PHYSIOLOGY AND WORK MEASUREMENT

tutorial 3
PHYSICAL WORKLOAD
Prodi Teknik Industri
Fakultas Teknologi Industri
Universitas Islam Indonesia
Tahun Ajaran
2016/2017
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PHYSICAL WORKLOAD

According to Tayyari and Smith (1997) state that physiological work is a study that
discuss about the functions of human organs that affected by the tension in the muscles during
work activities. Additionally, Tayyari and Smith also said that a physiologist is someone who
can make an individual can complete their work without experiencing excessive fatigue, so
when the individual finish their work it is not only recover from fatigue that caused by work, but
they also can enjoy their free time from work.

Generally, the purposes of this physiology module are:

1. Students able to understand the difference of workload affect the humans
physiological aspect.
2. Students able to determine the weight of workload based on physiological criteria.
3. Students able to designing new systems work by utilizing the measurement results
with the method of work physiology.
Meanwhile, in order to measure and analyze the change of humans physiological function after
work there are some methods that used. And the specific objectives based on those methods are:
1. Students able to understand the concept of physical workload measurement using pulse
method and %CVL.
2. Students able to calculate the energy expenditure at a particular job based on the intensity
of the heart rate.
3. Students able to decide ideal resting time based on the amount of energy released when
working.
4. Students able to determine the necessary energy consumption using equations based on
heart rate.

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A. INPUT DAN OUTPUT

In order to reach the goals above, the input that needed are:
a) Data of resting pulse rate
b) Data of working pulse rate
c) Working time
d) Age
e) Occupational
f) Data of recovery pulse rate

From the output, above, the data will be process and produce the output as follows:
a) Classification of %CVL
b) Recommendation of working time and resting time based on %CVL
c) Level of workers oxygen consumption
d) Physical workload analysis based on recovery pulse rate

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B. TUTORIAL PROCEDURE

Start

Class sessions:
1. Tutorialexplanation
2. Postest

Choosing the operator

Data Collection:
1. Resting pulse calculation
2. Operator doing the work
activity
3. Working pulse calculation
4. Recovery pulse
calculation
No

Acc Asisten

Yes

-HR Rest
-HR Work
-HR Recovery

Data Processing

-% CVL
Classification
-Time rest
-Energy expenditure
-Workload analysis No

Consultation with assistant

Acc Asisten

Yes

Report submission

Figure 1.1 Tutorial Flowchart

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TEORETICAL REVIEW
Basically, humans workload divided into 2 types; mental and physical, in which each
type has different effect. The separation of these two things cannot be perfectly, because there is
a close relationship between one another. In this module, we will learn more about physical
workload.

A. DEFINITION
1. Physical Workload
Physical workload is work that requires physical energy of human muscle as a source of
energy (power).

Figure 2.1 Physical Workload Illustration

Physical work will lead to some changes in the function of organs in our body,
therefore physical workload can be measured through the changes in the function
of organs through:
1. Oxygen consumption 4. Body temperature
2. Heart rate 5. Lactic acid concentration in the blood
3. Air circulation on lungs 6. Evaporation rate

Pulse rate above have a relation with the speed of pulse itself and that pulse speed affect
some function of humans body:
1. Blood pressure
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2. Bloodstream
3. Chemical composition of the blood
4. Body temperature
5. Evaporation rate
6. The amount

2. Needs of Energy
Physical work can be done if has energy, it use to support muscle contraction. The
human body needs energy to sustain / maintain the basic functions of life even though
there are no activities carried out at all. Lowest energy expenditure required to maintain
the basic functions of life are called basal metabolism (basal metabolism) (Wickens et
al., 2004). Each individual has a different basal metabolic rates vary, some of the
factors that influence these differences were gender, age, and body weight (Wickens et
al. , 2004).
Based on the description, physical workloads can be classified into several levels
based on energy expenditure. Some work physiology studies explain that the energy
spent on work directly proportional to the amount of oxygen consumption and heart
rate (Wickens et al., 2004). Dr. Lucien Brouha has made the workload
classification table in physiological reactions, to determine the severity of a job,
as shown in table below:

