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Ergonomic Workspace Design to Reduce the

Risk of Musculoskeletal Disorders
Winnie Septiani1*, Vivian Angelika1, and Novia Rahmawati1
1
Faculty of Industrial Technology, Trisakti University, Jakarta, Indonesia

Abstract. Office activities were closely tied to document handling and

computer interaction. Based on initial identification with the Nordic Body
Map, MSDs (Musculoskeletal Disorders) complaints were identified in the
shoulders, wrists, waist, buttocks, and back. This study aimed to offer
recommendations for enhancing office workstations to minimize the risk of
MSDs. The methods used are ROSA to identify employee work postures,
product design to provide proposed work facilities, 5S for document
organization, and a Radar Chart for evaluation. Initial identification shows
the problems that exist in work facilities, workspace layout, and work
environment factors. The initial identification of the workspace with Radar
Chart also showed a poor score on 5 aspects of Seiri, Seiton, Seiso, Seiketsu,
and Shitsuke with an average of 41.75. The proposed intervention is the
improvement of ergonomic tables and chairs, structuring documents by
applying 5S aspects, and improving the layout of the workspace. The
proposed improvements were then evaluated again using the Office 5S Audit
Checklist and Radar Chart so that after the ergonomics intervention, the
Radar Chart value became 90.75(excellent) and the 5S aspects (Seiri, Seiton,
Seiso, Seiketsu, and Shitsuke) increased. The results of this improvement
canbe expected to overcome the risk of MSDS problems in the lower neck,
buttocks, back, and waist and the resulting ergonomic, organized, and
efficient workstations.

1 Introduction
Administrative operations in the office are closely related to documents such as financial
documents, company income, and expenditure documents [1]. Office employees interact
intensely with laptops and peripheral equipment such as mice and keyboards [2]. With
intense interaction with VDT, employees also often complain of dizziness and dry eyes.
This is due to eye fatigue due to the screen position that is too close and too high intensity
[3], [4]. Employeesgenerally work for 8 hours, from 8 am to 5 pm indoors as shown in
Fig. 1 (a) & (b).
Fig. 1 (a), the condition of the employee's workspace is not very organized, shelves
that are very close to the door hamper employee mobility, and chairs that are close
together are also one of the complaints of employees at workbecause they often collide

* Corresponding author: [email protected]

© The Authors, published by EDP Sciences. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative
Commons Attribution License 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
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with each other. Not only the poor layout of the workspace, but the arrangement of
documents is also a problem.
Employees with a duration of 8 hours tend to be static and dwell on laptops because
the work requires high interaction with laptops and documents (invoices) so there is not
much movement by employees while working. The duration of the workers is more than
the ideal limit of a static work position of 4 hours [5]. The lack of movement, poor posture,
and lack of facilities at workstations that are adequate in working can be due to poor
facilities and also the habits of employees in working so that several postures are not
following ergonomic rules. Fig. 1 shows examples of 2 workers who have less ergonomic
work postures. Fig. 1 consists of several identifications regarding poor work postures such
as: elbows that are too bent so that the possibility of pain/pain in the elbow is high,backs
that tend to bend forward so that there is a possibility of pain in the back, the position of
the shoulders, upper arms to the elbows that are open too wide so that the occurrence of
pain/pain in the shoulders is high. Poor work posture can trigger several complaints,
especially MSDs complaints that are often complained about by employees. Poor work
posture also causes pain and illness in certain parts of the body as shown in the NBM
questionnaire takendirectly when employees work.
In the finance department itself, based on the results of the NBM (Nordic Body Map)
questionnaire distributed to4 employees, it is proven that parts of the body such as the
lower neck, buttocks, back, and waist are painful and stiff. This can be caused by the
amount of intensity of computer use which can cause the risk of musculoskeletal
disorders (MSDs).

