Ergonomic Risk Assessment of Factors Affecting Musculoskeletal Disorder of Engineering Students During Online Setup

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on educational delivery. Students are now enrolling in online classes offered by their respective schools to make the most of their time at home during quarantine. This means they'll spend a lot of time in front of computers while learning. This requires them to spend extended periods behind their computers. Thus, the study's objective was to assess the ergonomic risk factors for the musculoskeletal discomfort of Industrial Engineering students at Mapua University during online learning. Moreover, it was found that the causes of these MSDs were awkward posture, repetitive tasks, and maintaining a posture for an extended period. Consequently, the researcher gathered 152 enrolled IE students at Mapua University. To identify the ergonomic risks, the researcher utilized the ROSA method with CMDQ to analyze the level of discomfort of the students. A risk assessment matrix was also developed for the top five body parts: lower back, upper back, neck, hip/buttocks, and right shoulder. The analysis was then performed on the relationship between the risk factors and the five (5) body parts and hand parts with the highest risk of MSD. These body parts were obtained from the risk assessment matrix results. Correlation and ANOVA analysis with 0.05 alpha level and Hopkins [1] strength criterion was also used to determine their relation and significance to the factors. It was found that sex, workstation setup, screen time, and type of device contributed to the students' discomfort. To minimize the MSD of the students, the researcher provided FMEA to analyze and evaluate the risks. Next was the proposed workstation design using 3D Sketch Up software and Ergonomics and Design [2] as an Anthropometric Reference Guide. Then, QFD was integrated to identify the wants and expectations of the students in purchasing the proposed ergonomic workstation. Finally, providing an ergonomic intervention plan incorporating the hierarchy of controls to meet the OSH standard to help the students mitigate or minimize accidents, injuries, and MSD while working from home.