Evaluation of a work space based on an ergonomic design methodology of the built environment (original) (raw)

Ergonomic analysis of the use of open-plan offices in Brazilian public sector offices

Work (Reading, Mass.), 2012

The open-plan office is a layout used in government offices in Brazil aimed at saving on space occupied and integrating employees. However, the design of these work-stations must follow the characteristics of tasks and their interrelationships, since adverse physical and organizational conditions may have a negative impact on work productivity. From this perspective, this study sought to identify, from the viewpoint of the ergonomics of the built environment, the adequacy of the open-plan government offices for financial auditing accounts and analyzing documents. Use was made of the Ergonomic Methodology for Evaluating the Built Environment--MEAC (in Portuguese) which systematically analyzes the physical space, by using a mix of physical-spatial assessments and tools for identifying how the environment is perceived. The MEAC was employed in three analytical phases of the physical aspects, namely: an analytical phase of the user's perception; a diagnostic phase; and a final phase...

Overview of ergonomics built environment

Work (Reading, Mass.), 2012

This article provides an overview of academic research in the scientific discipline of ergonomics in the context of the built environment, from data collected from journals, conferences and research groups whose focus is the theme of the Ergonomics of Built Environment. Starting from the context of the Ergonomics of Built Environment, it identifies the broadcast media who publish work in this area and its scientific production, seeking to recover from the first published papers to the production of the most recent scientific journals and conferences to be launched 2010. From this mapping, we identified the major outstanding and open issues in these studies, outlining the state of the art Ergonomics Built Environment, in order to inform those interested and intend to develop scientific research in this field.

Ergonomic modelling parameters and the influence of ergonomics on planning workplaces

2018

Modern economic research divides all economics into structural levels: megaeconomics, macroeconomics, meso-economics, micro-economics, and nano-economics. From the point of such traditional divisions, the research is topical in the primary economic structure of society nano-economics and thanks to this work operations can be subdivided into workplaces in the form of transformation processes. The aim of the research is to develop ergonomic modelling parameters and to discover the influence of ergonomics on the planning of workplaces based on a case study. The research involved a study of workplace ergonomic planning methods and principles. Solutions for a series of problems which are related to the improvement of workplace ergonomics may be discovered in the following ways: improving work organisation in every workplace by using work process-related micro-elemental methods and a determination of work expenditure, the levels of physical strenuousness involved in the work, the complexi...

Ergonomic evaluation of the environment: a case study in a control room of the hydroelectric sector

Representative systematic evaluation studies of the workspace and the extent to which that space is suitable for performing tasks have been developed by professionals engaged on finding evidence as to the importance of users and designers being joint participants in drawing up projects. In this context, this paper sets out to evaluate the environment of a control room in the hydroelectric sector, based on a multidisciplinary method which integrates ergonomics, architecture and environmental psychology so as to assess the influence of space on the user, and thus to identify the user´s level of satisfaction with it. It was observed that some adaptation strategies of the space for activities were not implemented satisfactorily, resulting in the need for further studies on making workspaces suitable.

Ergonomics workstation environment toward organisational competitiveness

International Journal of Public Health Science (IJPHS), 2022

The lack of comfort due to workplace environment impact could trim down job performance and organizational productivity. Literature reviews indicate that ergonomic workplace environment that is strongly associated with the job performance. Employees' perceptions to be examined by the organizations to ensure the excellent job performance. Thus, 295 officers were selected using proportionate stratified random sampling with twosection questionnaire. The data were analyzed using statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) and analysis of a moment structure (AMOS) software. The research findings show that acoustic is the most crucial factor (0.928) followed by lighting (0.898), workstation design (0.846), working hours (0.670), and chair (0.563). Ventilation is still significant to the whole environment although scored the lowest coefficient value (0.385). These findings provide valuable information to organizations in their attempts to sustain the human resources so that they are always competitive and productive in facing the challenges of the environmental change.

