KUMON & ERGONOMICS CONCEPT

This evening I went to KUMON Centre in Kuching City, operated by a wife of a doctor, attending their free preview on KUMON method in teaching mathematic.

At the centre, I saw a very interesting poster of KUMON concept on teaching which I managed to take the photo using my Nokia E71. The quality of the image is not that good or less ergonomcis due to my shaking hand.

But in this posting, I would like to share this KUMON's concept on teaching :

Let Fit the shoe to the foot rather than fit the foot to the shoe. In another word, this concept if we apply to workplace is similar to ergonomics approach.

ERGONOMICS PART 7

ERGONOMICS RISK FACTORS (ERF)

ERF arises due to poor design of the workstation and job. There are 7 ERFs found in the workplace namely
1. Force or Workload
2. Frequency of the job
3. Awkward posture during the job
4. Static position
5. Lack of Recovery
6. Contact stress
7. Vibration
Study done by NIOSH,US found that 3 Risk Factors above (1,2 &3) are consistently found in precipitating musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs).

Health Talk on Ergonomics at Proton Edar Sdn Bhd

On 21st February 2009, Proton Edar Sdn Bhd Kuching Office, invited me to give a talk on Ergonomics in colloboration of their Health,Safety and Environment(HSE) Week. Around 100 employees attended the talk. I chose 'Ergonomics & Productivity' as the title of my talk. In Act 1(introduction) of my talk, I stressed that in global economic competition, maintaining and maximising productivity is a must for the survival of any organisation. Workers as the primary tool of business play an important role in organisation's productivity. However, in many organisations, workers' health and safety is always under threat in the effort to achieve maximum productivity. Productivity can only be maintained and maximised by protecting the health and safety of the workers. To achieve this, all organisations must implement ergonomics program or approach in their workplace in order to maintain and maximise their productivity. Ergonomics approach means fitting the work environments and the job to the workers capability.

ERGONOMICS PART 6

Ergonomics Risk Factor(ERF) is a factor, which can cause trauma to the musculoskeletal system.
Ergonomics risk factor is the end product of disequilibrium of the W-WE ecosystem. This disequilibrium is normally caused by the component of work environment in the form of flaws in workstation and machine design, poor work procedure standard and non-conducive workplace environment. When this happen, the work environment will cause strain to the W-WE relationship, which will result in disequilibrium of the ecosystem.

This poor work environment condition and arrangement will produce strain in the form of ergonomics risk factors.

The magnitude of the risk factors will determine the course of the injury. If the magnitude of the risk factors above tolerance to human body, it will cause macro trauma in the form of sprain and strain.
On other side, if the magnitude of the risk is below tolerance, it only causes micro trauma, which can recover overtime. This process is called wear and tear of the musculoskeletal system. However, the micro trauma will accumulate and turn into major trauma if the risk is persistently imposed on the musculoskeletal system.  The bottom line is ergonomics risk factors will cause MUSCULOSKELETAL DISORDERS (MSDs).

ERGONOMICS PART 5

The work environment (WE) – the second component of the W-WE ecosystem consist of the work environment, secondary tools and the job procedure. The work environment including all the hazards existed in the environment such as noise, temperature, vibration etc. The secondary tools are the tools used in business other than the worker. The job procedure including all the standard and non-standard work practices at workplace. It is clear that all the above are human created: the human determines the environment, the machine and the job procedures. This statement is very important because it brings us to the conclusion that the work environment component of W-WE ecosystem is adjustable and  can be redesigned.
The first component of the ecosystem is not adjustable although from physiological perspective our body system tends to adjust to the strain arose from the external before it ends up with serious injury.
Factors in work environment such as vibration can cause harm to the worker. Flaws in design of the workstation will impose strain to the human who try to adjust their body by adopting an awkward posture. Poor work/job standard procedures will cause inefficiency and constant injury to the musculoskeletal system.
Interesting to point out here that although the human body system is not adjustable in the sense of major changing in its size and measurement,the human body is naturally adjusting to the work environment factors until the body system cant resist the strain further. When this happened, it will cause injury to the musculooskeletal system .
This is the challenging that we face if we want to implement ergonomics at workplace.
Any attempt to change the workstation design and improving the inefficient standard procedure of practice will face a resistance from both workers and the management.
The management will label this attempt as challenging the decision of the past policy maker and management leadership.

