Effect of Office Ergonomics on Office Workers’ Productivity in the Polytechnics, Nigeria

The study was anchored on the ergonomic theory of production and design that stress the importance of office workstation as imperative for workers enhanced productivity. Quasi-experimental design was used to determine the relative performance of office workers with ergonomically fitted furniture, equipment and environment on their keyboarding tasks performance. The study lasted for three months with the post-test results indicating better performance from the experimental group. This implies that office workers with ergonomically fitted furniture, equipment and environment in the tertiary institutions in Nigeria are likely to have enhanced work output. Therefore, the institutions should be provided with well-furnished office with appropriate technological devices and environment. Keywords: Office ergonomics, ergonomics, Office workers, Productivity, Keyboarding, work environment DOI: 10.7176/JEP/12-3-10 Publication date: January 31st 202

An Empirical Study Comparing Unobtrusive Physiological Sensors for Stress Detection in Computer Work.

Several unobtrusive sensors have been tested in studies to capture physiological reactions to stress in workplace settings. Lab studies tend to focus on assessing sensors during a specific computer task, while in situ studies tend to offer a generalized view of sensors' efficacy for workplace stress monitoring, without discriminating different tasks. Given the variation in workplace computer activities, this study investigates the efficacy of unobtrusive sensors for stress measurement across a variety of tasks. We present a comparison of five physiological measurements obtained in a lab experiment, where participants completed six different computer tasks, while we measured their stress levels using a chest-band (ECG, respiration), a wristband (PPG and EDA), and an emerging thermal imaging method (perinasal perspiration). We found that thermal imaging can detect increased stress for most participants across all tasks, while wrist and chest sensors were less generalizable across tasks and participants. We summarize the costs and benefits of each sensor stream, and show how some computer use scenarios present usability and reliability challenges for stress monitoring with certain physiological sensors. We provide recommendations for researchers and system builders for measuring stress with physiological sensors during workplace computer use

Educating Using Plain Language: Nighttime Postural Care Assessment Training Package

Background. There is a lack of high-quality research and inadequate training available to healthcare professionals and caregivers on Nighttime Postural Care (NTPC). Purpose. The purpose of this project was to 1) develop a training package on NTPC assessments to educate caregivers of children with cerebral palsy (CP) and the research team, and 2) educate clinical scientists on plain language. Approaches. The author used the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT) and Program for Research Institute of Medicine and Science (PRISM) Editing Checklist to evaluate training materials and generated recommendations. Volunteer research team member representatives completed the training and pre-post training surveys. In addition, a presentation on plain language was delivered to a group of clinical scientists. Outcomes. Mean PEMAT and PRISM Editing Checklist scores improved following revisions. Ratings of perceived competency in NTPC assessment and intervention increased following the training. Perceived knowledge and confidence in plain language among clinical scientists increased when comparing pre- to post-surveys, but perceived ability in plain language decreased. Implications. The evaluation of training materials resulted in improvements to ensure the training met the health literacy standards of the intended audience. Researchers and healthcare professionals need to evaluate the plain language of materials to ensure understandability

Design of Equipment Rack with TRIZ Method to Reduce Searching Time in Change Over Activity (Case Study : PT. Jans2en Indonesia)

Janssen is a manufacturing plant that works in furniture assembly. Component shortages often occurs, it will cause the increase of work in process (WIP) in assembly section. In previous studies, we analyze the root causes with FMEA and then it is resulted that router section is the constraint of the system. There are many non value added activities such as searching and transportation caused by a messy condition of work places and the devices that aren’t put in the right place. The impact is that the time allocated for every change over is higher than before. There are many components that are worked by the router section, so improvements are needed to minimize changes in over time. 5S method and the use of a new design of rack by TRIZ method are suggested for fixing the conditions of work environment. It is expected to eliminate non value added activities and changes in over time. Result shows that we can reduce non value activities in change over of regular components up to 41% and the elimination of this time is 41,6%. The non value activities in changeover of new items is 36,6% and this elimination of time is 53,3%. Key word : change over, kaizen, design, TRIZ metho

IMPACT OF NEW LIGHTING TECHNOLOGIES ON OFFICE ERGONOMICS

The goal of this study was to find the impact of cutting-edge light-emitting diodes (LED) lighting technologies on the office ergonomics in modern offices. An experiment was conducted in a windowless office at the University of Kansas. This experiment used four test conditions with two levels of light sources (LED and fluorescent lamps) and two levels of lighting control (with/without lighting control). A total of 30 subjects with an average age of 21.6 and eyesight of 20/20 and 20/16 participated in this experiment. Subjects performed typing tasks and color matching tasks under each one of four test conditions. Subjective evaluation of lighting quality and task satisfaction were collected using a questionnaire. High Dynamic Range (HDR) photography was used as a new approach of light measurement in offices. The results revealed that LED lighting had more consistent color rendering performance than fluorescent lighting, and also led to better typing task satisfactions. LED lighting could reduce the lighting power consumption (by up to 65.5% in this study) without any negative impact on office ergonomics. Introduction of individual lighting control could lead to better satisfaction toward the lighting quality and higher savings in lighting power consumption

