Interventıon by Partıcıpatıng Ergonomıcs to Enhance the Sustaınabılıty of Offıce Workıng Condıtıons

Abstract

Objectives: The main objective of this study is to analyse the efficacy of a participatory ergonomics intervention in reducing the symptoms of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among Hamilton Sundstrand Malaysia (HSM) office workers. Hence, it is important to analyse the level of ergonomic awareness and the current status of the MSD symptoms.Research methodology: The study used a mixed method research, it used questionnaires to collect the qualitative data and analyse along with the interviews for collecting the qualitative data and analysis of the data. The respondents were from the 5 departments within the company. These 5 departments included the Supply chain or procurement department, finance department, customer service department, engineering and the quality department.The target population for this study was 30 office workers. The data was analyzed using thematic analysis and paired t-Test analysis using the SPSS software. To study the efficacy of the ergonomics training module in reducing the MSD symptoms among the workers, the paired t-test method of analysis was used. Setting: The study was conducted at Hamilton Sundstrand Customer Service (M) Sdn. Bhd. (HSM).Findings: Before the implementation of the ergonomics training module the ergonomics awareness of the office employees was at a very low level. The higher rate of discomfort was reported at the neck (49%),lower back(54.3%) and upper back (52%). After the implementation of the training module, there was a increase in the awareness and the knowledge level of the office ergonomics which significantly reduced the MSD symptoms. The prevalence of MSDs symptoms has also decreased for some body parts; however, the neck continues to have one of the highest percentages of body parts experiencing pain, at 54.3%, followed by the right wrist (49.3%) and right shoulder (46.9%). The paired t-test yielded a t-value of 2.26 while the p-value was 0.043, which is less than 0.05. Therefore, the ergonomic training module was successfully implemented which resulted in the significant change in the MSDs within the departments. Conclusions: The findings of the study concluded that the main cause for musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) is the poor office ergonomics at the workstation and a lack of ergonomic awareness. Ergonomic training can overcome these issues, as the intervention has effectively reduced the prevalence of MSDs among office workers. Workstation, Ergonomics, Office Workers, Intervention, Musculoskeletal Disorders.