December 2018

Car Users’ Knowledge & Practices on Tyre Maintenance in Malaysia

December 11, 2018May 15, 2025superhfej

Car Users’ Knowledge & Practices on Tyre Maintenance in Malaysia

Muhamad Syukri ABDUL KHALID¹, Zulhaidi MOHD JAWI¹, Mohd Hafzi MD ISA¹ and Muhamad Arif Fahmi ABDUL WAHAB²

1 Vehicle Safety and Biomechanics Research Centre, Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS), 43000 Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia;

2 Automotive Engineering Division, Road Transport Department, 62100 Putrajaya, Malaysia.

Page 84 – 94 | Vol. 3 No. 2 (2018) | Available online on 1 Dec 2018

Abstract

Despite being one of the main issues in automotive consumerism in Malaysia, the importance of tyre in terms of knowledge and maintenance among users are still in doubt. It can be seen that many related tyre faulty crashes have occurred in recent years. This study aims to identify and understand car users’ knowledge and practices on tyre maintenance in Malaysia. Data collection were done among car users in Klang Valley and 247 valid responses were analysed. The results indicate that users still lack in knowledge regarding tyre specifications and details. As for the maintenance, most of the users did practice recommendations accordingly with the tyre manufacturer. Apart from that, half of the respondents never check their spare tyre’s condition and a few suggested that they have no idea about presence of spare tyre in their car. To conclude, users are still lacking in knowledge regarding tyre maintenance in terms of its specifications and ideal practices. Thus, it is recommended that users to be more aware and practice a proper tyre maintenance while ensuring their tyres are always in good condition so that may, perhaps, reduce the possibility to involve in a tyre failure related crashes.

Keywords

Tyre maintenance, automotive consumerism, road safety

Acknowledgement

All authors ideas and concepts in materials, questionnaire, interview and analysis in ensuring
the completion of the study within timeframe. This research work was funded by the Malaysian
Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS), an agency under the Ministry of Transport Malaysia
(MOT).

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Human Factors & Ergonomics Journal (HFEJ), eISSN: 2590-3705 is the official Journal of Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Malaysia. The journal is published on a biannual basis. HFEJ aims to address current research in the field of Ergonomics in addition to the broad coverage of cognitive ergonomics, user experience, physical ergonomics and others such as transportation, industrial design and industrial engineering. HFEJ is a member of, and subscribes to the principles of the COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics), as such we only accept original work.

Correlations Between Heart Rate, Muscle Activity and Angle of Lumbar Associated with Posture Durations of Laminators in Manual Hand Layup Process

December 11, 2018May 15, 2025superhfej

Correlations Between Heart Rate, Muscle Activity and Angle of Lumbar Associated with Posture Durations of Laminators in Manual Hand Layup Process

Nur Syafiqah RAYME¹ Seri Rahayu KAMAT¹, Syamimi SHAMSUDDIN¹

1 Fakulti Kejuruteraan Pembuatan, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, Hang Tuah Jaya, 76100 Durian Tunggal, Melaka, Malaysia.

Page 78 – 83 | Vol. 3 No. 2 (2018) | Available online on 1 Dec 2018

Abstract

Laminators are people who worked with layup process in the making of composite products. In hand layup process especially manual handling, the laminators were prone to be in high risk of getting musculoskeletal disorders (MSD). The ergonomic approach in manual handling was already established since 2005 however, no specific studies were done especially in this process. This paper is a continuation of the research done by the authors which focused more on the data analysis of experimental data collection. The study aims to investigate the correlation between heart rate, muscle activity, the angle of lumbar during layup and the duration of the working posture. From observations and survey done in the previous study, the laminators were exposed to awkward posture as they tended enormous size of the mould. Hence, the study collected 4 parameters data simultaneously. The analysis of the correlation was done using MINITAB software using Response Surface Method (RSM) analysis in obtaining the p-value of the model. From the data analysis, only two of the models show insignificant of correlation and 6 out of 8 models show correlations in between parameters. It is concluded that there was a correlation in between muscle activity, heart rate, the angle of lumbar and duration of posture, however, further studies should be done to cater the insignificant of the other 2 models with different muscle type of Lumbar Support Spinae and Multifidus Lumbar.

