Evaluation of selected ergonomic assessment tools for use in providing job accommodation for people with inflammatory arthritis

Inflammatory arthritis (IA) is a leading cause of work disability, especially for those with jobs involving repetitive, hand-intensive or manual work. Ergonomic interventions may mediate against job loss. Our objective was to identify desirable features of an ergonomic tool for use in providing job accommodation for people with IA, and to evaluate a selection of ergonomic and rehabilitation tools against these features. Eight desirable features were compared across 16 assessment tools. None of the tools met all the pre-determined features. Ergonomic assessment tools should incorporate objective assessment of risk factors together with subjective perceptions of symptom aggravation, and identify risk factors that may not currently be causing problems, but may increase risk of aggravation or injury in the future. To accommodate the needs of people with IA, the tool should allow for evaluation of risks and generation of solutions without a worksite visit in situations where the client does not want to disclose their illness. Finally, an assessment tool needs to be applicable to a wide range of worksites, easy to use, valid, and reliable. Against these criteria, it appears that there is a lack of appropriate ergonomic assessment tools for use in people with IA.     

Ergonomic work analysis of urban bus drivers in Rio de Janeiro city

This article is the result of a case study on ergonomic work analysis carried out in an urban bus company located in Ilha do Governador, Rio de Janeiro. The methodology used in this work follows the French-tradition Ergonomic Analysis of the Work (EWA) combined with the best tradition from anglo-saxon ergonomic work analysis. The situated diagnosis was performed to provide relevant information about the work conditions of a bus driver.     

Software development for the evaluation of the ergonomic compatibility on the selection of advanced manufacturing technology

Advanced Manufacturing Technology (AMT) is one of the most relevant resources that companies have to achieve competitiveness and best performance. The selection of AMT is a complex problem which involves significant amount of information and uncertainty when multiple aspects must be taken into consideration. Actual models for the selection of AMT are found scarce of the Human Factors and Ergonomics perspective which can lead to a more complete and reliable decision. This paper presents the development of software that enhances the application of an Ergonomic Compatibility Evaluation Model that supports decision making processes taking into consideration ergonomic attributes of designs. Ergonomic Compatibility is a construct used in this model and it is mainly based in the concept of human-artifact compatibility on human compatible systems. Also, an Axiomatic Design approach by the use of the Information Axiom was evolved under a fuzzy environment to obtain the Ergonomic Incompatibility Content. The extension of this axiom for the evaluation of ergonomic compatibility requirements was the theoretical framework of this research. An incremental methodology of four stages was used to design and develop the software that enables to compare AMT alternatives by the evaluation of Ergonomic Compatibility Attributes.     

Analysis of ergonomic furniture made of wood and sub-products from renewable forests

The furniture ergonomic evaluation was carried out through the use of questionnaires and forms in industries. For the ergonomic product analysis, it was used the methodology "Object Ergonomics - Ergonomic System Technical Reading" (design goals and management actions), and measurements of products. The values achieved were compared with the standard dimensions, and the compliance or non-compliance of the furniture to it was assessed. In relation to the dimensions of the bed, the following variables did not comply with the norms: external and internal length, external and internal width, height and width of the sidebar and distance to the floor. The dimensions of these variables were above the recommended values. The double bed was inadequate for management actions and maintenance. Since the kitchen cabinet is a product that went through physical testing and follows national standards; the finish used is powder coating. The kitchen cabinet proved to be appropriate in all design requirements and for management actions. Both furniture pieces were inadequate, considering the difficulty for maintenance when a product or part of it was damaged. It was recommended the creation of regulatory standards for the production of safe and comfortable furniture.     

Blueprint for ergonomics

Worker safety and health, and productivity and efficiency on the job can be greatly impacted by the application of ergonomics. This article outlines the decision making process for implementing ergonomic change in the workplace. Ergonomic principles, as well as risk factors for the upper extremity and low back are identified. Three ergonomic measurement methods are presented including the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) 1991 Revised Lifting Guidelines, Rodgers's Functional Job Analysis Technique, and the Moore and Garg Strain Index. Ergonomic solutions are discussed and additional factors to consider when designing ergonomic changes are identified.     

