Musculoskeletal disorders in a handmade brick manufacturing plant
| Autor: | Roger Haslam, Fiona C Trevelyan |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2001 |
| Předmět: |
Brick
business.industry Public Health Environmental and Occupational Health Payment system Organizational culture Human factors and ergonomics Human Factors and Ergonomics Task (project management) Factory (object-oriented programming) Operations management Relevance (information retrieval) business Psychology Productivity |
| Zdroj: | International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics. 27:43-55 |
| ISSN: | 0169-8141 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/s0169-8141(00)00036-6 |
| Popis: | This study investigated musculoskeletal disorders in a handmade brick factory, concentrating on the ‘moulding’ department, where clay is shaped into bricks. Methods included a review of medical records; semi-structured interviews; video recording to enable task, postural and force analyses; subjective discomfort survey; attitude survey; workplace analysis; and comparisons with a sister factory. Results identified both upper limb and back problems. The main task had high repetition, with a 13 s cycle time. Posture and force analyses found poor standing posture and undesirable wrist positions, accompanied by significant force loadings. An important contributory factor was considered to be the piecework system. Recommendations included task redesign to eliminate high-risk elements; modification to payment system; and workplace changes. A follow-up investigation found improvements had been made, but important recommendations still needed to be implemented. Relevance to industry Achieving increased productivity within heritage industries may be injurious to worker health. Problems can be difficult to resolve due to deep-rooted organisational culture, combined with traditional working practices. Ergonomics recommendations in such circumstances need to be implemented with sensitivity and in full to gain the intended benefit. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
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