CHAPTER II

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

This chapter presents the review of related literature and studies underlying the

framework of the study. It includes the conceptual model of the study and the operational

definition of terms.

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES:

ERGONOMICS

According to International Labor Organization, ergonomics is the application of the

human biological sciences in conjunction with engineering sciences to the worker and his

working environment, so as to obtain maximum satisfaction for the worker and at the same time

enhance productivity.

Ergonomics can be defined simply as the study of work. More specifically, ergonomics is

the science of designing the job to fit the worker, rather than physically forcing the workers

body to fit the job.

Adapting tasks, work stations, tools, and equipment to fit the worker can help reduce

physical stress on a workers body and eliminate many potentially serious, disabling work related

musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). Ergonomics draws on a number of scientific disciplines,

including physiology, biomechanics, psychology, anthropometry, industrial hygiene, and

kinesiology. (https://www.osha.gov/Publications/osha3125.pdf)

HISTORY OF ERGONOMICS

Later in the 19th century, Frank and Lillian Gilbert expanded Taylor's methods of

SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT in the early 1900s to develop "Time and Motion Studies".

They aimed to improve efficiency by eliminating unnecessary steps and actions. By applying this

approach, the Gilberts reduced the number of motions in brick laying from 18 to 4.5, allowing

bricklayers to increase their productivity from 120 to 350 bricks per hour. In the decades since

the war, ergonomics has continued to flourish and diversify. The Space Age created new human

factors issues such as weightlessness and extreme G-forces. How far could environments in

space be tolerated, and what effects would they have on the mind and body? The dawn of the

Information Age has resulted in the new ergonomics field of human-computer interaction (HCI).

Likewise, the growing demand for and competition among consumer goods and electronics has

resulted in more companies including human factors in product design. (www.wikipedia.com)

SAFETY AND ERGONOMICS

Many design changes in bakery equipment have resulted from safety or ergonomic

considerations. Floor-standing commercial mixers now use a heavy wire guard to protect bakers

from the paddle while it's in operation, as well as pouring trays, so ingredients can be added to a

running mixer without risk to the baker's hands. Compact machines turn dough into shaped rolls
or loaves, making staff more productive and reducing their risk of repetitive stress injuries.

Dough sheeters provide similar advantages by quickly rolling pie crusts, puff pastry or pizza

crusts.

BAKING INDUSTRY

Bakeries vary sharply in size and methodology, from industrial factories producing

bagged retail breads to small "mom and pop" outlets making everything by hand. Industrial

bakeries embrace technology for its potential to create improvements in their bottom line, but

smaller bakeries benefit from it, too. Intelligent use of new technologies can make even the

smallest bakery safer and more productive.

BAKING EQUIPMENT

Improvements in baking equipment account for some of the most visible technological

changes in a bakery. Spiral-style mixers enable bakers to make larger batches of bread, with less

oxidation of the dough from over-mixing. The addition of automatic timers lets bakers "dump

and forget," with mixers that could provide a timed rest period for the dough without

supervision. Modern ovens use rotating racks, probes and microprocessor controls to provide

even baking and precise control of both temperature and humidity levels while products are

baking. This gives bakers unprecedented control over crust, browning and texture.
NEW MATERIALS

New materials can improve old ways of working, or can open the door to newer, more

efficient techniques. For example, the rise of silicon bakeware made it possible to freeze cake

dough in a silicon pan, and take it directly from the freezer to the oven. Silicon-impregnated

baking parchment provides a disposable non-stick coating for cake pans or sheets, so they can be

reused safely without being washed.

