Ergonomics and Safety: Adding Value and Competitive Advantage to SME’s in the Philippines  

Oleh:

Gutierrez, Jennifer

Jenis: Article from Proceeding
Dalam koleksi: The 14th Asia Pacific Industrial Engineering and Management Systems Conference (APIEMS), 3-6 December 2013 Cebu, Philippines, page 1-10.
Topik: ergonomics; safety; workstation; micro; small and medium scale enterprises
Fulltext: 2006.pdf (650.87KB)

Isi artikel

In the Philippines, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) play a crucial role in the economic development. They represent 99.6 per cent of all businesses registered in the country and employ 69.9 per cent of the total labor force. In addition, they account for 32 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP). Therefore it is essential to address the needs of SME’s employees especially in the area of ergonomics and in the workplace. At present there is a limited awareness on the importance of ergonomics and safety in the workplace. Employees need to understand the basic concept of ergonomics through proper training. Most working environment observed in SME’s show workers adapting to existing equipment and setup. It is typical for a worker to work in makeshift environment and was observed to slouch in their work area. The tables and chairs are not ergonomically designed for the anthropometric data of workers. Poor working condition is very prevalent- there is a lack of ventilation, poor lighting and noisy environment. This is opposed to the basic principle of ergonomics which is designing man’s working environment to fit his needs. If the workstations are too tall or too small, the users will just be placed into tasks that will put them under additional stress. Ergonomics tools can be taught to SME employees so they can consciously use them to improve their working environment. Educating the owners of small and medium scale enterprises (sme’s) on the importance of ergonomics in the workplace can be the starting point.

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