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Feel free to feel comfortable--An empirical analysis of ergonomics in the German automotive industry

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  • Thun, Jörn-Henrik
  • Lehr, Christian B.
  • Bierwirth, Max

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine ways to improve ergonomics on the manufacturing shop floor. In particular, the impact of certain ergonomic practices on companies' economic and social objectives is investigated empirically. In order to do so, a survey has been conducted among manufacturing managers of 55 companies in the German automotive industry. The managers have been asked about their estimations on harmful tasks within the production process and on the effectiveness of various practices in the context of ergonomics and health. Worker-oriented and work-oriented practices of ergonomics are operationalized using factor analysis. By means of a cluster analysis, companies with a high degree of implementation of ergonomic practices are identified. The analysis shows that plants with a higher implementation degree of ergonomic practices show a better performance in terms of economic and social objectives. Furthermore, the results reveal that work-oriented practices lead to better performance with respect to the investigated economic and social objectives, whereas worker-oriented practices play a supporting role only. Finally recommendations for manufacturing companies with regard to the field of ergonomics are derived from the empirical results.

Suggested Citation

  • Thun, Jörn-Henrik & Lehr, Christian B. & Bierwirth, Max, 2011. "Feel free to feel comfortable--An empirical analysis of ergonomics in the German automotive industry," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(2), pages 551-561, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:proeco:v:133:y:2011:i:2:p:551-561
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Dul, J. & de Vries, H.J. & Verschoof, S. & Eveleens, W. & Feilzer, A., 2004. "Combining economic and social goals in the design of production systems by using ergonomics standards," ERIM Report Series Research in Management ERS-2004-020-LIS, Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), ERIM is the joint research institute of the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) at Erasmus University Rotterdam.
    2. Kume, Yasufumi & Sato, Nozomi, 1999. "Biomechanical study on the postures in manual lifting tasks using cusp surface analysis," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(1), pages 411-420, April.
    3. Kern, P. & Breining, R. & Eckert, R., 1995. "Workplace design-General view and some special experiences," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(1-3), pages 203-209, October.
    4. Malmberg, Bo & Lindh, Thomas, 2004. "Forecasting global growth by age structure projections," Arbetsrapport 2004:5, Institute for Futures Studies.
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    Cited by:

    1. Rúben Costa & Vitor Sousa & Francisco J. G. Silva & Raul Campilho & José C. Sá & Arnaldo Pinto & João Pereira, 2022. "Increasing the Sustainability of Manufacturing Processes in Plastic Injection: Recovering Out-Of-Service Robots to Eliminate Manual Assembly Operations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-23, September.
    2. Marco Trost & Thorsten Claus & Frank Herrmann, 2022. "Social Sustainability in Production Planning: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-31, July.
    3. Mossa, G. & Boenzi, F. & Digiesi, S. & Mummolo, G. & Romano, V.A., 2016. "Productivity and ergonomic risk in human based production systems: A job-rotation scheduling model," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 171(P4), pages 471-477.
    4. Marco Trost & Thorsten Claus & Frank Herrmann, 2023. "Master Production Scheduling with Consideration of Utilization-Dependent Exhaustion and Capacity Load," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-20, April.
    5. Ankur Goyal & Dinesh Chandra Vaish & Rajat Agrawal & Sonal Choudhary & Rakesh Nayak, 2022. "Sustainable Manufacturing through Systematic Reduction in Cycle Time," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-16, December.
    6. Förster, Bernadette, 2015. "Technology foresight for sustainable production in the German automotive supplier industry," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 237-248.

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