Improving workplace safety through ergonomic intervention- a case study of a readymade garment industry

Abstract

The prevalence of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorder (WMSD) among the Bangladeshi garment workers is as high as 60.7% due to use of inappropriately design workstations. The study is conducted to improve workers’ comfort and workplace safety by reducing WMSD. In this study, anthropometric data of 37 female garment workers are collected to calculate, the risks of WMSD using Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA).The study revealed that the garment workers are in medium ergonomic risk. The mean risk of MSD is found to be 5.89. Therefore, ergonomically friendly workstations are designed with the help of anthropometric data of the workers and workspace design principle. The workstation is then provided to the workers for. The new workstation reduced WMSD to 4.08. This study proved that ergonomic intervention can help reducing the risk of WMSD, improve workers’ comfort as well as workplace safety. The study can help the garments manufacturers to enhance workers’ well-being and safety.