Ergonomic Work Analysis Research Articles

Ergonomic optimization in forestry harvesting: analysis of indicators and workstation layout for machine operators

The planted tree sector in Brazil plays a significant role in the national economy, driven by technological advancements in forestry machines, especially in harvesting. The interaction between operators and machines has become essential for improving performance and ensuring occupational health. This study analyzed forest harvesting machine operators, focusing on anthropometric surveys and proposing indicators for ergonomic satisfaction and cabin layout. Conducted between May 2022 and July 2023 in a northeastern Brazilian forestry company, data were collected during mechanized harvesting of a six-year-old Eucalyptus spp. stand using the cut-to-length system. A questionnaire was applied to 111 employees to assess their ergonomic satisfaction and health. Two indices were created: the Ergonomic Satisfaction Coefficient and the Occupational Health Coefficient. The anthropometric analysis evaluated operators’ percentiles and BMI, revealing that 77.77% were overweight, highlighting the need for health protection measures. The ergonomic indices proved effective in assessing operator satisfaction. The study also determined an adequate workstation layout for the sample group. From the Ergonomic Work Analysis perspective, FW2 and HV3 machines received a good rating based on the adopted parameters.

Simulation model to analyze the impact of work on absenteeism

AbstractShoe manufacturing companies often use overtime work but neglect the impacts and importance of physical recovery time. Ergonomic methods aim to analyze this, but they focus on deterministic aspects, which limits their ability to evaluate working conditions amid variations over time. This research explores how a simulation model can mitigate these limitations and enhance analysis of overtime and physical recovery on worker absenteeism. The objective was developed a simulation model using System Dynamics (SD) to represent working conditions and assess the influence of overtime and recovery time in Brazil's footwear industry. An Ergonomic Analysis of Work was conducted in a large company's production cell. Using SD, were constructed a causal and simulation model to analyze three scenarios. An additional hour of work increased physical overload by 44%, leading to 5, 4 leave requests, and 48 days of absenteeism per year. Increasing recovery time by 15 min reduced overload to 38,96%, resulting in 4, 9 leave requests and 13,68 days of absenteeism. The SD simulation model mitigated the limitations of ergonomic methods in understanding the dynamic relationships over time, emphasizing the importance of actively managing overtime and physical recovery time.

Influence of extended working hours and physical recovery on absenteeism in the footwear industry from a system dynamics model

Objectives. Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) are recurrent in the footwear industry, resulting in absenteeism. This study aimed to quantitatively analyze the influence of overtime work and physical recovery time on the occurrence of WMSD-related absenteeism using a system dynamics model. As ergonomic methods have limitations in quantitatively simulating the behavior of these relationships, the integration of computational modeling techniques has emerged as a methodological alternative to bridge this gap. Methods. An ergonomic work analysis (EWA) was developed in a production cell of a large company. A model of causal relationships (causal loop diagram) and a simulation model (flow and stock diagram) were then developed, where three scenarios for overtime and physical recovery time were analyzed. Results. Working an additional hour resulted in a 42% increase in physical overload, leading to 7.62 leave requests per year and 78.7 days of employee absenteeism. Increasing the physical recovery time by 15 min reduced the overload to 36.5%, resulting in 6.8 leave requests per year and 71.1 days of employee absenteeism. Conclusions. Properly managing excess workload and providing adequate physical recovery for professionals is necessary to mitigate the productivity impacts of absenteeism in the footwear industry.

Compliance and initiative: A discussion on the relationship between standards and activities in radiopharmaceutical production

This study investigated how a standard could become reality-based in a workplace where certain types of deviations are not permitted, such as a radiopharmaceutical production unit. Compliance with standards is necessary to ensure the safety of individuals who manufacture such substances as well as the security of patients receiving treatment. In this qualitative case study, an ergonomic analysis of work (also known as activity analysis) was performed, with noncompliance recorded in internal audits as a starting point: the lack of double-checking in radiopharmaceutical synthesis cassette assembly. Field observations and self-confrontation interviews with workers from a production unit were conducted to analyze the activities. Although a double-check did not occur, the radiopharmaceutical synthesis operator apparently developed another risk control strategy, focusing his attention to the equipment assembly details, which necessitated continuous control and verification actions to ensure that there were no problems at this stage of production. A multilevel approach was used to demonstrate how the safety and quality of production processes based on standard compliance only become effective and adherent to the activity after resolving various conflicts at work, including control systems (external and internal audits), work collectives, the contradiction of the activity itself, and the discussion of singular situations arising daily. This study contributes to the discussion on workplace safety considering standardization and advances the discussion on changing perspectives regarding rule compliance.

