Unit 3

Ergonomics: Meaning, Objectives & Design of Workplace

Meaning of Ergonomics: Ergonomics is the science which deals with the relationship between man
and his working environments. It takes care of factors governing the physical and mental strains.
Ergonomics consists of words ‘Ergo’ (which means work), and ‘Nomos’ (which means ‘Natural Laws’).
This can also be termed as ‘Human Engineering’.
Ergonomics (or Human Engineering) is defined by I.L.O. (International Labour Organisation)
as “the application of human biological sciences in conjunction with engineering sciences to the
worker and his working environment so as to obtain maximum satisfaction for the worker which, at
the same time, enhances productivity”.
Thus ergonomics is a multi-disciplinary sci-ence comprising subjects like anatomy,
psychology, physiology, sociology, engineering, anthro-pology, physics, and medicine.
The task of ergonomics is to develop such conditions for workers, which are necessary to
reduce physical workload, to improve working postures, facilitate instrument handling, and thus
improves the quality of working life, reduce fatigue, maximize efficiency of production operators and
to minimize human errors.
Ergonomics helps to study the effect of working environment on health and safety and in
turn on productivity. The workers’ interest in the job to a greater extent depends on how
com-fortable and safe is the workplace.
1. To optimize the integration of man and machine in order to increase productivity with accuracy.
It involves in the design of:
(a) A work place suitable for the worker,
(b) Machinery and controls, so as to minimize mental and physical strain on the worker to enable the
improvement in efficiency
(c) A, favourable environment for performing the task most effectively,
(d) Task and work organisation,
2. To take care of the factors governing the physical and mental strain (i.e. fatigue) so as to get
maximum satisfaction for the worker which at the same time enhances the productivity.
3. Attempts to minimize the risk of injury, illness, accidents and errors without compromis-ing
productivity.
4. To improve the design of machine at the initial design stage or later whenever the existing
product or process is modified.

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Thus ergonomics helps in:
(a) Developing most comfortable conditions related to climate, lighting, ventilation and noise level;
(b) Reducing the physical work load;
(c) Improving working postures and reducing efforts of certain movements;
(d) Making the handling of machine levers and controls easy;
(e) Increasing safety.
Design of Workplace: Backaches, neck-aches, and other muscular strains due to bad seating and
incorrect working posture are common in industry, where most of the jobs are performed by the
operators either in sitting or standing in a fixed posture for a long duration.
The interaction of the operator with the immediate workspace around him is influenced by
many factors such as seat design, the working desk and adjacent machine. These factors are
responsible for the position and postures of the users and, hence their efficiency.
(a) Location of Tools and Materials: All tools and materials required must be located within the
normal grasp area and as far as possible in front of the worker. This will enable him to travel lesser
distances to pick up and put these tools and materials frequently at desired place so as to save time
and energy.
For the assembly work, it is advisable to provide such arrangement so that the components
can slide along the smooth surface and the worker picks them up. It will greatly reduce the time and
effort.
(b) Proper Chairs: Chairs permitting proper posture for the workers must be provided. This is
possible when the worker is working on the work bench (e.g. assembly, fitting and inspection etc.).
Performing a job on floor in sitting position or on table in standing position requires more energy.
The height of chair and the work bench must be arranged in such a way so that the worker
may not feel any difficulty while working. Their height must be such that the top of bench remains at
the height of the elbow of the worker. If possible the height of the bench must be such that worker
can work both in sitting and standing positions. Chairs must be provided with foot rests.
(c) Working desk: All the tools and materials must be located within the normal grasp area and as
close in front of the operator as possible. Experiment have shown that a semi-circular table having a
radius of 20″ or 50 cm from a point at 4″ or 10 cm back (4″ or 10 cm gives approximately centre line
of the operator shoulders and elbow) as shown in Fig. 53.1., allows a most comfortable position.