Analysis of the implementation of ergonomic design at the new units of an oil refinery

Ergonomic design is the adaptation of working conditions to human limitations and skills in the physical design phase of a new installation, a new working system, or new products or tools. Based on this concept, the purpose of this work was to analyze the implementation of ergonomic design at the new industrial units of an oil refinery, using the method of Ergonomic Workplace Assessment. This study was conducted by a multidisciplinary team composed of operation, maintenance and industrial safety technicians, ergonomists, designers and engineers. The analysis involved 6 production units, 1 industrial wastewater treatment unit, and 3 utilities units, all in the design detailing phase, for which 455 ergonomic requirements were identified. An analysis and characterization of the requirements identified for 5 of the production units, involving a total of 246 items, indicated that 62% were related to difficult access and blockage operations, while 15% were related to difficulties in the circulation of employees inside the units. Based on these data, it was found that the ergonomic requirements identified in the design detailing phase of an industrial unit involve physical ergonomics, and that it is very difficult to identify requirements related to organizational or cognitive ergonomics.     

The construction of ergonomic demands: application on artisan fishing using jangada fishing rafts in the beach of Ponta Negra

The present article seeks the process of construction of ergonomics demand referring to the artisan fishing activityfound in Ponta Negra beach located in the city of Natal, Brazil. The instruction/construction of demands correspond to the first stage of Work Ergonomic Analysis and allows the understanding of real issues existent in a work situation, rank them and route the providences. The demand presented on this study, features itself as a induced demand, process which some potential demands or hypothetical demands are taken to an organization, after a preview analysis of the work aimed by the study, resulting from a theoretical research (state of the art) and/or from analysis of a reference situation (state of practice), where demands hypothesis are taken in consideration about the pretended work. The demands construction process using interactional methods and techniques, observation methods and techniques and bibliographic research, researches in state of reference or document. This article demonstrates the efficiency of the methodological choice to construct real ergonomic demands and highlights the importance of social construction on that process, which main goal is to refer the ergonomic actions that allow the improvement of work and life conditions for the fishers and sustainability to Jangadeira activity.     

Contribution of mental workload to job stress in industrial workers

This study's central objective is to determine how several individual, organizational and ergonomic factors influence the relationship between job stress and mental workload for workers in an electronics company. A cross-sectional study was made as a test of hypotheses regarding that relationship. The sample is composed of 95 workers, of both sexes, from the electronics industry in the metropolitan zone of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Ergonomic conditions were evaluated with the Ergonomic Evaluation List, stress was evaluated by administering the SWS-Survey to groups of subjects, and mental workload was evaluated with the NASA-TLX Workload Index. Using Cochran's and Mantel-Haenzsel statistics, the odds ratio for each of the independent variables was {e}stimated as a risk factor for job stress, and analysis was later conducted by means of logistic regression for those risks found to be significant. Of the 95 worker participants, 26.3% presented a high level of job stress and 17.9% of the workers were found to present high levels of mental workload. The results show that working hours, mental demand, temporal demand, and frustration when faced with a given task may be considered risk factors for job stress.     

Body postures versus production requirements - the case of a fiberglass parts factory

This study aimed to perform an ergonomic analysis in a fiberglass parts factory. For this purpose, was used the methodology of Ergonomic Work Analysis (EWA). At the end of the study it was possible to identify some ways to the development of improvements in order to contribute to the transformation of working conditions in the sector analyzed.     

Workers' postural conditions in the charcoal production proccess based on vertical metallic cylynders

Considering the importance of posture to the workers' health in the production of charcoal, this paper presents an ergonomic research based on a biomechanical focus that aims to evaluate the posture adopted by these workers on the production of charcoal in vertical metallic cylinders. Thus, it was verified the incidence of pain and/or musculoskeletal injuries to these workers. Also, it was evaluated the weight carried by them and the positions taken in their daily tasks. Applying the Ergonomic Analysis of Labor, the data collection was done by directly observing the workers, registering images, by interviews, and posture analysis based on the OWAS method. The main results of the research show that there are postures with risks in the four levels of musculoskeletal injuries classified by OWAS, concluding that the method is imperative for ergonomic recommendations for minimization or eradication of suffering injury and worker's postural constraints.     

