A case study to illustrate the cost effectiveness of ergonomic redesign of electronic motherboard was presented. The factory was running at a loss due to the high costs of rejects and poor quality and productivity. Subjective assessments and direct observations were made on the factory. Investigation revealed that due to motherboard design errors, the machine had difficulty in placing integrated circuits onto the pads, the operators had much difficulty in manual soldering certain components and much unproductive manual cleaning (MC) was required. Consequently, there were high rejects and occupational health and safety (OHS) problems, such as, boredom and work discomfort. Also, much labour and machine costs were spent on repairs. The motherboard was redesigned to correct the design errors, to allow more components to be machine soldered and to reduce MC. This eliminated rejects, reduced repairs, saved US dollars 581495/year and improved operators' OHS. The customer also saved US dollars 142105/year on loss of business.
The study aimed at reducing the occupational health and safety problems faced by the manual component insertion operators. Subjective and objective assessments, and direct observations were made in the printed circuit assembly factory. Simple and low-cost ergonomic interventions were implemented, that is, repairing chairs, reducing high workloads, assigning operators to a maximum of 2 workstations, confining machines that emitted bad smell and much noise, and providing finger work aids. The results of the interventions were reductions in operators' work discomforts, that is, chair discomfort (by 90%), high work stress, and discomfort due to profound change in their workstations. Their health hazards were also eliminated, that is, inhalation of toxic fumes, exposure to too much noise, and pain due to pressing sharp components.
An ergonomics improvement study was conducted on the visual inspection process of a printed circuit assembly (PCA) factory. The process was studied through subjective assessment and direct observation. Three problems were identified: operators' eye problems, insufficient time for inspection and ineffective visual inspection. These problems caused a huge yearly rejection cost of US 298,240 dollars, poor quality, customer dissatisfaction and poor occupational health and safety. Ergonomics interventions were made to rectify the problems: reduced usage of a magnifying glass, the use of less glaring inspection templates, inspection of only electrically non-tested components and introduction of a visual inspection sequence. The interventions produced savings in rejection cost, reduced operators' eye strain, headaches and watery eyes, lowered the defect percentage at customers' sites and increased the factory's productivity and customer satisfaction.
The research aims to address the physically loading task and quality and productivity problems in the brazing of coils of air-handler units. Eight operators participated in two intervention studies conducted in a factory in Malaysia to compare the status quo brazing with (1) the use of a new twin-brazing torch that replaced the single-brazing gun and (2) brazing in a sitting position. The outcome measures are related to quality, productivity, monetary costs, body postures and symptoms. After baseline, Interventions I and II were applied for 3 months respectively. The results show a 58.9% quality improvement, 140% productivity increase and 113 times ROI. There was also a reduction in poor work postures e.g. in the raising of the arms and shoulders; bending, twisting and extending of the neck; and bending of left and right wrists, and the back. This research can be replicated in other factories that share similar processes.
Current human activities are seriously eroding the ability of natural and social systems to cope. Clearly we cannot continue along our current path without seriously damaging our own ability to survive as a species. This problem is usually framed as one of sustainability. As concerned professionals, citizens, and humans there is a strong collective will to address what we see as a failure to protect the natural and social environments that supports us. While acknowledging that we cannot do this alone, human factors and ergonomics needs to apply its relevant skills and knowledge to assist where it can in addressing the commonly identified problem areas. These problems include pollution, climate change, renewable energy, land transformation, and social unrest amongst numerous other emerging global problems. The issue of sustainability raises two fundamental questions for human factors and ergonomics: which system requires sustaining and what length of time is considered sustainable? In this paper we apply Wilson (2014) parent-sibling-child model to understanding what is required of an HFE sustainability response. This model is used to frame the papers that appear in this Special Issue.
Sustainability issues such as natural resource depletion, pollution and poor working conditions have no geographical boundaries in our interconnected world. To address these issues requires a paradigm shift within human factors and ergonomics (HFE), to think beyond a bounded, linear model understanding towards a broader systems framework. For this reason, we introduce a sustainable system of systems model that integrates the current hierarchical conceptualisation of possible interventions (i.e., micro-, meso- and macro-ergonomics) with important concepts from the sustainability literature, including the triple bottom line approach and the notion of time frames. Two practical examples from the HFE literature are presented to illustrate the model. The implications of this paradigm shift for HFE researchers and practitioners are discussed and include the long-term sustainability of the HFE community and comprehensive solutions to problems that consider the emergent issues that arise from this interconnected world.
The study aimed to conduct an ergonomic intervention on a conventional line (CL) in a semiconductor factory in Malaysia, an industrially developing country (IDC), to improve workers' occupational health and safety (OHS). Low-cost and simple (LCS) ergonomics methods were used (suitable for IDCs), e.g., subjective assessment, direct observation, use of archival data and assessment of noise. It was found that workers were facing noise irritation, neck and back pains and headache in the various processes in the CL. LCS ergonomic interventions to rectify the problems included installing noise insulating covers, providing earplugs, installing elevated platforms, slanting visual display terminals and installing extra exhaust fans. The interventions cost less than 3 000 USD but they significantly improved workers' OHS, which directly correlated with an improvement in working conditions and job satisfaction. The findings are useful in solving OHS problems in electronics industries in IDCs as they share similar manufacturing processes, problems and limitations.
The beef industry worldwide is showing a trend towards increased cutting pace aimed at higher profits. However, prior research in the duck meat industry suggested that a higher cutting pace reduced quality and yield, leading to losses. This study aimed to test this hypothesis by investigating the effects of varying beef-cutting paces on yield, quality and economy. A field experiment was conducted on six workers cutting beef fillet, sirloin and entrecôte. Three types of paces were sequentially tested: Baseline (i.e., status quo), 'Quantity focus' (i.e., pace required to maximise quantity) and 'Quality focus' (i.e., pace required to minimise errors). The results showed a significant drop in yield, increased rate of quality deficiency and economic losses with the change to 'Quantity focus' (from Baseline and 'Quality focus') for all meat types. Workers supported these results and also added health problems to the list. The results confirmed that an increased cutting pace is unprofitable.
Ever since the 9/11 terrorist attack, many countries are considering the use of smart national identity card (SNIC) which has the ability to identify terrorists due to its biometric verification function. However, there are many ergonomics issues in the use of SNIC, e.g. card credibility. This research presents a case study survey of Malaysian users. Although most citizens (>96%) own MyKad (Malaysia SNIC), many do not carry it around and use its applications. This defeats one of its main purposes, i.e. combating terrorism. Thus, the research investigates ergonomics issues affecting the citizens' Intention to Use (ITU) MyKad for homeland security by using an extended technology acceptance model. Five hundred questionnaires were collected and analysed using structural equation modelling. Results show that perceived credibility and performance expectancy are the key issues. The findings provide many countries with insights into methods of addressing ergonomics issues and increasing adoption of SNIC for homeland security.
Technoeconomic paradigms based economic growth theories suggest that waves of technological innovations drove the economic growth of advanced economies. Widespread economic degradation and pollution is an unintended consequence of such growth. Tackling environmental and social issues at firm levels would help us to overcome such issues at macro-levels. Consequently, the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) reporting approach promotes firm level economic, environmental and social performances. Incorporating Zink's (2014) 3-pillar presentation model, this paper indicates that economic, social and environmental performances tend to be reported at firm level. All three pillars are not covered evenly at the activity levels. Thus, a loophole is identified whereby excellent environmental performance at activity levels could potentially leave poor social performance undisclosed. A refinement of the TBL paradigm, whereby all three pillars are covered at the activity level, is suggested, to enhance sustainability reporting.