Ergonomic problems in Universiti Utara Malaysia lecturers’ room

Abstract

The understanding of ergonomic issues is essential in improving human performance. By analyzing the interaction between humans and other elements of a system, human well-being and overall system performance could be optimized. This paper explored the relationship of ergonomics aspects such as equipments and environmental factors with occupational safety and health (OSH) on Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) lecturers’ rooms. Questionnaires have been distributed to 38 lecturers whose rooms were in Faculty of Information Technology building. Results of the correlation analysis indicate significant relationship between the ergonomic aspects, and occupational health and safety. The result of the study also shows that there were significant signs of dissatisfaction among respondents on discomfort experience while working at workstation especially in front of computer, occurrence of glare and distracting outside noise that contribute to sources of ergonomic problems at UUM lecturers’ rooms. Interestingly, the main cause of this discomfort is not due to the equipments design or usage, but the long hours spending at the workstation. The paper also recommends few tips and guidelines that would reduce the influences of equipments and environments on the level of OSH among lecturers.