Analysis and Design of Jobs for Control of Work Related Musculoskeletal Disorders


Exercise 2: What does the worker do?

Copyright © 1998
Thomas J. Armstrong

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Based on the following time lapse photographs of a clerical job calculate the percent time:

Two hands on keyboard
Hand on mouse
Hands resting
Absent
Other

  1. What is your opinnion about the contribution of the the mouse or keyboard to hand and arm pain experienced by the operator?

  2. What could you do to improve this work situation?

Time Observation Possible Conditions
13:10 13:10 Observation
o Two hands on keyboard
o Hand on mouse
o Hands resting
o Non-keyboard/mouse task
o Operator away
o Other
13:20 13:20 Observation
o Two hands on keyboard
o Hand on mouse
o Hands resting
o Non-keyboard/mouse task
o Operator away
o Other
13:30 13:30 Observation
o Two hands on keyboard
o Hand on mouse
o Hands resting
o Non-keyboard/mouse task
o Operator away
o Other
13:40 13:40 Observation
o Two hands on keyboard
o Hand on mouse
o Hands resting
o Non-keyboard/mouse task
o Operator away
o Other
13:50 13:50 Observation
o Two hands on keyboard
o Hand on mouse
o Hands resting
o Non-keyboard/mouse task
o Operator away
o Other
14:00 14:00 Observation
o Two hands on keyboard
o Hand on mouse
o Hands resting
o Non-keyboard/mouse task
o Operator away
o Other
14:10 14:10 Observation
o Two hands on keyboard
o Hand on mouse
o Hands resting
o Non-keyboard/mouse task
o Operator away
o Other
14:20 14:20 Observation
o Two hands on keyboard
o Hand on mouse
o Hands resting
o Non-keyboard/mouse task
o Operator away
o Other
14:30 14:30 Observation
o Two hands on keyboard
o Hand on mouse
o Hands resting
o Non-keyboard/mouse task
o Operator away
o Other
14:40 14:40 Observation
o Two hands on keyboard
o Hand on mouse
o Hands resting
o Non-keyboard/mouse task
o Operator away
o Other
14:50 14:50 Observation
o Two hands on keyboard
o Hand on mouse
o Hands resting
o Non-keyboard/mouse task
o Operator away
o Other
15:00 15:00 Observation
o Two hands on keyboard
o Hand on mouse
o Hands resting
o Non-keyboard/mouse task
o Operator away
o Other
15:10 15:10 Observation
o Two hands on keyboard
o Hand on mouse
o Hands resting
o Non-keyboard/mouse task
o Operator away
o Other
15:20 15:20 Observation
o Two hands on keyboard
o Hand on mouse
o Hands resting
o Non-keyboard/mouse task
o Operator away
o Other
15:30 15:30 Observation
o Two hands on keyboard
o Hand on mouse
o Hands resting
o Non-keyboard/mouse task
o Operator away
o Other
15:40 15:40 Observation
o Two hands on keyboard
o Hand on mouse
o Hands resting
o Non-keyboard/mouse task
o Operator away
o Other
15:50 15:50 Observation
o Two hands on keyboard
o Hand on mouse
o Hands resting
o Non-keyboard/mouse task
o Operator away
o Other

Summarize your results:

Condition n %Time 95% Conf Range*
1. two hands on keyboard 2 12%  
2. hand on mouse 7 41%  
3. hands resting 1 6%  
4. non-keyboard/mouse task 2 12%  
5. operator away 5 29%  
6. other      
Totals 17 100%  
* use n=30