Tabel 2.1 Klasifikasi Beban Kerja Dan Reaksi Fisiologis

Oxygen
Energy expenditure Heartbeat
Level of work Consumption
Kkal / menit Kkal / 8jam Beat / min Liter / min
Unduly Heavy >12.5 >6000 >175 >2.5
Very Heavy 10.0 12.5 4800 6000 150 175 2.0 2.5
Heavy 7.5 10.0 3600 4800 125 150 1.5 2.0
Moderate 5.0 7.5 2400 3600 100 125 1.0 1.5
Light 2.5 5.0 1200 2400 60 100 0.5 1.0
Very Light < 2.5 < 1200 < 60 < 0.5

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3. Fatigue
Fatigue is something that occurs in the nerves and muscles of humans so it cant
be used as usual. Heavy load and irregular movement doing by a worker, the worker can
feel the fatigue rapidly. If a worker does that job on level of energy above 5,2
Kcal/Minute, that work can make a fatigue happen (Grandjean, 1986).
Barnes (1980) classifiedfatigue into 3 groups depending on where it is seen
that:
1. Feeling tired
2. Fatigue due to physiological changes in the body
3. Lose the ability to work. The third groups basically has the same conclusion,
the muscles ability will reduce step by step and in the end, the muscle
cant able to move as usual (perfect fatigue).

Figure 2.2 Faktor-Faktor Penyebab Kelelahan

B. CALCULATION
Physical work will lead the changes in physiological body functions. In this section, we
will determine the pulse measurement methods and calculations to determine the
required rest periods when doing an activity. Below, some steps of calculation to know the
change of physiological function in humans body because of physical workload:
1. Pulse Rate
Pulse measurement during work is a method for assessing cardiovascular strain.
One of the tools that can be used to calculate the pulse telemetry is using
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stimulus Electro Cardio Graph (ECG). If the tools are not available, it can be recorded
manually using a stopwatch with a 10-pulse method (Kilbon, 1992). The method can be
calculated with the pulse of the work as follows:

Figure 2.3 Pulse Rate

Besides that, heartbeat also has many kind of work condition, such as shown below
(Grandjean, 1986):

Figure 2.4 Pulse Rate Cycle

2. Cardiovascular Load (CVL)

Increasing of pulse rate has a very important role in increasing cardiac output
from rest to maximum employment. Manuaba (1996) define workload classification
by increasing of pulse work compared with the maximum pulse because of the
burden of cardiovascular (cardiovascular load =% CVL), which is calculated by the
following formula:

100 ( )
% =
.
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*Male : Maximum pulse rate = 220 age
*Female :Maximum pulse rate = 200 age (Tarwaka, 2004)
From the % CVL calculation above, then we need to classify the %CVL based on table
below:
Table 2.2 CVL Classification
% CVL Treatment
X 30 % No fatigue
30 <X 60 % Need to be improve
60 <X 80 % Work in short time
80 <X 100 % Action immediately
X> 100 % Not allowed to do activity

3. Resting Time
When someone works, definitely need the breaks aimed to avoiding to excessive
fatigue because energy use is too large and unmanageable. In determine the required
rest time while working, some scientists have proposed many methods that can be
used to measure it. Murrel (1965) in Tayyari and Smith (1997) suggests the formula:

= | |
1,5
Dengan:
Tr = Rest time required (minutes)
Ts = Total time shift work (minutes)
M = Average energy expenditure (kcal/min)
S = Rate of energy expenditure for shift work4 or 5
1,5 = The energy required at rest (kcal/min)

4. Brouha Method
Brouha method is method which used to estimate the cardiovascular strain using
pulse rate recovery, this method was suggested by Kilbon (1992) in Tarwaka, et. al.
(2004). The advantage in using this method, researchers didnt disturb the worker at all

