Does Ergonomics Improve Product Quality and Reduce Costs? A Review Article

Competition is an ongoing challenge confronting industrial corporations, particularly automobile manufacturing. Striving to improve product quality and productivity, automotive industries have used different quality management approaches, such as reduced variability, total quality management, and lean management, over recent years. Furthermore, incorporating proactive ergonomics such as physical and organizational ergonomics and psychosocial factors into the structure of a company is considered to be a support for productivity and quality. Several studies have shown the effects of ergonomics on better quality. Application of both quality management approaches and ergonomics in an integrated manner in the manufacturing production system is emphasized because they are similar concepts with the same objectives, that is, to improve efficiency. In this study, a comprehensive review was undertaken and 25 studies were reviewed in order to define how integration of an ergonomic approach in the manufacturing production system can reduce defects and improve quality in the production process.

[1]  N Larson,et al.  3M Brazil ergonomics: a success story in the making. , 2012, Work.

[2]  J. Dul,et al.  Human factors: spanning the gap between OM and HRM , 2010 .

[3]  Ann-Christine Falck,et al.  The impact of poor assembly ergonomics on product quality: A cost-benefit analysis in car manufacturing: Poor Assembly Ergonomics and Product Quality , 2010 .

[4]  Waldemar Karwowski,et al.  Principles of work system performance optimization: A business ergonomics approach , 1999 .

[5]  Svend Erik Mathiassen,et al.  A case study evaluating the ergonomic and productivity impacts of partial automation strategies in the electronics industry , 2002 .

[6]  Maurizio Faccio,et al.  New methodological framework to improve productivity and ergonomics in assembly system design , 2011 .

[7]  Svend Erik Mathiassen,et al.  Production system design elements influencing productivity and ergonomics - A case study of parallel and serial flow strategies , 2006 .

[8]  W Patrick Neumann,et al.  Integrating ergonomics into production system development--the Volvo Powertrain case. , 2009, Applied ergonomics.

[9]  Jörn-Henrik Thun,et al.  Feel free to feel comfortable—An empirical analysis of ergonomics in the German automotive industry , 2011 .

[10]  Leandro Vieira,et al.  Ergonomics and Kaizen as strategies for competitiveness: a theoretical and practical in an automotive industry. , 2012, Work.

[11]  J Village,et al.  Ergonomics action research II: a framework for integrating HF into work system design , 2012, Ergonomics.

[12]  A. Adcroft,et al.  Against lean production , 1992 .

[13]  L B de M Guimarães,et al.  Cost-benefit analysis of a socio-technical intervention in a Brazilian footwear company. , 2012, Applied ergonomics.

[14]  Martin G. Helander,et al.  Cost effectiveness of ergonomics and quality improvements in electronics manufacturing , 1995 .

[15]  Emilio C. Baraldi,et al.  Ergonomic planned supply in an automotive assembly line , 2011 .

[16]  Ann-Christine Falck,et al.  The impact of poor assembly ergonomics on product quality: A cost–benefit analysis in car manufacturing , 2010 .

[17]  Majid Motamedzade,et al.  The Impact of Participatory Ergonomics on Working Conditions, Quality, and Productivity , 2003, International journal of occupational safety and ergonomics : JOSE.

[18]  Ozalp Vayvay,et al.  Ergonomics interventions improve quality in manufacturing: a case study , 2008 .

[19]  Rabindra Nath Sen,et al.  Cost effectiveness of ergonomic redesign of electronic motherboard. , 2003, Applied ergonomics.

[20]  Waldemar Karwowski,et al.  The effect of cognitive demands and perceived quality of work life on human performance in manufacturing environments. , 2009 .

[21]  Patrick Neumann,et al.  Production Ergonomics: Identifying and Managing Risk in the Design of High Performance Work Systems , 2004 .

[22]  Anil Mital,et al.  Quality improvement in manufacturing through human performance enhancement , 2001 .

[23]  Colin G. Drury,et al.  Ergonomics and quality in paced assembly lines , 2001 .

[24]  Waldemar Karwowski,et al.  The work compatibility improvement framework: an integrated perspective of the human-at-work system , 2007, Ergonomics.

