1
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
This chapter provides information regarding to background of study, problem statements, and objectives of study. Besides, this chapter also describes the scope and
limitation of study, potential benefits from the study that may significant to the personal, authorities, or related organizations. The outline of conducted study also
presented in this chapter
1.1 Background of Study.
Sawmill industry is an enormous industry not only in Malaysia, but also in the international level. Countries that have a wide area of forest and received a constant
rain distribution per year mainly become the role player in this industry due to the unlimited source of timber plant. Currently, Malaysia is the largest exporters of logs,
sawntimber, and the main exporter of wood-based product such as plywood, wooden furniture and builders’ carpentry in Asian region. Providing a job to more than 300,000
workers, the Malaysian sawmill industry had grown rapidly and significantly play a major role to the development of socioeconomic sector in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah
and also in Sarawak Anon, 2007a. Application of advanced and diverse technology machinery is vital to this type of
industry. Sawing or cutting machine application is the major type of machine used, either automatic or manual operations. Besides using a machine to cut or process the
logs, human workforce is also needed to run the machines and perform the other job in the sawmill factory. Manual handling activities perform by sawmill workers such as
2 lifting, pushing and removing a processed timber, handling a manual device such as
saw blades, pushing trolley, and pulling a pulleys to remove the timber are the example of manual task perform by the workers repetitively and done everyday in the sawmill
industry WorkSafe, 2005. These activities require the workers to apply a specific posture to carry out the job or
can be termed as working posture. Working posture is one of the ergonomics issues under the industrial ergonomics discipline. Unsafe working posture while performing
job activities not only uncomfortable to the workers, but also exposed the workers to a musculoskeletal disorders MSD. The manual task activities perform by the workers is
believed as a major contributor to the occupational injuries in the sawmill industry Edwin M., 2003. Workers bending or twisting repetitively while performing their job
associated with a great risk of MSD. MSD include sprains, strains, inflammation, degeneration, tears, pinched nerves or blood vessels, bone splintering and stress
fractures. Neck, shoulder, wrist, and low back are the common body part that has a great potential to sustain injury or the MSD due to an awkward working posture such as
excessive forward bending to pick up a load repetitively as what the sawmill floor workers done everyday.
In recognition of the importance of working posture issues, ergonomics assessment needs to be carried out in order to establish safe working posture. Rapid Upper Limb
Assessment RULA is selected as a tool to asses and analyzes the risk factors of the working posture as this tool is postural analysis software oriented. By using a video
observation, an image of unsafe working posture is recorded and analyzed using RULA. The unsafe working posture that declared below the safe standard will be
improved through scope of engineering controls which is by redesigning the current workstation in the sawmill industry.
3
1.2 Problem Statements.