Pencegahan Risiko Postur Kerja Melalui Analisa dan Rancangan Ergonomi pada Karyawan PT Asiana Garment

PT Asiana Garment is a garment company that has just opened its production site. The company also uses many tools and technologies to carry out the production process. Apart from the availability of tools and technology to achieve a smooth production process and increase the company's productivity level, ergonomic analysis of work posture is also needed. Work posture analysis was carried out on sewing and overlock operators. The results of the analysis using the REBA method showed that sewing operators had a moderate level of risk and needed improvement. The overlock operator was found to be at a high risk level and immediately required repairs. The improvement made was by redesigning the size of the chair used by the operator. The results of the design dimensions are for chair height 44.34 cm, chair length 33.8 cm, chair width 44.34 cm, chair back height 45.31 cm, and chair back width 53.92 cm

Working as a contact center attendant: Relating purpose, meaning, sustainability and mental health.

There are companies that can be considered financially successful while creating negative externalities for their workers. This is the case of contact centers. The objective of this article is to investigate the challenges for a service company (such as a contact center) in reconciling its economic and financial objectives with the promotion of the work dimension, guaranteeing workers the possibility of professional, collective, and human development. This research has a qualitative ethnographic approach. An activity-centered work analysis method, also known as "Ergonomic Work Analysis" (EWA), was carried out in one of the largest companies in the Brazilian contact center market. The case shows that the achievement of economic-financial objectives of the analyzed company is mainly done by harming the well-being of its workers. In particular, the work of the attendants did not bring any development perspective for them. The prevalence of instrumental rationality in decision-making processes and the asymmetry of power relations between stakeholders are the main reasons why workers' well-being is not considered. The discussion proposes that work-related sciences, such as ergonomics and psychodynamics of work, can bring another type of rationality to the decision-making processes of companies. The work also needs to be sustainable enough to allow the construction and development of professionals, and the health of working population, while improving the company's performance.

Methodology for Risk Assessment of SARS-CoV-2 Virus Transmission in Hospital Buildings

Considering the impact of COVID-19 on hospital facilities and the relevance of risk management and occupational health and safety within this context, this study introduces a method to assess the SARS-CoV-2 virus transmission risk in a toilet. The proposed method is based on a risk tripod involving environmental, human, and transmission factors. For this, risk assessment methodologies were applied, such as Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA), Ergonomic Work Analysis (EWA), which allowed the identification of risk indicators, and Fault Tree Analysis (FTA), which allowed the identification of transmission routes of COVID-19 in toilets. Subsequently, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to find each transmission route weighting for calculating the Risk Score. The results indicated that the design of sanitary equipment, with an emphasis on washbasins and toilets, especially in health or large circulation establishments, is of paramount importance in the dissemination of pathogens. Safe habits and the use of protective gear must be continuously encouraged, but greater attention must be paid to technical and engineering issues. Furthermore, the developed method proved to be an applicable tool to identify the main sources of risk and prioritize the implementation of control measures.

Travail de santé et normativité

À partir d’une analyse ergonomique et psychosociologique du travail, cet article vise à expliciter le concept pluriel de normativité dans le domaine de la santé au travail. Après avoir dressé une critique de la normativité managérialiste qui domine les approches de prévention, nous définirons les liens qui unissent normativité, santé et travail à partir d’une théorisation de l’activité de travail. Puis, nous proposerons une définition du « travail de santé » relevant d’un processus de construction de la santé aux prises avec les conditions de vie, les exigences du travail, les éléments de contexte, les marges de manœuvre. Cette construction suppose des arbitrages complexes entre les objectifs productifs et les objectifs constructifs et nécessite souvent des régulations se jouant à la fois dans et hors du cadre du travail. Nous illustrerons cette théorisation au travers d’une recherche sur l’activité enseignante dans le contexte de la pandémie COVID-19.

Ergonomic work analysis and training: Past, present and future.