Keywords

MSD, HAND LAYUP, ERGONOMICS

Acknowledgement

This study was supported by Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM) and sponsored by industry and Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE). We would like to express our gratitude to the industry for our data collection and all respondents that were consenting the experiments.

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Muscle Activity and Postural Analysis of a Computer Numerical Control Machining Task

December 11, 2018May 15, 2025superhfej

Muscle Activity and Postural Analysis of a Computer Numerical Control Machining Task

Muhammad Syafiq SYED MOHAMED, Isa HALIM, Akmal Hafiz AZANI, Mohanathas NADRAJAH, Siti Khadijah KHALIL

Faculty of Manufacturing Engineering, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM), Hang Tuah Jaya, Duriang Tunggal, 76100 Melaka, Malaysia

Page 71 – 77 | Vol. 8 No. 1 2023 | Available online on 30 Jun 2023

Abstract

Computer Numerical Control CNC machining center is equipped with advanced features to achieve high accuracy, reliability, repeatability and productivity. However, CNC machining centers still expose machinists to ergonomics risk factors such as awkward postures, repetitive movements, heavy lifting and prolonged standing especially during manual material handling. The aim of this study is to redesign the existing CNC machining center to improve work posture and reduce muscle activity of the lower back. Muscle fatigue survey, Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) analysis and surface electromyography (SEMG) were used to assess subjective muscle fatigue, posture and muscle activity respectively. All machinists reported to experience muscle fatigue on the lower back area. Based on RULA analysis, the redesigned CNC machining center has improved the working posture of machinists as shown by a lowered RULA score from 7 to 3 for both right and left body side. SEMG results showed a significant decrease in muscle activity of the lower back. Therefore, this study concluded that the redesign of CNC machining center has shown has successfully reduced muscle fatigue and improved the work posture for the machinists.

Keywords

Muscle fatigue, RULA, SEMG, CNC

Acknowledgement

The researchers would like to thank the Faculty of Manufacturing Engineering, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka for funding this study by the University High Impact Short Term Grant (PJP/2017/FKP/H19/S01527).

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Body Symptom Survey (BOSS) Questionnaire for Analysis of Musculoskeletal Symptoms in Industry

December 11, 2018May 15, 2025superhfej

Body Symptom Survey (BOSS) Questionnaire for Analysis of Musculoskeletal Symptoms in Industry

C. D. M. ASYRAF^{1, *}, M. N. A. RAHMAN², R. M. ZEIN³, HARI KRISHNAN. T. S.⁴, J. MD SAH¹

1 School of Manufacturing Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Perlis, Kampus Pauh Putra, 02600 Arau, Perlis, Malaysia.

2 Department of Manufacturing and Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Manufacturing, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM), 86400 Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia.

3 National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Lot 1, Jalan 15/1, Section 15, 43650 Bandar Baru Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia.

4 Faculty of Safety and Health, Cyberjaya University College of Medical Science, Cyberjaya, Selangor, Malaysia.

*Corresponding Author: asyraf@unimap.edu.my

Page 65 – 70 | Vol. 8 No. 1 2023 | Available online on 30 Jun 2023

Abstract

This paper presented survey questionnaire for analysis of musculoskeletal symptom called Body Symptom Survey (BOSS) Questionnaire suitable for industrial applications. The survey can be performed through self-administered or through interviews. Similar to other musculoskeletal questionnaires, the main purpose of the questionnaire is to serve as a screening tool to identify a body parts symptoms related to musculoskeletal disorders in ergonomics context. The two main focus of the questionnaires are the frequency and the severity of the symptom of complaints by the worker. Structure and instruction on usage of BOSS Questionnaire are presented. Example of case study using BOSS questionnaire among 60 workers at manufacturing industry are included in this study.

