Assessing ergonomic risk factors using combined data envelopment analysis and conventional methods for an auto parts manufacturer.
BACKGROUND
Occupational injuries are currently a major contributor to job loss around the world and are also costly for businesses. The absence of rational analysis is felt in this area, so mathematical analysis is needed to obtain the logical results of these injuries in order to find gaps or loss points of the industry.


OBJECTIVE
This paper assesses the effects of five demographic factors on ergonomic risk and occupational injuries using an integrated mathematical programming approach. The obtained results will help managers to carry out any required corrective actions or establish benchmarks.


METHODS
Two typical ergonomic risk assessment methods, the Quick Exposure Check (QEC) and Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA), are applied to assess musculoskeletal disorders in workers. Then, considering the five demographic factors as input variables and risks computed by the QEC and REBA methods as outputs, final risk rates for each decision-making unit (DMU) are calculated using data envelopment analysis (DEA). The importance and weight of each risk factor is analyzed using statistical techniques and analysis of variance (ANOVA). To demonstrate the applicability of the methodology, it is applied to a large auto parts manufacturer.


RESULTS
The results revealed that the information obtained by DEA is consistent with those for REBA and QEC, which shows that education, experience and weight are factors that could help reduce ergonomic risks.


CONCLUSION
It is shown that demographic variables such as age, height, weight, education and work experience play an important and effective role in the explanation of ergonomic risk factors.
['Mahboobi|Maryam|M|', 'Taghipour|Mohammad|M|', 'Ali Azadeh|Mohammad|M|']
D001336:Automobiles D006804:Ergonomics D006801:Humans D066192:Manufacturing Industry D009140:Musculoskeletal Diseases D009784:Occupational Diseases D018570:Risk Assessment D012307:Risk Factors
ergonomic risk factors data envelopment analysis occupational injuries risk assessment musculoskeletal disorders Demographic features