The Ergonomic Work Analysis and Training (EWAT) network celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2021. THE EWAT focuses mainly on how activity analysis in real work can contribute to the training situations. Over the years, two lines of thought evolved: i) training in ergonomic work analysis, and ii) the use of the work analysis for the improvement or design of training interventions. Both share a common theoretical and methodological background based on three pillars: the focus on real work, the adoption of a systemic and participatory approach, and the intentional emphasis on a multidisciplinary approach. The design of training courses that are adequate both for workers and for supervisors who are concerned with the development of the worker's skills and health at work is challenged by major changes at work. Such challenges were the driving force behind the discussion within this network at the IEA 2021 congress. The authors who contributed to this congress maintain the network's characterizing principles. At the same time, they introduce research updates and new intervention methodologies. In addition, the authors have been called upon to provide novel answers to the issues of organizational transformation and digitalization of work and training. The permanence of this network involves leveraging its 30 years of collective expert experience to continue to respond to present and emerging challenges, concerning work and training sustainability. The network's research contributes to growing evidence about how training can impact on healthier workplaces where individual and group development is improved.

Job Precariousness: Supply Chain Management in a Waste Pickers Association

Waste pickers are key players within municipal solid waste management and an important link in the recycling chain. Waste pickers perform their activities in precarious conditions: they work in bad weather; run the risk of traffic accidents; come in contact with insects that transmit disease and suffer from weight overload. These conditions are aggravated by the lack of labor rights and guarantees, as well as the instability of income and exploitation in commercial processes receiving derisory prices for materials. In this context, the present research seeks, in an interdisciplinary way, the supply chain management interface with the aspects that constitute the precariousness of the pickers’ work, aiming to identify and foster proposals for infrastructure and supply chain improvements of an association of recyclable waste pickers through dialogue and construction with the workers concerned. For this, the ergonomic work analysis was used for information gathering and diagnosis that will subsidize the construction of a process map through the SIPOC tool. From the documentary analysis of the project, the result of part of the association’s production process was reached, that is, its recovery of recyclables in 2018, which reached a volume of 141,893.7 kg. This study sought to provide moments of reflective discussion with the pickers about the organizational processes of the association, in order to collectively construct proposals that enable better working conditions for them.

Effects of workplace upper extremity resistance exercises on function and symptoms of workers at a tertiary hospital: a randomized controlled trial protocol

BackgroundWork-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMDs) are often caused by inadequate use of the musculoskeletal system during work. Evidence suggests that multimodal intervention through exercises, massage, education, and ergonomic guidelines reduces pain and symptoms in the neck and upper extremities and help to prevent musculoskeletal disorders. The purpose of this study will be to assess the additive effectiveness of a specific and individualized workplace strengthening exercise program to an ergonomic guidance in reducing fatigue, pain and discomfort in the upper extremities and neck perceived by workers.MethodsThis trial was designed according to the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials - CONSORT guidelines. Participants will be employees of a tertiary hospital, with any complaints of pain or discomfort in the upper extremities during the past 12 months, without clinical musculoskeletal diagnosis. 166 participants will be randomized into parallels groups as control and workplace exercises. The primary outcomes will be Numerical Pain Scale, isokinetic muscle strength of abduction and isometric handgrip strength. Secondary outcomes on discomfort, fatigue, work capacity and dysfunction will be assessed by QuickDASH, Patient Specific Functional Scale, Neck Disability Index, Need for recovery, Work Ability Index self-report questionnaires and FIT-HANSA performance test. The Ergonomic Work Analysis will be done by Quick Expose Check, RULA, REBA, RARME, ROSA and HARM risk assessment ergonomic tools. We will analyze the difference between baseline and 12 weeks of intervention by T test of independent samples (95% confidence interval, p < 0.05). Clinical significance will be analyzed by the minimum clinically important difference and effect size by Cohen index. The association between the variables will be analyzed by construct validity with the hypothesis of correlations between pain and muscle strength, strength and functionality and strength and fatigue.DiscussionAlthough studies have shown promise outcomes for workplace exercises as an available therapeutic resource used to minimize complaints of pain and discomfort related to work, the results of this study aim to bring evidence about the benefit of a specific resistance exercise as an effective modality to facilitate mechanisms of neuromuscular adaptations, with gradual and posterior hypertrophy in the later phases.Trial registration(NCT04047056, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04047056?term=NCT04047056&draw=2&rank=1) on Dec 03, 2020.

