The effects of container design and stair climbing on maximal acceptable lift weight, wrist posture, psychophysical, and physiological responses in wafer-handling tasks.
Despite the high level of automation in semiconductor manufacturing processes, many manual operations are still involved in the workplace. Due to inadequate human-machine interface design, stairs are frequently used to help operators perform wafer-handling tasks. This study was designed to evaluate the effects of climbing stairs and carrying wafer containers (pods) on psychophysical responses (maximal acceptable weight of lift--MAWL, and ratings of perceived exertion--RPE), physiological responses (oxygen consumption--VO2, and heart rate--HR), and wrist posture (ulnar and radial deviations). Each of 12 subjects (six males and six females) performed six sessions (3 climbing stairs x 2 pods types). The results indicate that climbing stairs had a significant influence on MAWL and VO2 (p<0.01). The type of pod effect on wrist posture was significant (p<0.01). Gender effect differences on MAWL, VO2 and wrist posture were also significant (p<0.05). Job design implications are discussed.
Chung
H C
HC
Department of Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan, ROC.
Wang
M J
MJ
D000328:Adult; D006804:Ergonomics; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D017770:Lifting; D008297:Male; D009790:Occupations; D010101:Oxygen Consumption; D010465:Perception; D005082:Physical Exertion; D012666:Semiconductors; D016138:Walking / Q000502:physiology*; D016526:Workload; D014955:Wrist Joint / Q000502:physiology*