Work system analysis on puncher bar repair process in the production division of Akademi Teknik Soroako (Soroako Technical Academy)

Abstract

One of the regular services in the Production Division of Akademi Teknik Soroako (Soroako Technical Academy) is repairing puncher bars of PT Vale Indonesia, One of the stages of his work is to straighten each punch bar. For straightening up each puncher bar, the worker needs to hammer each puncher bar with a 5 kg iron hammer manually. This operation requires enormous physical energy and high cognitive effort for controlling body movement, causing fatigue and cumulative musculoskeletal trauma. The research focuses on assessing the risk of musculoskeletal disorders on the straightening employing Ovako Work Posture Analysis System (OWAS) and Rapid Upper limb Assessment (RULA). The result of the study shows that the work postures while straightening the puncher bar has OWAS score = 2 which means it needs corrective action in the near term, and RULA score = 7 which means the work posture improvement should be made right now. Based on the OWAS and RULA score, several improvement programs and techniques are suggested in this study.