Ergonomics and physical demand analysis in a construction manufacturing facility

Abstract

Poor workstation design in a manufacturing facility negatively impacts the health and safety of workers, which hampers productivity. A systematic tool, Physical Demand Analysis (PDA), is utilized in a case-study project to quantify and evaluate physical labour and body posture for various production line tasks in a window and door manufacturing company. This paper presents the implementation PDA focusing on the design of the PDA form template, plant observation, and ergonomic risk identification. The data collection methodology and the implementation of time studies for plant observation are described. Four main ergonomic risks are identified: static whole body posture, manual material handling, sensory problem, and awkward body postures. Detailed observation findings, risk assessment method, analysis results and suggested corresponding corrective measures with regard to these four risks are described in this paper.