ergonomics training. Regardless of the intricacy of the exposure assessment tools, workers should fully assist in gathering and analyzing data, then in identifying and implementing solutions. A coordinated and multidisciplinary application of this approach within IDCs would succeed in the creation and sharing of job-specific ergonomics training information for high physical exposure professions, such as agriculture, fishing, forestry, mining, and small-scale enterprises, to initiate ergonomics programs regionally.
OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were (i) To establish whether it is possible to assess by means of a check-list in a reliable way errors which violated biomechanical and ergonomical principles during nursing tasks, and (ii) to study the effectiveness of an ergonomic-educational course by using this check-list. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Trainees (n = 12) and a control group of nurses (n = 12) who did not attend the course, performed three nursing activities at three points in time under standardized conditions; once before and twice after the course had ended. Their performances were recorded on video. A check-list was developed to assess the number of ergonomic errors made during the test performances. Two observers completed the check-lists after having watched five videotapes, and one of them did this for a second time 3 weeks later, in order to assess inter- and intra-observer reliability. In addition the tapes of all nurses were scored and analysed on differences in the performance of the two groups at the three points in time. Percentage of agreement and kappa (kappa) was used to express inter- and intra-observer reliability. Student's t-test was used to analyse the differences in mean percentages of errors. RESULTS: The inter- and intra-observer reliability were 92% with kappa of 0.84 and 93% with kappa of 0.86, respectively. Further results showed that the mean percentages of errors made by the control group remained the same at the three measurement times. However, in the trainee group a significant decrease in errors was found. The trainees made fewer errors at all three points in time than the controls did. CONCLUSION: It appears feasible to create a check-list to assess ergonomic errors in a reliable way. Trainees make fewer errors after an ergonomic-educational course. It is necessary, however to evaluate whether trained nurses work more safely in their daily duties than during the study.
The implementation of a successful ergonomic and medical intervention program designed to reduce the number and severity of injuries and illnesses and the associated levels of discomfort in the workplace is presented. Because of the recent activity concerning the on-again-off-again Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Ergonomic Program Standard questions have been raised as to the value and effectiveness of an organization's ergonomics program. In light of these concerns, the immense cost associated with work-related injury and illness, and the related pain and suffering associated with such injuries and illnesses, it is important to present a workable and effective ergonomic and medical intervention program. The results of this applied study demonstrate that through the application of an ergonomic and medical intervention program, workplace-related injuries and illnesses can be reduced or eliminated.
In the 1980's, the visual display terminal (VDT) was introduced in workplaces of many countries. Soon thereafter, an upsurge in reported cases of related health problems, such as musculoskeletal disorders and eyestrain, was seen. Recently, the flat panel display or notebook personal computer (PC) became the most remarkable feature in modern workplaces with VDTs and even in homes. A proactive approach must be taken to avert foreseeable ergonomic and occupational health problems from the use of this new technology. Because of its distinct physical and optical characteristics, the ergonomic requirements for notebook PCs in terms of machine layout, workstation design, lighting conditions, among others, should be different from the CRT-based computers. The Japan Ergonomics Society (JES) technical committee came up with a set of guidelines for notebook PC use following exploratory discussions that dwelt on its ergonomic aspects. To keep in stride with this development, the Technical Committee on Human-Computer Interaction under the auspices of the International Ergonomics Association worked towards the international issuance of the guidelines. This paper unveils the result of this collaborative effort.
This paper considers standards relevant to environmental ergonomics, and includes those that have been, or are likely to be, produced by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), under ISO TC 159 SC5 'Ergonomics of the physical environment' and working groups of CEN TC 122 'Ergonomics'. It includes descriptions of standards concerned with speech communication in noisy environments, visual and auditory danger signals, lighting, vibration, skin contact with hot surfaces and others. It is noted that for historical and organizational reasons, some standards relevant to this area are not developed by ergonomics standards committees. The ergonomist can use international standards to ensure use of the best available data and internationally accepted methods. Standards will not determine workplace design but can provide a useful 'starting point' for successful design.