ERGONOMICS PART 4

The Worker(W) or Human as the primary tool of business has limited capability in term of their physical, mental and physiology. Human physical is formed by muscle, bone, nerve, tendon, ligaments and joints. In anatomy, it is called Musculoskeletal System. So the worker is basically the Musculoskeletal system. Our physical measurements are fixed. We cannot increase our height, the length of our upper and lower limbs etc, although we can increase our weight which can gives burden to our body if it is above the ideal body weight. Human has physical variation. The study of human physical measurements and its variation is called Anthropometry. The developed countries like US has their own anthropometric table. The muscle and joint has its movement limitation. This is the focus of study in the Biomechanic field. The study of how human body functions is called physiology. 

Inorder to understand human limited capability, we need to have some knowledge in Anthropometry, Biomechanics, Anatomy, Physiology and also Pyschology.

What is the indicator to say that the human limited capability is overburdened by the factors existed in the work environment? 

Generally, we can say that when the safety and health of the human is affected, there is a factor in the environment causing it. To be specific, from ergonomics perspective, if the human or worker suffers from Musculoskeletal disorder(MSDs), there is always a physical overburden created by his work environment.

God The AlMighty had created human with this limited capability and we cannot change it. The only thing we can change is what we have created in our work environment : - the workplace design and the work (job & task) arrangement, i.e. the second component of the worker-work environment (W-WE) ecosystem.

ERGONOMICS PART 3

The Worker(W) as the the component of worker-work environment(W-WE) ecosystem was first came into the mainstream of ergonomics focus during the World War II (WWII). Previously, the engineering experts only focused on machine-work environment system, they never thought of the human as one of the vital component of the system. Only during the WWII, they realised that the military machines were very complex to operate and very heavy in size for human capability. For instance, the design of Fighter Plane Cockpit which would only fit  for 5 feet 8 inches and 150 Ib male. 

After the WWII, the human become the main focus in designing the machine and workstation, giving birth to the field of Ergonomics.

Why worker is so important in the worker-work environment ecosystem? 

The worker is the primary tool of the organisation to do their business. The term primary tool was first coined by our very own renowned  Ergonomist, Dr Jalaludin Dahalan of Ergoworks. 

Without the worker, the business in any organisation will collapse. If the worker cannot function to the optimum, the business productivity will be jeopardised. The worker cannot function to the optimum, if the work environment components cause overburden to their capability.This will cause inequlibrium of the system.  

ERGONOMICS PART 2

The Worker-Work Environment (W-WE) relationship formed a system. This concept is very important in-order to understand Ergonomics.

First let us understand what is a system? 

*A system can be defined as an aggregate of interactive components operating together to perform a function. The key words here is aggregate and interactive. Aggregate - loose association of a components that are not necessary homogenous, but nevertheless are brought together to serve a purpose. These components is interactive which means they have a mutual or reciprocal effect, one upon other. Interactive in the sense that they are working in mutual harmony to perform a function. (source: The Worker at Work by T. Morris Fraser)

The harmony of this relationship will keep the equilibrium of this system. This is the MAIN FUNCTION of ERGONOMICS. 

ERGONOMICS PART 1

OSHA 1994 (Act 514) in its section 4(c), Object of the Act says:

'To Promote environment for persons at work which is ADAPTED to their physiological and psychological needs'. 

The above object, simply means ERGONOMICS. So what is Ergonomics?

Ergonomics, from two words of Greek origin - Ergon which means work and Nomos - Natural laws. Ergonomics simply means FITTING the work environment to the worker capability using scientific approach. 

The key words here are: FITTING, WORK ENVIRONMENT, WORKER CAPABILITY and SCIENTIFIC APPROACH.

Fitting is the process of designing and arranging the work environment so that it is suitable to the human capability. This process of fitting the work environment to the worker capability should be based on scientific approach. Therefore Ergonomics is a field which consist of multiple disciplines of knowledge from human anthropometry, physiology to industrial engineering.

More on ergonomics definition here and here.

Do you have FLU? Dont drive because you are at risk of Road Accident

Telegraph.co.uk reported today  that : 

Driving while suffering from flu increases the risk of a road accident, as much as two glasses of whisky, according to a British new study.

Read the detail of the report here.

KPJ National Patient Safety GOAL No. 2

IMPROVE EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

Effective communication is essential in any relationship including patient-care provider relationship. Communication is a two way pipeline. Effective communication means the message from the messenger perceived by the receiver accurately.

