Ergonomics, Work Methods, Standards and Work Design - Case Study Example

Ergonomics, Work Methods, Standards and Work Design Section 1 This case study reflects the details of job analysis performed for a wholesale grocery distribution company. The main intention of this program was to identify the ergonomic features of the company with respect to four different job categories such as meat, dairy, grocery, and freezer selectors. The company performed operations of three warehouses with 1500 employees all over the week containing 3 shifts. The company functioned on the basis of an incentive pay system and hence the faster workers got the opportunity to make more money. Prior to the implementation of the ergonomic program, the project team investigated the OSHA 200 logs and accident reports (mainly between the period of 1990 and 1993) so as to determine the most injury causing jobs and their prevalence as a part of biomechanical job analyses. The collected data were tabulated and graphically represented in order to conduct the proposed program more smoothly. The gathered information clearly indicated that back injuries and cumulative trauma disorders (CTD) were very common among the employees. However; among the recordable cases, 30% were back related whereas CTDs constituted only less than 10%. From a detailed analysis, the investigators identified that ‘selectors’ were the group most vulnerable to back injuries while forklift operators maintained the second place. A department-wise study revealed that the grocery department had majorily affected by injuries followed by freezer department and meat and diary departments in second place and third place respectively. Contusions and sprains were outnumbered and hence that could not be brought under the range of this study. In addition to the collection of statistical data, the project members also gathered ten minutes videos of each department’s work performance in order to examine the nature of physical strain caused by each job. The adopted biomechanical techniques for this study included “a three dimensional analysis of static strength requirements and an analysis of repetitive lifting using the revised National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Lifting Equation” (Laurie, Andres & Wood, n.d.). As a part of the research, frequency data in January, 1994 were gathered for each job. Vertical and horizontal distances between each job location were estimated using measurement tapes and handled loads are weighed. The investigators also consulted personnel familiar with these operations with intent to acquire information regarding overtime work. The collected information processed using the two selected methods. The study outcomes illustrate that lifting cases above 50 lb. and horizontal movement cases beyond 20” cause high stress on the body and it would probably affect the low back or shoulder area. Section 2 Every organization largely depends on its employees to achieve a comprehensive economic growth. The above stated grocery warehouse distribution company also offers certain benefits to its employees. As discussed earlier, the firm implements an incentive pay system by which the employees get the opportunity to earn unlimited income. Under this option, the fastest worker achieves more so that an employee may tend to perform his works rapidly. An employee’s outstanding physical performance on a regular basis would certainly result in injuries and sprains on his body. This situation turns out to be the main cause of increased back injuries and CTDs in the organization. It has been identified that the grocery selectors are the most affected category of back injuries. The gathered data show that grocery selectors lift a weight of 30 pounds at a frequency of four per minute and this activity continues for eight hours. The asymmetry angle or back twisting angle for this work is 30 degrees. At the same time, meat selectors lift 70 pounds two times in a minute and their job duration is also 8 hours. All other elements remain the same for each department. However, the diagrams reflect that the grocery selectors have almost twice as many injuries as others. From this, it is obvious that the frequency of lifts plays a vital role in causing back injuries regardless the weight of object lifted. So as to clearly illustrate the effects of lifting a weighed object, a three dimensional back compression analysis was performed using a large package of beef. This dummy method also justifies the above interpretations. In the case of freezer selectors, the low temperature working atmosphere largely increases the risk levels even though they perform their work at a slower rate than grocery workers. In short, the incentive pay system and strainful nature of the work are the key factors that caused adverse work environment in the organization. Section 3 Since the employees are the growth engine of an organization, the management has to heed higher concern to its workers’ welfare. In the given case, the management implements incentives pay system with intent to motivate the employees. However, the unscientific implementation of the payment strategy and thereby the increased labor cause negative effects on the long term objectives of the organization. Although the terms of the current system may benefit the organization in its short term operations, it would not contribute to the long term economic sustainability of the company. It is advisable for the management to establish a monitoring system so as to observe the employee operations within the organization. According to Samuelsson-Brown (2010, p.65), the firm’s management must ensure that employees get satisfactory working atmosphere and sufficient leisure if the organization needs to take advantages of its employees’ productive capacities for a long time (p.65). A well designed shift working system would minimize the stress levels created by workload. It is recommendable for the management to prevent employees from taking unhealthy efforts as it would reduce their efficacy in production. The overtime work will certainly hurt the employees’ efficiency and thereby damage of working equipments. This situation would add to increased cost of production. Finally, it is advisable for the grocery warehouse distribution company to arrange a medical panel within the organization. This arrangement would be useful for the employees to undergo periodical medical checkups. The management may also offer modern working equipments to employees, which would reduce workplace injuries to a large extent. References. Laurie, N. E, Andres, R. O & Wood, D. D. (n.d). “Ergonomic job analyses of picking tasks in a wholesale grocery warehouse distribution center”. Samuelsson-Brown, G. (2010). A Practical Guide for Translators. Britain: Multilingual Matters. Read More