Keywords

MSQ, Body Symptom Survey

Acknowledgement

–

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The Human Factor of Biased Occupational Safety and Health Advice by Safety Officers in Malaysian Construction Industry

December 11, 2018May 12, 2025superhfej

The Human Factor of Biased Occupational Safety and Health Advice by Safety Officers in Malaysian Construction Industry

Elvin Vijaya Kumar

Razak Faculty of Technology and Informatics, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur

Page 61 – 64 | Vol. 3 No. 2 (2018) | Available online on 1 Dec 2018

Abstract

The Malaysian construction sector recorded the highest number of work related fatalities and one of the critical reasons is lack of knowledge among the management team and workers where a safety and health officer’s (SHOs) duty is to advise the employer. The study investigates the possible causes that could affect the credibility of the SHOs advice that positively associated to the knowledge of the employers on safety and health matters. The underlying possibilities were brainstormed through cause effect analysis technique by qualified subject matter experts. The study also suggested several recommendations for review and future solution of the unhealthy human factor of biased safety and health officer’s advice in Malaysian construction industry.

Keywords

Construction Sector, SHO, Workplace Safety, Biased Advice, Cause Effect Analysis

Acknowledgement

This study was supported by Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Kuala Lumpur. We would like to express our gratitude to Razak Faculty of Technology and Informatics, UTM Kuala Lumpur for the support in this study. Not to forget, our sincerest gratitude to all the subject matter experts who had voluntarily rendered their assistance and took part in this research.

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The Study on Relationship Between Organizational Climate Dimensions and Ergonomics Citizenship Behaviour

December 11, 2018May 15, 2025superhfej

The Study on Relationship Between Organizational Climate Dimensions and Ergonomics Citizenship Behaviour

Che Norazri bin CHE DIN¹ & Nik Ramli bin NIK ABDUL RASHID²

1 Faculty of Business Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA

2 Faculty of Business Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA

Page 51 – 60 | Vol. 3 No. 2 (2018) | Available online on 1 Dec 2018

Abstract

Ergonomic Citizenship Behaviour (ECB) is an employee extra role behaviour towards ergonomics. ECB is a new construct which is generally adapted from well-established studies relating to Organizational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB) and more recently of Safety Citizenship Behaviour (SCB). The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between specific Organizational Climate dimensions namely as Autonomy, Involvement, Supervisory Support and Welfare with ECB. Data were obtained from 448 employees who work in OSHMS certified manufacturing located in northern region of peninsular Malaysia using self-administered questionnaire. Data were analysed using Partial Least Square (Smart PLS) version 2.0. Based on the statistical analyses conducted, the findings revealed that the specific Organizational Climate Dimensions namely Autonomy, Involvement, Supervisory Support and Welfare has significant relationship with ECB. This relationship was explained from the perspective of Social Exchange Theory. This study offers empirical evidence of the new proposed construct of ECB, which very useful for prevention of employee un-ergonomics behaviour at the workplace.

Keywords

Ergonomic Citizenship Behaviour, Organizational Climate, Social Exchange Theory, Occupational Safety and Health

Acknowledgement

–

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Patient Safety Culture Attitudes among Different Healthcare Professionals in Selected General and District Hospitals: A Preliminary Study

December 11, 2018May 15, 2025superhfej

Patient Safety Culture Attitudes among Different Healthcare Professionals in Selected General and District Hospitals: A Preliminary Study

Nuaim WAN ZULKIPLI², Ibrahim Adham TAIB¹, Niza SAMSUDDIN¹, Muhammad Lokman MD. ISA²

1 Deparment of Biomedical Sciences, Kulliyyah of Allied Health Sciences, International Islamic University Malaysia, 25200 Kuantan Pahang, Malaysia.

2 Deparment of Basic Medical Sciences Nursing, Kulliyyah of Nursing, International Islamic University Malaysia, 25200 Kuantan Pahang, Malaysia.