To improve effective communication we need to eliminate communication barriers. There are a lot of communication barriers but I would like to highlight three barriers as follows:

1.Assumption : Never assume the receiver understand technical term without checking their understanding

2. Avoid Curse of Knowledge(COK): COK is a condition when you become expert in particular subject,but it is hard to imagine not knowing what you do.

3. Closed Mind :  a condition when you are resistance to new ideas or informations.

Spanish Philosopher,Jose Ortega Y Gasset called it  'the barbarism of specialization' in one chapter of his famous book:  Revolt of The Masses

KPJ National Patient Safety GOAL No. 1

IDENTIFY PATIENTS CORRECTLY

The first step in patient safety goals in healthcare service is to identify patients correctly. This is the most important goal because without proper and correct identification of the patient, the patient safety is in danger - the medical treatment will be given to wrong patients. Imagine you are given radiotherapy but you are not having any indication for it. Imagine the doctor is operating on the wrong patient and the consequence is very costly.

Identification of patients correctly need a simple , accurate and standard process. One of the way is by identifying them using their National Identification Card (NRIC). Call the name written in NRIC and compare the image in the NRIC to the patient. Then register the patient by giving them unique Registered Number. Dont use location such as room number to identify the patient correctly. 

KEMENTERIAN KAJI HENTI PERJALANAN BAS EKSPRESS TENGAH MALAM

Kementerian Pengangkutan  mengkaji untuk hentikan perjalanan bas ekspres tengah malam, begitulah saranan menterinya, Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat. Dalam tulisan dalam blog saya sebelum ini, saya menyatakan salah satu faktor utama penyebab kemalangan jalanraya ialah keletihan atau fatigue yang disebabkan kekurangan tidur atau HUTANG TIDUR. Kajian menunjukkan tahap konsentrasi kognitif seseorang yang kurang tidur kerana berjaga melebihi 15 jam adalah sama dengan tahap konsentrasi kognitif orang yang mengandungi 0.1% tahap alkohol dalam darah (Blood alcohol level/BAC). Di Malaysia, seseorang itu akan didakwa memandu di bawah pengaruh alkohol sekiranya tahap alkohol dalam darahnya menjangkau 0.08%. Saya mengalu-alukan saranan tersebut dan berharap ianya menjadi realiti.

Untuk maklumat lanjut, sila rujuk pautan berikut:

1. Quantifying the performance impairment associated with fatigue

2. Sleep deprivation concerns in the transportation industry

3. Reducing American Sleep Debt : Guest Editorial

2. Quantitative similarity between the cognitive pyschomotor performance decrement associated with sustained wakefulness and alcohol intoxication (pdf)

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009

The year 2008 has gone, the year 2009 is here. Let us celebrate this new year by examining our OSH performance & achievement in 2008. How is our OSH SCOREBOARD in 2008? Based on our achievement, let us PLAN our OSH program for the year 2009. We have to continue our struggle toward HEALTHY WORKFORCE, SAFE WORKPLACE in our effort to face the uncertainty in economic scenario ahead.

AWARENESS TALK ON HIV & AIDS

My 2nd Health Talk for IOT staff was held on 22 Dec. 2008 at its conference room. 15 staff attended the talk. To share some information of the latest statistic of HIV/AIDS in Malaysia:

Since 1986 until Dec. 2008 : 80 938 of HIV infected cases was reported in Malaysia. 13 636 were confirmed to have AIDS and 10 334 of them died.*This figure is from MAC & MOH.

The above figures revealed that 13 Malaysian were infected by HIV per day and 3 Malaysian suffering from AIDS per day.

HIV and AIDS is NOT the same ; HIV is the virus, AIDS is the disease. HIV only can be transmitted through blood, body fluid (semen & vagina fluid) and from mother to her fetus.

HIV carrier normally appears healthy as you and me, so it is difficult to differentiate them. The only way to fight HIV/AIDS is through PREVENTION. HIV/AIDS is not merely medical problem, it is a social problem....... everybody needs to fight inorder to prevent it from spreading. One of the preventive measures is to have a healthy life style. Note: 1 December every year is WORLD AIDS DAY.

You can visit Malaysian AIDS Council (MAC), here

Here is the list of reference, click

SOEM Workshop on Lung Function Test & Audiometry

At Hotel Istana, Kuala Lumpur - on 8 & 9 November, 2008 SOEM organised Continue Professional Development (CPD) on Occupational Medicine & Workshop on Spirometry & Audiometry.