LOGISTICS AND SERVICE

Computers have revolutionized bakeries as much as any other business. On the

production floor, a computer can alter a recipe on the fly to make it larger or smaller, as orders

change. Bakery-management software can track sales and reconcile them with inventory, making

it easier to maintain appropriate quantities of ingredients. Customers can place special orders by

computer, minimizing the risk of miscommunication between themselves and the production

staff. Just as important, tech-savvy bakers can use social media or a high-quality website to

generate new customers. (http://work.chron.com/new-technology-bakeries-affect-workplace-

19878.html)
5 PROVEN BENEFITS OF A WORKPLACE ERGONOMICS PROCESS

(http://ergo-plus.com/workplace-ergonomics-benefits/)

ERGONOMICS REDUCES COSTS

By systematically reducing ergonomic risk factors, you can prevent costly MSDs.

With approximately $1 out of every $3 in workers compensation costs attributed to

MSDs, this represents an opportunity for significant cost savings. Also, dont forget that

indirect costs can be up to twenty times the direct cost of an injury.

ERGONOMICS IMPROVES PRODUCTIVITY

The best ergonomic solutions will often improve productivity. By designing a job

to allow for good posture, less exertion, fewer motions and better heights and reaches, the

workstation becomes more efficient.

ERGONOMICS IMPROVES QUALITY

Poor ergonomics leads to frustrated and fatigued workers that dont do their best

work. When the job task is too physically taxing on the worker, they may not perform

their job like they were trained. For example, an employee might not fasten a screw tight

enough due to a high force requirement which could create a product quality issue.

ERGONOMICS IMPROVES EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

Employees notice when the company is putting forth their best efforts to ensure

their health and safety. If an employee does not experience fatigue and discomfort during

their workday, it can reduce turnover, decrease absenteeism, improve morale and increase

employee involvement.
 ERGONOMICS CREATES A BETTER SAFETY CULTURE

Ergonomics shows your companys commitment to safety and health as a core

value. The cumulative effect of the previous four benefits of ergonomics is a stronger

safety culture for your company. Healthy employees are your most valuable asset;

creating and fostering the safety & health culture at your company will lead to better

human performance for your organization.

TYPES OF ERGONOMICS

PHYSICAL ERGONOMICS

Is the human bodys responses to physical and physiological workloads.

Repetitive strain injuries from repetition, vibration, force, and posture fall into this

category.

COGNITIVE ERGONOMICS
Deals with the mental processes and capacities of humans when at work. Mental

strain from workload, decision making, human error, and training fall in to this category.
ORGANIZATIONAL ERGONOMICS
Deals with the organizational structures, policies and processes in the work

environment, such as shift work, scheduling, job satisfaction, motivation, supervision,

teamwork, telecommuting, and ethics.

REVIEW OF RELATED STUDIES:

ASSESSMENT OF BAKING INDUSTRIES IN A DEVELOPING COUNTRY: THE

COMMON HAZARDS, HEALTH CHALLENGES, CONTROL MEASURES AND

ASSOCIATION TO ASTHMA

(By: Int. Res. J. Medical Sci., Emmanuel N. Aguwa and Sussan U. Arinze-Onyia, Vol. 2(7), 1-5,

July, 2014)

Abstract:

The baking industry is prone to occupational health challenges like allergy and

musculoskeletal disorders. The present study aimed at examining the prevalence of workplace

health problems and relationship to control measures among bakers in a developing country. It

was a cross-sectional descriptive study done in 2013 in Aba South Local Government area,

Nigeria using a structured questionnaire. Out of a total of 36 bakeries, 24 bakeries were selected

by simple random method. All the bakers in these selected bakeries were then studied. A total of

135 bakers were studied, 85 (63%) were males. The modal age range was 21 25 years and over

70% had secondary school education. Majority of the respondents had worked 5 years and about

half of the bakers worked an average of between 7 and 12 hours a day. Also 119 (88.1%) were

aware that bakery can cause health problems. Musculoskeletal disorders were reported by

21(15.6%) while 20(14.8%) respondents were asthmatic. Nine of the asthmatics claimed

worsening of symptoms during work. Years of service did not significantly influence likelihood

of developing asthma. However, prevalence of asthma was significantly lower among those that

frequently wore facemask (X = 5.042, p = 0.02). Rashes and skin irritation occurred in 16

(11.9%) of the respondents some of whom used personal protective equipment (PPEs).
Prevalence of occupational asthma can be reduced by wearing facemask at work. Other health

problems were not significantly affected by PPEs.

