• There are four ergonomics issue mostly found are related to:

1. Weight limitation

2. Posture

3. Time

4. Metabolic energy

Ergonomic Issue in Industry

• The recommended weight limit is used to assess a lifting task and by given the conditions.

• The equation for RWL is:

RWL = LC x HM x VM x DM x AM x FM x CM

LC, the load constant = 23 kg.

Recommended weight limit

• HM, the Horizontal Multiplier factor

• VM, the Vertical Multiplier factor

• DM, the Distance Multiplier factor

• FM, the Frequency Multiplier factor

• AM, the Asymmetric Multiplier factor

• CM, the Coupling Multiplier factor

The other factors in the equation are:

• Working posture.

– The working posture and task should be designed to avoid strain and damage to any part of the body such as the tendons, muscles, ligaments, and especially the back (Dahalan J, 2005)

– knowledge of the context and type of posture is necessary in order to examine their associations with health related outcomes (Taylor et al. 2005)

Posture

Body parts OWAS code Description of position

Back 1

2

3

4

Back straight

Back bent

Back Twisted

Back bent and twisted

Arm 1

2

3

Both arms below shoulder level

One arm at or above shoulder level

Both arms at or above shoulder level

Leg 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Sitting

Standing on both straight legs

Standing on one straight legs

Standing or squatting on both feet, knees bent

Standing or squatting on one foot, knee bent

Kneeling on one or both knee

Walking or moving

OWAS posture code definition

Action category for each individual OWAS classified posture combination

Action Category Explanation

1 Normal and natural postures with no harmful effect on the

musculoskeletal system – No action required

2 Posture with some harmful effect on the musculoskeletal

system – Corrective actions required in the near future

3 Postures have a harmful effect on the musculoskeletal system

– Correction actions should be done as soon as possible

4 The load caused by these postures has a very harmful effect

on the musculoskeletal system –Corrective actions for

improvement required immediately.

The OWAS Action Categories for prevention

Flow Diagram for the Method of the Study

Flowchart of the Calculation RWL

USER INTERFACE (RWL)

Flowchart of the Calculation Body Posture

USER INTERFACE (Body Posture)