Page 30 – 34 | Vol. 3 No. 2 (2018) | Available online on 1 Dec 2018

Abstract

According to the World Health Organization, the reduction of accidental injury during medical procedure is heavily influenced by patient safety culture in hospitals. Patient safety culture is a collective shared behavior ranging from individual and group values, attitudes and perception that determine the commitment of an organization‟s safety management. Organizations such as the National Health Services and the National Quality Forum have suggested that by measuring patient safety culture, the healthcare industry can be improved by assessing their ability to deal with risky healthcare delivery. Because of that, a number of hospitals in developed countries such as the United Kingdom and United States of America have measured their healthcare professionals‟ patient safety attitude by using various validated safety attitude tools. One of the most commonly used tools is the Safety Attitude Questionnaire (SAQ), which has been proven by many studies to have good construct validity, internal consistency and domains properties that are associated with patient safety outcomes. The SAQ can measure healthcare professionals‟ attitude through six domains, which are teamwork climate, safety climate, perception on management, job satisfaction, working condition and stress management. Despite its importance, there is insufficient data on patient safety culture among Malaysian healthcare professionals. Thus, this study was designed to investigate differences in patient safety culture attitudes among selected healthcare professionals and types of hospital. The data analyses include descriptive, one-way ANOVA test and independent t-test in SPSS. The findings showed that doctors, nurses, pharmacists and medical assistants responded differently for safety climate, job satisfaction and working condition while teamwork climate, perception on management and stress recognition are not significantly different. The results also showed that there are significant differences between the general and district hospitals for safety climate in all domains except for working conditions. These results indicate that healthcare profession and type of hospital were factors for the SAQ scores.

Keywords

Healthcare professionals, Patient safety culture, Safety Attitude Questionnaire (SAQ).

Acknowledgement

We are grateful to all the healthcare professionals who participated in this study and completed the questionnaire. We also would like to thank the Director General of Health Malaysia for his permission to publish this article and to the Ministry of Education, who funded this study through the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS). This study has no conflict of interest.

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A Case Study: Risk Work Practices With Slips and Falls Potential Among Food Production Workers in SME Industry

December 11, 2018May 15, 2025superhfej

A Case Study: Risk Work Practices With Slips and Falls Potential Among Food Production Workers in SME Industry

Sharifah Aznee SYED ALI^{1, 2}, Seri Rahayu KAMAT², Kalthom Husin³

1 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Polytechnic of Port Dickson, KM14 Jalan Pantai, 71050 SiRusa, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia.

2 Faculty of Manufacturing Engineering, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, Hang Tuah Jaya, 76100 Durian Tunggal, Melaka, Malaysia.

3 Faculty of Education, International Islamic University College, Bandar Seri Putra, 43000 Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia

Page 44 – 50 | Vol. 3 No. 2 (2018) | Available online on 1 Dec 2018

Abstract

Food production workstation is one of the most risky areas and equipped with different tools and materials which potentially to slip and fall accidents. The aim of this study is to analyse the discomfort working body posture and activities in small medium enterprise (SME) food industry, which contributes to slip and fall accidents. Forty workers at least one-year experience working in food SME industry were involved. A quantitative and qualitative method using survey through questionnaire and observation were utilized to identify workers’ experience in the food production workstation. RULA assessment was used to validate the instrument focusing on specific body discomfort or pain. The results indicated that seven critical activities of the food production workstation contributed to high RULA score of 7. The findings from this study yielded that minimizing the work shift was necessary to reduce the effect of prolonged standing. Workers who experienced prolonged standing would lead to fatigue and this condition triggered the potential to slip and fall hazard. Determining the best practices during work is useful for SME food industry in terms of limitation angle of the working posture, manual handling and suitable workstation. The outcome can be a guideline to the food service industries for precaution on the safety and health matters in the workstation.

Keywords

Posture, Standing, Food production, RULA Score, Slips and fall.

Acknowledgement

Authors would like to thank the Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka and Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education for support of this work under the Research Grant Scheme (03/S01369).

