ILO Home
Go to the home page
Site map | Contact us Français | Español

CISDOC database

Document ID (ISN)47856
CIS number 87-712
ISSN - Serial title 0549-4974 - Japanese Journal of Ergonomics - Ningen Kogaku
Year 1986
Convention or series no.
Author(s) Onishi N.
Title Arm and shoulder muscle load in various keyboard operating jobs
Original title Kiibōdo operēshon sagyō no kinteki-futan [in Japanese]
Bibliographic information Apr. 1986, Vol.22, No.2, p.75-80. Illus. 9 ref.
Abstract Mechanisation in manufacturing and offices has reduced the physical workload on workers but at the same time it has led to simpler and more repetitive tasks. Most of these tasks demand less energy expenditure than before and cleaner workplaces. In addition to the mental and visual fatigue caused by concentrated and speedy data processing, a great many operators, especially women, suffer from local fatigue in the upper limb regions. This study involved the EMGs and fatigue measurements of the arms and shoulders of keyboard operators of a data input system. Their mean body height was 156.9cm, their keyboard height 77.87cm and the seat height was mostly 45.49cm. More than 60% of them complained of pain and stiffness in the shoulder and arm muscles. Their feelings of eyestrain and shoulder fatigue increased during the day's work more markedly than those of general office workers. It is essential for the prevention of this kind of chronic fatigue to improve ergonomic keyboard layout and to insert short rest pauses as frequently as possible.
Descriptors (primary) fatigue; keyboard operations; office work; visual fatigue
Descriptors (secondary) shoulder; ergonomics
Document type D - Periodical articles
Subject(s) Occupational physiology
Broad subject area(s) Physiology, ergonomics
Browse category(ies) Office work
Fatigue