(a) (b)

Fig. 1. (a) Room condition of finance department; (b) employee work posture

The NBM questionnaire itself is a measurement and assessment technique to identify

the level of complaints and injuries to the skeletal muscles for disorders of the
musculoskeletal system [6]. The NBM method is a questionnaire containing several types
of MSDs complaints on a 28-part human body map starting from the upper neck to the
lower legs and is used to determine which parts of the body have complaints. Risk
classification is divided into 4 categoriesnamely No Pain (A), Somewhat Pain (B), Pain
(C), and Very Pain (D). [7]. After filling out the NBM questionnaire, the average and total
scores obtained in each section are calculated so that it can be seen which parts of the
employees have MSDs complaints. The highest percentage felt by employees is
pain/stiffness in the lower neck (100%), buttocks(75%), back (100%) and waist (100%).
The results of the section half of the employees have experienced it. This canoccur due

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to work postures and workstations used by employees. The musculoskeletal symptoms

according to the most affected areas are on average the same, with the lower back being
the most affected, followed by the neck and shoulders. These results are consistent with
the areas documented to have the highest symptoms in computer employees [8], [9]. This
is due to static postures of the neck, shoulder, and upper limb muscles that overload and
eventually cause injury [10], [11]. Further analysis was conducted using the ROSA (Rapid
Office Strain Assessment) method which correlates more highly with musculoskeletal
symptoms and is easy to use for assessing computer workstations. The results showed that
ROSA can be used as a tool to identify and assess ergonomic risks in modern office
environments [12]. The method can assist in assessing computer-related risk factors when
other objective measurements are not available. In addition, the final ROSA score is
positively associated with musculoskeletal symptoms [13].
This method has good reliability for evaluating MSDs. The assessment process in this
method consists of three main parts and the scores obtained for the following parts are
placed on each table including chair and sitting posture,screen and mobile phone, mouse
and keyboard, human body posture while using these tools, and duration of use of each
tool. If these tools are used for a long amount of time, it will increase MSDs complaints in
employees. The finalROSA score is determined by summing up the scores obtained in
each section.
To minimize MSDs complaints, especially the shoulders, neck buttocks, and waist
based on the results of the NBM questionnaire and ROSA analysis, this study aims to
design workstations in the form of tables and chairs for office employees in the finance
department so that the percentage of complaints against employees will decrease and also
increase employee productivity and effectiveness.

2 Method
The flow of this research method is broadly carried out with six stages which can be seen
in the flow chart listedin Fig. 2.
The stages in the research method begin with calculating employee complaints with
NBM, then proceed with identifying work postures with ROSA, after obtaining ROSA
results, product proposals are made. Furthermore, by identifying the initial arrangement
before improvement with Radar Chart, then continued with the 5S improvement
proposal, and finally by evaluating with Radar Chart.

Identify Identify work Radar Chart Product

complaints postures with before proposal 5S
with NBM ROSA improvement Implementation
making

Evaluation
results with
Radar Chart

Fig. 2. Research method flow chart

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3 Results and discussion

3.1 Work Posture Identification with ROSA

The ROSA calculation consists of several parts, namely first calculating the score of the
seat height, seat depth, armrest, backrest, monitor, telephone, mouse, and keyboard.
ROSA calculations depend on the actual circumstances that occur to employees. The
ROSA calculation also reviews how long employees use work support facilities to identify
the risk of MSDs. The data taken is posture data (Table 1).
Table 1. Identification table before improvement

Position Picture
Seat height &
Seat depth

Backrest and
Monitor Height

Keyboard and
Mouse Usage

After calculating the parts that have been determined, the score of each part (A, B,
and C) will be calculated first to produce the peripherals & monitor score. The score of
peripherals & monitors will be calculated together with the chair score to produce the
final ROSA score.
In the four employees who have calculated the ROSA value, it is found that the four
employees have a high risk when working because each employee has a high enough
ROSA score, namely employee 1 and has a ROSA score of7, and employees 2 and 3 have
a score of 9. This can cause MSDs problems such as back and waist pain.

3.2 Initial Office Identification with Office 5S Audit Checklist

Initial 5S identification was done by opening the Office 5S Audit Checklist

questionnaire before improvement.