MUSCULOSKELETAL SYMPTOMS AND LAPTOP COMPUTER USE AMONG COLLEGE STUDENTS

Laptop computers are widely used by college students for academic and leisure activities (Cortes, Hollis, Amick, & Katz, 2002). However, there is limited research that identifies risk factors for musculoskeletal discomfort during laptop computer use in this population. This dissertation includes two studies: Study 1: This survey study explores characteristics of laptop computer use and relationships between laptop-related risk factors and discomfort; Study 2: This randomized cross-over study examines the effects of three most common laptop workstation setups on upper body postures, discomfort, and task productivity.Thirty students were recruited from the University of Pittsburgh. The survey was a self-administered questionnaire. Subjects¡¯ posture were videotaped while typing for 10 minutes in six laptop workstation setups (desktop sitting, chair sitting, lying prone, lying supine, floor sitting, and lap sitting), and the three most common workstation setups were analyzed. Body angles were digitized at 10-time points and averaged using ImageJ. Typing style was identified using the Keyboard-Personal Computer Style Instrument. Discomfort was determined using a 10-cm VAS. Task productivity was assessed by typing speed and accuracy. Data were analyzed by ANOVAs and Bonferroni post-hoc comparisons.Subjects were primarily female (83.3%), with a mean age of 26.0¡¾7.3, and white (63.3%). Survey results showed that the most common workstation setups were desktop sitting, followed by lying supine and chair sitting. There were no statistically significant relationships between laptop-related factors (duration and type of workstation setup) and discomfort. Most body angles were significantly different between the three workstation setups: neutral wrists and ulnar deviation, upright trunk, and greater shoulder flexion during desktop sitting; greater neck flexion, wrist extension, and ulnar deviation during chair sitting; less neck flexion and greater wrist flexion and trunk extension during lying supine. For typing style, subjects showed large differences in static postures among the workstation setups. Less discomfort and faster typing speed were observed during desktop sitting, followed by lying supine, and then chair sitting. Overall more neutral postures and less discomfort were observed during desktop sitting, followed by lying supine and chair sitting. These findings highlight the importance of laptop workstation setup choice for preventing potential musculoskeletal problems

The effect of personalised adjustments to computer workstations on the efficiency and physical comfort of computer operators

The present study sought to investigate the effects of a Standard workstation, designed for “average” users, on an anthropometrically diverse sample of computer operators, and to assess whether physical and perceptual responses, as well as performance efficiency were dependent on stature. Further investigation assessed the influence of personalised adjustments to the Standard workstation, based on the anthropometric characteristics of the subjects, as well as the introduction of a custom-designed ‘floating’ wrist support, on subject responses. All subjects (n=30) were tested in each of the three workstations: Standard, Personalised and Wrist Support. For analysis of responses in the Standard workstation, subjects were divided into three groups depending on their stature: Short (1800mm). The musculoskeletal responses indicated that Tall subjects were forced to adopt the most awkward general body postures as a result of the low computer screen. However, the low screen allowed for the Short subjects to adopt the most natural general body postures, although levels of muscular activity in the upper trapezius suggest that the muscular load imposed on both Short and Tall subjects was significantly greater than that imposed on the Medium subjects. In addition, the Medium subjects’ perceptions of the Standard workstation dimensions support the fact that this workstation was better suited to users with “average” morphologies. The responses elicited in the Personalised and Wrist Support workstations were improved significantly when compared to the Standard workstation. Joint angles were more natural, upper trapezius EMG was reduced, standard of performance improved and perceptual responses indicated a diminished incidence of body and visual discomfort, as well as greater perceived satisfaction with these workstation dimensions. The improved physical responses suggest a decrease in the risk of developing cumulative trauma disorders. Although subjects were unaccustomed to the wrist support device, this workstation demonstrated a further reduction in the range of wrist angles, as well as a general positive attitude towards the concept

Modeling of VDT Workstation System Risk Factors.