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Working desk must be so designed so that use of both hands can be taken simultaneously.
In the end, “work place layout” helps the analyst in determining the required body and eye
motions of operators, safety measures and operational difficulties that may occur at working place.
Work Posture:
The posture that a workman needs to adopt to perform the task is an important
consider-ation in the design of workplace. Incorrect posture can cause strain in back, waist, legs and
hands. Ergonomic design of the seats include type of seat, seat height, back support, arm sup-port,
foot rests etc.
Factors Considered in the Work Place Design:
1. Purpose of operation.
2. Product design-value analysis.
3. Materials related factors, like.
i. space required, quantity of items, size, etc. for raw, finished and scrap materials.
ii. rate of production.
iii. inspection requirement.
4. Equipment related factors, like
i. Size. ii. Utility, service requirements.
iii. Auxiliary equipment. iv. Number of machines, and space required.
v. Nature of process. vi. Noise, pollution, vibration, safety hazards etc.
5. Material handling methods.
6. Space related factors; like
i. Aisles. ii. Ceiling height required. iii. Space utilisation.
7. Operated related factors:
i. Sitting or standing. ii. Level of comfort.
iii. Movement required. iv. Number of operators.
v. Supervision requirement.
8. Working Conditions:
i. Noise, lighting, heating and Ventilation. ii. Dust, Vibration, window location.
9. Method related factors:
i. Direction of flow. ii. Floor levels. iii. Location of items.
iv. Material movement. v. Safety requirement. vi. Operation sequence.
vii. Tools and material locations. viii. Production rate. ix. Auxiliary services.

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Design of Machinery and Controls:
Most machines today are reasonably well designed for optimum performance, but the
ca-pacity of the worker assigned to the machine is generally different. This may result in a job taking
longer to complete and the risk of errors increases. To prevent this, user and machinery must be
looked as a combined unit. Thus the ergonomics must be involved in fitting the tool and the machine
to the worker by designing it accordingly.
When a worker operates or uses a machine, instrument or tool, it is essential that man-
machine must be considered as a single working unit from the design points of view, as ex-plained
above.
Machine must be so designed so that worker can use both hands and foot simul-taneously
for operating it and all the levers, pedals, instruments, hand wheels, knobs and but-tons must be
located within the normal grasp at a suitable height and in front of the operator. Foot pedals must
be provided with suitably returning springs. Care must be taken to avoid eye, muscular and mental
strain.
Fatigue may further be reduced if proper use of jigs or fixtures, stops or guides is taken. The
size of the driver’s cab and the placement of gearshift and brake pedals etc. are gener-ally designed
to suit common man, resulting transportation operator, if he is a taller or shorter than average,
readily succumb to fatigue, through straining to reach the brakes, gears, and other controls.
Therefore, modifications to suit the size of the users will result in significant improvement in health
and also reduction in accident rates. Generally adjustable chairs Eire therefore provided.
Design and layout of display panels and instrument should be such, so that it enable
accu-rate observations. Design and location of various manual controls, knobs, levers, wheels etc.
should not cause excessive physical and mental strain to the worker. All controls should move in one
direction for one kind of action e.g. acceleration or retardation, energise or de-energise.
Work Environment Design:
Physical and psycho-social aspects of the work environment are crucial factors which affect
comfort of worker and his performance. The physical factors at the workplace include lighting,
ventilation, noise and temperature. Psychosocial aspects are concerned with motivational work
environment, these includes working hours, rest pauses, shift systems, health and safety along-with
other factors.
Task and Work Organization Design:
(A) Task Design: Task design is based on the nature of job and the design of equipment, machinery
and tools in accordance with the ergonomic concepts. This ensures that jobs are within the physical
and mental capacities of workers.

