Participatory Ergonomic Approach for Workplace Improvements: A Case Study in an Industrial Plant
This paper aims to describe the development of an ergonomic program based on the principles of Participatory Ergonomics, in order to implement workplace improvements. A case study was conducted in an industrial plant where several musculoskeletal disorder
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Abstract This paper aims to describe the development of an ergonomic program based on the principles of Participatory Ergonomics, in order to implement workplace improvements. A case study was conducted in an industrial plant where several musculoskeletal disorders were previously identified as being the main cause of a high absenteeism. As a result of the ergonomic intervention program, several different improvements measures were implemented, improving several workplace aspects, namely workers’ posture and, consequently, their working conditions. The obtained results indicate that there was a significant ergonomic improvement in tasks where the proposed measures have been implemented. The workers’ satisfaction has increased considerably after the implementation of the suggested measures. Finally, it was possible to conclude that based in the success of this project, the same approach can also be extended to the remaining company’s workplaces.
Keywords Ergonomics Improvements involvement Evaluation Effectiveness
Participatory ergonomics Workers’
H. Fonseca (&) I. Loureiro P. Arezes ALGORITMI Research Center, School of Engineering, University of Minho, Azurém, Guimarães 4800-058, Portugal e-mail: [email protected] I. Loureiro e-mail: [email protected] P. Arezes e-mail: [email protected] N. Santos Systems and Production Department, School of Engineering, University of Minho, Azurém, Guimarães 4800-058, Portugal e-mail: [email protected] © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 P. Arezes (ed.), Advances in Safety Management and Human Factors, Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing 491, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-41929-9_38
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1 Introduction The way companies works is more important than ever to ensure success and future sustainability. Many businesses realize that real success requires continuous improvement in several key-areas, including business performance, costs, quality, occupational safety and health, and environmental protection. Human component has taken an important role in almost industries. The study of the influence of Human factors in industries aims to guarantee that working conditions are as adequate as possible, ensuring workers’ motivation, while preventing diseases and accidents. By doing so, healthy and motivated workers will be more willing to increase productivity. Participatory Ergonomics (PE) is an intervention strategy to reduce risks related to physical load. Usually, there are several reasons for its implementation. First, it addresses one of the categories of occupational risks with the greatest impact on workers’ health, both in terms of incidence, prevalence, or disability [1]. Additionally, the basic principle of PE is to enable workers to participate in the identification of risks resulting from exposure to physical loads in the workplace, as well as to propose and evaluate appropriate corrective measures for each situation. Finally, it enables solutions’ development without interfering with the technical pr
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