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- Bao, Shihan, et al.
(författare)
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Ergonomic effects of a management-based rationalization in assembly work — a case study
- 1996
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Ingår i: Applied Ergonomics. - : Elsevier BV. - 0003-6870 .- 1872-9126. ; 27:2, s. 89-99
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Due to unsatisfactory productivity, a large company in the Swedish manufacturing industry decided to rationalize their assembly system. The intended rationalization comprised several changes with deliberate ergonomic implications. The main aim of the present study was to evaluate the impact of the rationalization on the physical work load of the operators. The work load was assessed before and after the changes using expert observations, company records and direct technical measurements. The results indicate that the intervention led to only minor changes in muscle load, body postures and movement patterns. Several of the planned initiatives were never implemented, e.g. teaching the workers multiple skills and designing work stations at which a major part of the assembly sequence could be performed. This was mainly due to a policy revision caused by changes in the market situation. In spite of the company's original intentions, the revised production system contained only minor ergonomic improvements. Thus, the realization of the ergonomic potential in a rationalization seems to depend on management culture, as well as factors outside the company.
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| 2. |
- Bao, Shihan, et al.
(författare)
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Interactive effect of ergonomics and production engineering on shoulder-neck exposure — A case study of assembly work in China and Sweden
- 1997
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Ingår i: International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics. - 0169-8141 .- 1872-8219. ; 20:1, s. 75-85
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Ergonomic improvements of work station design have been widely embraced as a measure for reduction of physical work load (mechanical exposure) and prevention or control of occupational shoulder-neck disorders. However, other elements of work rationalization, more in the hands of production engineers, may also influence the mechanical exposure. The present study concerns shoulder-neck exposure in a Chinese and a Swedish assembly line workplace. Interactive effects of ergonomic work station design, and production engineering (in terms of assembly line balancing and sensitivity of assembly line layout to production irregularities) on shoulder-neck exposure have been studied. It was shown that the Swedish workplace has a better ergonomic work station design, reflected in more favorable work postures during assembly operations. At the same time, the Swedish assembly line is better balanced and less sensitive to production irregularities, which probably reduces the total duration of idle time during assembly compared with the Chinese line. On the Swedish assembly line, arm movements are more frequent, and trapezius and infraspinatus muscle activation is more repetitive. Muscle activation levels are similar on the two lines. However, a larger proportion of low level muscle activities were found on the Chinese line compared with the Swedish line. On the basis of these results, it is suggested that the mechanical exposure of the assembly workers is a result of counteracting effects of improved ergonomic design of work stations and more effective production engineering.
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| 3. |
- Jackson, Jennie, et al.
(författare)
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Protocol for an observational study of working conditions and musculoskeletal health in Swedish online retail warehousing from the perspective of sex/gender and place of birth
- 2024
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Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : PLOS. - 1932-6203. ; 19:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- European and International sustainable development agendas aim to reduce inequalities in working conditions and work-related health, yet disparate occupational health outcomes are evident between both men and women and domestic- and foreign-born workers. In Sweden, major growth in online retail warehousing has increased occupational opportunities for foreign-born workers. The rapid change has left research lagging on working conditions, i.e., employment conditions, facility design, work organisation, physical and psychosocial work environment conditions, and their effects on worker health. Further, no known studies have considered patterns of inequality related to these factors. The overall aim of this study is to describe working conditions and musculoskeletal health in online retail warehousing, determine the extent to which differences exist related to sex/gender and place of birth (as a proxy for race/ethnicity), and examine factors at the organisational and individual levels to understand why any differences exist.Three online retail warehouses, each employing 50-150 operations workers performing receiving, order picking, order packing and dispatching tasks will be recruited. Warehouses will, to the extent possible, differ in their extent of digital technology use. Employment conditions, facility design (including digital tool use), work organisation, physical and psychosocial work environment conditions and worker health will be assessed by survey, interview and technical measurements. Analysis of quantitative data stratified by sex and place of birth will consider the extent to which inequalities exist. Focus group interviews with operations employees and in-depth interviews with managers, union and health and safety representatives will be conducted to assess how employee working conditions and musculoskeletal health are related to inequality regimes of sex/gender and/or race/ethnicity in organisational processes and practices in online retail warehousing. The study is pre-registered with the Open Science Framework.This study will describe working conditions and health in online retail warehouse workers and consider the extent to which patterns of inequality exist based on sex/gender and place of birth.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Rydström, Klara, et al.
