An ergonomic design of a hollow block machine

• Main Authors: Tan, Marie Shella U., Togle, Paul Michael S., Tuason, Michael Jimeno P.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2000
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_bachelors/12077
• Institution: De La Salle University

Executive Summary. The thesis is about an ergonomic study of the hollow block machine. The group assessed four areas in the usage of the machine, namely posture, vibration, noise and effect on the operator. In order to come up with the proposed design, these four areas were considered. In the present design, it was evaluated that the 68.89% of the workers back are in a bending position while 50% of the workers legs are in an uncomfortable position. The noise and vibration are 98.3 decibels and 19.333 Hz, respectively. Lastly, more than 50% of the worker are experiencing aches and pains on the shoulders, wrists/hands, lower back and hip area. For the proposed design, the bending of back is reduced only 46.67% while the leg in uncomfortable position is reduced to only 23.33%. The noise and vibration was decreased to only 80.1 decibels and 1.527 Hz, respectively. In terms of the effects on operators, less than 50% of the workers are experiencing aches and pains on the shoulders, wrists/hands, lower back and hip area. For the proposed design, the bending of back is reduced to only 46.67% while the leg in uncomfortable position is reduced to only 23.33%. The noise and vibration was decreased to only 80.1 decibels and 1.527 Hz, respectively. In terms of the effects on operators, less than 50% of the workers are experiencing aches and pain in the wrists/hands, lower back and hip area. As for the shoulders, there was a decrease in the unfavorable responses of the workers from 100% of the population to only 67% complaining about aches and pains in the shoulders. In addition, the production had a 27% increase compared to the previous design. This increase in production can be able to pay-off the 33% of additional capital in just one month. This means that the decrease in profit will occur only during the first month of production just to compensate for the added investment. The only cost that will be added is the maintenance cost, but this is only minimal compared to the profit being gained. The proposed design has an additional capacity to produce up to 80,280 units in just one year. The study proves that with the use of the final design of the hollow block machine, producing hollow blocks for the construction of houses, canals, and other structures would not be strenuous on the workers and would even be a more profitable business venture for those using it.