The objectives of this research were to determine the most important risk factors in VDT workstations associated with physical symptoms and to investigate the interrelationship among these risk factors. A conceptual model was first developed to describe the interrelationship among the basic components in a VDT workstation system and their possible health effects. A research model was then proposed to describe the hypothesized relationships among the following categories of variables: demographic, task, workstation design, work environment, psychosocial factors, work posture, psychological stress, musculoskeletal symptoms, visual symptoms, and general physical symptoms. A method which consisted of a questionnaire, measurement and posture analysis was then developed. A field study was conducted among daily computer users in a local industry. Ninety three VDT operators participated in the study. Factor analysis was applied to the physical symptoms to help identify the underlying factors. Multiple regression was used to determine the most important factors related to the physical symptoms and the effect of interactions among the risk factors. The four factors identified among physical symptoms are: ocular discomfort, general musculoskeletal symptoms, upper extremity symptoms, and other physical symptoms. Ocular discomfort is significantly related to screen glare; both general musculoskeletal symptoms and other physical symptoms are related to fatigue; and upper extremity symptoms are related to awkward upper body posture. Many interactions between the risk factors and their effects are identified, such as, psychosocial factors and demographic, and workstation factors and working posture. Psychosocial factors are found to interact with other variables and contribute to psychological stress. The implication of this research is that both physical and social environment need to be evaluated and the interactions among the components of a VDT workstation system need to be understood in order to determine physical symptom risk factors

LungTrack: towards contactless and zero dead-zone respiration monitoring with commodity RFIDs

International audienceRespiration rate sensing plays a critical role in elderly care and patient monitoring. The latest research has explored the possibility of employing Wi-Fi signals for respiration sensing without attaching a device to the target. A critical issue with these solutions includes that good monitoring performance could only be achieved at certain locations within the sensing range, while the performance could be quite poor at other "dead zones." In addition, due to the contactless nature, it is challenging to monitor multiple targets simultaneously as the reflected signals are often mixed together. In this work, we present our system, named LungTrack, hosted on commodity RFID devices for respiration monitoring. Our system retrieves subtle signal fluctuations at the receiver caused by chest displacement during respiration without need for attaching any devices to the target. It addresses the dead-zone issue and enables simultaneous monitoring of two human targets by employing one RFID reader and carefully positioned multiple RFID tags, using an optimization technique. Comprehensive experiments demonstrate that LungTrack can achieve a respiration monitoring accuracy of greater than 98% for a single target at all sensing locations (within 1 st − 5 th Fresnel zones) using just one RFID reader and five tags, when the target's orientation is known a priori. For the challenging scenario involve two human targets, LungTrack is able to achieve greater than 93% accuracy when the targets are separated by at least 10 cm

Behaviour-aware mobile touch interfaces

Mobile touch devices have become ubiquitous everyday tools for communication, information, as well as capturing, storing and accessing personal data. They are often seen as personal devices, linked to individual users, who access the digital part of their daily lives via hand-held touchscreens. This personal use and the importance of the touch interface motivate the main assertion of this thesis: Mobile touch interaction can be improved by enabling user interfaces to assess and take into account how the user performs these interactions. This thesis introduces the new term "behaviour-aware" to characterise such interfaces. These behaviour-aware interfaces aim to improve interaction by utilising behaviour data: Since users perform touch interactions for their main tasks anyway, inferring extra information from said touches may, for example, save users' time and reduce distraction, compared to explicitly asking them for this information (e.g. user identity, hand posture, further context). Behaviour-aware user interfaces may utilise this information in different ways, in particular to adapt to users and contexts. Important questions for this research thus concern understanding behaviour details and influences, modelling said behaviour, and inference and (re)action integrated into the user interface. In several studies covering both analyses of basic touch behaviour and a set of specific prototype applications, this thesis addresses these questions and explores three application areas and goals: 1) Enhancing input capabilities – by modelling users' individual touch targeting behaviour to correct future touches and increase touch accuracy. The research reveals challenges and opportunities of behaviour variability arising from factors including target location, size and shape, hand and finger, stylus use, mobility, and device size. The work further informs modelling and inference based on targeting data, and presents approaches for simulating touch targeting behaviour and detecting behaviour changes. 2) Facilitating privacy and security – by observing touch targeting and typing behaviour patterns to implicitly verify user identity or distinguish multiple users during use. The research shows and addresses mobile-specific challenges, in particular changing hand postures. It also reveals that touch targeting characteristics provide useful biometric value both in the lab as well as in everyday typing. Influences of common evaluation assumptions are assessed and discussed as well. 3) Increasing expressiveness – by enabling interfaces to pass on behaviour variability from input to output space, studied with a keyboard that dynamically alters the font based on current typing behaviour. Results show that with these fonts users can distinguish basic contexts as well as individuals. They also explicitly control font influences for personal communication with creative effects. This thesis further contributes concepts and implemented tools for collecting touch behaviour data, analysing and modelling touch behaviour, and creating behaviour-aware and adaptive mobile touch interfaces. Together, these contributions support researchers and developers in investigating and building such user interfaces. Overall, this research shows how variability in mobile touch behaviour can be addressed and exploited for the benefit of the users. The thesis further discusses opportunities for transfer and reuse of touch behaviour models and information across applications and devices, for example to address tradeoffs of privacy/security and usability. Finally, the work concludes by reflecting on the general role of behaviour-aware user interfaces, proposing to view them as a way of embedding expectations about user input into interactive artefacts