(författare)
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A Systematic Review of Work Organization, Work Environment, and Employment Conditions in Warehousing in Relation to Gender and Race/Ethnicity
- 2023
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Ingår i: Annals of Work Exposures and Health. - : Oxford University Press. - 2398-7308 .- 2398-7316. ; 67:4, s. 430-447
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- ObjectivesStudies in the goods supply chain in areas outside of warehousing show evidence of gender and racial/ethnic inequalities in working conditions (i.e. in work organization, work environment, and employment conditions). This review aimed to identify, summarize, and discuss research focused on inequality in warehousing and its effects on warehouse working conditions. In the review, racial/ethnic inequality includes inequality related to country of birth and (im)migration status.MethodsWe performed a systematic search in the Scopus and Web of Science databases to identify warehouse studies that addressed working conditions and (in)equality at a workplace level. Screening of records was performed using the Rayyan systematic review tool. Risk of bias was assessed according to established methods and checklists.ResultsDatabase searches yielded 4910 articles. After title-abstract-keyword and full-text screenings, 21 articles were included. Results showed inequality based on gender and race/ethnicity in both work organization (different tasks were performed by different groups of employees), work environment conditions (physical and psychosocial aspects differed), and employment conditions (disparate employment types and incomes between groups of employees). Health differences, as a possible result of unequal working conditions, were evident between different racial/ethnic groups of employees. A hierarchy that included both gender and race/ethnicity was found, with (im)migrant and racialized women positioned at the bottom.ConclusionsWe found evidence that gender and race/ethnicity influenced work organization, work environment conditions, and employment conditions. Evidence was found for an intersection between gender and race/ethnicity. To improve working conditions, and subsequently occupational health, we encourage researchers to simultaneously consider gender and race/ethnicity factors at work, and to consider both why inequality is present and how it impacts working conditions in future studies of warehousing, particularly in online retailing.
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| 6. |
- Rydström, Klara, et al.
(författare)
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Ojämlikhet på e-handelns lager? : Några kvalitativa resultat från ett pågående tvärvetenskapligt forskningsprojekt
- 2023
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Ingår i: Program och abstrakt FALF 2023. ; , s. 80-81
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- För snart 20 år sedan publicerades artikeln ’Inequality in the Toy Store’ (Williams 2004) med resultat från en studie i detaljhandelns butiker. Williams (2004) konstaterade att arbetsplatsernas hierarkier var könade och rasifierade, med synliga (o)jämlikhetsmönster organiseringen av arbete och arbetare (jfr Van Oort, 2019). Sedan dess har handelsarbetets gränser förskjutits – det direkta servicearbete som görs av handelsanställda i butik har kompletterats med indirekt servicearbete utfört av e-handelsanställda på lager. Studier i lagermiljö har visar på en könad och rasifierad ojämlikhet mellan anställda, både vad gäller anställningsvillkor, arbetsmiljö och vilken typ av arbetsuppgifter anställda tilldelas (Rydström m.fl., 2023). I en svensk kontext har Handelsanställdas förbund belyst att repetitiva och monotona arbetsmoment och stor personalomsättning påverkar e-handelsanställdas hälsa negativt, och kvinnor rapporterar en generellt sämre hälsa än män (Rosenström 2016). Presentationen bygger på en tvärvetenskaplig studie (2020–2023) om (o)jämlikhet, arbetsvillkor och arbetsmiljö i e-handeln. Under hösten 2022 undersöktes tre e-handelslager genom tekniska mätningar av arbetsbelastningen, enkätstudier och fokusgruppsintervjuer med anställda, enskilda intervjuer med chefer och fackliga representanter samt arbetsplatsbesök och observationer. Presentationen fokuserar primärt på materialet från de kvalitativa delarna av studien, vilket kodats och analyserats med hjälp av Acker’s (2006) teori om ojämlikhetsregimer. Preliminära resultat visar på både likheter och skillnader mellan de tre e-handelslagrens (o)jämlikhetsmönster och anställdas upplevelser av sin arbetssituation. E-handelslagren skiljer sig åt i storlek och typen av varor som hanteras, med olika nivåer av automation i plock- och packarbetet. Gemensamt är att ojämlikhetsregimer – det vill säga, könade och rasifierade hierarkiska klassrelationer (Acker 2006) – återfinns på e-handelsföretagen och reproducerar ojämlika arbetsvillkor för kvinnor och män, svenskfödda och utrikesfödda som arbetar på lagergolvet.
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