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 Efforts be made to include the job with a mixture of repetitive and non-repetitive work
during which recovery from the effects of the former is possible. The task should be designed in such
a way that muscles are not required to be used repetitively in a forceful manner.
(B) Work Organization: Measures such as reducing work rate in paced operations, reduc-ing shift
lengths, and provisions for extra rest breaks have proved of greater help. Lifting of heavy objects
presents a high risk of overexertion, injuries and cumulative damage to soft tis-sues around the
spine.
Ergonomics and Health:
Ergonomics is helpful in both the prevention of occupational diseases and promotion of
health. Studies have suggested that many of the occupational diseases are connected to poor design
of tools, machines, work place and work environment.
To prevent cumulative/repetitive strain injuries, variety of health problems including visual
fatigue, ergonomics play an impor-tant role to increase work efficiency and productivity.
Poor workplace layout and design are major factors contributing to workplace injuries as
well as increasing the risk of sprain and strain injuries and occupational overuse injuries. It also make
it difficult to deal with emergency situations.
If poor workplace design means you have to work near noisy equipment or in areas where
you may be exposed to hazardous sub-stances, this can increase the risk of hearing loss and of
chemical related health problems.
Factors which need to be considered when assessing Workplace design and layout are:
(i) Are desks, benches and chairs suitable for the people using them and for the tasks they are
performing? Poorly designed chairs which cannot be adjusted for height and to support your lower
back can cause back pain. Desks which are not ergonomically designed to acomodate a range of
heights can also cause discomfort and increase the risk of injuries.
(ii) Are passages and exits kept clear at all times? Accidents can be caused by poor housekeeping.
(iii) Is equipment with dangerous moving parts properly guarded?
(iv) Are items which are manually, lifted and carried are stored and worked on at a suit-able height?
Well-designed storage areas and work areas can significantly reduce the amount of bending, twisting
and lifting that you need to do to carry out your tasks.
(v) Chemicals should be stored safely in areas located near suitable safety equipment. These should
be in areas where there is adequate ventilation.
Manual Handling: Manual handling means a range of activities including lifting, lowering, pushing,
pulling, carrying, moving, holding or restraining an object. It also covers activities which require the
use of force or effort such as pulling a lever or operating power tools.

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 It has been estimated that about a third of all work injuries occur during manual handling
and most or them cause back injury. A risk situation arise when tasks are poorly designed or where
handling involves awkward or constrained postures.
Following are the some examples of ac-tions that may cause manual handling injuries:
(i) Work involving sudden, jerky or hard to control movements or which causes discomfort and pain.
(ii) Work involving too much bending, reaching or twisting.
(iii) Work where a long time is spent holding the same posture or position.
(iv) Work that is fast and repetitious.
(v) Heavy weights to be lifted and carried manually.
(vi) Work where force is needed to carry out a task.
(vii) The loads to be handled below your mid-thigh or above your shoulder.
Some of the solutions to deal with such problems is Redesign task or work area to make it safer, by:
i. Modifying the object (shape, size or weight);
ii. Modifying the work area or work station layout;
iii. Eliminating unnecessary handling;
iv. Ensuring that all heavy objects are at waist level where they can be handled com-fortably.
v. Reducing the amount of bending, lifting, twisting, reaching & holding required to carry out a task.
vi. Modifying the task by using tools such as levers, hooks hoists, trolleys or by team lifting.
vii. Providing the training and information about safe working practices.
Prevention Exercises:
In order to neutralise the effect of wrong postures for long periods during working, it is
advisable to perform stretching exercises for neck, back, shoulders, upper body, full body etc. While
stretching care should be taken that, move slowly and hold stretches for 5-10 seconds. Right type of
exercise(s) can be selected and practiced under the guidance of experts.
Some Practical Solutions:
In order to reduce chances of “Overuse Injuries” some of the following solutions are sug­gested:
(i) Reorganise the work so that you can mix repetitive and non-repetitive activities.
(ii) Frequent short breaks should be introduced, if the job assigned to the worker cannot be varied or
rotated. In such a case simple & gentle exercises performed at the workstation can reduce muscle
tension.
(iii) Economically designed furniture is available which can be adjusted to suit employees of different
sizes.
(iv) The work area may be rearranged so that materials, equipment, tools and controls can be easily
reached without stretching or twisting.

