Showing 11 results for Industry
S.abolfazl Zakerian, Gholam Teymouri, Iman Ahmadnejad, Marziyeh Abbasinia, Abdorasoul Rahmani, Mahdi Asghari,
Volume 1, Issue 3 (3-2014)
Abstract
Introduction: The present study was aimed to investigate the dimensions of quality of work life and its relation to job satisfaction among workers of automotive industry.
Materials and Methods: In this descriptive-analytical study, 150 workers of an automotive industry in Tehran city were chosen by simple random sampling method. Three questionnaires of demographic characteristics, quality of work life and job satisfaction were employed as data collecting tools. For data analysis, descriptive statistics, t-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), correlation and regression tests were used.
Results: About 6% of participants evaluated their workload as light, 11.3% as moderate, 60.7% as heavy, and 22% as very heavy. The average of job satisfaction was 55.94± 13.45. 15.3% of subjects had low job satisfaction, 68.7% moderate and 16% reported high job satisfaction. There was a positive and significant relation between quality of work life and job satisfaction (p = 0.001). Meanwhile, general health condition had the highest effect on job satisfaction.
Conclusion: In general, there was a positive and significant relation between the quality of work life and job satisfaction, so that the higher the quality of work life, the higher the job satisfaction of workers. The results also emphasize the role and impact of managers and supervisors for effective interventions to improve quality of work life and job satisfaction. Therefore, further studies are proposed for the identification of other effective factors on the quality of work life and job satisfaction.
Fatemeh Zameni, Ahmad Soltanzadeh, Parvin Nasiri,
Volume 6, Issue 2 (9-2018)
Abstract
Introduction: In the modern industrial world, the health of the employees in different Occupations can be influenced by the interaction of various risk factors. So, the purpose of present study was to assess and analyze the relationship between the factors including shift work, job stress, job satisfaction and health in a petrochemical industry.
Materials & Methods: The present study was conducted using analytical and cross-sectional method. The statistical population was all employees of a petrochemical company (4000 people). Using the Cochran formula, a sample of 360 individuals were selected using simple random sampling method. Data was collected using a high reliability integrated questionnaire (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.83). Data was analyzed using SPSS22.0.
Results: The analytical results of relationship between shift work, occupational stress, occupational satisfaction and health showed that all hypotheses in the conceptual model were approved and there was a significant relationship between these factors (P<0.001). Also, the results showed that, in addition to the direct effect of shift work on health, due to the effect on occupational stress and occupational satisfaction, it was indirectly related to health (P <0.001).
Conclusion: The findings indicated that shift work as a direct factor and as a mediator and indirect factor through impact on factors such as occupational satisfaction and stress can affect the health of employees. Therefore, considering this organizational phenomenon and its redesign or its change can play an important role in increasing the level of occupational health and motivation as well as organizational productivity.
Fatemeh Chahraghran, Shahnaz Tabatabaei,
Volume 7, Issue 1 (5-2019)
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Considering that musculoskeletal disorders and occupational stress are one of the most important reasons for disability, physical and mental problems in the staff, the study of their causes is of great importance. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the relationship between ergonomic risk level and job stress in employees of a food production plant.
Methods: This was a descriptive-analytic research. It was carried out for a sample of 200 employees in the production and packaging of a food production plant in 2018. The QEC method was used to determine the ergonomic risk level and the OSPU questionnaire was used to measure occupational stress. Descriptive and inferential statistics (T and F tests) were used to analyze the data.
Results: The findings showed that the level of ergonomic risk in the neck, shoulders and wrists is in the unfavorable situation. Workstations will need to be repaired in the near future. There is a significant relationship between the level of ergonomic risk and the demographic variables of gender and education with job stress.
Conclusion: Unfavorable ergonomic status of workstations in the food factory has increased the worker’s stress in the manufacturing and packaging sectors. Therefore, proper design of workstations and consideration of ergonomic principles are effective in improving the physical and mental health of employees.