[25]  Paul H.P. Yeow,et al.  Quality, productivity, occupational health and safety and cost effectiveness of ergonomic improvements in the test workstations of an electronic factory , 2003 .

[26]  Begoña Toledo.  Global ergonomics strategy in Volkswagen: from the product construction, over the planning until the serial process. , 2012, Work.

[27]  Jan Dul,et al.  Ergonomics Contributions to Company Strategies , 2008, Applied ergonomics.

[28]  Ralph Bruder,et al.  The charge of ergonomics--a model according to the influence of ergonomic workplace design for economical and efficient indicators of the automotive industry. , 2012, Work.

[29]  Kláudia M M N Silva,et al.  The footwear factory's assembly sector: opposing organizational structure and quality from the ergonomic work analysis. , 2012, Work.

[30]  Ann-Christine Falck,et al.  What are the obstacles and needs of proactive ergonomics measures at early product development stages? – An interview study in five Swedish companies , 2012 .

[31]  J. S. Ilardi,et al.  Relationship between productivity, quality and musculoskeletal disorder risk among deboning workers in a Chilean salmon industry. , 2012, Work.

[32]  Göran M Hägg,et al.  Corporate initiatives in ergonomics--an introduction. , 2003, Applied ergonomics.

[33]  P. Hines,et al.  Learning to evolve: A review of contemporary lean thinking , 2004 .

[34]  Anders Liljedahl,et al.  Managing Production deviations - A case study at Scania AB , 2012 .

[35]  Martin Schmauder,et al.  Good ergonomics and team diversity reduce absenteeism and errors in car manufacturing , 2014, Ergonomics.

[36]  F. G. Amaral,et al.  Is there enough information to calculate the financial benefits of ergonomics projects? , 2012, Work.

[37]  Adam Hamrol,et al.  Impact of selected work condition factors on quality of manual assembly process , 2011 .

[38]  Ann-Christine Falck,et al.  A model for calculation of the costs of poor assembly ergonomics (part 1) , 2014 .

[39]  Jörgen Eklund,et al.  A corporate workplace model for ergonomic assessments and improvements. , 2008, Applied ergonomics.

[40]  Biman Das,et al.  Workstation redesign for a repetitive drill press operation: A combined work design and ergonomics approach , 2007 .

[41]  Ann-Christine Falck,et al.  Assembly failures and action cost in relation to complexity level and assembly ergonomics in manual assembly (part 2) , 2014 .

[42]  Martin G. Helander,et al.  A field study of productivity improvements in the manufacturing of circuit boards , 1991 .

[43]  J A Eklund,et al.  Relationships between ergonomics and quality in assembly work. , 1995, Applied ergonomics.

[44]  N Larson,et al.  30 years of ergonomics at 3M: a case study. , 2012, Work.

[45]  Paul H.P. Yeow,et al.  Productivity and quality improvements, revenue increment, and rejection cost reduction in the manual component insertion lines through the application of ergonomics , 2006 .

[46]  Belarmino Adenso-Díaz,et al.  Ergonomic performance and quality relationship: an empirical evidence case , 2003 .

[47]  L.F.M. Kuijt-Evers,et al.  Cost-effectiveness of ergonomic interventions in production , 2008 .

[48]  Jörgen Winkel,et al.  Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI: 10.1002/hfm.20078 A Case Study of Serial-Flow Car Disassembly: Ergonomics, Productivity and Potential System Performance , 2022 .

[49]  Paul H.P. Yeow,et al.  Proving external validity of ergonomics and quality relationship through review of real-world case studies , 2011 .

[50]  Biman Das,et al.  Workstation redesign for a repetitive drill press operation: A combined work design and ergonomics approach: Research Articles , 2007 .

[51]  Hal W Hendrick,et al.  Determining the cost-benefits of ergonomics projects and factors that lead to their success. , 2003, Applied ergonomics.

[52]  Dennis E. Blumenfeld,et al.  Designing production systems for quality: Research opportunities from an automotive industry perspective , 2003 .

[53]  Colin G. Drury,et al.  Service, quality and human factors , 2003, AI & SOCIETY.