An Ergonomic Evaluation of Traditional and Automated Office Environments

Office Technology and People, 1987

The increased number of people working in offices and the steady influx of computer technology has generated concern for the health and quality of work life of office workers. A number of studies have indicated that occupational stress, both physical and psychological, is becoming a problem in office workplaces. This study evaluated ergonomic aspects of traditional (bullpen) and automated (systems) offices to provide information regarding the suitability of various office configurations. A total of 105 female office workers representing the public and private sectors participated in the study. The evaluation methodology, which included both questionnaire, interview and objective measurements, encompassed the following components of office environments: environmental conditions (e.g. lighting), workstation factors, job characteristics/demands and organizational demands. Overall, the results indicated that ergonomic problems exist in both public and private sector offices. The finding...

Ergonomics in the Office Environment: A Review

2009

The evolution of "office ergonomics" has been largely due to rapid growth of information technology. Nowadays most of the offices are based on the concept of non-territorial or free address offices in which a given desk, office or workstation is intended to be used by different people at different times. Ergonomics in the office environment ranges from business process analysis to workplace design including furniture, equipment, computer systems and environmental factors. Recently in the office, there has been a significant increase in the number of injuries due to overexertion and repetitive strain. In this paper an attempt has been made to give deep insight of office environment ergonomics and workstation design issues applicable to flexible office work. With the passage of time flexible office design, has improved to eliminate as far as possible the undesirable effects without compromising the benefits and furthermore, to extend the range of potential benefits afforded by the presence of flexibility in the office. The paper gives the readers a broad overview of the different aspects of ergonomic issues applicable to office work and discuses worker health and safety relating to work performed using a computer as a workstation. However, most requirements are applicable to any office environment, which is considered prudent practice for the avoidance of ergonomic related injuries and losses. These advances will create a new era of office ergonomics that will provide considerable health and cost benefits to computer users. Ergonomics work design is best done by assisting users in making informed decisions to enhance efficiency at work, safety, health, physical and psychological well being of people at work or using facilities or equipment. Intensive use of computer and information technology for long periods of time in the office workplace calls for an examination of employee performance and possible work-related health and stress problems. It also provides an overview of a systems analysis tool using a macroergonomic approach to understand and identify problems and probable casual factors related to such office environments. Flexible office also provides a process for developing strategic and systematic solutions for solving problems arising in a computer intensive office environment. Reductions in weight and size of computer display equipment, along with advances in lift technology will allow creation of optimized office computer work environments that are substantially lower in cost and easier to set up in the future. The paper contains useful information for workplace practices and may be referred to by inspectors with the Ministry of Labor in performing their duties in enforcing the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

The Impact of Ergonomics on Employees’ Productivity in the Architectural Workplaces

International Journal of Engineering and Advanced Technology

The office work is a working ecosystem entirely dependent on humans. Office ergonomics focuses on the human well-being and adapts all office components to suit workers’ needs and comfort. The unawareness of the Lebanese designers in particular and the global designers in general on the importance of applying ergonomics programs and implementing well-designed workplaces reached its borders. Therefore, stressing on the significance of ergonomics programs especially in the architectural field is needed to raise the attention for the essentiality of this topic. The major reason for conducting this project is to enhance the awareness on ergonomics importance and its impact on increasing employees’ productivity specifically among Small and Medium Enterprises (SME’s). The study starts with a general literature review shedding the light on the meaning of ergonomics, its types, factors, and how to enhance employee productivity through applying ergonomics. After the theoretical part which rev...

Work Place Ergonomics- A Review

Indian Journal of Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy—An International Journal, 2020

Ergonomics is the study of the interaction between people and machines and the factors that affect the interaction. Its purpose is to improve the performance of systems by improving human machine interaction. This can be done by ‘designing-in’ a better interface or by ‘designing-out’ factors in the work environment, in the task or in the organization of work that degrade human–machine performance. Systems can be improved by • Designing the user-interface to make it more compatible with the task and the user. This makes it easier to use and more resistant to errors that people are known to make. • Changing the work environment to make it safer and more appropriate for the task. • Changing the task to make it more compatible with user characteristics. • Changing the way work is organized to accommodate people’s psychological and social needs. This article presents on overview on current knowledge on work place ergonomics.