El Método LEST, Su Aplicación Y Evaluación En Las Prácticas Ergonómicas

Abstract

There exist many paths so as to carry out ergonomic modifications. Manuals, models and methodologies can be used in order to appropriately handle loads, the design of job positions, continuous physical movements, service areas; as well as the use of techniques for team work cooperation, among others. The subject-study company is a producer of rubber-metal parts for the automobile industry. It basically depends on the operational work of its employees. This makes it absolutely important to pay attention to the manner in which they perform their activities. Many companies pay great importance to the production system without keeping in mind the real needs of workers as they are doing their work. The subject-study company is in this very situation. This paper shows and approach to ergonomics applied to the Mexican industry. In Mexico, there is little evidence of the use of the LEST method. This is an attempt to take the first steps to carry out ergonomic evaluation with the intention of knowing the conditions under which employees are working within companies and organizations in order to provide them with better working conditions. The main aim of this research is to now the most incidental variables in the workplace that have an impact on the performance of employees so as to assess the impact of such incidences through the LEST method. Data was collected from 70 workers taking into consideration their surroundings, workload, mental strains, psycho-social aspects, work shifts, and a new variable that is not considered in the method proposed by the Polytechnic University of Valencia, or by the original method. The workers were asked in a section of the questionnaire: “What would you change about your working environment to improve it?” Through observation, we were able to clearly appreciate the physical movements performed by workers as they went along their physical activities at work while registering each and every one of them. Some of the workers were even filmed to observe the repeated movements they performed during their duties. This allowed us to carry out a more in-depth analysis of such movements. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) tool was used so as to tabulate all of the input collected through the questionnaires answered by the employees. By doing so, it was possible to know the frequency at which the abovementioned incidences occurred, and so an interpretation of the data was carried out. Finally, the results or conclusions obtained through this study revealed that the company has major ergonomic differences between the workload and the work environment, specifically the thermal environment, the acoustic environment and the lighting in the workplace. These areas are closely connected with productivity. In general, the company must modify several aspects in the workplace such as their high staff turnover, as well as the full application of current norms, if the company wishes to grow into a leading company in its field.