Computer environments for children: a review of design issues

Ergonomic design considerations for computer use in schools are reviewed. Evidence for the postural effects of ergonomic furniture from worldwide studies is evaluated. Issues of furniture sizing and allocation methods are discussed. The limited evidence for effects of input device design on schoolchildren is summarized. Future directions for ergonomic research studies are presented.     

The PhOCoe Model--ergonomic pattern mapping in participatory design processes

The discipline and practice of human factors and ergonomics is quite rich in terms of the availability of analysis, development and evaluation tools and methods for its various processes. However, we lack effective instruments to either map or regulate comprehensively and effectively, cognitive and organizational related impacts, especially the environmental ones. Moreover, when ergonomic transformations through design - such as a new workstation design or even an entire new facility - is at play, ergonomics professionals tend to stay at bay, relying solely on design professionals and engineers. There is vast empirical evidence showing that participation of ergonomists as project facilitators, may contribute to an effective professional synergy amongst the various stakeholders in a multidisciplinary venue. When that happens, everyone wins - users and designers alike -because eventual conflicts, raised up in the midst of options selection, are dissipated in exchange for more convergent design alternatives. This paper presents a method for participatory design, in which users are encouraged to actively participate in the whole design process by sharing their real work activities with the design team. The negotiated results inferred from the ergonomic action and translated into a new design, are then compiled into a "Ergonomic Pattern Manual". This handbook of ergonomics-oriented design guidelines contains essential guidelines to be consulted in recurrent design project situations in which similar patterns might be used. The main drive is simple: nobody knows better than workers themselves what an adequate workplace design solution (equipment, workstation, office layout) should be.     

Study of musculoskeletal risks of the office-based surgeries

Due to the cost and time benefits associated with patients and physicians, outpatient surgeries continue to become more and more popular over time. With the increase in the number of office-based surgical procedures, the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) associated with office-based surgeries has been reported. The purpose of this pilot study is to ergonomically evaluate the risk of work-related musculoskeletal disorders of physicians/surgeons performing office-based surgery (OBS). Ergonomic assessment tools included Questionnaire, the BodyMap and the Rapid Upper Limb Assessment for measuring potential ergonomic concerns. The findings have shown that the ergonomic issues of greatest concerns were the discomforts in the neck, shoulders, arms/wrists, and back. Some additional comments were provided by the participants regarding the duration of discomfort or clarification on the frequency of their body discomfort. This study suggests that there is a considerable risk of musculoskeletal injuries of physicians/surgeons performing the OBS tasks. By properly using the ergonomic assessment techniques, valuable information on ergonomic OBS workplace design and selection could assist in the early interventions of WMSD prevention.     

Ergonomic assessment among radiology technologists: a survey in a hospital

This article is the result of an Ergonomic Diagnosis in a study for a Specialization Course in Ergonomics. The research is being done in a public hospital in the city of Rio de Janeiro, where the target system is the radiology sector. For diagnosis purposes, subjective techniques were used, such as an open-ended survey, Corlett questionnaire and techniques for evaluating ergonomic risk such as Owas and Rula. Systematic observation was emphasized using photos and films. Preliminary observations made to the radiographers found that these professionals suffer risks of physical and verbal harassment, as well as sexual harassment. Most of them feel discriminated against in terms of race and accumulate activities demanding a lot of attention, as the medical diagnosis and subsequent procedures will depend on the outcome of this task. They accumulate tension due to the weight of responsibility, since there are cases where the patient has risk of death.     

Ergonomic work analysis as a tool of prevention for the occupational safety and health management system

This paper introduces the Ergonomic Work Analysis as a relevant instrument to identify the risks in occupational environments through the investigation of factors that influence the relationship between the worker and the productive process. It draws a parallel between the several aspects of risk identification in traditional tools of Health and Safety Management and the factors embraced by the Ergonomic Work Analysis, showing that the ergonomic methodology is able to go deeper in the scenarios of possible incident causes. This deepening enables the establishment of a relationship between the work context and the upcoming damage to the physical integrity of the worker. It acts as a complementary instrument in the traditional approach to the risk management. In order to explain the application of this methodology in a preventive way, it is presented a case study of a coal mill inspector in a siderurgic company.     

