Workstation Interventions

ABSTRACT Any human activity is influenced by the working environment in which it is developed. The opinion of employees is, nowadays, an important factor to consider because their perception may be related to their behavior. The satisfaction of all individuals housed in a thermal environment is an almost impossible task because a thermally comfortable environment for one person may be uncomfortable for another. Therefore, it would be ideal to create a thermal environment that satisfied the largest number of workers. As such, the evaluation of thermal comfort implies a certain degree of subjectivity and requires the analysis of two aspects physical (thermal environment) and subjective (state of mind of the individual). This study aims to analyze the pattern of thermal sensation of a packaging section of quick-frozen desalted codfish, discover the location of the most vulnerable workstations to thermal stress and assess the real thermal sensation of workers. The data were collected using a measurement instrument named Center 317—temperature humidity meter . For the analysis of thermal sensation the follow indexes were applied Temperature Humidity Index (THI), Thermal Comfort Scale (EsConTer) and Predicted Percentage of Dissatisfied (PPD). A set of standards were created for each variable and the results obtained indicate the most vulnerable workstations. Intervention strategies were considered. 

The Zymark and Gilson ASPEC workstations process solid-phase extraction samples sequentially without the intervention of a human analyst. These workstations are programmed to activate extraction cartridges with solvent to prepare them to receive a specimen. After the sample application, cartridges are washed to remove impurities. The analytes of interest are then eluted into collection tubes or injected onto a liquid chromatograph for sequential analysis. 

After a customer submits an order, it should follow certain steps (order administration) before it can be fulfilled. Order administration can combine human intervention with automatic administration by an information system. An order must be checked against business rules first. The next step is to determine the workflow needed to take an order from starting inventory stock to final product by selecting systems and processes required to achieve the final outcome specified by the request. The workflow may involve any combination of automated systems, stand-alone workstations, and manual operations. 

Because throughput continues to drive pharmaceutical analytical chemistry, future challenges in the automated solid-phase extraction workstation realm could involve a combination of parallel 96-well liquid handling (as demonstrated by the Tomtec Quadra-96) with fully automated extractions. This total automation could include the method development steps such as standard preparation and sorbent/solvent selection, removal of operator interventions such as positioning of collection tubes, and injection of samples into the chromatographic or electro-phoretic system. Along this line, it seems inevitable that a dedicated solid-phase extraction workstation with all of these features will appear by the year 2003. 

There are many types of automation equipment for SPE. They include semiautomated instruments, which are instruments where some intervention is required workstations, which carry out the entire SPE operation without intervention, including on-line analysis by GC and high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) and customized SPE, which are robotic systems that are capable of many activities besides SPE and are custom designed for the user. 

The musculoskeletal disorders-related job risk factors, which often overlap, typictilly involve a combination of poorly designed work methods, workstations, and hand tools and high production demands. Furthermore, while perfect solutions are rarely avmlable, the job redesign decisions may often require some design trade-offs (Putz-Anderson 1992). In view of the above, the eigonomic intervention should allow ... 

Interventions—Video Display Terminal Workstation Design... 

The antecedents are likely to focus aroimd education and training followed by ongoing reminders. The consequences would include comments and intervention by supervisors and fellow workers. For the consequences to be effective, supervisors would need regularly and frequently to observe and comment on the individual s use of, and performance at, the workstation. The comments should be positive and approving when the desired behaviour has occurred. Commenting only when the desired behaviour has not occurred is far less effective. 

Subsequent to the application of the EWA technique, if it was identified the need for intervention in the workstation, more specific methods of ergonomic analysis were used. 

In the future, AGVs will be more intelligent and able to perform more functions, such as automatic positioning and manipulation of products for automatic retrieval and placement. If needed, an AGV will become an robot cart that can interface with workstations and storage devices without human intervention. It will also have... 

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