Literature Review on Job Rotation

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study is to review the studies on job rotation with various points of view and to classify the studies considering the approach methods. Background: Various work interventions were carried in order to prevent the work-related musculoskeletal disorders(WMSDs) and job rotation was considered as one of the simple and effective methods. Method: Previous studies were systematically collected with the combination of keywords such as job, task, rotation, allocation, line balancing, etc. Collected studies were classified into three categories: field study, laboratory study and optimization approach study. Results: Field studies showed that most studies focused on the evaluation of the factors causing the musculoskeletal disorder. Moreover, the effect of job rotation could be hard to identify because it required a long-period close observation. Laboratory studies covered only simple aspects of tasks or movements. Optimization approach studies showed the systematic approach to establish the job rotation scheme though many limitation and assumptions were adopted. Conclusion: This study collected and classified the previous studies on job rotation and presented the different approaches across various research areas. Application: The results of this study could help the practitioner and ergonomist how to establish the job rotation scheme.