Introduction:

The Baking industry, like, most occupations is prone to occupational health challenges.

Most of these hazards are preventable and arise from the neglect of occupational safety

measures. In order to protect workers and ensure that employers provide a healthy working

environment the Internal Labour Organization developed a workplace safety act. However, a

report from Nigeria showed that the attitude of workers was negative or indifferent on issues of

occupational health and safety. This is strikingly different from British bakers workplace risk

perception which observed that both the management and workers are responsible for safety of

the workplace. High among the workplace health hazards of bakery workers are chronic

obstructive pulmonary diseases like emphysema and bronchial asthma. The mechanism could be

allergy to the contents of the flour such as rye and gliadins or it could be non - allergic as since

the flour dust is a known respiratory irritant. Injuries from accidents are equally common among

bakery workers. These could arise from slips and falls on wet or uneven floor surfaces. Cuts

from sharp or moving machinery, falls from heights as well as burns and scalds from hot

ingredients are also frequent causes of accidents. Among bakers musculoskeletal disorders like

muscle pains and arthritis arise from manual handling and moving of heavy loads for example

while loading or off-loading a vehicle may occur. Other causes of musculoskeletal disorders

include work requiring repetitive movements and poor work posture. Most of these are due to

poor consideration of ergonomic factors in the workplace.

BREAD BAKING PROCESS ENERGY REQUIREMENTS AS AFFECTED BY OVEN

BELT SPEED AND TYPE OF BREADS

(By: Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Department Faculty of Agriculture Benha

University, P.O. Box 13736, Egypt, Islam F. El-Adly, Adel H. Bahnasawy, Samir A. Ali and El

Sayed G. Khater)

Abstract:

The main aim of the present work is to study and evaluate baking process energy

requirements which considered the most consumable energy of bread baking stages. This was

achieved by determining the moisture content, baking time, productivity and three types of

energy (electrical, human and thermal) at four different belt speeds for two different types of

baladi-breads, namely Magr and Mawi. Those four speedswere1.18, 1.97, 2.40 and3.55 ms-1.

The results show that initial moisture content of dough was 42.12% for Magr but 62.02% for

Mawi, while after baking it were 24.32, 24.61, 26.09 and 29.25% for Magr and 34.25, 39.50,

40.98 and 41.66% for Mawi at each speed, respectively. The results also indicated that the

average baking time were 1.65, 1.10, 0.86 and 0.81minkg-1andproductivity were 36.54, 54.63,

70.11and73.80 kghr-1 for Magr Baladi bread while the average baking time were 1.87, 1.13,

0.89and 0.84minkg-1andproductivity were 32.62, 53.10, 67.48and 71.33 kghr-1 for Mawi baladi-

bread at each speed, respectively. The specific energy requirements consumed were3.57, 2.92,

2.54 and 1.93 kWhkg-1 for Magr, while it were 4.35, 3.54, 3.11 and 2.53 kWhkg-1 for Mawi

bread at speeds 1.18,1.97, 2.40 and 3.55 ms-1, respectively. The results also indicated that the

total costs of baking stage per 1kg of bread baking stage were 1.14, 0.86, 0.71 and 0.59 LE kg-1
for Magr while it were 1.34, 0.98, 0.82and 0.71LE kg-1 for Mawi bread, respectively at the same

speeds.

Introduction:

Energy sources include oil, electricity and woodchip burners. Previous studies in the

baking industry estimate that the specific energy consumption of a bread oven is typically

anywhere between 0.5and 7.3 MJkg-1 production depending on specific products and operating

conditions. In this sense, baking is similar to (conventional) drying, both demanding a high

amount of energy in comparison with chilling, freezing, and canning, which need less than 1

MJkg-1(Le Bail et al., 2010 and Purlis, 2012).