Zahra Ordudari, Farzane Fadaei, Ehsanolah Habibi, Akbar Hassanzadeh,
Volume 7, Issue 3 (11-2019)
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Musculoskeletal disorders cause about half of all work-related disease, and are the major cause of loss of time, increased costs, and labor injury. This study aims to evaluate the workload and its association with the prevalence of wrist disorders. It was carried out in the assembly workers of a manufacturing industry.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 120 female workers employed. Theit mental workload, physical workload and prevalence of wrist MSDs were evaluated using the NASA-TLX, the OCRA method and the Nordic wrist and hand scan questionnaire respectively.
Results: The NASA-TLX showed that the physical demands and effort with mean scores of 78.79 and 78.37 were respectively the most important subjective mental workload (SMWL) scale. Also The results on the basis of the OCRA risk level showed that the highest right-hand risk was at risk level 3 and the highest left-hand risk was at risk level 1 .The Statistical analysis showed that OCRA risk levels and mean scale physical demands and efforts were significantly higher in those with wrist pain than those without pain (P<0.05).There was a direct correlation between the severity of the wrist pain with the OCRA risk index in both hands (P=0.001) and the total score of NASA (r=0.232, P<0.05).
Conclusion: It was revealed that mental load was high in assembly lines of the manufacturing industry and this result was also confirmed by physical evaluation. This study indicated that overall score of SMWL can affect the incidence of MSDs. That is why mental workload should be considered as a risk factor for MSDs.
Esmaeil Shoja, Ali Choupani, Masoumeh Gharaee, Mohsen Ghanbari,
Volume 7, Issue 3 (11-2019)
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Using appropriate methods for ergonomic risk assessment of musculoskeletal disorders has an important role in controlling these risks and providing workforce health. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of applying WERA method to assess the risk of musculoskeletal disorders through its correlation with the results of QEC.
Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was performed on 72 employees of workshop sections of a modern brick industry. Data were collected using a Nordic questionnaire to assess the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders in the past 12 months and WERA and QEC methods to ergonomic risk assessment of musculoskeletal disorders. Data were analyzed by SPSS 18.
Results: The prevalence of back, shoulder, neck and wrist disorders were 41.7%, 20.8%, 16.7% and 33.3%, respectively. Results of WERA showed that 88.9% of subjects had medium action level and 11.1% had high action level. In QEC method, 6.9% of subjects had exposure level ‘one’, 20.8% of subjects had exposure level ‘two’, 48.6% of subjects had exposure level ‘three’, and 23.7% of subjects had exposure level ‘four’. The correlation between QEC total score and prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders was (r=0.67, P=0.038). The correlation coefficient between the final scores of the two methods was (r=0.53, P=0.021).
Conclusion: Examination of the correlation between the mean scores of the two methods indicated a moderate correlation between them. Correlation between prevalence of disorders and QEC and WERA scores showed that QEC results were more consistent with Nordic results and it can be said that QEC method was more suitable for ergonomic assessment of musculoskeletal disorders risk for different tasks in this study.
Alireza Ghorbanpour, Shahnaz Tabatabaei, Reza Gholamnia,
Volume 7, Issue 3 (11-2019)
Abstract
Background and Objectivse: The employees of an industrial sector, especially the food industry, tackle many problems due to their type of job. Among these staff, non-standard working postures is known as a risk factor for musculoskeletal disorders. Musculoskeletal disorders affect the function and self-efficacy of these people and ultimately leads to a reduction in their performance. Therefore, in this case, research entitled: Study of risk factors of the ergonomic work environment and its relation with self-efficacy and job performance of employees of the food industry has been done.
Methods: A total of 202 people were selected as the sample group using a random sampling method. Then they completed the research questionnaires. The research tools consisted of Paterson's job performance questionnaire, Scherer general self-efficacy, Key Indicator method and a five-point body map questionnaire for assessing body organs discomfort and prevalence. Data was analyzed using SPSS 19.
