Ergonomic Assessment of Sewing Machine Operators to Minimize Musculoskeletal Disorders

Industrial Engineering Department, Muhammadiyah Surakarta University, Indonesia

Abstract

Garment industry sewing involves 8 hours of sitting in an unnatural, uncomfortable position that can lead to muscle pain and injuries. This study aims to evaluate complaints and risks of MSDs in sewing work in the garment industry. Identify complaints using the Nordic Body Map (NBM) and Assessment of Repetitive Task (ART) methods. Based on the results of identification with NBM of sewing operators, it was found that the body parts where complaints occurred were the waist at 89%, the right calf at 61%, the buttocks at 53%, and the back at 50% from a total of 36 sewing operators. The results of analysis using the Assessment of Repetitive Task (ART) method show that all sewing operators experience musculoskeletal disorders in the moderate level exposure category so that further review of the sewing workstation is needed. The recommended improvement is in the form of improving posture to reduce the complaints felt. Relevance for industry: this study focuses on sewing work-related factors and other risk factors, which will help researchers to better understand the risk of MSDs in the garment industry. These risk factors must be considered when creating and implementing ergonomic aspects to prevent and reduce musculoskeletal discomfort.