RESEARCH ARTICLE | JUNE 26 2018

Prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms/disorders in tofu

industries in Kediri 
Sri Rahayuningsih  ; Ari Widyanti; Lolyka D. Indrasari; Herman R. Soetisna

AIP Conf. Proc. 1977, 020027 (2018)

https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5042883

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 Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Symptoms/Disorders in Tofu
Industries in Kediri
Sri Rahayuningsih1, a), Ari Widyanti2, b), Lolyka D. Indrasari2, c) dan Herman R. Soetisna2, d)

1
Department of Industrial Engineering, Universitas Kediri, Indonesia
2
Department of Industrial Engineering, ITB, Ganesa 10 Bandung, Indonesia
a)
Corresponding author: nuning@unik-kediri.ac.id
b)
widyanti@mail.ti.itb.ac.id
c)
lolyka@unik-kediri.ac.id
d)
hermanrs@mail.ti.itb.ac.id

Abstract. Musculoskeletal symptoms/disorders (MSDs) are symptoms or disorders of muscle tissue or bone structure.
Such symptoms will influence performance as well as safety and health of workers, therefore various studies have been
done to observe and minimize the MSDs. They are commonly found in industries that involve intense manual task, for
example in tofu industries. The purpose of this study is to observe MSDs among workers in tofu industries as the main

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industry in Kediri city, East Java. 300 workers in tofu industries voluntarily participated in this study by filling out a
Nordic body map questionnaire. The participants were selected based on convenience sampling where permit was given
by the owner of the industries for the data collection. Result shows that most workers suffer musculoskeletal disorders in
the waist and shoulder. Implications of the results are discussed.

INTRODUCTION

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are defined as injuries and disorders that affect the human body's movement
or musculoskeletal system (i.e., muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves, discs, blood vessels, etc.). Common MSDs
include carpal tunnel syndrome, tendonitis, and muscle/tendon strain [1]. The MSDs have been analyzed as a primer
cause of error, accident, and absent of workers in many countries and industries [2]. In 2016, the Health and Safety
[3] Executive reported MSDs in 80% of workers in the U.S. That influenced the worker productivity. Similarly, the
Safe work Australia [4] also reported MSDs in 30% of workers in Australia.
In the industrial level, many studies have been conducted to observe MSDs in various industries. In construction
industries, Neeraja et al., [5] and Ajayi, O.O [6] found out MSDs in most of construction workers. In fact, they are
also found in automotive industries [7], garment [8], healthcare worker [9,10], farmer [11], and bus driver [12].
Similarly, MSDs have been found in Indonesian industries, among others in songket industries [13], tailor [14], and
store cashier [15].
In fact, MSDs have been found in many industries, particularly in industries that involves physical demanding
task, raising a question whether similar condition will also be found in tofu industries. Tofu is a traditional food
made from bean. Tofu production is started with process of sour the bean in deep water for about 3 (three) hours
before it is processed in the mill machine. Subsequently, the milled bean is boiled and the result is filtered using
mori cloth. The filtered water is added by acid to make it granulated before cutting it into tofu pieces.

Human-Dedicated Sustainable Product and Process Design: Materials, Resources, and Energy
AIP Conf. Proc. 1977, 020027-1–020027-5; https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5042883
Published by AIP Publishing. 978-0-7354-1687-1/$30.00

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 METHOD

Subjects
This research involved three hundred workers in tofu industries (mean age = 27.5 years, 101 female) who
voluntarily participated in this study. Workers were recruited based on convenience sampling. Permit for data
collection was given by the owner of the tofu industries.

Measures
To capture MSDs in the workers of tofu industries, Nordic Body Map developed by Kourinka [16] was used.
The Nordic Body Map is equipped by picture of the body with number in each part of the body. Participants must
fill in the Nordic questionnaire by giving a mark on the level of discomfort in intended body part. The Indonesian
version of Nordic Body Map and the scale used in this study is presented in FIGURE 1. The scale was determined to
assess the intensity of discomfort, ranging from 0 (weak) to 4 (very strong).

Scale
No Part of the body
1 2 3 4
0 Neck
1 Nape
2 Shoulders
3 Right Shoulders
4 Left upper arm

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5 Back
6 Upper right arm
7 Waist
8 Hip
9 Butt
10 Left Elbow
11 Right Elbow
12 Lower left arm
13 Lower right arm
14 Left wrist
15 Right wrist
16 Left hand
17 Right hand
18 Left Thigh
19 Right Thigh
20 Left Knee
21 Right Knee
22 Left Calf
23 Right Calf
24 Left ankle
25 Right Foot Wrist
26 Left Foot
27 Right foot

FIGURE 1. The Nordic Body Map.

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 RESULT
The result of questionnaire on MSDs among workers in tofu industries is presented in figure 2.

FIGURE 2. Prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms/disorder on the participants of Indonesian tofu industries’ workers.

Figure 2 demonstrates that the three parts of body that suffer the most from MSDs as reported by the participants

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were waist, right shoulder, and upper right shoulder.
In-depth analysis was conducted by classifying the level of MSDs for each of body part as demonstrated in
Figure 3.

FIGURE 3. Proportion of different levels of MSDs in each body part.

Figure 3 shows the consistency with the complaints of MSDs as reported by tofu industries’ workers (i.e., waist,
right shoulder, and upper right shoulder). The highest percentage of highest level of MSDs was also shown by waist
and upper right shoulder.

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 DISCUSSION
The aim of this study is to observe musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among tofu industries’ workers. Result
shows that the three most common body parts suffer from MSDs as reported by the participants are waist, right
shoulder, and upper right shoulder. The highest percentage of the highest level of MSDs was also shown by waist
and upper right shoulder. Since there is no previous study performed in tofu industries, comparison of the results
cannot be conducted. However, this result confirms the fact of the prevalence of MSDs in workers with physically
demanding task. Preliminary analysis in postural analysis of workers in tofu industries during their activities
provides similar pictures.
This study has several major limitations. First, the participants were selected based on convenience sampling
which might not reflect the whole population. Further study covering representative samples is suggested. Second,
there is gender imbalance of participants. Considering that male and female might endure diverse MSDs due to
different physical characteristic of male and female [1], the balance number of gender or separate analysis of the
result based on gender should be conducted.
Apart from the limitations, the present study is the first study reported MSDs among tofu industries’ workers.
The study will be followed up by intervention to minimize the MSDs, one of them is through a design of jig and
fixture that considers ergonomics principles for the tofu industries.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Authors thank to the Indonesian Ministry of Research, Technology, and Higher Education for funding this
research (under the scheme of hibah PEKERTI fiscal year 2017).

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