Results: There was a significant difference between the level of risk of musculoskeletal disorders and their job performance and between the risk of musculoskeletal disorders and the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders. The lower back showed the highest prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders. There was a significant difference between the levels of risk of musculoskeletal disorders with job performance and also between musculoskeletal disorders with job performance and self-efficacy. The results showed a positive and significant relationship between job performance and self-efficacy.
Conclusion: The results indicated the role of self-efficacy in preventing behaviors that lead to exacerbation of musculoskeletal disorders. This will ultimately be reflected in their job performance and both the individual and the organization concerned. Also, employing high self-efficacy staff can improve work performance and productivity and contribute to better production processes.
Marzieh Abbassinia, Omid Kalatpour, Majid Motamedzadeh, Alireza Soltanian, Iraj Mohammadfam,
Volume 8, Issue 2 (6-2020)
Abstract
Background and Aim: Petrochemical industry is one of the most accident-prone industries, and most accidents in this industry are related to human factors. The principles of Lean production are one of the approaches used to improve the production situation. Various studies have shown that implementing Lean production improves the safety and ergonomics. In this study, the principles of Lean production were used to reduce human error and improve response in emergencies.
Methods: The basic CREAM method was used to evaluate human errors. In order to select Lean production tools appropriate to the emergency response tasks, the opinions of the 20-member panel of specialists and experts, including industry managers, HSE officials, and university professors, were used. For examining the impact of Lean production principles on reducing human error in emergencies, 6 months after the implementation of Lean production interventions, human error was re-examined. Evaluation of human errors after Lean production interventions was also performed by basic CREAM method.
Results: The results of the evaluation of human errors before and after the implementation of Lean production interventions showed that the level of control mode of the three sub-tasks improved from the tactical control mode to the strategic control mode. The most probable human error was in evacuate sub-task.
Conclusion: The results of this study showed that the implementation of those interventions that in addition to improving the level of safety, can improve organizational productivity, is more accepted by industry management.
Anooshirvan Safari, Shahnaz Tabatabaei, Mahnaz Sareme,
Volume 9, Issue 1 (4-2021)
Abstract
Background and Objectives: In the automotive industry, assemblers are at the risk of job stress. There is relationship between job stress and work ability index, and job stress can impact on work ability index negatively. Therefore, this study investigates the effect of ergonomic job stress intervention (Ergo-JSI) on the work ability index and job stress of assemblers in an auto parts factory.
Methods: It was an interventional study with pre- and post-test design in the assembly section of an auto parts factory. The sample group included 80 persons who were working in this section and they were selected totally. The interventional Ergonomics-based on Job Stress Program was performed for eight weeks. Job stress questionnaires (BJSQ), work ability index (WAI), ergonomic check points (ECP), and stress prevention in the workplace (International Labor Organization) were used as research tools.
Results: The ergonomic job stress intervention (Ergo-JSI) was found to be significant on the work ability index (P <0.001). The level of work ability index was increased by 16.25% for workers (P = 0.01). Furthermore, the job stress was decreased significantly (P <0.05). The quantitative changes in the level of job stress towards reduction were based on the BJSQ criteria A (51.25%) and criteria B (27.5%); these differences were found to be significant (P <0.001).
Conclusion: Individual and organizational approaches which used for the interventional Ergonomic based on Job Stress Management Program has been effective on the decreasing of job stress and the increasing of work ability index of assemblers. Therefore, this Participatory Ergonomics Program which has an integrated approach can be improved the mental health of staff.
Anooshe Fazeli, Hassan Ghasembeygi, Mohammad Ghofrani,
Volume 9, Issue 1 (4-2021)
Abstract
Background and Objectives: During the past times people have used furniture as today. Along with the social welfare development and the importance of manufacturing efficiency, the importance of ergonomics and standardization in furniture became very clear so that, today it is well-known that not considering human factors in furniture manufacturing causes much human health problems. Due to the importance of furniture standardization, the present study was conducted to investigate the use of standards in furniture manufacturing units in Tehran province.