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because the measurement will be done after the worker finished their work. Pulse rate
recovery (P) would be calculated in the end of 30 seconds in the 1st minute (P1), 2nd
minute (P2), 3rd minute (P3) which the results would be multiplied by 2. After being
multiplied, thus, the value of P1, P2 and P3 would be determined in several
classifications as shown below:

Tabel 2.3 Tabel Klasifikasi Beban Kerja dengan Metode Brouha

Kriteria Klasifikasi Beban Kerja
P1 P3 10 bpm and P1, P2, P3 90 bpm Normal curves
No increasing cardiac strain during the
P1 - P310 dan P1 110 bpm
day
P1 P3< 10 bpm dan P3> 90 bpm No-recovery curves
Source : (Tayyari dan Smith, 1997)

In the measurement using Brouha method, accuracy is desperately needed when

doing so, because sometimes when conducting research using this method the results
can be outside the existing classification. It is caused by several factors that affect the
health of the operator being measured or the researcher calculation. Thus, expected to
get accuracy in using this method, the operator will take the data must be in good health
condition (Rodahl, 1989).
The rate of recovery pulse is affected by the absolute value of a working pulse (the
interruption of work), fitness level (individual fitness) and environmental heat exposure.
If the recovery pulse is not immediately achieved, it is necessary to redesign jobs to
reduce physical stress. Redesign could be either a single variable or variables entirety of
the independent variable (tasks, work organization and workplace environment) that
causes additional workload.

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C. EXERCISE

A 19 years old male student running for 90 seconds. After tested by 10 beats
method, known that the person has a pulse of 175 beats working/minutes and the
resting pulse rate is 78 beats/minutes.

1. What percentage of the student CVL? Give your analysis.

2. Calculate the energy expenditure of the student.
3. How much ideal rest time for the student?

(%CVL) running 1.5 minutes

100 ( )
%CVL =

100 (17578)
=
20178

= 78.86 %

60 < X 80 % (work in short time)

Energy expenditure running 1.5 Ideal resting time for running 1.5
minute minute
150175 10
M175 = Tr = Ts |1,5|
150175 1012.5
25 10 12.55
= Tr = 1.5|12.51,5|
25 2.5

= 1.5 x 0.68
-250+25x = 62.5
= 1.02 minute
25x = 312.5

312.5
X= 25

X = 12.5 kcal/min (very heavy)

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REFFERENCE
Grandjean, E., 1986. Fitting The Task to The Man: A Textbook of Occupational
Ergonomics, Taylor & Francis/ Hemisphare.

Hancock, P. A. & Meshkati, N. (1988) Human Mental Workload. Elsevier.

Heller, R., 2001. Motivating People. Dorling Kindersley.

Kilbon, A. 1992. Measurement and Assessment of Dynamic Work. Dalam: Tarwaka, Bakri, S.,
Sudiajeng, L. 2004. Ergonomi untuk Keselamatan, Kesehatan Kerja dan Produktivitas.
Surakarta: UNIBA Press. 102.

Manuaba, A & Vanwonterghem, K., 1996. Improvement of Quality of Life. Determination of

Exposure Limits for Physical Strenuous Jobs under Tropical Conditions. Final Report-
CT-90019. Commission of the European Union.

Murrel, K.F.H., 1965. Human Performance in Industry. Dalam: Tayyari, F. & Smith, J.L.,
1997.Occupational Ergonomics: Principles and applications. London: Chapman & Hall.

Rodahl, Kaare., 1989. The Physiology of Work. London: Taylor & Francis.

Tarwaka, Bakri, S., Sudiajeng, L. 2004. Ergonomi untuk Keselamatan, Kesehatan Kerja dan
Produktivitas. Surakarta: UNIBA Press.

Tayyari, F. & Smith, J.L., 1997. Occupational Ergonomics: Principles and applications.
London: Chapman & Hall.

Wickens, C.D. et al., 1998. Introduction to human factors engineering.

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