Jekayinfa (2007) revealed that bread-baking with wood as energy source required the

highest energy (6.15 kJmin-1) compared with 3.37 kJmin-1 and 1.52 kJmin-1 obtained with gas

and electricity as sources of energy respectively. The cost of energy per kg of baked bread was

N7.58 ($ 0.059) with cooking gas as the energy source followed by N6.05 ($ 0.047) for

electricity and N5.05 ($ 0.04) for wood in that order. The average baking rate using firewood,

gas and electricity as energy sources were 11.92 kgh-1, 17.97 kgh-1 and 20.58 kgh-1

respectively.

Baking is an energy-intensive process due to water evaporation occurring in the product

(latent heat of water vaporization is 2.257 MJkg-1 at100 C). The energy demand for a

conventional baking process is around 3.7 MJkg-1, though it can be higher (up to 7 MJkg-1)

depending on specific products and operating conditions. In this sense, baking is similar to

(conventional) drying, both demanding a high amount of energy in comparison with chilling,

freezing, and canning, which need less than 1 MJkg-1(Le Bail et al., 2010).
ANALYSIS OF ERGONOMIC DEMANDS IN THE BREAD MAKING SECTION OF A

BAKERY IN NATAL/RN: A CASE STUDY

(By: The Industrial Engineering and the Sustainable Development: Integrating Technology and

Management, Salvador, BA, Brazil, 06 to 09 October 2009)

Introduction:

The bread-making industry accounts for 2,713 bakeries throughout the state of Rio

Grande do Norte, which occupies the 7th position in the number of bakeries in Brazil. There are

600 bakers located in the municipality of Natal. This industry employs approximately 12

thousand direct employees who are responsible for producing three hundred thousand rolls every

month (O Jornal de Hoje, 2008; SENAI, 2007, p. 11).

According to statistics from the Baking, Confectionery and Pastry Industry Union and the

Baking and Confectionery Industry Association of So Paulo (SINDIPAN/AIPAN-SP, 2008)

around 35% of the employees work in the production sector. It is known that this job requires

intense labor force use, not only for operating the machinery but also for directly handling the

product. For that reason, it is required that the working conditions are well suited to the workers

needs in order to obtain a better outcome. However, ergonomic risks are commonly found in the

premises conditions, in using the equipment, in the production process and work organization.

Therefore bakers are frequently searching for alternatives to improve such conditions, which

may generate situations that are unfavorable to their performance and repercussions related to

their health and the industry itself, such as accidents and work-related diseases, production

decrease and quality variations, among others.

Statistics of work accidents recorded in the Bakery, Pastry and Confectionery industry from 1998

to 2000 show that 82.7% out of the 663 records, correspond to typical accidents, while 9.7%

refer to commuting accidents and 7.7% to work-related diseases. (CNAE 15.81-4; Ministrio do

Trabalho e Emprego apud SESI, 2005).

In this context, this study aims to investigate the ergonomic demands for the position of

baker in a bread producing company in the city of Natal/RN. For this purpose, the chosen

methodology was based on the Ergonomic Work Analysis (EWA) (WISNER,1987; VIDAL,

2008; GURIN, 2001) in order to provide a better understanding of workplace situations, the

identification of the real ergonomic demand, and recommendations for a better execution of the

activity, workers safety and wellbeing. In accordance with the facts previously mentioned, the

research is justified due to the necessity of a better adjustment of this activity to the workers in

the industry.

Methodology:

The methodology used in this paper is based in the Ergonomic Analysis of Work (EAW)

(WISNER, 1987; VIDAL, 2003; GURIN, 2001), applied to a case study in a bakery. The EAW

comprises a set of analysis of determining factors for a positive change in work, which relates to

technical, human, environmental and social factors. Such considerations are made from the

analysis of a demand, which in the current study, corresponds to an induced demand (VIDAL,

2001; 2008).

