Analysis of Ergonomic Risk Factors in a Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Company

Abstract

Ergonomic workplace analysis (EWA) in manufacturing industries have been carried out in various industrial sectors to evaluate the risk of Work Related Musculoskeletal Disorders (WRMSD). A prospective EWA was conducted by a team of ergonomists in a pharmaceutical manufacturing company located in an Industrially Developing Country. Initially, an onsite inspection of workstation was done to identify ergonomic risk factors that might be considered to predispose the workers to WRMSD. Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion (BRPE), Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA), Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) and Rodgers Muscle Fatigue Analysis (RMFA) were used to identify risks in the respective tasks. All the 11 tasks involved high risk of WRMSD involving neck, back, knees, ankle, arm, elbow, hands and fingers and some task involving most body parts on RMFA. Scores of REBA also showed a very high postural risk. The top 3 tasks that had highest ergonomic risk scores evaluated were: 1. filling powder bottle (Task 4), 2. primary packing of tablets (Task 8) and 3. Loading (Task 11).