One of the primary goals of computer-aided ergonomics is to develop software tools that allow ergonomics information to be accessed at the earliest stages of design. This case study discusses a PC-based software program that allows a designer to quantify a worker's biomechanical risk for injury based on a proposed workplace design. The program couples an established software tool for biomechanical analysis, the Three-Dimensional Static Strength Prediction Program (3DSSPP), with a widely used computer-aided design software package, AutoCAD. The use of this "3DSSPP/AutoCAD interface" in the proactive analysis of an automotive assembly task is described and the results compared with an independent assessment using observations of workers performing the same task. Both studies yield similar conclusions, suggesting that proactive use of software such as the 3DSSPP/AutoCAD interface may be a valid tool in evaluating proposed workplace designs. In this context, issues in the analysis of workplace designs regarding the use of supporting ergonomic tools, assumptions, and posture selection are discussed.
A naturally occurring quasi-experimental longitudinal field study of 87 municipal employees using pretest and posttest measures investigated the effects of an office workstation ergonomics intervention program on employees' perceptions of their workstation characteristics, levels of persistent pain, eyestrain, and workstation satisfaction. The study examined whether reactions differed between younger and older employees. Results revealed that workstation improvements were associated with enhanced perceptions of the workstation's ergonomic qualities, less upper back pain, and greater workstation satisfaction. Among those experiencing an improvement, the perceptions of workstation ergonomic qualities increased more for younger than older employees, supporting the "impressionable years" framework in the psychological literature on aging. Implications for human resources managers are discussed.
As a marked increase in the number of musculoskeletal disorders was noted in many industrialized countries and more specifically in companies that require the use of hand tools, the French National Research and Safety Institute (INRS) launched in 1999 a research project on the topic of integrating ergonomics into hand tool design, and more particularly to a design of a boning knife. After a brief recall of the difficulties of integrating ergonomics at the design stage, the present paper shows how 3 design methodological tools--Functional Analysis, Quality Function Deployment and TRIZ--have been applied to the design of a boning knife. Implementation of these tools enabled us to demonstrate the extent to which they are capable of responding to the difficulties of integrating ergonomics into product design.
A checklist was developed to evaluate nonpowered hand tools for basic features related to good ergonomic tool design. The checklist contains 16 items to which a yes/no response is required. The checklist is intended to be used by tradespersons and is written in clear, simple language. This column reports on a study conducted to examine the reliability of the checklist questions in identifying the presence or absence of the basic ergonomic design features that are believed to be important for nonpowered hand tools. Using the checklist, 14 ergonomists and 126 carpenters evaluated 18 typical hand tools. Agreement among the carpenters and ergonomists was high for most of the checklist items. A few checklist questions were associated with relatively low agreement among raters in terms of the presence or absence of a design feature. Lack of agreement between raters indicates that the criterion was not explicit or that users had difficulty identifying whether the tool satisfied the particular criterion. The majority of the 18 hand tools evaluated were deemed to be lacking in multiple highly important ergonomic design features. Additional studies are being conducted to make appropriate revisions to the checklist criteria based on quantitative measures of musculoskeletal loading.
The Nordic Ergonomic Society was founded more than 30 years ago to represent Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark. Recently Iceland has also been included. The Nordic Ergonomics Society has, to a large extent, traditionally been oriented towards work in the area of physiology, and a large number of its members have backgrounds within such areas as work physiology, physiotherapy and rehabilitation. However, from its inception the society has had members who are experienced within, such fields as work psychology, design, engineering and occupational health and safety. Over the last decade we have also had new members from such areas as work sociology, organizational psychology, leadership, training, information technology and cybernetics. Members have been concerned mainly with the application and practice of ergonomics. The number of members involved in research has also increased over the years. The principal areas of application for such research have been within industry and government.
