Ergonomie intervention addressing musculoskeletal disorders among poultry layer workers

摘要

Poultry Industry is one of the fastest growing sectors of the Philippine agriculture today. Though there is a tremendous growth in poultry industry and already providing employment to about 90,000 farmhands in Philippines, the poultry industry ranked ninth among the different industries with high occupational injuries due to musculoskeletal disorders. The main objective of this study is to predict the severity of musculoskeletal disorders that the poultry workers have been experiencing. This is done by analyzing the literature review, respondent survey, ergonomics assessment tools and statistical study. Stepwise Regression Technique and Residual Analysis were also done after analyzing the gathered data. Another output of this study is the design of the automatic feeder. The design is based from the analysis of the study and formulated predictive equation. To fully accomplish the design, Quality Function Deployment matrix and Product Costing were completed. The result of the final model was tested in the poultry farm to validate the usability issues, safety measures and its function. Time and Motion Study was used to analyze the improvements in the standard time of the feeding task. It is concluded that feeding using the automatic feeder significantly reduces the severity of musculoskeletal disorders of the workers and improves the process.