The Workshop on Spirometry was coordinated by Prof. Dr K.G. Rampal from UKM and practical session was leaded by Dr Abed Onn. Just to mention few important points given by Prof. Rampal - Spirometry only need to be done 2 yearly because of the spirometer machine error causing declination about 50 mls of lung function , compares to reduction of human lung function approximately 25 mls per year of age. 

The spirometer needs to be calibrated daily using syringe provided with the machine. There are 2 normal value which are determined by age, gender and height :-  Percentile & Predictive Value (75%/80%) which is unique to race of one particular population. Since the spirometer came with the predictive value for western population, this value needs to be corrected between *8 - 12% for our population. *Can use any figure between 8 -12% for correction BUT must stick to the same figure for validity of interpretation of the result.

Dr Abed gave the following important techniques for good spirometry result : 1. Full inspiration (using abdominal muscle) 2. The mouth piece must fit tightly by the lips and 3. Give force expiration to the maximum and very fast. The followings are the contraindication for spirometry : 1. Recent smoking 2. Upper Respiratory Tract Infection 3. After heavy meals

KPJ National Patient Safety GOALS

On 30th November until 2nd December, 2008 I represented Kuching Specialist Hospital together with  Medical Director, Dr. David Ling, General Manager, Mdm Mah Lai Heng, Nursing Chief Officer, Mdm Ting Lay Hua, one Staff nurse and physiotherapist, attending KPJ Annual Health Conference @ PERSADA Convention Johore Bharu.

Amongst the presentations at that conference was KPJ National Patient Safety Goals as stated in the left image. As OH Practitioner, I am proud that KPJ has dwelled deeply in pioonering this field ahead of other hospital in Malaysia.

A Must Buy 'OH Book' for the year 2009

This book is the "MUST BUY" Occupational Health Book for the year 2009. Edited by 2 prominence Malaysian Occupational Health Expert, Dr G Jayakumar & Dr M Retneswari, contains 22 chapters discussing all aspects of occupational health concerning the Health Care workers, contributing by 28 experts in occupational health from both local and international.  This 280 pages hard cover book, was published by Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) and cost only RM88.00

You can buy the book from MMA, call 03-40411375

SELAMAT MENYAMBUT MAAL HIJRAH 1430H

Saya mengucapkan Selamat meyambut Maal Hijrah 1430H kepada semua rakan-rakan pengunjung laman blog ini. Saya mendoakan semuga tahun 1430H akan memberikan kita ruang untuk terus meningkatkan aras prestasi segala aktiviti perjuangan kita untuk menjadikan tempat kerja kita lebih selamat dan sejahtera.

SHELL KUCHING SAFETY WEEK

SHELL TIMUR Sdn Bhd  launched their HSSE Week from 21 -24 October 2008. I was invited by PMT, one of Shell's haulier to give a health talk on Stress Management. I delivered my health talk for one hour from 4 pm to 5 pm on 21 Oct, 2008 at SHELL Kuching's Canteen.

Here is the outline of my health talk :

1. Understanding what is stress? In this section, I discussed the definition of stress. Like beauty, stress is in the eye of the beholder. Basically, it occurs in situation where our life's demand exceeds our capability. The most important things in understanding stress is to know the two components model of stress. The two components are the stressor - the situation which cause the stress and our response - how we response to the stressor. To understand more, I presented the biochemical and physiological changes in our body during the stress process.

2. What causes stress?  There are a lot of things that can cause stress. In the nutshell, it can be divided into recent event and on-going event: both can be in a form of threat or loss. These two events can occur at the workplace or outside the workplace. So, we can classify stress into occupational stress which happens because of factors at workplace and non-occupational stress, because of factors in our life. However, these classification is to simplify our understand but in reality stress does not have boundary, it affect us both at work and out of work. Other important things to know is the 3 Ps factors viz.  predisposing, precipitating and perpetuating factors, which we need to identify in order to manage the stress effectively.

3. Basic Stress management? Effective management of stress must using the holistic approach. Holistic domains of life (physical,social,psychologicall and spiritual)  need to be revisited by identifying the shortage in each domain. This shortage could be the 3 Ps factors which need to be addressed. The 2 components of stress also needs to be explored. Then the stress management can be constructed by using individual and/or workplace approach.