Ergonomic interventions in central station air handler manufacturing and maintenance in Malaysia

This research emphasizes the science of fitting jobs for technical personnel in factories as well as improving the cooling comfort for human occupants in buildings for industrial improvements in terms of quality and productivity (Q&P) uplifting, manufacturing cost (MC) reduction, maintenance cost (MNC) saving, revenue increase, occupational health and safety (OHS) betterment, and other economic benefits in the field of central station Air Handler Manufacturing and Maintenance (AHMM) in Malaysia, an Industrially Developing Country (IDC).;Information comprising qualitative and quantitative data in central station AHMM was collected through general survey, Participative Assessment (PA) via interviews of managers, engineers, supervisors, operators and others, complemented by Direct Observation (DO) through field measurements, video recordings and archival data collection with regard to manufacturing costs and processes, work instructions, operations layout, maintenance procedures, etc. Ergonomic interventions by means of real life experiments were implemented, one at a time, to envisage each cause and effect relationship. Post surveys incorporating PA, DO and archival data collection were subsequently conducted to gauge the effectiveness of these interventions.;Nine Ergonomic Interventions (EIs) were conducted involving three manufacturing plants and three shopping complexes. New ergonomic tools, methods and equipments were developed for the improvement of OHS, Q&P and revenue, reduction of MC and savings in MNC. The first two EIs involved two manufacturing plants, using a twin brazing torch (TBT) to replace that of a single brazing gun (SBG) in air handler coil (AHC) brazing to reduce musculoskeletal risk levels at neck, shoulder, upper arm, wrist and lower back. This was followed by a workstation redesign (3rd EI), i.e. operators conducting brazing work in sitting position (instead of standing) using TBT with the AHC placed on a table horizontally (instead of placing on floor or table vertically). The next three EIs were conducted in another air handler manufacturing plant having significant work-related musculature disorders (WMSDs) in material handling whereby the handling of glass fibre sheet cutting was performed on the factory floor. New pairs of hand gloves, followed by new chairs with back rest were introduced to the plant, and a new low-cost invention, named Fibre Insulator Dispenser (FID), a rolling mechanism, was fabricated to facilitate glass fibre sheet cutting work on a table at a comfortable working height. Finally, new ergonomic redesign of air handler coil assemblies in three shopping complexes produced satisfactory comfort cooling environments resulting in better shopping patronage, hence improving business performance of shop/business operators. There were substantial savings in MNC in the shopping areas under study.;The main knowledge contributions of the research findings are: (1) An understanding of the feasibility of performing research & development of good ergonomics investment in the central station AHMM field, in an effort to bridge the current research gap. (2) Advancing the understanding of integrating applied basic sciences into ergonomic interventions in the central station AHMM field to improve human comfort.;The research achieved its objective of industrial improvements at low costs via the action-oriented exploratory study and practice of ergonomics.