Planning of an offshore platform maintenance campaign

&#x0D; Within the scope of industrial megaprojects, such as a large-scale maintenance campaign for an oil platform, planning for tasks that will be executed in highly dynamic environments – defined by variability, uncertainty, and unforeseen events – is a challenging job. The Ergonomic Work Analysis (EWA) by the maintenance planning technicians showed that, despite the different strategies in use, there are limits in the possibility of predicting a future context. Thus, planning is a collective process of reducing uncertainty, but it requires instrumentalization of the players involved therewith.&#x0D;

Impacts of organizational restructuring on the health of ambulance drivers from a university hospital.

The transport of patients by ambulance is part of the services offered by a Hospital and its importance lies in facilitating the connection between the institutes involved in patient care. However, a significant amount of complaints about irritability and aggressiveness of drivers was registered after a strategic change in the organizational structure that directly affected these professionals. This study aimed to survey the health issues of ambulance drivers at this hospital, from the reorganization of work, through an ergonomic analysis of work. The data were obtained through observation and interviews with managers, leaders, and drivers of the transport sector of the hospital. The main results found were: 1) the key performance measurement is time, which is a measure that does not consider all variabilities that occur during transport, 2) prescribed work of drivers only considers the task of driving an ambulance, while their real work includes taking care and paying attention to the needs of the patient and other professionals, 3) after the restructuring and centralization of the transport sector, drivers stopped feeling as part of the team of health professionals and started to feel like a "shared service".

Designing for unpredictable uses: A case study on cargo handling.

Activity ergonomics aims to include work variability into design process to enable various dimensions of use in projects. As design evolves with use, understanding its characteristics is essential to decipher real working requirements. However, situated design can be pluralistic and may lead to different interpretations than initially intended. This paper aims at understanding the relationship between the designing phase of work systems and the situated task design in high uncertainty operations. In an ergonomic work analysis, cargo handling operations were observed at offshore platforms, followed by discussions with workers. Two case studies were selected for the intervention process to demonstrate how workers dealt with high uncertainty tasks on site. Situated task design exhibited three main characteristics: (1) the project emerges from the situation; (2) it has an intentional and original character; and (3) it is situated in time and space to solve local problems. This combination is the essence of a microproject, which is a concept proposed in this paper. The design must provide resources not only to execute work but also to redesign the task on site.

Organisational and relational factors that influence return to work and job retention: The contribution of activity ergonomics.

Work is a determinant of employee health, and the same conditions that contribute to an illness do not favour return to work; consequently, they hinder job retention, other employees can become ill and new leaves are generated. To analyse the nursing technicians work in intensive and semi-intensive care units (ICUs and SICUs) and discuss the influence of organisational and relational factors on return to work and job retention. This study also discusses the contributions of activity ergonomics to these processes. Qualitative case study based on ergonomic work analysis (EWA). Data were collected using documentary analyses, and global, systematic, and participant observations involving nursing technicians working in ICUs and SICUs. Task planning and the staff size adjustment to respond to the work demands of these units were ineffective in real-world situations and were aggravated by cases of absenteeism, medical leave, and employees returning to work. Work structure limits return to work and job retention. An EWA based on the activities developed by professionals is a valid tool for understanding working processes by applying transforming actions to real-world work situations.

Accident and innovation in construction industry: Learning by doing to prevent accidents and improve the production

The development of construction processes and systems aimed at technological innovations that can effectively contribute to the evolution of the construction process of a building is currently a reality. The aim of this study is to analyze the interaction between learning by doing and the implementation of changes (innovation) during the construction process of a building. Applying ergonomic work analysis, which is supported by a specific ethnographic study during the construction process of a residential building, it was possible to highlight and classify the cases with implications for the implementation of changes (innovation). The results show how execution actors at the level of implementation, through learning by doing, enable the implementation of change (innovation) during the construction process and the consequent improvement of the construction process, not only in terms of quality and productivity, but also in terms of worker safety, preventing “minor accidents or incidents”. However, learning by doing and the determining factors that hinder its application remain contained at the level of the execution actors and no make managers of the construction process able to absorb operational experiences and preventing recurrent problems (“minor accidents or incidents”). This study underlines how learning by doing allows the implementation of changes (innovation) during the process of building a building. Furthermore, findings are potentially transferable to other areas such as that of organizational factors, ethnographic observations, innovations, construction process, learning, accident analysis, knowledge management and learning processes.

Evaluation of working conditions at a central sterile services department in northern Brazil.

