Development of ergonomic sofa design is a design process that has the basic framework specification and type of material that is applied on the sofa design. This is due to human consumption that is closely related to ergonomic design of this specification which will affect human physical. To achieve this goal, a survey involving 30 respondents of sofa makers was conducted to get feedback regarding the sofa design specifications. Survey questions emphasize on the basic specifications and material dimensions of sofa materials used. The results of data analysis show that the size of basic dimensions and materials is essential in designing an ergonomic sofa. The survey is very important to find out the basic specifications in the development of ergonomic design through perception of sofa maker.

It is well known that low back pain among working population is a global problem throughout the world. However, the current situation of occupational low back pain in Malaysia is still vague due to limited number of studies conducted locally. A cross sectional study was conducted among three automotive industry workers in Selangor, Malaysia from October 2010 to April 2011. This study aims to determine the prevalence and risk factors of low back pain among automotive industry workers performing manual material handling tasks using self-administered questionnaire survey. A modified Standardised Nordic Questionnaire was used to assess low back pain problem, to obtain personal and psychosocial risk factors information. The prevalence of low back pain showed increment in the point prevalence of 57.9%, 49.5%, and 35.1 % for 12 months, one month, and of 7 days respectively. Working hour, frequency of overtime, stress at work, work pace, and faster movement were found to be significantly associated with the 12 months prevalence for low back pain. This finding indicates that psychosocial risk factors are associated to the occurrence of low back pain.
Low Back Pain ; Industry ; Occupational Diseases ; Malaysia

Substantial studies reported musculoskeletal disorders among the working population in the developed country, however, a limited number of studies were conducted in Malaysia. The objective of this cross sectional study was to determine the physical activity risk factors for low back pain among automotive workers in Selangor. Modified Risk Factors Questionnaire (RFQ) was used to assess physical activity with the occurrence of low back pain. The significant physical activities associated with the 12 months point prevalence are lifting weight (<5 kg and 11-23 kg) and climbing stairs, not using any mechanical lifting aid, and postures (extreme bending, pushing and pulling, standing, kneeling, and bending and twisting). These findings indicate that the occupational risk factors mainly the physical demands were significant risk for low back pain among manual material handling (MMH) workers. Work task and workstation design should be regularly evaluated and corrective measures need to be taken. In addition, proper lifting technique and occupational safety and health promotion program should be emphasized among MMH workers.

Validity test is important during the development of ergonomics measurement. Failure to conduct validity tests will result in the measurement method being developed to be incapable of providing reliable ergonomics measurements. The objective of this study is to conduct validity test on the simple method ergonomics measurement which was developed. The method named Simple Ergonomics Risks Assessment (SERA). Content validity test and criterion validity test were conducted. The content validity test consists of 6 ergonomics experts who actively provide inputs and positive feedbacks to improve the measurement method being developed. Meanwhile, the criterion validity test involves data collection of complaints on body parts among oil palm workers which were derived from Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) and ergonomics risk assessment scores obtained from SERA. Both findings were tested with the Chi-square test to explore possible relations between the two findings. Results from the test conducted showed that there are significant relations in the scores of neck posture; hip, right and left shoulder, right and left wrists and the right hand associated with fresh fruit bunch (FFB) harvesting activities. In the loose fruits collection, the Chi-square test showed significant relations in the scores of neck posture, hip, right and left shoulders, right wrist, right arm and the left hand. However, there are body parts such as the legs which showed no significant relation. More tests should be conducted to further explore the validity of the method being developed. Findings from both validity tests show that SERA were verified by the experts and tested with validated method so that it is valid to be applied in the future.

Road transport is the movement of passengers or goods on the road. To date, issues concerning the safety of students and school institutions have continued to attract public attention. The recent spate of incidents insideand outside the school compoundhas brought the issue of children safety into our attention. These include the escalating number of road casualties. This study was conducted to observe road hazard outside the school compound and analyse the safety risksfaced by school children by using the risk matrix. The risks are calculated to include likelihood and severity of hazard as identified in the Guideline of HIRARC 2008. The area selected was the East Coast state of Peninsular Malaysia, with over 111 schools randomly selected in Kelantan. Results werethen analysed and six highlighted hazards were discussed. The results show that the main road posed the highest risk due to speeding vehicles. These vehicles failed to slow down when approaching the school area. The school administrationmustenhance the safety of the staff, students, and public while in the school area. In conclusion, road safety awareness must be instilledamong teachers, students, parents and road users alike.
hazard ; road transport ; school ; children ; teacher ; safety ; hazard identification, risk analysis

Road Safety remainsone the most important issuesaffecting educational institutions especiallythe school. The prevalence of road accidentsin recent news reportsunderlines the importance of this issue. Such accidents involving school pupils have further escalated this concern. As such,safety awareness among school teachersis crucial in order for them to identify the suitable methods to prevent more road accidents in future. This study was conducted to analyse teachers’ awareness of road safety in school to gauge the training requirementson road safety. Road safety education and training in school is just as important as improving safety for road users outside schools. For this study, a set of survey questionnaire wasdistributedto 400 school teachers from 111 schools randomly selected from the 10 District Education Offices in Kelantan. Results were then analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). From the results, 40% of respondentswere male and 60% of them were female. Descriptive analysis showed that school teachers understood road safety as 90% of them possessed basic safety knowledge, while 10% of them lacked basicknowledge on road safety. However, they did not implement safety practice that may have contributed to unfortunate eventshappening outside of school including road accidents as reported in the news. This study suggests that school teachers must undergo road safety training to promote and improve road safety in school.With higher awareness and more information about the road safety, the teacherscould create a safer environment in their school. Undoubtedly, teachers have a vital roleto ensure safety of their pupils and their commitment will likely reduce the number of road accidents.
Road ; Safety ; Accident ; Awareness ; Teachers ; Training

BACKGROUND: Prolonged standing has been hypothesized as a vital contributor to discomfort and muscle fatigue in the workplace. The objective of this study was to develop a decision support system that could provide systematic analysis and solutions to minimize the discomfort and muscle fatigue associated with prolonged standing. METHODS: The integration of object-oriented programming and a Model Oriented Simultaneous Engineering System were used to design the architecture of the decision support system. RESULTS: Validation of the decision support system was carried out in two manufacturing companies. The validation process showed that the decision support system produced reliable results. CONCLUSION: The decision support system is a reliable advisory tool for providing analysis and solutions to problems related to the discomfort and muscle fatigue associated with prolonged standing. Further testing of the decision support system is suggested before it is used commercially.
Fatigue ; Human Engineering ; Muscle Fatigue