Abstract
The object of this study is to use ergonomics technique to improve the workplace design of an ink factory. Work-related musculoskeletal disorder (WMSD) is becoming increasingly serious in industrial countries as well as in Taiwan. The proportion of WMSD cases among all occupational injury is generally above 30%. WMSD affects not only worker’s health, but also lowers productivity and reduce the competitiveness of a country. It is generally agreed that the major causes of WMSD are poor posture, over-exertion, high-repetitiveness, shock and vibration, high and low temperature. Among these five causes, bad posture will interact and significantly elevate the musculoskeletal stress due to others causes, such as over-exertion. It is regarded as the root cause among them. To reduce WMSD, poor posture should be improved in the first place. Ergonomics principle suggests that functional working posture should be adopted during work, for it is the most nature and energy-saving posture under the requirement of task performance.In this study, ergonomics technique is used to improve five workplaces in an ink factory. These five workplaces are color comparison, 1 kg-ink-can packaging, ink feeding, 16 kg-ink-can packaging, thinner can packaging operations. The process of improvement begin with on-site observation of current work situation and task process, followed by identification the causes of WMSD with OWAS checklist, then improve workplace design based on functional posture, finally evaluate the effectiveness of improvement also with the same OWAS checklist. The results of evaluation show that musculoskeletal stress has been substantially lowered after improvement, and WMSD can be reduced. This study has demonstrated a simple and effective method on prevention of WMSD, it can be promoted.Keywords：Functional working posture, Work-Related Musculoskeletal disorders, Ergonomic technique, OWAS