Module 12 The Application of Ergonomics Notes PDF

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Summary Notes of Module 12 The Application of Ergonomics Notes...

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Module 12 Notes Overview General application of ergonomics In order to “sell” ergonomics to an individual or organization, the costs and benefits must be outlined; thus, another area of recent research is the economics of ergonomics 12.1 Ergonomics Application Process Anticipation: The four steps noted above could be considered to have reactive and proactive elements. Anticipation of potential mismatches between persons and the system, product, equipment and/or task being designed is a mainly proactive step. This step involves considering ergonomics issues at the design stage. Recognition: This step is reactive in nature. It involves identifying mismatches between human capabilities or characteristics, and task demands and/or other system components such as equipment, work layout, and environment. For example, workers in an office are complaining of eye irritation. This may be related to air quality, or possibly to eyestrain due to poor work positioning, vision correction, and/or lighting. In this step, the problem is identified. -

Number of methods can be used to identify ergonomic deficiencies o Expert knowledge: Past experience and knowledge of human characteristics and potential problems/hazards can be used to assess the tasks, equipment etc. o Operator (user/worker) Suggestions: these can be obtained through suggestion programs, surveys or direct discussions o Performance Problems: enhanced productivity is a goal of ergonomics. Conversely, poor productivity may be an indicator of ergonomic deficiencies. For example, high rates of errors may indicate a cognitive mismatch or poor control/display of computer interface design o Dissatisfaction Turnover: If tasks are not well matched to people's capabilities, frustration, and dissatisfaction will result. o Absenteeism: This can be an indicator of dissatisfaction or of health effects that may not be reported as injuries. o Injuries/Accidents: These should be reviewed in detail to determine if there are ergonomics factors at play. In some instances (e.g., MSDs), the link is fairly clear. However, as noted in Module 3, accidents that are often attributed solely to "human error" may often involve ergonomic deficiencies resulting in a mismatch.

Evaluation: Continuing with the example of eye irritation in the office, this step involves evaluating the situation to determine -

Is it an ergonomics issue? What is the particular issue?

It is at this stage that the process of identifying system components and factors that might play a role can be helpful. For example, is the irritation due to environmental factors such as lighting or air quality,

personal factors such as inappropriate vision correction, or work layout factors such as screen or document placement? If we are looking at a particular job that consist of different tasks, a task analysis, as described earlier, should be done to define the components of the task. One common means of doing this, in instances where issues are physical in nature, is the physical demands analysis, or PDA: -

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Data collection methods o Existing documentation o Observation o Interview o Survey o Photography o Video Tape o Measurements Ares to consider include: o Environment: lightly, noise, heat/cold o Training: procedures, equipment, tasks o Equipment and tools: design, maintenance o Job design: breaks, task variety, incentive systems, shiftwork o Work area design: heights, reaches o Worker population: gender, age, experience, anthropometry o Interface design: computer hardware and software, displays and controls Apply available resources to analyze and interpret results: o Literature o Specialist knowledge o Standards and guidelines: these have been discussed with respect to topic areas throughout the course o Analysis software; e.g., for biomechanics or metabolic analysis Identifying mismatches: o The overall goal is to use knowledge of the task, system or equipment being evaluated and knowledge of human capabilities and limitations to identify where human physical or cognitive abilities are exceeded. Task Analysis: o Task analysis may be done at this stage to identify ergonomic deficiencies, as well as during the next stage as part of a detailed evaluation. o In general terms, an analysis that considers cognitive and physical factors could be defined as follows: A systematic assessment of the information inputs and action outputs required to complete all possible tasks in a job, or associated with a person/machine interface, taking into account the whole range of environmental conditions under which these tasks might be carried out

Controls -

Substeps:

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o Identify solutions o Design solutions o Make interventions o Follow up Identify potential solutions by means that may include: o Brainstorming o Operator/worker/user input o Testing

The final step is to follow up on the success of the intervention. For workplaces that don't already have a program in place to address musculoskeletal and repetitive strain injuries, a suggested outline of activities appears below: -

set up an ergonomics team keep statistics on related injuries and incidents know what your injuries are costing you (this helps put the cost of ergonomics controls in perspective) use appropriate standards to evaluate the ergonomic factors of the jobs implement good design, as well as procedures and training follow up on the effects of any changes made

12.1.1 Macro-ergonomics and Participatory Ergonomics Micro-ergonomics: application of ergonomics to specific individualized situations -

possible to have good micro-ergonomic design of a system’s workstations and environments, yet fail to have an effective overall system because of inattention to the macro-ergonomic design of the system

Traditional micro-ergonomics approaches have involved the first three: -

Human-machine interface Human environment interface Human-software interface Human-organization interface: this is where macro-ergonomics is applied to the “overall organizational design of the work system”

Macro-economics as a “top-down sociotechnical systems approach to work system design, and the design of related human-machine, human-software, and human-environment interfaces; indicated that it involves analysis of the work systems and participation of persons at all organizational levels Participatory ergonomics: an area of study that has overlapping aims with those of macro-ergonomics in that it seeks “involvement of end users in developing and implementing ergonomics work analyses and solutions; practical ergonomics with participation of the necessary actors in problems solving 12.2 The Design Process Steps used to describe the design process used in developing a tool to make it easier to open road grate:

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Problem Identification Idea generation Prototype development Prototype evaluation Final Product Design Production

12.3 The Economics of Ergonomics Number of evaluation methods and they can be useful at difference stages in the ergonomic process: -

In the formal accept/reject decision of an ergonomic project (a solution alternative) with respect to profitability In the choice between several ergonomic options (alternative solutions) that meet the goal, i.e., solve the same problems In ranking independent projects, in case the capital required exceeds available funds In choosing between an ergonomic project and other investments In controlling costs of implemented solutions (actual costs vs. budget)

Costs and revenues must be identified, quantified and compared -

Determine what ahs changed Assign a monetary value Calculate benefits versus costs

Costs: -

Direct costs: materials and labour Overhead: support services, supplies, and equipment Cost of capital: interest, taxes

Benefits (effects on): -

Injury, absenteeism Damage to equipment or product Labour costs: e.g., direct, training, turnover (hiring and training) Quality and productivity Rework and scrap Downtime because of maintenance, work flow, troubleshooting

12.4 Ethics and Professional Practice The Canadian College for the Certification of Professional Ergonomists (CCCPE) requires a combination of educational background, work experience, and examples of professional work that demonstrate various competencies including: -

definition, planning, and design of ergonomic project, study, or investigation data collection, analysis, interpretation and reporting of results participation in design process: design specification and evaluation written and verbal communication

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application of ergonomics information and methods (CCCPE, 2009)

https://ace-ergocanada.ca/index.html?contentid=210 In reviewing the various sources related to ethics, some common aspects arise; these include: -

obligation to public welfare confidentiality action in the best interest of the client duty to maintain competence and current knowledge maintenance of honour and integrity of profession avoidance of conflict of interest (see CCCPE Code for more detail) professional courtesy to colleges contribution to development of profession

12.5 Conclusion The communication of this knowledge is crucial. Communication should not be in one direction only, from researcher to user. Just as there should be feedback in the ergonomics and design processes, so there should be in the researchers/user relationship. In addition to the points raised in the text on usability and clarity, the user should pass along information on problems/situations encountered where further research is needed...