Methods: In this study, cluster sampling was performed and questionnaires were distributed among experienced manufacturers of sixty furniture manufacturing units. Statistical analysis was performed using One sample student t-test and Friedman test in SPSS 18 software.
Results: Results revealed that there was a significant difference between the indices mean and the hypothesized mean of the population. Furniture manufacturers believed that the governmental and nongovernmental institutions have appeared weak on updating furniture standards and making manufacturers familiar with standards. From their point of view, consumers have shown a great trend to buy standard and ergonomic furniture. Manufacturers also have largely tended so much to use standards and national standards conformed by international standards.
Conclusion: The manufacturing of standard furniture increases the consumer interest to buy furniture and it increases the consumer satisfaction. The high quality of imported raw materials makes furniture competitive and it causes coordination with international standards and it can assure the successful export of furniture in Iran. Successful furniture manufacturing will depend on realization of all indices mentioned in the present study.
Davood Afshari, Payam Amini, Behnoush Jafari, Ghasem Akbari,
Volume 9, Issue 1 (4-2021)
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Psychosocial factors are among the factors affecting employee productivity. Since few studies have been done in this field, this study was conducted to investigate the relationship between psychosocial factors regarding productivity.
Methods: This cross-sectional and descriptive-analytical study was conducted in 2020 among 105 employees of a food distribution company in Ahvaz. Data collection tools included demographic information questionnaire, Copenhagen Psychosocial Factors Questionnaire (COPSOQ) and Goldsmith Hershey Productivity Questionnaire. Independent t-test, one-way analysis of variance and Pearson correlation coefficient were used to investigate the relationship between variables.
Results: The results showed that there was no significant relationship between any of the demographic variables with the score of psychosocial factors and productivity (P> 0.05). Psychosocial factor 2 has a negative and significant relationship with the average score of productivity, ability, role clarity, organizational support, motivation, feedback and credibility. And psychosocial factor 4 has a negative and significant relationship with motivation. The mean score of psychosocial factors, factor 1 and 3 showed a positive and significant relationship with the mean score of productivity, ability, role clarity, organizational support, motivation, feedback and credibility.
Conclusion: Considering the role of psychosocial factors on employee' productivity, it is necessary to consider organizational interventions in order to control effective psychosocial factors. More attention to psychosocial factors in the workplace can play an effective role in the efficiency and productivity of employees and the organization.
Mrs Laleh Nazari, Dr Azadeh Shahcheraghi, Dr Iraj Etessam,
Volume 9, Issue 3 (12-2021)
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Job satisfaction and improving employee performance due to direct relationships with individual and environmental factors is one of the most important issues in optimizing the industrial environment. Since the main lever of decreasing or increasing productivity is human resources, one of the issues that will engage the leading managers in the coming decade is trying to increase employee productivity. Regarding the disposal of some affairs to the private sector and lack of adequate health supervision, in some cases, we witness an increase in this disorder in our country. The physical environment of the built environment affects mental health directly and indirectly, meaning that the physical environment, such as the residence and workplace, is a place for human life and some of its psychological effects are unknown.
Methods: The purpose of this research is to explain the model optimization model of labor and the industrial environment through architectural standards. This research is an applied research. In this research, the opinions were gathered through interviews. Then using grounded theory and open, axial and selective coding, the model was developed. In the following, confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine the validity of the items by Lisrel software.
Results: The results showed that indices such as environmental and physical ergonomics, visual contrast of space, environmental psychology, spatial separation of space, attention to voice and color are influential.
Conclusion: Psychological comfort is an inevitable aspect of user satisfaction studies. These findings help designers, architects, planners, and facility managers to develop workplace design principles.