Many of the managers, and supervisors in small- and medium-sized businesses are technicians. These are workers with many years of experience in one specialized technical area. They know, in their minds, what should be improved, and how, in order to make the work easier to do. However, their knowledge of work improvement techniques, and how to think together with the workers, and further how to best lead their troops, is nil. This report focuses on managers and supervisors who had never even heard the word "ergonomics," and touches on cases of successful implementation of ergonomic work improvements. The subject work-places are part of an automobile parts manufacturing plant operating under a typical production system of small amounts of many product types: cutting process machinery workshop, press workshop and packing and distribution workshop. At the stage when they became aware of ergonomics, the key words for improvement which they mentioned were "manual lifting" and "working posture." As a result of various observations, analysis techniques and meetings, they introduced a push car with lifters as support equipment. However, the most significant result was that they were able to convince the company's owner of its contribution to productivity improvement, using objective data. Also, with regard to the push car manufacturer, they designed the specifications for the push car themselves and participated in its production. Of course, they were also praised by the workers for achieving a work method involving no strain or waste.
Ergonomic problems in the travelling mail service are described, showing the necessity of ergonomic research work within the railway mail van, to obtain results suitable for evaluating the strain of travelling mail office clerks as well as for designing the system of a mail railroad car. The special methodological procedure of this type of ergonomic field research is discussed.
BACKGROUND: Previous research with structured abstracts (i.e. those that contain sub-headings such as this one) has indicated that structured abstracts are of a higher quality, contain more information, and are easier to search than are abstracts produced in the traditional manner. AIM: The aim of this article is to indicate how such structured abstracts might be appropriate for Applied Ergonomics. METHOD: Three abstracts taken from a recent issue of Applied Ergonomics were re-written in a structured form. This involved re-sequencing the information presented in the originals, and including additional information--particularly that of a quantitative kind--to meet the requirements of the sub-headings. Measures of word length, information content, readability, and reader preferences were then made. RESULTS: The results showed that there were differences between the three pairs of abstracts on these various measures but that, overall, in line with previous research, the structured abstracts were longer, more informative and judged to be clearer by their readers. COMMENT: The findings support the author's view that structured abstracts are more effective than traditional ones.
Developments in the Society are outlined since the early history was described by Edholm and Murrell. Major changes in the Society's operation and the context in which these changes took place are given. The changes in research directions, growth in educational facilities for professional education and the ever widening areas for the application of ergonomics are discussed. The consequences of these developments for the expansion of a recognition of the contribution of ergonomics, and the position of professionals in the international scene are touched upon.
Quality tools should be designed from the starting point of adjusting tasks and equipment to human possibilities and limitations. Companies should consider an investment in ergonomic equipment as a profitable addition to indispensable productive machinery. As an example to support this statement, the authors describe the health risks of welders and the possible solutions. As the result of investigations a list of requirements was drafted for a product that would have less of the disadvantages of the products mentioned. The designed product, the 'ergonomic welding-table', aims to be a quality tool for welders working at small and medium-sized tasks. The product consists of a cabin (2.35 m wide) with a built-in ventilator for very efficient welding-fume extraction (90%-95%). Welders can set their preferred working height at any time. Another advantage is the option of performing the welding task while standing or sitting. The results of user-evaluation among welders and purchasers indicates considerable satisfaction.
The author stresses the permanent evolution of the working conditions in the industry. He pays a particular attention to the changes which were experienced in this regard since two decades in the coal mines. The ergonomist tries to give an impartial answer to the new problems by means of a scientific approach in order to help those who are responsible for the social and technical progress. The author reminds the principles of this approach. He analyses the definition of ergonomics and shows how this discipline may be applied in the coal mines. He reminds the important role played in this regard by the ECCS, and the realizations which could be performed in the coal industry as well. A comment on the objectives and means of the 4th research ergonomic programme of the European Communities is presented.