Toward a transdisciplinary approach of ergonomic design for sustainability

Starting from the results of a theoretical and methodological study on Ergonomic design for sustainability previously developed from the authors, this paper shows the early results of a study that tries to apply them to actual operational and conceptual apparatuses of Ergonomics. In particular, the research aims to verify the possibility for Ergonomics to initiate an update of its current theoretical and procedural tools, towards new design solutions of "sustainable well-being", trying to look for new declinations of its several fields of application. The paper identifies new paradigms and definitions for one of the central themes of ergonomic design, as well as one among the most established and investigated: the usability of products and services.     

Cluster analysis of multiplex networks: Defining composite network measures

Social relations are multiplex by nature: actors in a group are tied together by various types of relationships. To understand and explain group processes it is, therefore, important to study multiple social networks simultaneously in a given group. However, with multiplexity the complexity of data also increases. Although some multivariate network methods (e.g. Exponential Random Graph Models, Stochastic Actor-oriented Models) allow to jointly analyze multiple networks, modeling becomes complicated when it focuses on more than a few (2–4) network dimensions. In such cases, dimension reduction methods are called for to obtain a manageable set of variables. Drawing on existing statistical methods and measures, we propose a procedure to reduce the dimensions of multiplex network data measured in multiple groups. We achieve this by clustering the networks using their pairwise similarities, and constructing composite network measures as combinations of the networks in each resulting cluster. The procedure is demonstrated on a dataset of 21 interpersonal network dimensions in 18 Hungarian high-school classrooms. The results indicate that the network items organize into three well-interpretable clusters: positive, negative, and social role attributions. We show that the composite networks defined on these three relationship groups overlap but do not fully coincide with the network measures most often used in adolescent research, such as friendship and dislike.     

The Arrow of Time in the Space of the Present: Temporality as Methodological and Theoretical Dimension in Child Research

The concern of this article is that some prevailing theoretical dualisms in child research may be traced back to a split between time and space, and the argument is that securing a temporal as well as a spatial dimension in the research methodology may allow to transgress such dualisms. The article analyses how an insufficient account of the temporal dimension in different theoretical moments in childhood studies has led to theoretical dualisms between agency and development and between change and continuity in the process of subject formation. Confronting these theoretical dualisms with a qualitative longitudinal study of children indicates that the two sides of each dualism may be understood as interdependent dimensions that co‐constitute subjectivity. The article suggests that temporal and spatial dimensions may be easier to integrate if they are conceived of as two interacting temporal modes, one connected to linear time (the arrow of time) and one connected to non‐linear processes (significations in the space of the present). Theoretically, this is elaborated on with a hermeneutic interpretation of Henri Bergson and Freud's thinking about time and space.     

Design and implementation of ergonomic performance measurement system at a steel plant in India

Management of Tata Steel, the largest steel making company of India in the private sector, felt the need to develop a framework to determine the levels of ergonomic performance at its different workplaces. The objectives of the study are manifold: to identify and characterize the ergonomic variables for a given worksystem with regard to work efficiency, operator safety, and working conditions, to design a comprehensive Ergonomic Performance Indicator (EPI) for quantitative determination of the ergonomic status and maturity of a given worksystem. The study team of IIT Kharagpur consists of three faculty members and the management of Tata Steel formed a team of eleven members for implementation of EPI model. In order to design and develop the EPI model with total participation and understanding of the concerned personnel of Tata Steel, a three-phase action plan for the project was prepared. The project consists of three phases: preparation and data collection, detailed structuring and validation of EPI model. Identification of ergonomic performance factors, development of interaction matrix, design of assessment tool, and testing and validation of assessment tool (EPI) in varied situations are the major steps in these phases. The case study discusses in detail the EPI model and its applications.