For the data collection, 5 systematic visits were made to the place of study. Information

were got based on surveys and previous analysis of bibliographical references on the subject, as

well as situated analysis from observational methods (preliminary studies and organizational
analysis) and interactional methods in the company (amplified listening, conversational action

and verbalizations), while notes, photos and films were taken. Preliminary studies allowed the

view on all the context of the company, the global analysis, which helped us perceive some

characteristics which are peculiar to brad-making and also the real work.

Such observations guided the elaboration of dynamic scripts, so the themes covered were

discussed and not only referenced with affirmative or negative answers. During the observation

stage some analysis were carried out based on the dialogue between the operators and the

manager. In order to accomplish an analysis of demands and to construct them, it was used the

matrix of demand analysis matrix. Such methodology helped the assessment of ergonomic

demand and its recommendations.

THE ROLE OF ERGONOMICS TOWARDS PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT

(By: Kem Ramdass, Post Graduate student, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment,

University of Johannesburg, Kingsway, Auckland Park, South Africa. Leon Pretorius, Professor,

Graduate school of Technology Management, University of Pretoria, South Africa)

Abstract:

A call centre is of strategic importance to an organisation and therefore needs to be

developed with ergonomics in mind. Call centre managers need to be trained in the field of

ergonomics, so that an ergonomic changeover takes place to improve the workplace. Call

centre agents are the lifeblood of the call center, and efficient managers need to do everything in

their power to maintain a competitive workforce. The creation of worker friendly environment

boosts the morale of the workforce, thereby reducing turnover and attracting professional agents.

The issue of labour efficiency and productivity need to be addressed with the application of

ergonomic principles which contribute process improvement. The result would be a reduction in

absenteeism and worker's compensation claims as it is approximately ten million per year

(www.statsa.org.za). Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) such as carpel tunnel syndrome arise

from poor ergonomic practices. Thus, the focus of this article is to promote the application of

ergonomic practices in the administrative environment with a view of improving worker health

and safety while improving productivity.

Introduction to Ergonomics:

Ergonomics is derived from two Greek words: ergon, meaning work, and nomoi,

meaning natural laws, to create a word that means the science of work and a persons

relationship to that work (www.system-concepts.com).

The International Ergonomics Association has adopted this technical definition: ergonomics (or

human factors) is the scientific discipline concerned with the understanding of interactions

among humans and other elements of a system, and the profession that applies theory, principles,

data and methods to design in order to optimize human well-being and overall system

performance (Stevenson, 2007).

Aim and Objectives:

The aim of this article is to provide an overview of ergonomic practices in the

administrative call centre environment and to create an understanding of how simple changes

could improve the health and safety of the workforce while also enhancing productivity in the

organisation. The following objectives will be served by the study:

Observation of problems relating to ergonomics at workplaces.

Development of a process improvement framework that would serve as a benchmark for

the application of ergonomics.

Methodology:

The research comprised a qualitative exploratory and descriptive design. The purpose of

the exploration was to report the current phenomenon of ergonomics through systematic

observation (Cooper and Schindler, 2006). Personal interviews, questionnaires and direct

observation were used to gain insight into problems caused by poor ergonomic design.

Observation of task performance was acquired; both to document worker technique and worker

interaction with their workstation as well as to provide examples that can be used during training

(if training is pursued as an intervention). Operators were spoken to, to obtain a general

consensus on the problems experienced during the performance of the job.

 BOOKS

1. Beaverton, Oregon. Copyright 2017 Geigle Safety Group, Inc. Introduction to Ergonomics.

15220 NW Greenbrier Parkway, Suite 230.

2. McPhee, Barbara. July 2005. Practical Ergonomics. PO Box 113, Kurri Kurri NSW 2327

Australia.
3. Department of Industrial Relations, Cal/OSHA Consultation Service Research and Education

Unit. May 2003. Ergonomics in Action. California.

PUBPLISHED

1. International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management (ICIEOM).

October 2009. Analysis of Ergonomic Demands in the Bread Making Section of a Bakery in

Natal/Rn: A Case Study. Salvador, BA, Brazil.