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(v) Hand tools for repetitive tasks should be of comfortable size, shape and weight, well- balanced
with a comfortable grip and do not need more than reasonable force to oper-ate.
Industrial Hygiene:
Industrial hygiene is the science of anticipating, recognizing, evaluating and controlling
workplace conditions that may cause workers’ injury or illness. In short, we can say that indus-trial
hygiene is the science of dealing with job hazards.
Industrial hygienists use environmental monitoring and analytical methods to detect the
extent of worker exposure and employ engi-neering work practice controls, and other methods to
control potential health hazards.
Indus-trial hygienists analyze, identify, and measure workplace hazards or stressors that can
cause sickness, impaired health, or significant discomfort in workers through chemical, physical,
ergonomic, or biological exposures.
Industrial hygienist determine about the jobs and workstations which are the sources of the
potential problems by using the worksite analysis. During the worksite analysis he mea-sures and
identifies exposures, problem tasks and risks.
The industrial hygienist inspects, re-searches, or analyses as to how the particular chemicals
or physical hazards at that worksite effect worker’s health. If a situation is found to be hazardous to
health, industrial hygienist recommends the appropriate corrective actions.
Industrial hygienist in addition to engineering controls, recognizes work practice controls
which are the primary means of reducing employee exposure to occupational hazards.
Work practice controls include:
(i) Following proper procedures that minimize exposures while operating production and control
equipment;
(ii) Inspecting and maintaining process and control equipment on a regular basis;
(iii) Implementing good house-keeping procedures;
(iv) Providing good supervision;
(v) Mandating that smoking and drinking in regulated areas be prohibited
Major Job Risks (Hazards):
1. Air Contamination: The most common particulate contaminants include dusts, fumes, mists,
aerosols, and fibers. These are commonly classified as either particulate or gas or vapour
contaminants.
2. Chemical Hazards: Harmful chemical compounds are in the form of solids, liquids, gases, mists,
dusts, fumes, and vapours, and exert toxic effects by inhalation, absorption (through direct contact
with the skin), or ingestion (eating or drinking).

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3. Biological Hazards: These include bacteria, viruses, fungi and other living organisms that can cause
acute and chronic infections by entering the body either directly or through breaks in the skin.
4. Physical Hazards: These include noise, vibration, illumination, temperature and ex-cessive levels of
radiation.
5. Ergonomic Hazards: These include excessive vibration, noise, eye strain, repetitive motions,
repetitive shocks over prolonged period of time, heavy lifting problems, and improp-erly designed
tools or work areas. Ergonomic hazards are avoided primarily by the effective design of a job or
jobsite and better designed tools or equipment.
By adopting thorough worksite analyses, employers can set up procedures to correct or
control ergonomic hazards, teaching correct work practices, employing proper administrative
controls (e.g. shifting workers among several different tasks, and increasing rest breaks,) and
providing and mandating personal protective equipment.
Evaluating working conditions from an ergonomics standpoint involves looking at the total
physiological and psychological demands of the job. Benefits of a well-designed ergonomic work
environment include increased efficiency, fewer accidents, lower operating costs, and more
ef-fective use of personnel.
Guide to Work Area Planning:
1. Plan for tools, gauges and materials.
2. Use gravity, where possible.
3. Plan the position for each tool, and gauge.
4. Plan for delivery of material directly at the point of use.
5. Plan for prompt removal of materials from work place.
6. Provide adequate provision for planned scrap removal.
7. Plan for proper height relationship between material supply, use, and disposal.
8. Eliminate intermediate handling.
9. Place material on pallets etc. and move it along with them.
10. Use the same container throughout the system to avoid frequent changes.
11. Plan each work place in proper relationship with adjacent operations/work places.
12. Use proper containers to prevent damage of materials.
13. Plan for minimum walking.
14. Plan for judicial manual, gravity, and equipment handling.

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