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Development of an Error Classification System for Malaysian Primary Care

December 11, 2018May 15, 2025superhfej

Development of an Error Classification System for Malaysian Primary Care

Nuur Asikin ABD RAMAN¹, Ibrahim Adham TAIB^{1, *}, Samsul DRAMAN²

1 Biomedical Science Department, Kulliyyah of Allied Health Sciences, International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), 25200 Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia.

2 Family Medicine Department, Kulliyyah of Medicine, International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), 25200 Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia.

*corresponding author‘s email: tibrahim@iium.edu.my

Page 35 – 43 | Vol. 3 No. 2 (2018) | Available online on 1 Dec 2018

Abstract

Worldwide, medical errors occur at an unacceptable rate. Fortunately, various steps can be taken to minimise medical errors, including submitting reports to incident reporting systems, following which incidents can be categorised using error classification systems to inform risk management strategies. To this end, a diverse range of classification systems have been developed for different healthcare settings, but primary care in Malaysia has received limited attention. This study was carried out to develop an error classification system for categorising the type of medical errors in Malaysian primary care by integrating and modifying two primary care error classification systems. The new error classification system comprised of eleven major categories that branched into a total of 60 lower categories. After 107 participants analysed three cases studies, the inter-rater reliability of the 11 major categories were found to be low (Krippendorff‘s alpha = 0.347). Unsurprisingly, the 60 lower categories had an even lower inter-rater reliability (Krippendorff‘s alpha = 0.143). The participants then provided feedback about the error classification system by completing a modified questionnaire. Most of the participants viewed the error classification system as easy to use and understand. Furthermore, most of them would be willing to use the error classification system again in the future. In summary, this study successfully developed an error classification system for Malaysian primary care. Nevertheless, its low level of reliability would need to be addressed before the system can be adopted by primary care providers.

Keywords

Error Classification System, Medical Error, Primary Care, Patient Safety

Acknowledgement

–

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A Preliminary Investigation on the Usage of an Exoskeleton System for Manual Harvesting Oil Palm Trees

December 11, 2018May 15, 2025superhfej

A Preliminary Investigation on the Usage of an Exoskeleton System for Manual Harvesting Oil Palm Trees

Muhammad Fuad, MOHD¹, Hazreen H., HARITH^{1, *}

1 Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400, UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.

* corresponding author (email: hazreen@upm.edu.my)

Page 12 – 16 | Vol. 3 No. 2 (2018) | Available online on 1 Dec 2018

Abstract

Agricultural activities in Malaysia is still laborious at large as numerous tasks are performed manually, including in the oil palm industry. The involvement of manual and energy-intensive activities for harvesting tasks in oil palm plantations partly limits its productivity. The manufacturing industry still involves manual tasks, however, exoskeleton systems are actively adopted to improve productivity and safety of operations involving human. Therefore, we postulate that they could also be applied in the agricultural industry. A challenge in adopting any commercially available exoskeleton system for harvesting oil palm trees is to match the system’s feature and the requirements of the harvesting task. Since manual harvesting requires extensive upper limb motion, therefore this study investigates the feasibility of using a passive upper limb exoskeleton system for manual harvesting activity. Electromyography (EMG) signal of the anterior deltoid muscle located at the shoulder was compared when carrying 2 kg, 4 kg and 5 kg loads with and without an upper limb exoskeleton system. The test involved tugging motion and holding the weights at arm’s length for 1 minute. EMG results indicate that the muscle activity was reduced when performing these exercises while donning the exoskeleton for all tested loads. Nonetheless, the exoskeleton design requires optimization to suit oil palm harvesting tasks so that the productivity and safety of manual oil palm harvesting activity can be enhanced.

Keywords

Exoskeleton, Muscle activity, EMG, Fatigue, Oil palm, Manual harvesting, Biomechanics

Acknowledgement

This study was supported by Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) through the Geran Putra-IPM
initiative (Project title: The Development of An Exoskeleton for Oil Palm Harvesting Activity) and
Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (Project title: A Biomechanical-based Approach to Improve Energy Expenditure in Manual Oil Palm Harvesting Activity).

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