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Fig. 3. Radar Chart of 5S performance in office space before improvement

Respondent data collection was carried out directly on the spot. Before the employees
fill out the respondent questionnaire, this stage first conducts a brief briefing to educate
the workers about the importance of implementing 5S in the work environment. 5S
performance before improvement can be seen in Fig. 3.

3.3 Ergonomic Interventions

Ergonomic interventions that can be done to minimize the risk of MSDs are to make
improvements to work facilities and improve office layout.

(a) (b)

Fig. 4. (a) Table after improvement; (b) Seat after improvement

In the product, improvement, there are several improvements from 4 aspects, namely
aspects of features, ergonomics, design, and durability. The height and width dimensions
of the table have been adjusted by the body dimensions of each employee so that the size
is suitable for employees so that employees are more comfortable at work. In the design
aspect, the repaired table has a more unique design than the previous table design.
repaired has strong durability.
The features of the chair are equipped with a hydraulic system so that the seat height
can be adjusted. In the ergonomic aspect, the repaired chair has an armrest. The armrest
functions to support the employee's elbow, the chair also has a backrest that is by
ergonomic rules that follow the shape of the curve of the back.

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Fig. 5. Office layout after improvement

Office space arrangement is carried out using the 5S method. This 5S method is useful
for building a good and quality work environment, discipline and standards of employees
will also increase [14], [15], [16]. The arrangement of office space follows 5 aspects,
namely Seiri, Seiton, Seiso, Seiketsu, and Shitsuke [17]. The arrangement of the office
space after improvement can be seen in Fig. 5.

3.3.1 Seiri/ Sorting

Useless items are documents that have been misprinted and should be discarded. Fig. 6
shows the result of sorting documents from documents that need to be discarded.

Fig. 6. Useless documents

3.3.2 Seiton/ Arrangement

Seiton is the stage of selecting documents through sorting and organizing activities.

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3.3.3 Seiso/ Cleaning

The cleaning process is carried out daily by the cleaning staff and at the end of each
month by the employees. Table 2 shows a comparison of the implementation of the
workspace after and before the implementation of the seisoaspect.
Table 2. Comparison table of the implementation of seiso aspects

Before improvement After improvement

3.3.4 Seiketsu/ Standard Setting

The determination of the 5S aspects is made in the display so that employees continue to
remember and apply the5S aspects (seiri, seiton, seiso, seiketsu, and shitsuke) in the office.

3.3.5 Shitsuke/ Habituation

This stage is the most difficult because each employee must maintain, be responsible, and
instill awareness of implementing the 5S procedure. Evaluation can be done at the end of
each month to maintain and sustain 5S.

3.4 Evaluation After Improvement

The results of this evaluation are useful to see whether the application of 5S and the
application of the results of the intervention have shown positive results or not so that it
can see the difference between before improvement and after improvement. If the results
of the evaluation have not shown good results, then a redesign is carried out. To seethe
performance of 5S in the finance department office after improvement can be seen in Fig.
7.

Fig. 7. Radar Chart of 5S performance in office space after improvement

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On the Radar Chart, to see which aspects are better, look at the points and ends of the
chart. If the end of the graphis away from the center point, it can be concluded that the
value of that aspect is high and good. In the assessment after this improvement, the aspect
with the highest score is the Seiketsu aspect. This aspect has a value of 19.5 and has the
farthest point of the graph, while the lowest aspect of the five aspects is the Seiton aspect,
which has a value of 16.75.

4 Conclusion
The results of ROSA and NBM identification indicate the risk of MSDs. The highest
complaints occur in the lower neck (100%), buttocks (75%), back (100%) and waist
(100%). The ergonomic intervention proposed to minimize the risk of MSDs is a table
and chair product that considers features, design, ergonomics, and durability. Another
proposed intervention is a new layout and document arrangement with 5S. The results
of the 5S performance assessment in the office using the Office 5S Audit Checklist have
an initial average before improvement a value of 41.75 which has a fair rating, after
improvement to 90.75. With this, it can besaid that the workstation redesign method is
effective in improving quality.

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