EVALUATION AND REDESIGN OF A PARTICULAR SELECTED ENVIRONMENT OR SET OF EQUIPMENT FROM AN ERGONOMIC POINT OF VIEW

This research evaluated and  proposed a  redesigned a  pallet refurbishment company from an ergonomic point of view.  Ergonomics is: “the science of fitting jobs to the people who work in them.” The aim of the project was to incorporate ergonomics into the system design and as a result, optimise the human well-being as well as the overall system performance.Various ergonomic assessments were performed. Passive and active surveillance was undertaken as well as obtaining information from group discussions and evaluating the training and awareness of the workers. The full system was evaluated, identifying ergonomic hazards, for example:  lack of  workstations,  which formed the basis for the  ergonomic re-designs.  A final concept was chosen using a weighted evaluation methodology. The finaldesign was fully specified  and  costed. The expected benefits were quantified and conservatively calculated to  be: ±30 extra pallets could be refurbished in a day, leading to an increased profit of R10 362.60 a month. The return on investment was calculated to be 1604.8%, with a payback period of 2 months. The net present value was calculated to be R240 726.48  over  a  3 year investment period. The utilisation of the entire plant could potentially increase from 66.25% to 91.25%.