ERGONOMICS IN

WORKPLACE

Introduction
Accident are basically due to human error
and in most instance can be attributed to
the poor ergonomics.
Unsafe act and unsafe condition contribute
to accidents.
Responsibility of management to address
this gap
Employees have varying capabilities and
limitations in strength, speed, flexibility and
skills.
These factors must be considered when
designing the workplace.

History
The term ergonomics, from Greek ergon, meaning
"work", and nomos, meaning "natural laws", (The
Outline of Ergonomics, i.e. Science of Work, Based
on the Truths Taken from t
Found by Ancient Greece in the 5th century BC in
the design of their tools, jobs, and workplaces.
Example of this can be found in the description
Hippocrates gave of how a surgeon's workplace
should be designed and how the tools he uses
should be arranged. Egyptians Dynasties made
tools, household equipment, among others that
illustrated ergonomic principles.
World War II marked the development of new and
complex machines and weaponry, and these made
new demands on operators' cognition.

Objective
Ergonomics describes the interaction between
the operator (employee) and task demands.
Objectives
To reduce unnecessary stress.
Focuses on how work effect people.
Emphasis/important to reduce fatigue on
employees by designing tasks within peoples
work capabilities.

Goal :
To achieve the optimal match between
employees and the overall work environment.
Focus is on suitability of the task, system or
equipment for the employee.

Definition
The science of making things
comfortable and efficient for the human
performance.
Ergonomics is the study of designing
equipment and devices that fit the
human body, its movements, and its
cognitive abilities.
Physiological basis of work
Seated Work
Standing Work

Seated Work
Health hazard
Continuous sitting a common source of
discomfort and fatigue.
Control measures
Arrange work in a semi-circle.
Uses a swivel chair to reduce body twisting, to
allow easy movements, and to reduce side to side
motions,
Uses sloping work tables whenever possible to
reduce bending, and to encourage an upright
position.

Semi-Circular Workstation

Standing Work
A persons body affected by arrangement
of work area and tasks while standing.
Employee less freedom to and rest
muscles which contributes to health
problems such discomfort and severe
health problems.
These occurs when job is designed
without considering job characteristic of
the human body.

Standing Work
Health hazard
can lead to blood to pool in the legs and feet
and can result in inflammation of veins.
Standing over the period cause joint in the
spine, hips, knees, and feet to become
temporarily immobilized or locked

Control measure
Control/tools be within reach of employee
without twisting or bending.
For work requires standing only, a seat be
provided to allow the worker to sit occasionally.

Work allows operation be within easy reach

MSD (Muscular Skeletal

Disorders)
The term MSD covers any injury,
damage or disorder of the joints or
other tissues in the upper/lower limbs
or the back.
Some common examples of
musculoskeletal disorders are:
Vibration White Finger
Shin Splints
Scoliosis

What is Vibration White Finger?

Vibration White Finger is a repetitive stress
injury where the small blood vessels in the
fingers periodically spasm. The spams cause
constriction of the blood supply to the
fingertips turning the fingers white. Soon
after, the available oxygen in the blood is
used up and the fingers turn blue. Once the
spasms subside the fingers turn red as
oxygenated blood returns to the finger tips.

What are shin splints?

The term shin splints is a common
misnomer in sports medicine. It does not
imply a specific diagnosis, rather it is the
symptom of pain over the front of the
tibia bone. The pain from shin splints can
be due to either problems of the muscles,
the bone, or the attachment of the
muscle to the bone. Therefore, 'shin
splints' is simply the name given to pain
over the front of the lower leg.

Indoor air quality (IAQ)

is a term referring to the air quality within
and around buildings and structures,
especially as it relates to the health and
comfort of building occupants.
IAQ can be affected by microbial
contaminants (mold, bacteria), gases
(including carbon monoxide, radon,
volatile organic compounds), particulates,
or any mass or energy stressor that can
induce adverse health conditions.

 Indoor air is becoming an

increasingly more concerning health
hazard than outdoor air. Using
ventilation to dilute/reduce
contaminants, filtration, and source
control are the primary methods for
improving indoor air quality in most
buildings.

Lighting and
Sightedness
Lumens
Lumen is the unit of total light output from a light
source. If a lamp or fixture were surrounded by a
transparent bubble, the total rate of light flow
through the bubble is measured in lumens. Lumens
indicate a rate of energy flow. Thus, it is a power
unit, like the watt or horsepower.
Typical indoor lamps have light outputs ranging
from 50 to 10,000 lumens. You use lumens to order
most types of lamps, to compare lamp outputs, and
to calculate lamp energy efficiencies (which are
expressed as lumens per watt).

Footcandles and Lux

Footcandles and lux are units that indicate the
density of light that falls on a surface. This is what
light meters measure. For example, average
indoor lighting ranges from 100 to 1,000 lux, and
average outdoor sunlight is about 50,000 lux. The
official unit of candlepower is thecandela,
Brightness
In general, brightness is an expression of the
amount of light emitted from a surface per unit of
area. Brightness is not an official term of the
lighting trade, However, the concept is essential
for understanding visual quality, especially in
relation to contrast and glare.

Fig. 1 Footcandle meter The meter is used to measure

illuminance. It is the only measuring instrument that you
need for most applied lighting efficiency work. Being an older
model, this meter indicates in units of footcandles. Newer
models indicate in units of lux.

In Summary ...
So, here is the overall picture. A lamp produces
a certain amount of light, measured in
lumens. This light falls on surfaces with a
density that is measured in footcandles or
lux. A person looking at the scene sees
different areas of his visual field in terms of
levels of brightness, or luminance, measured
in candelas per square meter.
Many characteristics other than light intensity
are important in selecting light sources. These
include color, operating temperature, starting
time, etc.

Temperature and
Humidity
Human comfort
Humans control their body temperature mainly
by sweating and shivering. The United States
Environmental Protection Agency cites the
ASHRAE Standard 55-1992, Thermal
Environmental Conditions for Human
Occupancy, which recommends keeping relative
humidity between 30% and 60%. At high
humidity, sweating is less effective, and we feel
hotter. At low humidity, the risk for nosebleeds
increases, especially during cold winter seasons.

Some people experience difficulty breathing

in high humidity environments. Some cases
may possibly be related to respiratory
conditions such as asthma, while others
may be the product of anxiety. Sufferers will
often hyperventilate in response, causing
sensations of numbness, faintness, and loss
of concentration, among others.
Air conditioning works by reducing humidity
in summer. In winter, heating cold outdoor
air can decrease relative humidity levels
indoor to below 30%, leading to discomfort
such as dry skin and excessive thirst.

Sound and Hearing

Quality
Sound quality is the quality of the audio
output from various electronic devices.
Sound quality can be defined as the degree
of accuracy with which a device records or
emits the original sound waves. Sound
quality is also the physical pleasure or
fatigue experienced by a listener.
The frequency range of sound (in hertz)
which the equipment is capable of sampling
affects sound quality. Humans can hear
frequencies ranging from about 20 Hz to
approximately 20 kHz.

Noise
Employers must use
feasible engineering
or administrative
controls to reduce
exposures
whenever the levels
in Table 3 are
exceeded.
Employers must
also issue hearing
protectors and
employees must
wear them when
overexposed.

Table 3

Noise level
measurement
equipment

Ear Muff &

Ear Plug