Ergonomics on Drawing Tables in Mapua University

A Concept Paper

Presented to the Senior High School Department

Mapua University

Intramuros, Manila

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for

English for Academic and Professional Purposes

by

Agraviador, Christian Lee T.

Carbon, Jobert A.

Carnate, John Christopher D.

Go, Kylle Bryann C.

Orda, Marco A.

December 4, 2018
 Ergonomics is a branch in Industrial Engineering that studies the

workplace and the interaction of people to its environment. It aims to create a

comfortable and productive environment that would suit the physical needs of

the users (Christensson, P., 2011). This branch of Industrial Engineering is

extremely significant because, if not taken into consideration, it can exhibit

major threats and consequences. Without ergonomics to a certain product or

area, the users can experience discomfort, strains, stress, and minimized work

output. An article from Dyne, L. V., Jehn, K., and Cummings, A. (2001) studies

about psychological stress and its influence on the work performance. The

authors said that the psychological stress is a great influence on work

performance; it also affects the social interaction within the workplace.

With all things considered, ergonomics has not been getting plenty of

attention. Naeini, H. and Mosaddad, S. (2013) proposed that all engineering

students should have a three-credit ergonomic course. Some also recommend

studying the body dimensions when designing a furniture and to conduct

seminars to students about the negative effects of bad posture by the

unergonomic designs of the furniture (Taifa, I., & Desai, D., 2017).

Due to the increasing number of incidents pertaining to improper

posture dealt by uncomfortable furniture, several studies about ergonomic

deficiencies have been conducted. An example of this is a research by Osquei-

Zadeh, R., Ghamari, J., Abedi, M., and Shiri H. (2012) which studied about the

library furniture in a certain school in India. They concluded that the design of
the furniture within the school was unacceptable and unfit for the students’

use. Similarly, the study of Altaboli, A., Belkhear, M., Bosenina, A., and Elfsei,

N. (2015) aimed to study and evaluate the current design of classroom desks in

primary schools in the public schools of the city of Benghazi. Results showed

that the body dimensions and the desk dimensions have mismatches, which

means that the desks are not ergonomic and uncomfortable for the students.

The purpose of the current study is to contribute further into this field.

Doing so will not only benefit the science and knowledge of ergonomics, but

also for the benefit of the users. As indicated earlier, proper application of

ergonomics will not only make the users experience less strains and stress, but

will also influence them to be able to have more productive work output or

work performance. Overall, the current study will benefit the school, its users,

and the research aspects of ergonomics.

In addition, there are designs regarding tables that were ergonomically

designed for users. One example would be the research article by Su, M.,

Wang, H., Wang, Z., and Wang, F. (2017), which designed a table with steel

portal frames that can withstand earthquake seismic shaking. Similarly, a

table for stamp making has been designed, which resulted to the reduced

fatigue experienced by the worker (Anugraha, R. A., Sutan, W., & Mufidah, I,

2015).

Although there are designs of tables in other studies, they are not

specifically for drawing tables which the current study will undergo. There may
be other studies about the designs of drawing tables, but they are outdated.

This study will focus on the ergonomic design on drawing tables in Mapua

University.

Statement of the Problem

Considering the previous studies, ergonomics plays an essential role in

the workplace. Improper application of ergonomics can lead to the discomfort,

stress, and strain to the users, which contributes to health issues and work

performance deficiencies. This research would like to determine whether the

drawing tables in Mapua University are ergonomic or not. And from there, the

researchers will determine the flaws of the drawing tables and improve it by

designing a drawing table that would best suit the physical needs of the

Mapuan students.

Methodology

Before the designing of the drawing table, the researchers will measure

the dimensions of the drawing tables, as well as the anthropometry of the

students. With respect to the design of the drawing table, its dimensions will be

based on the anthropometry of the students. Anthropometry is a branch of

ergonomics which deals with the body dimensions for the design purposes and

body composition (Taifa, I., & Desai, D., 2017). The data will be compared
through a t-test. After then, the researchers will determine the difference

between the body dimensions and the dimensions of the drawing tables

currently in Mapua in order to identify whether the tables are ergonomic or

not. Moreover, the researchers will distribute a NORDIC Musculoskeletal

Questionnaire (NMQ). The NMQ would be held responsible for determining the

strains experienced by the students and it can be seen used in previous

studies as basis for improvement for certain unergonomic furniture (Aliyu,

U.Y., Tokan, A., Abur, B.T., & Bawa, M.A., 2014; Curbano, R. 2015).

The researchers will first identify the total population of the Architecture

students in Mapua University and calculate the number of respondents that

will be needed according to the Slovin’s formula. The students should be within

the Architecture program since they are frequent users of the drawing tables.

The instruments that will be used for the data gathering would be the NMQ,

and a tape measure.

Timeline

Table 1: Timeline of the Research

The first step would be the data gathering which would be done from

week 22 to week 27. Subsequently, the data analysis would be done within the

next 3 weeks. The designing of the ergonomic drawing table will be held

afterwards and is expected to be done in 3 weeks. It will then be followed by the

finalization of the paper from week 34-35, then the preparation for the defense.

Finally, the final defense is supposedly on week 37.

References

Christensson, P. (2011, April 29). Ergonomics Definition. Retrieved from

https://techterms.com

Anugraha, R. A., Sutan, W., & Mufidah, I. (2015). The Design of Batik Stamp

tool Scraping Working Table Using Ergonomic Principles. Procedia

Manufacturing, 4, 543-551.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.promfg.2015.11.074

Su, M., Wang, H., Wang, Z., & Wang, F. (2017). Shaking Table tests on steel

portal frames consisting of non-compact tapered members. Journal of

Construction Steel Research, 128, 473-482.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcsr.2016.09.009

Dyne, L. V., Jehn, K., & Cummings, A. (2001). Different effects of strain on two

forms of work performance: Individual employee sales and creativity.

Journal of Organizational Behavior, 23(1), 57-74.

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Naeini, H. S., & Mosaddad, S.H. (2013). The role of ergonomics issues in

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Altaboli, A., Belkhear, M., Bosenina, A., & Elfsei, N. (2015). Anthropometric

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hmIWIfIr-R7uAnmkPNJiVY