Introduction:Environmental conditions and the work process in the Central Sterile Services Department expose workers to many hazards.Objectives:To analyze the working conditions that have an influence on the overall health of workers at a Central Sterile Services Department of a hospital in northern Brazil.Methods:This study used employed the ergonomic analysis of work. Three data collection tools were applied to characterize sociodemographic and occupational profiles. Furthermore, physical environmental hazards were analyzed using specific equipment. Descriptive and bivariate analyses were performed in Stata®13 software.Results:Thirty-five workers participated in the study, most of whom were women, aged above 40 years, and worked as nursing technicians. It became evident that workers were exposed to inappropriate lighting and to noises coming from autoclaves, from the central air conditioning, and from the use of medicinal gas. The risks for musculoskeletal injuries on spine, shoulders, and lower limbos were specifically related to overload resulting from the posture maintained for long periods. Female sex was associated with severe or excruciating pain” (p = 0.04).Conclusions:Sound, mechanical, and visual hazards were found. Most participants complained of musculoskeletal pain, and the cervical spine was the site with the most frequent reports of excruciating pain. These results point out to the need of a policy to improve the quality of work in the health care unit studied; however, these findings may also bring light to the problem in other institutions that have a physical structure similar to that found in this research.

A six-step model to transform an ergonomic work analysis into design guidelines for engineering projects.

Ergonomic work analysis (EWA) is an ethnographic-like method that can produce highly detailed accounts of real work in work systems. Such knowledge is valuable for designers when they are designing new work systems. However, rich data derived from EWA should be transformed into more designer-friendly guidelines to have an impact on engineering design projects. We propose a six-step model to transform EWA into ergonomic design guidelines (EDG). This model can be applied by ergonomists and researchers when taking part in projects with the aim of transferring operational experiences into engineering design. Based on previous experiences using EWA, we establish a model for transforming the outcome of EWA into EDG. We illustrate the model through a case study based on the offshore oil industry. This paper describes how EWA rich data is transformed into EDG following the proposed six-step model, including the concepts of characteristic situations and settings of usage. Based on preliminary testing and validation by designers, EWA can be transformed into useful EDG by following the six steps of the proposed model.

Do we want to keep working in 12-h shifts? The follow-up of the work schedule change in a Portuguese industrial company

BackgroundIn Europe, atypical work schedules assume an increasing position, framed by the so-called “adaptability regime”. Despite being seen as a “temporary” option, this regime supports the extension of the working hours up to 12 h per shift. ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to analyse how the workers from a Portuguese industrial company perceive the impacts of a 12-h schedule, after replacing the former 8-h shift schedule. MethodsThe sample included a total of 87 shiftworkers of an industrial company. A mixed method research was followed based on the ergonomic work analysis, using observations; a self-report instrument describing a week working on 2 × 12 h; and a questionnaire. ResultsField study findings are consistent in showing that, in 2 × 12 h, the workers perceive the risks as resized, both physical risk factors (e.g., noise) and factors related to the work organization (e.g., work pace). The results also reveal a perceived aggravation of the main health outcomes: “sleep debt”, feeling of chronic fatigue, and muscles pains. Despite this, most workers prefer the new 12-h schedule, but not until their retirement age. ConclusionAt present, it is noticed that the new schedule receives collective acceptance and is considered the least-worst option; the advantages outside work seem to compensate the higher costs imposed by this schedule. Relevance to industryOur findings highlight ergonomics' contribution to the sustainability of the work in 12-h shifts, establishing the conditions that enable a technical-scientific opinion supporting the company's decision on the exposure length of the workers to these work schedules.

Risk management and the complexity of the right to refuse dangerous work in the context of hospital care: Preliminary issues.

Risk management analysis at work makes it possible to find individual and collective experiences of recognition and hierarchization of risks in view of the specificities of labor situations and the complex and contradictory application of the right to refuse in health work, whose space and technique are still in a deep structural transformation. To investigate how work organization impacts on the daily life of nursing care, in a general hospital surgical center, (un)enabling individual and collective risk management strategies in the context analyzed and how the right to refuse can be appropriate as a condition and strategy for work management. Ergonomics (Work Ergonomic Analysis) was used to bring about the actual work activity and Ergology for epistemological deepening, whose research approach took place in a surgical center with four registered nurses. The results reveal that nursing work is invisible and that individual and collective strategies are used to manage the variability and constraints of the environment. The right to refuse is one of the competencies universe strategies conceived and built at work that ensure the realization of the results found. The right to refuse is full of meanings. Refusing does not mean "not doing", but also to do otherwise, by other means. It is beyond health and security and can be linked to other variables such as quality, environment, social responsibility.