RESEARCH ARTICLE
Physical Workload Assessment of Furniture Industry Workers by Using Owas Method

Improper workplace design is one of the significant reasons for occupational accidents and injuries in labor-intensive production sites. Inadequate and incomplete working environments ignoring ergonomic factors at the planning level create persistent psychical disorders, increase mistakes and accident rates and decrease work productivity. Enhancement of the compliance between worker and task is a crucial step for improving productivity.

The worker can reach increased productivity with less physical load and less energy consumption when compliance is accomplished. This study has been implemented in a medium sized labor-intensive furniture factory located in Denizli, Turkey. In this study, physical workload of operators is the loading and unloadingby machinery in solid wood processing workshop of the factory. Initially, the working environment of this division is investigated ergonomically and then 12 of the machines are selected for implementation. Individual characteristics, working conditions and postures of the operators in the selected machines are determined by using surveys, measurements and video recording techniques. After analyzing loading and unloading operations of workers, operation times and posture frequencies are determined. Ovako Working Posture Analysis System (OWAS) is used to find the workloads and potential risk of work-related musculoskeletal disorders.

The results show that inadequate and incomplete working environment and operational designs are the main reasons for the high workload level and serious physical disorders among the workers. Operational design improvements related to working environment are presented to the senior management of the factory that may help decrease the risks of work-related musculoskeletal disorder in the workers.