Republic of the Philippines

POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

GRADUATE SCHOOL
M.H. Del Pilar Campus Sta. Mesa, Manila Tel. No. 716-0933

ERGONOMICS-CONCEPTUAL ISSUES What is Ergonomics? According to International Ergonomics Association, Ergonomics is the scientific discipline that seeks to understand and improve human interactions with products, equipment, environments and systems. The study of work in relation to the environment in which it is Figure 1

It is a combination of principles of biology, psychology, anatomy and physiology to remove from the work environment the conditions that may cause workers to experience discomfort, fatigue or poor health. What are Benefits of Ergonomics?
For the worker: The benefits are healthier and safer working conditions.

Ergonomics provides safe working environment. With the help of ergonomics employees are free from strain and fatigue.
For the employer: The most obvious benefit is increased productivity.

The main sense of application of ergonomics to any institution asides from the employee's safety is high productivity. With unsafe working environment is a high percentage of accidents. And high percentage of accidents means a slow production, slow production means less profit. Three Basic Principles of Ergonomics
1. All work activity should allow the worker to move freely

Figure 2
2. When a worker has to exert him or herself physically, the largest number of muscles should do it.

Figure 3

3. All work activities should be performed with your joints no more than halfway at their total flexibility.

Figure 4

Goals of Ergonomics 1. Reduce work-related injury and illness 2. Help contain workers' compensation costs for employers 3. Improve productivity in the workplace 4. Improve the quality of work 5. Reduce absenteeism 6. Help employers comply with government regulations regarding work environments. Methods of Obtaining Goals 1. Evaluation and control of work site risk factors

2. Identification and quantification of existing work site risk conditions 3. Recommendation of engineering and administrative controls to reduce the identified risk conditions 4. Education of management and workers to risk conditions Factors Affecting Work Condition 1. Environmental factors 2. Workstation design 3. Tool design and Machine design 4. Job design including factors such as shift work breaks, and meal schedules. Workplace Description
- Worker with attributes of size, strength, range of motion, intellect, education, expectations, and other physical/mental capacities.

A work setting comprised of parts, tools, furniture, control/display panels and other physical objects.

A work environment created by climate, lighting, noise, vibration, and other atmospheric qualities.

Work Risk Factors Risk Factors are what we called the characteristics work setting have been associated with injury. 1. Task Physical Characteristics - primarily interaction between the worker and the work setting 2. Environmental Characteristics - primarily interaction between the worker and the work environment. Task Physical Characteristics

Posture - The position of the body while performing work activities Force - Task forces can be viewed as the effect of an exertion on internal body tissues Velocity/Acceleration -The speed of performing the task Repetition - The number of a similar exertion performed during a task. Duration - The length of exposure to a risk factor. Recovery Time - The length of rest between exertions. Heavy Dynamic Exertion - The cardiovascular system provides oxygen and metabolites to muscle tissue. Some tasks require long-term/repetitive muscle contraction Segmental Vibration - Vibration applied to the hand/arms through a tool or piece of equipment. Static Exertion - The performance of a task from one postural position for an extended duration. The condition is a combination of force, posture, and duration. Environmental Characteristics Heat stress - is the total heat load the body must accommodate. It is generated externally from environment temperature and internally from human metabolism.

Cold stress - Cold stress is the exposure of the body to cold such that there is a lowering of the body's deep core temperature. Whole body vibration - Exposure of the whole body to vibration (usually through the feet/buttocks when riding in a vehicle) has some support as a risk for injury. Lighting - Amount of light in the work area Noise - Unwanted sounds

Other Workplace Risk

1. Job stress 2. Job invariability 3. Cognitive demands 4. Work organization 5. Workload 6. Working hours (shift work, overtime) 7. Displays and control panels 8. Slip and falls 9. Fire 10. Electrical exposures 11. Chemical exposures 12. Biological exposures 13. Ionizing radiation 14. Radiofrequency/microwave radiation

POINTS TO REMEMBER: 1. Many workers suffer from injuries and diseases that result from manual work and the increased mechanization of work. 2. Ergonomics looks at ways to make the job fit the worker, instead of forcing the worker to fit the job.
3. Ergonomics can be used to improve poor working conditions. It can also be used to prevent bad design from being built into a job if applied when a job, tools or workstations are being set up. 4. Without the application of ergonomic principles, workers are often forced to adapt themselves to poor working conditions.