Ergonomics

• The study of people's efficiency in

their working environment.
 Origin of the Word
•
Ergonomics
Derived from the Greek words ergo (work) and nomos
(natural laws). The name was officially proposed at a 1949
meeting of the British Admiralty (July 12), by Prof. Hugh
Murrell and was officially accepted in 1950 .
Tasks Associated With
Injuries and Illnesses
• Hand Sewing and Trimming are Stressful to All Upper Limbs
• Stitching Tasks are Associated With Pain in the Shoulders,
Wrists, and Hands
• Ironing by Hand is Associated With Elbow Pain
• Garment Assembly Tasks are Associated With CTDs of the
Hands and Wrists
• Foot Operated Sewing is Associated With Pain in the Back
Injuries and Illnesses Among
Textile and Apparel Workers
• 70% of Sewing Machine Operators Using Foot Controls Report Back Pain
• 35% Report Persistent Low Back Pain
• 25% Have Suffered a Compensable Cumulative Trauma Disorder (CTD)
• 81% of CTDs Were to the Wrist
• 14% of CTDs to the Elbow
• 5% of CTDs to the Shoulder
Wrong work place design
Not enough space for moving it
may injure the spine
the table doesn’t allow enough
room underneath for the
worker's to move and
Uncomfortable chair

Solutions :
Provide worker with Adjustable
table, adjustable chair 
-Sits for long hours on uncomfortable
chair with no back support .
-bend her neck and back .
-Pulls fabric with left hand as she sews.
-Press pedal for sewing machine all .day
with bare feet
-Pressure on the back of leg.

Solution: Provide adjustable treadle so

the worker can place it in a
comfortable position and get as
close to the table as possible
Use job/task rotation through tasks that
do not require constant leg pressure
and awkward leg posture.
Fine work
-Acute visual requirements, coupled
with intense wrist, hand, finger
movements excessive bending for
back and neck
-Bad ventilation
-Insufficient lighting may cause eye
fatigue and headache. 

Solution: Use adjustable task lighting

to make it easier for the worker to
see product during set up 
Not sufficient work place
design
The machine stands on workers
hollow that prevent them from
moving easily

Solution :We should redesign the

work place and put the machine in
more suitable place
 Repetitive motion for very long
hours & bending wrist may
cause carpal tunnel syndrome.

solution:
To prevent ergonomic injures workers should be encouraged to rotate tasks
or take frequent, short breaks to stretch and relax muscles.
Bad design poor hand grip may cause:
Cuts ,strain, blisters stress on fingers

Solutions:
-Using good grips tools.
- Avoid using more force than the job
requires ,use partially automated tools to
reduce force and repetition of pinch grip.
Quality check point:
Require workers to stand for very
long period of time that may
injure the spine

Solutions:
Provide sit/stand workstations,
which encourage changing
posture & provide external
support or frequent movement.
:packaging
-Over exertion on arm and
shoulders it may cause fatigue.
-Bending the spinal.
-Repetitive motion.
-Standing for long hours.
-No space for moving his feet.

Solution :
-Provide table next to him so he
wont stretch his arm
-They Should redesign the work
place to provide the worker
external support or frequent
movement.
Packaging:
Workers repeatedly bend at the
waist and reach into
transportation containers to load
fabric, causing stress on the back
and arms injury.
solutions: Use height-adjustable
carts to reduce the need to bend
or reach into the carts or provide
her with good chair.
Handling materials:
-awkward postures, Repeated torso
twisting while lifting which may
result in back and shoulder injuries.  
-Lifting objects with arms fully
extended or lifting from floor level
or above shoulder level.

Solutions:
-Design stations to allow most lifts at
waist level
-Use mechanical lifts, ceiling tracks
or carts to transport the fabric to
reduce the risk of injury to the
workers.
-Ladder not safe with no breaks so the
worker may fall down.
--over exertion on arm & stress on
shoulders joints.
-The worker is climbing on the
shelves to load the stock
garments its dangerous & he
may falls and may break some
bones .

Solutions: provide the workers

with a suitable ladder .
Bad ventilation & hot place
they should isolate the ironing section
because it affect the other sector
bending and stress on shoulder
 1- Because a garment factory uses
many heated processes, it is
important for workers to avoid heat
stress by drinking plenty of water
during their shift
2- Water coolers are very far from
work space just one source for water
not so clean not provided with cups

Solution: Proper ventilation can

help to reduce ambient
temperatures and ensure
worker comfort Drinking water
by providing them with several
water coolers
lightening

-poor lighting at work can lead

to: eye strain, fatigue
headaches, stress and
accidents
On the other hand, too much
light can also cause health
and safety problems such as
“glare” headaches and stress.
Both can lead to mistakes at
work, poor quality and low
productivity

Solution: Good lighting and

avoid in terms of improved
productivity, and a reduction
in .errors
Noise :
Too much worker with so many machines.
Unsafe floor
There is a role in the factory that
force worker to clean the work
place around them and its an
attempt to maintain workplace
clean .
Baring feet Lake of cleaning tools
Bending & flexion harmful dust.

solution: must provide enough

cleaning tools provide face masks
Un healthy work environment that
may pollute the place and
affect the worker negatively.
-Uncomfortable environment
for
work
-Uncovered cables
-Storing stuff in wrong place
may disable the workers
movement and may
cause injuries
Worker awareness
Worker awareness

good drawing surface

Safety Precautions
Summa
ry
To ensure the continuous development
and productivity of companies,
employers must ensure the comfort
and health of their employees by
adopting an ergonomic approach to
the design of workspaces.